A Procrastinator’s Guide to Shipping Christmas Gifts in 2024

I know, I know, it's only October in Texas. We haven't even celebrated Halloween yet and here I am writing about Christmas. Walmart already has their Christmas stuff out so I think it's okay. Some of you have already started your Christmas shopping. Most of you will wait and fight the chaos of December 23 or 24 to get all your shopping done in one fell swoop. But even you procrastinating shoppers need to be aware of some dates to get those gifts shipped in time.

Consumerism of Christmas

I have always been in awe of people who have these huge Christmases. Growing up, I was very fortunate to get three, maybe four gifts. Getting a lot of presents on Christmas will always be foreign to me. Which is ironic because my fiancé LOVES to go all out for Christmas. She gets very frustrated with me because I don't give her a lot of options for presents I would want or buying presents for my family.

Christmas was not about presents when I was growing up. It was about celebrating the birth of Jesus. Not tearing down the doors at Walmart to get a $100 65-inch TV. I'm also not very good at receiving gifts. I'm not sure why but I never have been. Just one of my weird quirks I guess.

Shipping Christmas Gifts

While I'm lucky that most of family lives nearby, many people have family and friends that live far away. In those cases, Christmas gifts will need to be shipped. For those gifts to arrive by Christmas morning, there are some absolute dates they must be mailed to arrive on time. The United State Postal Service (USPS) has unveiled those dates for 2024 (WFAA).

2024 Shipping Deadlines

• USPS Ground Advantage Service - Mail by December 18
• First Class Mail Service - Mail by December 18
• Priority Mail Service - Mail by December 19
• Priority Mail Express Service - Mail by December 21

If you are sending gifts to Alaska or Hawaii, you need to ship by these dates:

• USPS Ground Advantage Service - Mail by December 16
• First Class Mail Service - Mail by December 18
• Priority Mail Service - Mail by December 19
• Priority Mail Express Service - Mail by December 20

If you have someone in the military to ship to, you need to ship by these dates:

APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 090-092, 094-099, 340, 962-966

• USPS Ground Advantage Service - November 4
• First-Class Mail Service - December 9
• Priority Service - December 9
• Priority Mail Express Military Service - December 16

APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 093

• USPS Ground Advantage Service - November 4
• First-Class Mail Service - December 9
• Priority Service - December 9
• Priority Mail Express Military Service - N/A

Enjoy the Holidays

Just enjoy the holiday season. There is so much pressure to buy, buy, buy every year that the stress level for many is very high. It shouldn't be. Concentrate on the real reason to celebrate Christmas.

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