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If you want to make sure your post gets to its destination in time this Christmas, these could be some key dates for your diary.
The Royal Mail has announced its recommended cut-off dates for international and domestic posting as well as 1st and 2nd Class mail this year. The deadlines are issued each festive season to ensure the UK’s post gets delivered by 25th December.
“Given that our mail bag triples at Christmas, the posting dates are to ensure that customers’ cards are delivered in time for Christmas day so they can be enjoyed,” Royal Mail spokesperson Henry Perry told Country Living.
This year, the last day for posting a 2nd Class delivery is Wednesday 18th December. For first class mail, it’s Friday 20th December. And if you’re posting abroad, you’ll need to be quick – airmail to all non-European destinations has a recommended postal date of Saturday 5th October.
In the past, the Royal Mail’s busiest week of the year has started around 9th December, when it delivers to almost 30 million addresses across the UK. In 2016, the postal service processed and delivered 138 million parcels in December alone.
According to research, the average household plans to send 18 Christmas cards to friends and family this year. Following the well-reported strain in Decembers gone by, the Royal Mail recruited around 20,000 temporary staff in a bid to beat the festive rush in 2017.
See the key posting dates in full below:
UK service
- Wednesday 18th December for Second Class mail
- Friday 20th December for First Class mail (and Royal Mail Tracked 48)
- Saturday 21st December for Royal Mail Tracked 24
- Monday 23rd December for Special Delivery
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY
All the latest recommended posting dates for International Economy mail for Christmas 2019 are:
- Saturday 5th October – All non-European destinations (except South Africa, the USA, Canada)
- Saturday 5th October – Middle and Far East (except Hong Kong and Singapore)
- Saturday 12th October – South Africa, Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA, Canada
- Saturday 2nd November – Eastern Europe, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Malta and Iceland
- Saturday 16th November – Western Europe
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
The International Standard & International tracking and signature services for Christmas 2019 are:
- Monday 9th December – Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central and South America, Far and Middle East
- Tuesday 10th December – Cyprus, Malta
- Wednesday 11th December – Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia)
- Thursday 12th December – Australia, Greece, New Zealand and Turkey
- Saturday 14th December – Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, USA
- Monday 16th December – Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
- Wednesday 18th December – Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg
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