As the festive season draws ever closer, people will be beginning their preparations for sending Christmas parcels across the world - putting Santa Claus to shame with their planning skills!
Things tend to take a little longer over the festive period, with the postal service busier than ever on the run up to the big day. So, when posting letters and parcels over Christmas, it's always best to leave a couple of days wiggle-room to make sure your deliveries get there in time.
However, there are deadlines enforced by Royal Mail to keep the demand at a manageable level. Read on below to find out the cut-off dates for sending things in the UK and overseas.
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What are the last posting dates in the UK?
The following dates are the final cut-offs for sending letters and parcels in time for Christmas:
What are the last posting dates for sending using international economy?
Unfortunately, the deadline for posting to non-European destinations has passed, meaning it is too late to get things delivered to these locations before Christmas.
International standard, tracking and signature services deadlines
There is good news, however, as you can still use other services to send post in time for Christmas internationally. You can send things via standard delivery, but this will cost more than economy.
The deadlines are approaching fast for these services too, as shown below:
- December 1 - Australia and New Zealand
- December 2 - China (People’s Republic)
- December 5 - All remaining Caribbean destinations
- December 7 - Africa, Asia (except China, People’s Republic), Central and South America, Far and Middle East
- December 8 - Cyprus and Malta
- December 9 - Greece, Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and Turkey
- December 10 - Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, USA
- December 12 - Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
- December 14 - Belgium, France, Luxembourg
The deadline has unfortunately passed for British Virgin Islands, Dominica and Anguilla.
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