Royal Mail last Christmas posting dates 2021 – all the deadlines for your diary

Some packages have to be sent off today if you want to be sure they will reach their destination in time for December 25, especially if you are sending them overseas

Christmas is now just 25 days away – and shoppers are being urged to get presents in the post in time to make sure they arrive in time for Christmas Day.

The Post Office and its parcel arm, Parcelforce , are gearing up for its busiest time of year, as Brits send Christmas cards and presents by the millions.

To make sure your presents turn up to your loved ones in time, it is worth getting them in the post early – especially if they are going overseas.

With that in mind, here are the final deadlines to make sure your packages arrive in time for Christmas if you are using the Post Office or Parcelforce.

Sending to UK addresses

Have you been caught out by post deadlines? Message mirror.money.saving@miror.co.uk

Here are the latest recommended posting dates for all services to UK addresses.

Royal Mail 2nd Class & 2nd Class Signed For – December 18

Royal Mail 1st Class & 1st Class Signed For – December 21

Parcelforce Worldwide express48, express48large – December 22

Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed – December 23

Sending to overseas addresses

The Royal Mail has published delivery deadlines to send Christmas packages to the most popular locations for Brits.

Royal Mail International Standard and International Tracking and Signature – The nearest deadline is December 1, for the Caribbean, and then December 6 for Australia, Greece, Italy, Portugal and New Zealand.

For Canada and the US, it’s December 13.

Royal Mail International Economy – the deadlines to guarantee Christmas delivery have already passed, so it is best to pick other options if you have presents to send.

ParcelforceInternational – December 1 to 20 depending on whether you pick its globalvalue, globalpriority or globalexpress options and where in the world you are posting a package.

For example, sending a parcel by globalpriority to Russia means sending it off by December 1.

Sending one by globalexpress to countries like Spain and France means you have until December 20.

A fill list of the Post Office and Parcelforce deadlines is here .

But getting packages in the post early is recommended.

Not only does it mean they have a better chance of getting there for Christmas, but it also means they can sit and look pretty under your loved ones’ Christmas trees.

Last week The Mirror reported that Britain’s parcel delivery firms are failing on standards , a report has found, with Hermes falling bottom of the table .

Yodel also came last in a survey by Citizens Advice and while Amazon Logistics was top, all the firms had performance issues.

There are “huge cracks” in the sector, the charity said, ahead of the Christmas rush.

It also warned firms are failing on trust – and leaving consumers out of pocket as a result.

Hermes and Yodel performed the worst, scoring 1.5 and 1.75 stars respectively.

Amazon Logistics scored highest, but with just 2.75 stars overall.