Shipping deadlines closing in before Christmas

McALLEN — Add another to the list of countless Christmas carols that ring throughout the holiday season: “The sooner, the better,” said David Franzen, owner of Pak Mail in McAllen.

Franzen and other shipping specialists said if people want their holiday packages to friends and loved ones to arrive on time, they need to ship them off soon.

“Don’t ship anything later than (Friday) to ensure it’s going to get there on time,” Franzen said.

Actually, the U.S. Postal Service set Saturday as the deadline for packages to arrive on time via Parcel Post, typically the postal service’s least expensive shipping option. Dec. 20 is the last day to send packages via Priority Mail, as well as for all letters and Christmas cards.

Tuesday is the last day for all packages to arrive by Christmas via priority mail to most military addresses, Mexico and Canada.

With 20 billion packages to be shipped via the U.S. Postal Service, it helps to send gifts off sooner than later, said Stephen A. Seewoester, U.S. Postal Service spokesman for the Rio Grande Valley.

Rather than sending packages through the postal service, Franzen said it could be cheaper to go through a private carrier, such as UPS or DHL.

“And you get a tracking number, so you can tell what time it got there,” he said.

But if long lines at the post office are something you fear, the U.S. Postal Service sells postage online that you can print off at home, and packages can be picked up at no additional cost.

“Anywhere we make a delivery - which is anywhere - you can have it picked up,” Seewoerster said.

When it comes to packing presents into shipping boxes, Seewoester said to make sure to use plenty of newspaper or other packing materials and to write the destination in large clear letters on the outside of the box.

For added protection, place a card listing the destination address inside the box, in case the writing outside the box is damaged, Seewoester said.

“Just make it as easy as possible for us to get there on time,” he said.

And if you are shipping any toys or gadgets with removable batteries inside, be sure to take them out.

“The little drummer boy could be drumming though the mail and that could be disconcerting,” he said.