Reminder: U.S. Postal Service recommended holiday mailing dates to and from Hawaiʻi

The U.S. Postal Service wants to make sure your gifts and special notes arrive in time to and from Hawaiʻi to guarantee this year’s holidays are merry and bright for your loved ones on the mainland or abroad.

So as a reminder, here are the recommended send-by dates for expected delivery of mail and packages before Dec. 25.

2024 holiday mailing and shipping dates for items sent to addresses on the U.S. mainland:

• USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 18
• First-Class Mail service: Dec. 18
• Priority Mail service: Dec. 19
• Priority Mail Express service: Dec. 21

2024 holiday mailing and shipping dates for items sent to addresses in Alaska and Hawaiʻi:

• USPS Ground Advantage service: Dec. 16
• First-Class Mail service: Dec. 18
• Priority Mail service: Dec. 19
• Priority Mail Express service: Dec. 20

For customers sending packages internationally or to military addresses, the Postal Service suggests checking the complete list of recommended holiday mailing and shipping dates online.

The Postal Service also urges customers to plan ahead and ship as early as possible during the holiday season.

For tips on preparing shipments, including packaging guidelines, ordering free shipping supplies and information about local post office location hours, visit the Postal Service website.

Expanded services

The Postal Service said efforts to stay ahead of the peak season holiday rush, involving a $40 billion federal investment, will help get packages delivered on time.

Those efforts includes expanding processing to about 60 million packages per day, nearly tripling its 2020 daily package processing capacity.

A result of the 10-year Delivering for Americans Plan increased package processing capacity and allows for packages to move through the postal network faster and for the Postal Service to lease temporary annexes to handle increases in holiday volume.

“Our operational, transportation and delivery processes have never been more finely tuned, and I am fully confident in our ability to once again handle the peak holiday season surge,” said Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy. “We are strongly positioned to deliver exceptional, affordable service to the American people during the holidays and beyond.”

The Postal Service also extended retail and pickup hours at popular post office locations, while continuing to offer the lowest postage rates in the nation, the Postal Service said.