Postal Service releases Hawaii-specific holiday mailing dates

With extended holiday hours of operation, shipping tips and mail volume info

Honolulu — Now that the last of the Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches have been consumed, it’s time for Hawaii residents to focus on Christmas shopping and shipping. The Postal Service is happy to assist its customers in that endeavor by providing suggested holiday mailing dates specific to Hawaii, a list of Post Offices that will feature extended hours of operation during the holidays, information about Automated Postal Centers, and holiday mailing tips.

Suggested Mailing Dates
Below are the dates that the Postal Service suggests Hawaii residents mail their letters, cards and packages to give them the best chances of reaching their destinations by Christmas.

*     Express Mail military service available to selected military Post Offices. Check with your local Post Office to determine availability.
**    Express Mail international service is available to 190 countries, with delivery in an average of 3-5 business days. Guaranteed, money-back service to Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
***  Except Africa and Central America; for those destinations, send First Class/Priority Mail by Dec.1 and Express Mail by Dec. 10.

Postal customers are asked to keep in mind that the above suggested mailing dates are not deadlines, implying that packages or letters will not arrive at their destinations if mailed after the listed dates. In fact, if normal holiday conditions prevail, chances are good that letters and packages sent shortly after the suggested dates will still make it to their destinations before Christmas. Ultimately, uncontrollable factors such as mailing volumes and weather determine whether deliveries can be made early or on time.

Extended Holiday Hours

• Beginning Dec. 8, 27 Post Offices across the state will extend their hours of operation to accommodate the increased holiday mail volume.
• Three of those 27 offices—the Ala Moana, Airport and Mililani Post Offices—will even be open for business on Sunday Dec. 16. The Ala Moana and Airport Post Offices are also open on Sunday, Dec. 9.
• The complete list of offices with extended hours follows. Customers can call 1-800-ASK-USPS or go to USPS.com and click on “Locate a Post Office” in the tool bar to determine specific hours of operation of individual offices.

Aina Haina                                                
Airport                                                      
Ala Moana                                                 
Barbers Point                                            
Downtown                                                 
Ewa Beach                                               
Haleiwa
Hawaii Kai                                                
Hilo Downtown
Hilo Main Office
Kahului
Kailua
Kaimuki
Kaneohe
Kapalama
Lihue
Makawao
Makiki
Mililani
Pearl City
Pukalani
Wahiawa
Waialae-Kahala
Waianae
Waikiki
Wailuku
Waipahu

Automated Postal Centers
The self-service Automated Postal Centers (APCs) allow customers to purchase stamps, print and pay for postage for packages, and conduct other common transactions without the need to stand in line to see a mail clerk—an all-too-frequent necessity during holiday mailing season. Perhaps most important, customers can access the APCs 24/7, at times that are convenient to them. The Hawaii APCs are located outside or in the service lobbies of the 18 Post Offices below:
Aina Haina                   
Airport                          
Ala Moana                    
Downtown.                   
Hawaii Kai                    
Hilo Main Office
Kailua                          
Kailua-Kona                  
Kaneohe                      
Kihei
Lahaina
Makiki
Mililani
Moiliili
Waialae-Kahala
Waikiki
Wailuku
Waipahu

Mailing Tips
Here are some time-saving tips and free services to help make the holidays a little brighter:

• FREE package pickup: Prepare Priority Mail and Express Mail packages, then notify us online at usps.com/pickup that they’re ready to be picked up. Free package pickup is available from home or office. Unlike other shipping companies, there is no fee for the service.
• FREE packaging: Stop wasting time searching for a cardboard box or abandoned shoe box. Priority Mail and Express Mail envelopes and packages, including the popular Flat-Rate Box, are available for FREE at your local Post Office.
• FREE eco-friendly boxes and envelopes: Send a very “green” holiday message across town or around the world when sending Priority Mail and Express Mail packages and envelopes. The U.S. Postal Service is the only mailing or shipping company in the nation to achieve “Cradle to Cradle”SM Certification for human and environmental health. These supplies are 100 percent recyclable. To make it even easier, the same box can be used for domestic or international mail.
• FREE Holiday Guide: Sent to every residential address in the nation, the Holiday Guide provides helpful tips and resources as well as time-saving and stress-free services available online at usps.com.

Mail Volume
The Postal Service expects to deliver 20 billion pieces of mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, with the busiest mailing day set for Monday, Dec. 17. Total mail volume nationally for the busiest day should approach 1 billion pieces. The Postal Service estimates that about 8 million pieces of mail will be processed at the Honolulu Processing & Distribution Center on that day, a 29 percent increase over the typical non-holiday mail volume. The busiest delivery day in Hawaii is projected to be Tuesday, Dec. 18.