Most families are spending Christmas Eve together in preparation for Santa's arrival.
But some could be waiting on last minute mail and packages to arrive before the big holiday and are wondering whether Christmas Eve impacts mail schedules.
Why It Matters
The holiday season is a prime time for package deliveries, with the majority of consumers online shopping for some, if not all, of their Christmas gifts this year.
According to Adobe Analytics, shoppers spent $77.4 billion online from November 1 through November 24 alone. That was up 9.6 percent from 2023.
Is Mail Delivered on Christmas Eve?
The United States Postal Service (USPS) does deliver mail on Christmas Eve, December 24.
The only exception to this rule is if Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. In that case, there would be no mail delivered because mail is never delivered on a Sunday. Because the USPS continues as usual, your mail will also be collected on Christmas Eve as well.
What People Are Saying
The USPS said on its website: "All Post Office locations will be closed Christmas Day (Wednesday, Dec. 25) and New Year's Day (Wednesday, Jan. 1). Regular Post Office hours and mail delivery will resume on the Thursday after each holiday."
Is the Post Office Open Today?
The post office also remains open on Christmas Eve, but you should check your specific location to find out if there are reduced hours.
You can do this by using the USPS locator tool online.
For Christmas Day, December 25, the USPS is closed because it's a federal holiday, meaning that mail will not be delivered.
USPS, UPS, FedEx, Amazon Deliveries
To make sure your package is delivered in time for Christmas, you can check the Mail-By Dates section of the USPS Holiday Newsroom website.
The mail by date depends on the type of shipping you pay for. To get Christmas deliveries sent on time, you might need to send the mail from mid-December or could wait even a few days before Christmas.
At the United Parcel Service (UPS), however, customers can use Next-Day air services to ship their packages to arrive by Christmas as late as December 23.
FedEx may be the fastest way to ship an item for Christmas, though, because the company is allowing same-day shipping service on Christmas Eve.
Amazon also provides same-day delivery on Christmas Eve. It also offers one-day shipping on December 23 and two-day delivery on December 22 for Prime members.