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Holiday Shipping Deadlines - Order By Tuesday, Dec. 15, For Delivery Before Christmas

If you want your online orders and mailed packages to arrive by Christmas, you should probably hit “ship” by or on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

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 Photo Credit: Pixabay/Bob_Dmyt
Kristin Palpini

For a list of shipping deadlines, scroll to the end of the article.

Major delivery service providers such as U.S. Postal Service and FedEx have released holiday shipping schedules providing people with their best chances for on-time delivery. 

Some retailers, including BJ’s Wholesale Club, are pushing for even earlier ordering deadlines to be sure of on-time delivery during what promises to be a busier-than-usual delivery season. 

“Online orders may experience shipping delays,” Tori Vecchio, a spokesperson for BJ’s said explaining the Sunday, Dec. 13 prompt.

With COVID-19 economic restrictions in place, many people are turning to online shopping more than before for the holidays. This is creating an even larger demand for deliveries during an already busy season.

Major delivery service providers have released holiday shipping calendars while big-box stores like Walmart, Kohl's, and Target are expected to release their own soon.  The deadlines are for regular mail orders - options to pay a shipping fee or a higher shipping fee for faster delivery.

Check out these holiday shipping deadlines, according to Consumer Reports:

U.S. Postal Service usps.com

  • Dec. 15 - Retail ground shipments;
  • Dec. 18 - First Class;
  • Dec. 19 - Priority Mail;
  • Dec. 23 - Priority Mail Express.

FedEx fedex.com

  • Dec. 15 - Ground and home delivery;
  • Dec. 21 - Express Saver, Three-day Freight;
  • Dec. 22 -Two-day options;
  • Dec. 23 - Overnight options;
  • Dec. 25 - FedEx SameDay, FedEx SameDay City Direct, and City Priority.

United Parcel Service (UPS) ups.com

  • Dec. 15 - Last day to ship some ground packages;
  • Dec. 21 - UPS 3-Day Select;
  • Dec. 22 - 2nd Day Air;
  • Dec. 23: Next Day Air.

With COVID-19 encouraging people to stay indoors, 2020 is expected to be a record-setting year for online holiday shopping. 

In 2019, for example, Census data said consumers spent more than $85 billion online shopping for the holiday. This year, on Cyber Monday (Nov. 30) alone, consumers spent a record-setting $10.8 billion buying things online, according to CNBC.

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