Christmas is the busiest time of the year for Royal Mail, with the postal service handling heaps of cards, gifts and greetings destined for all over the world.
As usual, the advice is to try to post early to make sure your package arrives there in time for Christmas, especially if you are posting to a distant overseas destination, like Australia or New Zealand.
But this is not always possible, and you may need to leave it to the last minute.
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Royal Mail has published the latest recommended posting dates to different destinations for each international service.
The following are the latest dates for Australia, USA, New Zealand, and Canada. They were correct at the time of publishing, but subject to change, especially as Covid-19 restrictions are likely to tighten.
You can use the branch finder to find out the opening times for your local post office.
Royal Mail International Standard and International Tracking and Signature services
The last recommended posting date for Australia and New Zealand is Monday, December 6, while for Canada and the USA it is the following Monday, December 13.
Royal Mail International Economy
The last recommended posting dates have now passed for this service. According to the Royal Mail website, it was September 13 for Australia and New Zealand, and November 1 for Canada and the USA.
Parcelforce International
Australia
- globalexpress: Thursday 16 December
- globalpriority: Monday 6 December
- globalvalue: Saturday 4 December
Canada
- globalexpress: Monday 20 December
- globalpriority: Thursday 9 December
- globalvalue: Tuesday 7 December
New Zealand
- globalexpress: Thursday 16 December
- globalpriority: Wednesday 8 December
- globalvalue: Monday 6 December
USA
- globalexpress: Monday 20 December
- globalpriority: Sunday 12 December
- globalvalue: Wednesday 8 December
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