ANCHORAGE, AK – The busiest two mailing and delivery weeks of the year are here and Alaska Post Offices are prepared for the avalanche of cards and packages.

“We plan all year for the holidays,” said USPS District Manager Ron Haberman, who shared just some of the preparations Alaska Post Offices have made for what is expected to be a record season for packages. 

• Hired more than 60 employees
• Delivering packages 7 days a week
• Expanded delivery windows for packages to include early morning and evening
• 22 Alaska Post Offices, including 8 in Anchorage, offer dutch-door package pick up service every Sunday before Christmas for customers to pick up notified mail and packages which could not be delivered on the first attempt. (See list of Post Offices and hours at end of release)

Starting the week of Dec. 10, the Postal Service expects to deliver nearly 200 million packages per week until Christmas.

This holiday season is expected to be a record-breaker for packages with Postal Service carriers delivering more than 900 million holiday packages nationwide, a 5 percent increase from last year. A similar increase is expected in Alaska where during the holidays more than 5 million packages are forecast.

“Our goal is to provide outstanding service to our customers and ensure all those holiday cards and packages are delivered on time,” said Haberman. “The best advice I can give to customers is to mail early and conveniently.”

• Ship packages from home for the holidays at usps.com and request a free package pick up.
• Use Self-Service Kiosks – As easy to use as ATMs, the Kiosks make shipping 24/7 and are located in the lobby of 10 Alaska Post Offices, including 5 in Anchorage: Main Post Office, Lake Otis, Midtown, Spenard, Huffman. Kiosks are also located at the Eagle River, Wasilla and Palmer Main Post Office, the Juneau Mendenhall Station and Fairbanks College Station.

Holiday Military Shipping Deadlines

• Dec. 4 – Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to Military addresses in Iraq and Afghanistan
• Dec. 11 – Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to all other Military addresses
• Dec. 18 – USPS Priority Mail Express to Military Addresses (except Iraq and Afghanistan)

International Shipping Deadlines

• Dec. 1 – Priority Mail International to Africa, Central and South America
• Dec. 8 – Priority Mail International to all other countries
• Dec. 15 – Priority Mail Express International to Africa, Central and South America
• Dec. 18 to 20 – Global Express Guaranteed depending on country

Domestic Shipping Deadlines

• Dec. 3 – USPS Retail Ground
• Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail and packages
• Dec. 20 – Priority Mail
• Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express

The following 22 Alaska Post Offices offer dutch-door package pick up service every Sunday before Christmas for customers wanting to pick up notified mail or packages which couldn’t be delivered on the first attempt:

• Anchorage Russian Jack 801 Northway Drive – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Spenard 1601 W Northern Lights Blvd – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Sand Lake 2200 Strawberry Rd – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Lake Otis 5855 Lake Otis Pkwy – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Midtown 3721 B Street – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Muldoon 2420 Muldoon Rd – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Huffman 1221 Huffman Park Dr – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Anchorage Eastchester 800 Ingra St – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Wasilla Main 401 North Main St – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Wasilla Annex 626 N Bobby Day Circle – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Fairbanks Main 5400 Mail Trail Rd – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Fairbanks College 755 Fairbanks St – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Fairbanks North Pole, 325 S Santa Claus Lane – 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Juneau Mendenhall 9491 Vintage Blvd – 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Ketchikan 3609 Tongass Ave – 10 a.m. to noon
• Sitka 1207 Sawmill Creek Rd – 10 a.m. to noon
• Eagle River 11471 Business Blvd – 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Palmer 500 South Cobb St – 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
• Homer 3658 Heath Street – noon to 2 p.m.
• Kenai 140 Bidarka Street – 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Soldotna 175 N Binkley Street – noon to 3 p.m.
• Kodiak 419 Lower Mill Bay Rd – noon to 3 p.m.

Additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing and shipping deadlines, can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom at usps.com/holidaynews

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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