PORTLAND, Maine — The holiday shipping rush is in full swing! If you need to get any packages across the country by Christmas Day, you're going to want to head to your local U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS store ASAP!
UPS deadlines for Christmas delivery:
- Ground: Dec. 15
- 3-Day Select: Dec. 21
- 2nd Day Air: Dec. 22
- Next Day Air: Dec. 23
U.S. Postal Service deadlines for Christmas :
- Retail Ground: Dec. 15
- First-Class Mail: Dec. 18
- Priority Mail: Dec. 19
- Priority Mail Express: Dec. 23
FedEx shipping deadlines for Christmas:
- FedEx Home Delivery, FedEx Ground: Dec. 15
- FedEx Express Saver, FedEx 3Day Freight: Dec. 21
- FedEx 2Day: Dec. 22
- FedEx 1Day Freight, FedEx Extra Hours, FedEx Overnight: Dec. 23
- FedEx SameDay: Dec. 25
The owner of the UPS store on Marginal Way in Portland, Debbie Rancourt, says things have been very busy and business is up this year.
"It's been a lot busier early than it has been in the years past, and I'm basically contributing that to the fact that people probably won't be traveling to visit their relatives, so they're shipping their gifts," Rancourt says.
Rancourt says you can still likely use ground shipping over the next few days—for a Christmas arrival—if your packages are just going somewhere in New England.
That said, keep in mind there's a storm on the way that could slow deliveries down.
One of Maine's largest retailers, L.L.Bean, works with UPS to ship out its goods.
A spokesperson for L.L. Bean says, "In terms of shipping, UPS continues to be a great partner - and while there have been a few delays in pickups due to higher volume, UPS is picking up packages from our retail stores and our warehouse in Freeport, Maine daily."
"In fact, our order by date for Christmas delivery is now Dec. 20th (it was previously Dec. 19th)," they said. "We still continue to encourage everyone to place their holiday orders as soon as possible, however, given the high volume of online shopping this season. And of course, our retail location in Freeport is open for any last-minute shopping needs!"