DANVILLE, CA — With more and more people shopping and shipping online, the United States Postal Service is ready to deliver holiday packages to loved ones near and far. The first step is to make sure your package is properly packed and addressed before you bring it to the Post Office.

Danville Post Office Supervisor James Milan met with customers at the post office to demonstrate the best way to prepare their packages this season.

“We’re ready to deliver for the holidays this season. But incomplete addresses and boxes tied up with string-these are NOT a few of our favorite things,” said Milan. “There are some key tips our customers can take to ensure their packages reach their loved ones.”

• 1. Don’t leave delivered mail and packages unattended. Just as wallets and purses shouldn’t be left on the front seat of an unlocked car overnight, mail and packages shouldn’t be left uncollected in mailboxes or on front porches for any length of time.

• 2. Going out of town? Hold mail at the local Post Office. Instead of risking leaving a package unattended for an extended period of time, customers planning on being away from home for a few days are encouraged to take advantage of the Hold Mail service on USPS.com. Letters and packages will be held securely at the local Post Office until the customers return.

• 3. Plan ahead. Ship using Hold for Pickup. When shipping packages, customers can choose the Hold for Pickup option, and the recipients can collect the packages at their local Post Office. For customers receiving packages, they can redirect incoming packages to their local Post Office by selecting Hold for Pick up using USPS Package Intercept on USPS.com.

• 4. Customize the delivery. If the package doesn’t fit in the mailbox and the customer won’t be home to receive it, the customer can provide delivery instructions online and authorize the carrier to leave it in a specified location. Visit USPS.com, enter the tracking number and select Delivery Instructions.

• 5. Sign up for Informed Delivery. Customers can sign up for free at informeddelivery.usps.com to see what packages are en route and to receive daily emails showing what mail will be delivered. More than 40 million people have already signed up for Informed Delivery!

• 6. Monitor your front door. If you have a home security camera system, ensure it captures and saves activity at your front door and mailbox. If you catch any mail thieves in the act, save the video and alert your local Postal Inspectors. Video surveillance goes a long way in preventing crimes and catching the bad guys. You can reach U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455.

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. 5. The week of Dec. 12-17 is anticipated to be the busiest mailing, shipping, and delivery week.

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.

2022 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*:

• Overseas Military Mail (Priority and First-Class) – Dec. 9
• Overseas Military Mail (Priority Mail Express) – Dec. 16
• USPS Retail Ground, First Class– Dec. 17
• Priority Mail – Dec. 19
• Priority Mail Express – Dec. 23

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.

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