Santa's making his list and checking it twice— are you doing the same? UPS, FedEx, and the United States Postal Service have released their holiday shipping deadlines, and now is the time to make a plan if you're sending parcels that need to arrive before Christmas.

The major carriers are closed on December 25, so knowing the 2024 holiday shipping deadlines is essential. Today, we'll look at the deadlines for each carrier to ensure there are no Christmas trees without gifts underneath due to shipping delays.

FedEx 2024 holiday shipping deadlines

The following dates are the published last days to ship US domestic parcels with various FedEx services:

December 13 - FedEx Ground Economy
December 17 - FedEx Ground and Home Delivery 5-day shipping
December 18 - FedEx Ground and Home Delivery 4-day shipping
December 19 - FedEx Express Saver and Ground 3-day shipping
December 20 - FedEx 2Day & FedEx 2Day AM, Ground 2-day, and Home Delivery 2-3 day shipping
December 23 - FedEx First Overnight, Priority Overnight, Standard Overnight, Extra Hours, Ground and Home Delivery 1-day shipping

December 24 - FedEx SameDay

To see shipping deadlines for domestic air freight and LTL freight, or for international shipping, visit the FedEx website.

UPS 2024 holiday shipping deadlines

The following dates are the shipping deadlines for sending parcels via UPS for delivery by December 24:

December 19 - UPS 3 Day Select
December 20 - UPS 2nd Day Air
December 23 - UPS Next Day Air

Shipping UPS Ground or UPS Standard? The carrier says, "From Nov. 18, 2024 – Jan. 10, 2025, a limited number of UPS® Ground and UPS® Standard packages will require additional time in transit." The deadline for UPS Ground shipping is dependent on shipping and delivery locations. You can use the UPS Calculate Time and Cost tool for the most accurate deadlines.

Although UPS is closed on December 25, UPS Express Critical service (through MNX) is available.

For shipping deadlines for parcels headed to international destinations, visit the UPS website.

USPS 2024 holiday shipping deadlines

The following dates are the United States Postal Service's deadlines for delivery before December 25 for the Contiguous US (lower 48 states):

December 18 - USPS Ground Advantage Service and First-Class Mail Service (this includes all greeting cards and packages up to 15.99 ounces)
December 19 - Priority Mail Service
December 21 - Priority Mail Express Service

Check the USPS website to learn about the shipping deadlines for mail going to military service destinations, Alaska and Hawaii, or international destinations.

The United States Postal Service's advice to its customers is valuable for anyone shipping parcels this holiday season: "The earlier you send, the better: Don't delay, mail and ship today!"

While service guarantees are suspended during the holiday season, now is an ideal time to set up automatic parcel audits for 2025. Get in touch with ShipRx today for your free savings analysis and start seeing refunds on your first bills of the new year!