Deadlines fast approaching for Michigan residents to ship holiday gifts

Carriers have released key holiday shipping deadlines for domestic and international deliveries
Some limited services will be available on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Each carrier offers a range of final mail-by dates based on service level

Depending on what service they use and where the packages are going, Michigan residents may have less than a week — or in the case of international destinations, just one day — to get those packages on their way.

The US Postal Service, UPS and FedEx have released their recommended mail-by dates to help customers avoid late deliveries during the busiest mailing season of the year.

Here’s what you need to know to make sure your packages land under the tree on time.

USPS deadlines

The United States Postal Service says these are the deadlines to mail your packages in the continental US if you want them to arrive before Dec. 25:

USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail service: Dec. 17
Priority Mail service: Dec. 18
Priority Mail Express service: Dec. 20

For people mailing packages overseas, the Postal Service lists suggested shipping dates on its website by region.

The First Class Package International Service and Priority Mail International Service deadline for Central and South America was Dec. 2, leaving Priority Mail Express International as the only way to get packages to those regions in time for Christmas.

Tuesday is the First Class and Priority Mail International Service deadline for several other regions of the world, with Dec. 16 the deadline to ship via Priority Mail Express International.

UPS deadlines

UPS says these are the key shipping dates to make sure your packages get there by Dec. 24:

UPS 3 Day Select: Dec. 19
UPS 2nd Day Air: Dec. 22
UPS Next Day Air: Dec. 23

Customers can also visit the UPS website to find suggested final shipping dates for Canada and Mexico, and to estimate delivery times for other international locations.

FedEx Home Delivery deadlines

FedEx Home handles residential deliveries seven days a week for packages up to 150 pounds, though each one includes a $5.15 residential fee.

FedEx’s suggested shipping deadlines for packages to be delivered by Dec. 24 are:

FedEx Home Delivery 5-Day Shipping: Dec. 17
FedEx Home Delivery 4-Day Shipping: Dec. 18
FedEx Home Delivery 3-Day Shipping: Dec. 19
FedEx Home Delivery 2-Day Shipping: Dec. 22
FedEx Home Delivery 1-Day Shipping, overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, FedEx Standard Overnight: Dec. 23
FedEx Same Day: Dec. 24

FedEx Ground Delivery deadlines

FedEx Ground ships packages to businesses and commercial locations Monday through Friday.

FedEx Ground Economy: Dec. 15
FedEx Ground 5-Day Shipping: Dec. 17
FedEx Ground 4-Day Shipping: Dec. 18
FedEx Ground 3-Day Shipping: Dec. 19
FedEx Ground 2-Day Shipping: Dec. 22
FedEx Ground 1-Day Shipping: Dec. 23

More details on shipping dates for freight or packages sent to Mexico, Canada, or Puerto Rico here. Shipping rates can also be calculated here.

Holiday operating hours for USPS, UPS and FedEx

USPS offices will be open on Christmas Eve, though hours vary by location, and mail will be collected from blue boxes according to the posted pickup times. On Christmas Day, post offices will be closed, blue boxes will not be collected and regular mail will not be delivered, but Priority Mail Express will still go out.

UPS will operate normal delivery service on Christmas Eve, with pickup available only for air and international air packages arranged in advance. On-call pickup is also limited to those services. Next-day air packages collected that day will be delivered on Dec. 26. On Christmas Day, UPS will not provide pickup or delivery, except for UPS Express Critical.

FedEx office locations will have modified hours, and some locations will close early on Christmas Eve. FedEx custom critical services will be available but all other services will not.

Shoppers set new highs

This year, a record 202.9 million US consumers shopped during the five days from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, up from 197 million shoppers last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

While online shopping continues to become more popular, with 134.9 million shoppers this year, up 9% from 124.3 million last year, shopping in stores is not a thing of the past.

A total of 129.5 million consumers shopped in-store, up 3% from 126 million in 2024, according to the NRF.

“Retailers definitely encourage consumers to place their online orders as early as possible as shipping delays, especially during the holiday season, are common,” said Vic Veda, vice president of communications for the Michigan Retailers Association.

“But we do encourage consumers to get in stores. There’s a lot of value of being able to shop in stores and pick out the specific products that you’re going to take home,” she said.