Deadline for shipping holiday packages start this week

By MJ Kneiser, WLRH

We’re now in the countdown to Christmas, officially, and if you still have not mailed your Christmas packages, there’s only a short window of time to do so if you want them under your loved one’s tree by the 25th.

The U.S. Postal service is offering a list of deadlines for mailing packages.

“The deadline to mail first-class packages is Friday, December 20, Priority Mail is Saturday, December 21, and Priority Express is Monday, December 23. The only way to guarantee last-minute packages are under the tree by Christmas is Express Mail. That would guarantee it will be there Christmas Eve. It’s a little pricey but that’s the only way to make sure it’s there by Christmas,” said Susie Rowland is the Officer in Charge at the Lavonia Post Office.

And when mailing packages, Rowland says you need to make sure you have a sturdy box.

She said make sure it’s well taped with a sturdy shipping tape, not scotch tape, and if you are sending some fragile, you need to let the postal workers know.

“When you mail it, tell the clerk it’s fragile so we can mark it fragile,” Rowland explained. “Be sure to wrap it in bubble wrap inside the box so if it shifts around it will be kept safe.”

And if you’re planning to send Grandma’s homemade Christmas cookies or other food, the post office also needs to know that.

“Just let us know that, too and you want to send it Priority Mail so it gets there in two or three days. And tell the clerk it’s perishable and we will mark the package that way and that will put a little rush on it,” Rowland said.

The deadline for mailing most International packages has already passed.

However, you can still get packages to their destination by sending them Global Express Guaranteed, but you have to do mail them by this Thursday, the 19th.

Now if you have any questions about shipping your packages, you can contact your local post office or go online to the U.S. Postal Service website at: US Postal Service.