Last day to ship for Christmas 2026

Official 2026 deadlines at a glance

For delivery by Thursday, December 24, within the contiguous US:

Why your ZIP code matters

USPS publishes one date per mail class for the whole country. UPS and FedEx Ground depend on how far the package travels: FedEx lists Ground dates by transit days, from Thursday, Dec 17 for a 5-day route to Wednesday, Dec 23 for a 1-day route, and UPS points to its transit tool. The calculator estimates your route's ground days from the two ZIP codes, so you can see whether a nearby gift can wait until the following week.

Alaska, Hawaii, military and international

To or from Alaska and Hawaii, USPS gives the same dates for First-Class Mail (Dec 17), Priority Mail (Dec 18) and Priority Mail Express (Dec 19), but says Ground Advantage takes 10 days or more, so use Priority Mail. For military APO/FPO/DPO addresses, USPS recommends Dec 9 for First-Class Mail and Priority Mail and Dec 16 for Priority Mail Express Military Service where it's offered; the Ground Advantage date was Nov 4. For international mail, USPS recommends Dec 9 for First-Class Package International and Priority Mail International, and Dec 16 for Priority Mail Express International.

Tips for getting it there on time

Ship a few days before the deadline, not on it: these are the carriers' latest recommendations, and peak volume slows everything. Drop packages off before the location's last pickup. Print labels online to skip the counter line. Hanukkah runs December 4–12 this year, so those gifts need to go out much earlier.