It’s surprisingly easy to forget to mail Christmas cards or ship gifts on time, even with the best intentions. The holiday season tends to fill up quickly with events, planning, and last-minute tasks, and those small but meaningful gestures can slip through the cracks. Between juggling work, family commitments, and the general rush of December, it’s common to look up and suddenly realize deadlines for shipping or mailing have already passed.
USPS
To make sure your cards and gift get to their destination before Christmas, here are the U.S. Postal Service recommended mailing and shipping dates for the 2025 holiday season.
2025 Holiday Shipping Dates for Contiguous U.S. (Lower 48 States)
- USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 17
- First-Class Mail: Dec. 17
- Priority Mail: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20
2025 Holiday Shipping Dates for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories
- USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail: Dec. 17
- Priority Mail: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail Express: Dec. 20
For a complete list of suggested dates for customers sending packages to military or international addresses, visit the USPS holiday shipping page.
For tips on mailing and shipping preparation, ordering free shipping supplies, packaging guidelines (including restricted and prohibited item information), and Post Office location hours, visit usps.com.
UPS
Here are the last days to ship for December 24th UPS delivery:
U.S. TO CANADA*
- UPS® Standard (From the 48 contiguous states only): Check ups.com/ctc for details
- UPS Worldwide Expedited®: Dec. 22
- UPS Worldwide Express®: Dec. 23
U.S. TO MEXICO*
- UPS® Standard services (From the 48 contiguous states only): Check ups.com/ctc for details
- UPS Worldwide Expedited®: Dec. 19
- UPS Worldwide Express®: Dec. 22
*Shipments to certain destinations may require an earlier ship date. Check ups.com/ctc
CLICK HERE for more UPS holiday shipping information.
FEDEX
2025 Shipping deadlines for holiday packages:
Package services
- FedEx SameDay®: Dec. 24
- FedEx First Overnight®, FedEx Priority Overnight®, FedEx Standard Overnight®, Extra Hours: Dec. 23
- FedEx 2Day® & FedEx 2Day® AM: Dec. 22
- FedEx Express Saver®: Dec. 20
- FedEx Ground®: Dec. 17-Dec. 23 (depending on # days transit selected)
- FedEx Home Delivery®: Dec. 17-Dec. 23 (depending on # days transit selected)
- FedEx Ground® Economy: Dec. 15
Air freight services
- FedEx 1Day® Freight: Dec. 23
- FedEx 2Day® Freight: Dec. 19
- FedEx 3Day® Freight: Dec. 18
LTL freight services
- FedEx Freight® Priority (inclusive of FedEx Freight® Direct): Dec. 15-Dec. 22 (depending on # days transit selected)
- FedEx Freight® Economy (inclusive of FedEx Freight® Direct): Dec. 11
Exact transit times are based on the origin and destination ZIP codes.
CLICK HERE for more FEDEX holiday shipping information.
PHOTO: Santa’s mailbox. (Adobe Stock │ #291459860 – alswart)
