USPS warns about delayed shipping times for holidays

UNITED STATES (WCBI) – So, you’ve bought the gifts – you’ve gotten them home, but what about shipping them to friends and family? You have about 2 weeks to think about that one.

The United States Postal Service is gearing up for its busiest time of the year. The rush usually begins around December 6th and lasts until Christmas. And if you want packages to arrive on time, here are a few dates to remember.

If you’re trying to get those gifts to someone in the military, you need to act fast. The deadline to ensure on-time delivery for APO and FPO addresses is December 9th.

For most retail ground services, you need to drop them off by December 15th. For First Class Mail and First Class Packages, get them sent out by the 17th. Priority Mail buys you an extra day… at an extra cost.

For you real last-minute folks, you can pony up the extra bucks and send it Priority Mail Express, and wait until December 23rd, but that’s cutting it close.

As always, earlier is usually better.