Here’s the last day to send your gifts in time for the holidays

The countdown to Christmas is on, but the threat of delayed packages could dampen the holiday spirit.

Winter storms, out-of-stock items, ground shipping risks and a host of other issues could spell out shipping slowdowns in the days leading up to Christmas Eve.

More than half of Americans say they are worried about deliveries being delayed this holiday season, according to a study in October by Badcredit.org.

“In a shorter holiday season, with only 17 shipping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we encourage everyone to ship early and often so you can enjoy the holidays worry-free,” Karen Tomaszewski Hill, US media relations manager at UPS, told CNN.

Companies have also been steeling themselves for a busier-than-usual holiday season. The National Retail Federation confirmed this month that holiday spending could increase by as much as 3.5% from last year and hit a new record of $989 billion.

E-commerce giant Amazon said in October that it would hire 250,000 transportation and warehouse workers to prepare for the volume of shipping.

For shoppers looking to beat the holiday shopping crunch, here are the key shipping dates to note for the 2024 season:

UPS

Here are the recommended last dates to ship for December 24 delivery:

- Ground: check ups.com/ctc for details

- 3 Day Select: December 19

- 2nd Day Air: December 20

- Next Day Air: December 23

There is no UPS pickup or delivery service on Christmas Day.

USPS

Here are the recommended send-by dates for December 25 delivery in the contiguous 48 states:

- Ground: December 18

- First-Class Mail: December 18

- Priority Mail: December 19

- Priority Mail Express: December 21

For Alaska and Hawaii:

- Ground: December 16

- First-Class Mail: December 18

- Priority Mail: December 19

- Priority Mail Express: December 20

USPS notes that the actual delivery date varies based on conditions including origin, destination and post office acceptance time.

FedEx

Here are the shipping deadlines for December 24 delivery:

- Home Delivery: December 23 (for the one-day shipping option)

- Ground: December 23 (for the one-day shipping option)

- Express Saver: December 19

- 2Day and 2Day AM: December 20 (can be extended to December 21 with an optional Saturday pickup and a $16-per-package surcharge)

- First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, Extra Hours: December 23

- SameDay: December 24

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