• USA Today - News

The post office in Santa Claus, Indiana, continues its decades-long tradition of special postmarks for holiday mail. Here's how to get yours.

We’re in the busiest time of the year for the U.S. Postal Service. So if you are wrapping, packing, labeling and mailing packages, here are tips and deadlines to keep in mind.

Dates to know

  • Hanukkah is from sundown Sunday, Dec. 14, to sundown Monday, Dec. 22.
  • Christmas Eve is Wednesday, Dec. 24.
  • Christmas Day is Thursday, Dec. 25.
  • Kwanzaa is Friday, Dec. 26, to Thursday, Jan. 1.
  • New Year’s Eve is Wednesday, Dec. 31.
  • New Year’s Day is Thursday, Jan. 1.

Shipping deadlines

If you want packages or letters to arrive by Christmas, know these mail-by dates:

USPS

Within the contiguous United States

  • Ground Advantage or First-Class Mail: Wednesday, Dec. 17.
  • Priority Mail: Thursday, Dec. 18.
  • Priority Mail Express: Friday, Dec. 19.

UPS

Domestic U.S. shipments

Amazon

Packages shipped through Amazon’s network

  • Latest recommended ship-by date: Thursday, Dec. 18.

FedEx

  • FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery: Wednesday, Dec. 17.
  • 3-day Express Saver: Friday, Dec. 19.
  • FedEx 2Day or 2Day AM: Monday, Dec. 22.
  • FedEx Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight or First Overnight: Tuesday, Dec. 23.
  • FedEx SameDay: Wednesday, Dec. 24.

Packing tips

1. If possible, use new, double-corrugated boxes. If you are reusing a box, make sure it is in good shape and not flimsy.

2. Allow at least a 2-inch space around items for cushioning materials. If something in the box is poking the sides, you need a bigger box.

3. Wrap items separately, no matter what they are.

4. Place heaviest items at the bottom, lighter items above. For heavy items, use thick cardboard as protection inside boxes.

5. Put gift-wrapped items in plastic bags to protect against moisture, especially if the box might sit outside on a snowy or rainy day. If you save silica gel packets that come with a variety of products, use them here. And if you are shipping clothes with something delicate, use the clothing as protection.

8. Cushion your items with materials such as bubble wrap, crumpled newspaper, packing peanuts, air packs, crinkled butcher paper and shredded paper.

9. To reduce risk of breakage, use a double-box method for fragile items. Place your wrapped item in a well-padded box, then put that inside a larger box with additional cushioning.

10. Shake your box gently before taping it. If you hear or feel contents moving, add more cushioning.

11. If you send via USPS mailboxes, make sure your item will fit into the mailbox slot. They should weigh no more than 10 ounces and be a half-inch thick or less. For box restrictions, go online. 

12. Non-lithium batteries should be left in original packaging. Do not put them in toys, clocks or other items before mailing. In transit, a device could turn on and raise security concerns. Send batteries separately or mail a gift card for a store that sells batteries.

13. Consider media mail. It’s cheaper, but restrictions exist. It’s limited to books, video and sound recordings, manuscripts, play scripts, printed music, some films, loose-leaf pages and binders with medical information, etc. Advertising, video games and comic books are among restricted items. Media mail takes two to eight days.

14. Two-inch wide tape is best. Do not use masking, cellophane or duct tape. Use the H-taping method: Tape side seams, then across the top. Do the same on the bottom. Make sure your tape's adhesive sticks. 

15. Consider Click-N-Ship to pay for and print postage at home. You leave the package for your carrier, and you don’t have to leave the house. Free Priority Mail boxes — if it fits, it ships — incur flat-rate postage. Or you can fill, wrap, measure and weigh your box, then enter specifications online. Required postage amount will be given. Informed Delivery keeps tabs on the status of packages.

Labeling tips

  • Carefully remove old labels on reused boxes. Mark out notations, names, codes or addresses.
  • Write neatly in block letters or print labels with clean fonts, nothing fancy.
  • Put the addressee’s name and address inside the package. If you print a mailing label, print two — one for outside, one for inside.
  • Do not write “to” and “from” all over the box. Use one side only.
  • Be an editor. Did you leave off a zip code, return address, apartment number? Does that “4” look like a “9”?
  • Know zip codes. Look them up. If you know the +4 code, use it. But USPS says no zip is better than a wrong one.
  • If your item is breakable, write “fragile.” But don’t doodle. Keep it clean so postal workers can read it quickly.
  • Labels should lay flat, not over a curve. If you’re using a handwritten label, protect it with clear packing tape.
  • Never use brown paper as a mailing wrapper. Labels can tear, paper can rip. Do not use string, rope, cord or twine. It can muck up machinery.
  • If you use self-serve USPS kiosks, make extra sure the address is correct. A clerk will look, but at the kiosk it’s on you.

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