Holiday Shipping Recommendations

With the holidays quickly approaching here are some tips to make sure that all of your gifts are ready on time for the holidays.

Julia Owens

Shipping times may vary and tend to get longer as the holidays get closer, so it can’t hurt to order things early. You can also get a head start on wrapping if you have everything earlier.

Julia Owens, Managing Editor
December 2, 2021

If you like buying your gifts last minute, this year may be tough for you. Every year we see holiday shipping delays in the headlines of many major news sources. It’s no surprise that there are anticipated issues with shipping and distribution this year because of the usual rush to buy gifts and the labor shortage brought on during Covid-19. 

If you are trying to order custom gifts or items from small businesses, it may already be too late. A lot of those places have a 4-6 week turnaround time, especially if the items are handmade. 

With places like Amazon, the shipping times are being extended for certain items because of the supply shortages. Gifts are going out of stock and the sellers don’t know when the items will be back in stock. If the factories can’t get the raw materials, they can’t produce the finished product for it to be shipped out. This can cause further shipping delays.

Postal carriers are urging people to order their gifts early and if you are trying to ship items, you can go on the UPS or FedEx websites. On the UPS website, there is a  ground shipping calculator. There they have outlined a basic guideline for shipping personal packages. However, these dates are subject to change as the influx of packages comes in for the holidays. During the holiday season, more people are ordering and there is a strict deadline that everyone is trying to get their packages by. Also, if you look at the calculator, shipping costs go up the closer you get to Christmas. So for the best chance of your packages getting to their desired location before or on Christmas, ship out earlier than the following dates: 

 

USPS

  • Dec. 17: First-class mail service (including greeting cards).
  • Dec. 17: First-class packages (up to 15.99 ounces).
  • Dec. 18: Priority Mail service.
  • Dec. 23: Priority Mail Express service.

FedEx

  • FedEx Ground Economy: Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021.
  • FedEx Ground: Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021.
  • Home Delivery: Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021.
  • Express Saver: Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021.
  • 2Day & 2Day AM: Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2021.
  • Overnight Services: Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021.
  • FedEx Same Day: Friday, Dec. 24, 2021.

UPS

  • UPS 3 Day Select: Tuesday, Dec. 21. 
  • UPS 2nd Day Air services: Wednesday, Dec. 22.
  • UPS Next Day Air services: Thursday, Dec. 23.