Postal Service says 'send packages early' this holiday season

USPS recommends shipping holiday packages and cards soon

The US Postal Service recommends sending your holiday presents and cards as soon as possible to make sure they'll get to the person they're intended for.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Postal Service set a new record for shipping during the 2020 holiday season – with 13 billion letters, cards and packages being delivered.

And this upcoming season they don’t expect much of a drop-off. The Postal Service says it will expand its service, but if you want to make sure that your nephew gets his new toys, you’d better send it early.

Although the unofficial deadline for shipping your package is Dec. 13, they say the sooner, the better.

The Postal Service expects to deliver between 850 million and 950 million packages, with the total number of letters, cards and packages in excess of 12 billion.

The Postal Service will expand Sunday delivery beginning Nov. 28, and packages will also be delivered on Christmas Day in select locations for an additional fee.

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In order to accommodate the holiday surge in volume, the Postal Service will add more than 40,000 seasonal positions to help process and deliver the mail.