Holiday shipping deadlines 2023: Mark these dates so your gifts arrive on time
After you finish all the holiday shopping, you want to make sure all of those gifts get to your long-distance family and friends on time. The U.S. Postal Service alone anticipates delivering more than 200 million packages per week from Dec. 10 through Christmas Day.
If you don’t want your gifts lost in the wave of holiday deliveries this year, you’ll want to get out your calendars and mark down all of the shipping deadlines recently announced by all the major carriers. Christmas Day falls on a Monday this year, so some of the shipping deadlines for 2023 might be a little earlier than usual.
With the holiday shopping season extending back to Amazon’s second Prime Day sales event in October and Black Friday sales in early November, more packages are moving earlier than ever. But that’s why it’s essential to box up and ship your gift boxes as soon as possible — carriers are already busy. This will help get those presents to their destination in time for opening on that special day.
Each carrier has its own holiday deadline schedule, which we have outlined below.
USPS 2023 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
The United States Postal Service announced it will not have any peak-time surcharges for holiday shipping this year to keep costs stable and predictable for its customers. Here are the target cut-off dates for sending packages for arrival by Monday, Dec. 25:
Within the Lower 48 United States
- USPS Ground Advantage: Saturday, Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail (including holiday cards): Saturday, Dec. 16
- Priority Mail: Monday, Dec. 18
- Priority Mail Express: Wednesday, Dec. 20
Alaska
- USPS Ground Advantage: Saturday, Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail (including holiday cards): Saturday, Dec. 16
- Priority Mail: Saturday, Dec. 16
- Priority Mail Express: Wednesday, Dec. 20
Hawaii
- USPS Ground Advantage: Saturday, Dec. 16
- First-Class Mail (including holiday cards): Saturday, Dec. 16
- Priority Mail: Saturday, Dec. 16
- Priority Mail Express: Wednesday, Dec 20
Air/Army Post Office, Fleet Post Office and Diplomatic Post Office
- First-Class Mail: Saturday, Dec. 9
- Priority Mail: Saturday, Dec. 9
- Priority Mail Express Military Service: Friday, Dec. 15 (this service is not available for APO/FPO/DPO AE ZIPs 093)
International Mail holiday shipping deadlines vary by location. Visit the USPS International Shipping website for more information.
MORE: The Best Unexpected Places to Buy Affordable Christmas Gifts This Year
FedEx 2023 Shipping Deadlines
FedEx has more than 50,000 drop-off locations for holiday shipping. “Demand surcharges” from the carrier are in effect through the holiday season.
Here are the carrier’s deadlines for on-time holiday delivery by Sunday, Dec. 24:
FedEx Ground Deadlines:
- 5-day shipping: Friday, Dec. 15
- 4-day shipping: Monday, Dec. 18
- 3-day shipping: Tuesday, Dec. 19
- 2-day shipping: Wednesday, Dec. 20
- 1-day shipping: Thursday, Dec. 21
FedEx Express Service Deadlines:
- Dates range from Tuesday, Dec. 19, through Friday, Dec. 22, depending on your express service. Get full details at the FedEx Holiday online guide.
UPS 2023 Holiday Shipping Deadlines
As with Federal Express, customers may see “Demand Surcharges” tacked on to their bill during the holiday season. UPS notes that some services won’t run over the weekend before Christmas. And for specific shipping date deadlines for their standard domestic ground shipping, the company recommends using their online shipping calculator.
UPS holiday shipping deadlines:
- Tuesday, Dec. 19: Final day for UPS 3-Day Select packages for delivery by Dec. 22
- Wednesday, Dec. 20: Final day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air Packages for Dec. 22 arrival
- Thursday, Dec. 21: Final day to choose UPS Next Day Air Packages for Dec. 22 delivery
- Saturday, Dec. 23: UPS Next Day Air packages picked up this day will not arrive until Dec. 26
- Dec. 24 and Dec. 25: Only UPS Express Critical Service may be available
Amazon 2023 Shipping Deadlines
Amazon Prime Members are eligible for same-day delivery on many items up until Dec. 24. However, we feel this is cutting it too close to the Christmas holiday.
An official Amazon deadline announcement has not been made as of this story’s publication; however, CNET used previous years’ dates for some predictions for this year, including:
- Free shipping orders must be received by Dec. 14 for Dec. 23 delivery
- 2-Day Prime Shipping orders must be received by Dec. 22 for a Dec. 24 delivery
When placing your Amazon order, carefully check the delivery date during your checkout process. And, if in doubt about your gift arriving on time, you can always choose an Amazon e-Gift card delivered immediately to any inbox.
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