WASHINGTON — It’s not too late to make sure holiday gifts and cards arrive in time for Christmas. At the Post Office or online, the U.S. Postal Service — the “Official Shipper of the Holidays” — is ready for this week’s busiest mailing and delivery days of the year.

The Postal Service expects to deliver 16.5 billion letters, packages and cards between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. The busiest day for mailing this trove of holiday cheer is expected to be Tuesday, Dec. 20, when over 600 million cards and letters will be processed. The busiest day for delivery of packages is a day earlier — Monday, Dec. 19.

“We know that customers are looking at options for shipping their last minute holiday gifts, and the Postal Service offers a great combination of value and convenience,” said Susan LaChance, vice president Consumer Industry and Affairs. “We’re just a click away for online customers who want to take care of their shipping needs from their home computers.”

LaChance said a visit to usps.com is the easiest way to alleviate holiday stress. “You can print postage and shipping labels directly from your computer with Click-N-Ship,” she said. “We offer discounts when you ship online, and we provide free Delivery Confirmation when you use Click-N-Ship. Plus, you can schedule free package pickup.”

The Postal Service recommends Priority Mail as the best way to ship for the holidays. Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are available free at local Post Offices in a wide array of sizes. They also can be ordered online at shop.usps.com, or by telephone at 800-STAMP-24.

“Our eco-friendly Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are the best deal in shipping,” said Gary Reblin, vice president, Domestic Products. “Our ‘If it fits, it ships’ service is a bargain. We’ll send any package weighing up to 70 pounds to any destination in the U.S. for a low flat rate. And packages shipped by Dec. 21 will arrive in time for Christmas.”

Busy shoppers can wrap up their holidays by shipping up-to-the-very-last-minute gifts using Express Mail. The Postal Service provides a money-back guarantee for delivery by Christmas Day for Express Mail accepted by Dec. 22 to be delivered to designated ZIP codes. Gifts sent by Express Mail are automatically insured for $100. Free Express Mail packages and envelopes are available online at usps.com and at local Post Offices.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at http://about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional on this issue, please go to http://about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf.

A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 150 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $67 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 29th in the 2010 Fortune 500. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency six consecutive years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.