What:

A media opportunity to shadow a USPS Letter Carrier during the Holiday Peak Season. The carrier will demonstrate delivery during the Postal Service’s busiest season, offering suggestions for safe and efficient receipt of mail (Keep dogs inside, Shovel walks, etc.)

The carrier will also provide insights into their years of service and personal stories of how the busiest season is also the most rewarding season for USPS employees.

Who:

Letter Carrier Chris Piro, U.S. Postal Service
Please RSVP to this email for your arrival time.

When:

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Where:

Solvang Post Office
430 Alisal Road
Solvang, CA 93463

Background:

In the spirit of the holiday season, Chris will be providing insight into their job as a Solvang Letter Carrier.

They will give viewers and readers the opportunity to see the last mile of their mail delivery.

Busiest Mailing and Delivery Days

The busiest time of the year begins two weeks before Christmas. It’s expected that customer traffic at all Post Office locations will steadily increase beginning the week of Dec. 6. The week of Dec. 13-18 is anticipated to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week. Additionally, the Postal Service predicts that nearly 2.3 billion pieces of First-Class Mail, including greeting cards and packages, will be processed, and delivered the week of Dec. 13.

Skip the Trip and Ship Online

Consumers don’t have to leave home to ship their packages. They can visit usps.com for available at-home shipping options. It’s estimated nearly 500,000 consumers will use the Click-N-Ship feature and other online services on Dec. 14 to order free Priority Mail boxes*, print shipping labels, purchase postage and request free next-day Package Pickup.

Dec. 19 is predicted to be the Postal Service’s busiest day online with more than 12.5 million consumers expected to visit usps.com for help shipping that special holiday gift. And usps.com is always open.

More tips for a successful holiday mailing and shipping season:

• Use free Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. They are available at Post Office locations or online at usps.com/freeboxes.
• Make it easy with the Click-N-Ship feature. You can create shipping labels and pay for postage online at usps.com/ship.
• Schedule a free Package Pickup when the carrier delivers your mail. It’s free regardless of the number of packages. Pickups can be scheduled at usps.com/pickup.

• Mail and packages that weigh more than 10 ounces or are more than a half-inch thick and using stamps as postage cannot be dropped into a collection box or left for a carrier to pick up. Instead, take them to a local Post Office.
  

2021 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

The Postal Service recommends the following mailing and shipping deadlines for expected delivery by Dec. 25 to Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office (APO/FPO/DPO) and domestic addresses*:

• Dec. 9 — APO/FPO/DPO (all ZIP Codes) Priority Mail and First-Class Mail
• Dec. 17 — First-Class Mail service (including greeting cards)
• Dec. 18 — Priority Mail service
• Dec. 23 — Priority Mail Express* service

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

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

###