Christmas crunch time: The last days to ship holiday gifts
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Time is running out to ship gifts and have them delivered by Christmas.
Why it matters: Carriers are hitting their last recommended dates to get packages to doorsteps by Dec. 24 — and the longer you wait, the more you'll pay.
- Many ground deadlines have already past, leaving costlier two-day, overnight and same-day options.
Yes, but: You still have options — on-demand services like DoorDash, Uber and Instacart can deliver last-minute gifts, and many retailers, including Walmart, Target and Amazon offer same-day delivery or curbside pickup.
2025 Christmas shipping deadlines
The big picture: The U.S. Postal Service (USPS), UPS and FedEx publish "send-by" dates for on-time Christmas delivery, but they're recommendations, not guarantees.
- Winter storms, high volume and your package's origin and destination can all slow things down.
By the numbers: Logistics data firm ShipMatrix predicted U.S. delivery companies would handle 2.3 billion packages this holiday season, 5% more than last year.
- USPS said it expanded its daily package processing capacity to about 88 million packages, up from 60 million last holiday season.
USPS Christmas deadlines 2025
The USPS recommended dates for delivery before Dec. 25 in the contiguous U.S. are:
- USPS Ground Advantage / First-Class Mail: Already passed — Dec. 17
- Priority Mail: Thursday, Dec. 18
- Priority Mail Express: Saturday, Dec. 20
- Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and territories: First-Class, Priority and Priority Mail Express generally keep the Dec. 17–20 window.
UPS Christmas deadlines 2025
UPS recommends for U.S. domestic shipments scheduled for Dec. 24 delivery:
- UPS Ground: Varies by distance — check the UPS "Calculate Time and Cost" tool.
- UPS 3 Day Select: Friday, Dec. 19
- UPS 2nd Day Air: Monday, Dec. 22
- UPS Next Day Air: Tuesday, Dec. 23
FedEx Christmas deadlines 2025
FedEx says the "last day to ship" for arrival by Dec. 24 depends on both service level and how far your package is going. For most U.S. domestic packages, the company's chart shows:
- FedEx Ground and Home Delivery:
- Ground Economy: Already passed — Dec. 15
- 5-day transit: Already passed — Dec. 17
- 4-day transit: Thursday, Dec. 18
- 3-day transit: Friday, Dec. 19
- 2-day transit: Monday, Dec. 22
- 1-day transit: Tuesday, Dec. 23
- FedEx Express Saver (3-day): Saturday, Dec. 20
- FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, Extra Hours, 2Day and 2Day AM: Monday, Dec. 22
- FedEx SameDay: Wednesday, Dec. 24
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