Iowa, These Are Your New Holiday Shipping Deadlines For 2023

Whether you're prepping for the holidays or if you're determined to hold off, major carrier have announced their holiday shipping deadlines early.

We don't all have the luxury of not having to mail Christmas gifts and it's a calendar game to figure out if they will make it to your loved ones in time for the holiday. UPS, USPS, FedEx, and seemingly every mail carrier in America gets so backed up with gift deliveries that it can delay packages.

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I know it's not even Halloween yet, but according to USA Today, USPS and FedEx have both released their holiday shipping deadlines early, just to make sure it gets engrained in your skull well before your Christmas shopping starts.

In general, the best practice is to mail stuff 5-7 business days out. But, here are your actual deadlines for mailing gifts in 2023 if you want them somewhere by Christmas. Go ahead and plan now so you don't end up having to pay extra for getting the gift to it's destination on time.

Ground Shipping Deadlines (USPS, UPS, FedEx)

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This year, Christmas is on a Monday so the deadline dates have changed a bit. Here are the ground shipping ones:

Dec. 16: USPS Ground
Dec. 13: FedEx Ground Economy
Dec. 15: FedEx Ground

UPS suggests getting an estimate on it's website on when to ship, based on operating hours and holiday schedules.

USPS Deadlines

USPS has "recommended" ship-by dates so here are the ones for the continental U.S.

Dec. 16: USPS Ground Advantage
Dec. 16: First Class Mail
Dec. 18: Priority Mail
Dec. 20: Priority Mail Express

If you're sending off Christmas gifts or letters to someone in the military, the deadlines are much earlier. These are the deadlines for Air or Army post offices, Fleet Post Offices, or Diplomatic Post Offices.

Nov. 6: USPS Ground Advantage
Dec. 9: First Class Mail
Dec. 9: Priority Mail
Dec. 15: Priority Mail Express Military Service

FedEx Deadlines

Here are FedEx's recommended deadlines to get the gift by December 24th:

Dec. 13: FedEx Ground Economy
Dec. 15: FedEx Home Delivery & FedEx Ground
Dec. 19: FedEx Express Saver & FedEx 3Day Freight
Dec. 20: FedEx 2Day
Dec. 21: FedEx 1Day Freight & FedEx Extra Hours
Dec. 22: FedEx SameDay

My Advice

My family has always wrapped the gift a few days after we got it and stuck it in the mail to whomever it was going to right away. Then they'll either put it under their Christmas tree or hide it until Santa comes on Christmas Eve. I'd rather send a gift a month early than stress about it getting to someone by Christmas.

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