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It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. You have plenty of time to send cards and packages so that they arrive by any winter holiday you celebrate, right? Well, maybe not. Diwali started on October 24, the first night of Hanukkah is on December 18, and shipping cutoffs for Dec. 25 may come sooner than you think (we have the deadlines below).

To give you the best odds of having your cards and packages arrive on time this year, the US Postal Service, UPS, and FedEx have each circled the dates you need to hit – precisely to arrive in time for Christmas and for Kwanzaa, which begins Dec. 26. (You’ll want to add in buffer time for arrival dates before the end of December).

Here are the 2022 Holiday shipping schedules for the big-three package delivery services.

USPS HOLIDAY SHIPMENT DEADLINES

Visit USPS for detailed information.

Domestic serviceDate (excluding Alaska and Hawaii)Date for AlaskaDate for Hawaii
USPS Retail Ground™Dec. 17Dec. 2N/A
USPS First Class Mail®Dec. 17Dec. 17Dec. 17
USPS Priority Mail®Dec. 19Dec. 17Dec. 17
USPS Priority Mail Express®Dec. 23Dec. 21Dec. 21

UPS HOLIDAY SHIPMENT DEADLINES

Visit UPS for detailed information.

Domestic serviceShip date
GroundCheck the UPS website for deadlines
3-Day SelectDec. 19
2nd Day AirDec. 21
Next Day AirDec. 22

FEDEX HOLIDAY SHIPMENT DEADLINES

Visit FedEx for detailed information.

Domestic serviceShip date
FedEx Ground® EconomyDec. 8
FedEx Ground®Dec. 14
FedEx Home® DeliveryDec. 14
FedEx Express Saver®Dec. 20
FedEx 2Day® ServicesDec. 21
FedEx Same DayDec. 23

Mike Gunderson is the founder of Gunderson Direct, Inc., a direct marketing agency that helps businesses drive new leads and close more sales through traditional offline channels, especially direct mail.