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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The end of Thanksgiving means the start of both the holiday season and the process of ordering holiday gifts for friends and family.
The three largest carriers in the U.S.—The United States Postal Service, FedEx, and UPS—have released their deadlines for holiday shipping this year to make sure people send and receive their gifts on time.
FedEx’s ground cutoff date is Wednesday, Dec. 14.
UPS has not set a hard deadline, but the company says anything traveling cross-country by ground from New England needs to be on its way by Thursday, Dec. 15 or Friday the 16th. A tool to calculate packages' pickup and arrival time, as well as the cost, is on their website.
The U.S. Postal Service's ground deadline is Saturday, Dec. 17 (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
Shoppers should also circle Dec. 14 on their calendars because it is what’s known as “Free Shipping Day.” Generally, it is the final day to order something online and receive it by Christmas without having to pay for faster shipping.
This year, Christmas Day (Dec. 25) falls on a Sunday. Hanukkah begins on Sunday, Dec. 18 and runs through Monday, Dec. 26. Kwanzaa also begins on Dec. 26 and goes to Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023.
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