With holiday shipments up, post office has tips for Christmas delivery
Postmaster Alan Smith (left) of the U.S. Post Office in Marble Falls and post office clerk Lisa Ulbricht discuss the package rush as the suggested deadline for mailing Christmas gifts and cards approaches. Staff photo by Connie Swinney
CONNIE SWINNEY • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — As online shopping nearly doubles and mailing deadlines loom, postal officials have offered customers ideas to get their gifts and cards to their destinations in time for Christmas.
“They want to avoid the lines and the Black Fridays, so the online shopping is such this year that we have never seen before,” said Postmaster Alan Smith of the U.S. Post Office in Marble Falls. “Our projections are that we’re going to have one-and-a-half times the number of packages we had last year, and last year was the biggest we had in several years.”
Faciliities across the country promote more online services as they streamline distribution services.
“This time of year is what we live for. It sets the stage for trust factor and confidence. We have simplified that process,” Smith said. “Our whole goal is to make sure whatever you ship with us, we want to get it there the time you want it there.”
Officials offer the following tips when shipping holiday packages:
- Gather all necessary information and supplies in advance when possible
- Pack the gifts carefully in durable packaging paper
- Consider flat-rate boxes for shipping
- Send Priority Mail domestic packages by Dec. 19 for pre-Christmas Day arrival
Also, go online at USPS.com to order boxes that workers can ship to customers’ homes and consider printing your own labels.
“It’s called Click-N-Ship, where you can actually print out your label, have it pre-printed, and you can have the carrier pick it up for you if you’d like,” he said. “I do tell people to have it prepared and to mail early.”
connie@thepicayune.com