Many may have made their Christmas gift purchases early, but to get the gifts shipped in time is another matter. Since the holiday season is drawing closer, the United Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx, and the United States Post Office (USPS) all released their calendar of activities. This is to give prospective customers a heads-up regarding holiday shipping deadlines.
After Thanksgiving Thursday, USPS will be open during regular business hours on Nov. 24 and 25. If customers miss these dates, there is still a bit of time to get their gifts shipped in time for Christmas. However, customers should mind the deadlines, especially if they are sending items overseas.
For First Class Mail, the deadline is Dec. 19. Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express have their deadlines set on Dec. 20 and 21 respectively. Those who plan to ship to overseas military bases should process the shipping before Dec. 11.
Those who plan to ship internationally have varying deadlines — Nov. 30 if the recipient is in Africa and Central and South America and Dec. 16 if the destination is Canada.
People who prefer FedEx can avail of FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx 2Day services. They will be charging an extra $16 for every package that is set to arrive on Dec. 23.
FedEx Home Delivery service will deliver on Dec. 23 at no extra charge. In contrast, FedEx Ground service will not be available on the said date.
The company also stated on their official website that FedEx SameDay will continue to be in service through the holidays, allowing customers to ship "on Christmas Day or any other day of the year."
Meanwhile, for their 2017 Year-End Holiday Schedule, UPS announced that customers who want their packages to arrive on Christmas Eve will have until Dec. 20, if they will avail the UPS 2nd Day Air service. Those who will use UPS Next Day Air Packages service will need to send their items before Dec. 22.
