Post Office announces Christmas mailing dates

For international and military mail

It’s never too early to start planning for overseas holiday mailings, according to Michelle Saracusa, acting manager of marketing for the Massachusetts Postal District.

With thousands of American troops and civilians stationed around the world, the coming weeks will be a busy time for mailing international and military parcels and packages, she said.

She listed below the major dates recommended for mail to be delivered by Dec. 25.

Nov. 13 —Parcel Post to military APO/FPO addresses.
Dec. 4 —First-Class Mail letters and cards or Priority Mail to military APO AE ZIP 093 addresses.
Dec. 11 —First-Class Mail letters and cards or Priority Mail to all other military APO/FPO addresses.
Dec. 18—Express Mail Military Service to all military APO/FPO addresses except APO ZIP 093.
Dec. 4 —Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to Africa and Central or South America.
Dec. 11 —Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to all other International Mail locations.
Dec. 12—Express Mail International to Africa and Central and South America.
Dec. 17 —Express Mail International to all other countries (except Canada, Dec. 18).
Dec. 19—Global Express Guaranteed to Africa, Asia/Pacific Rim, Australia/New Zealand, Central and South America and the Middle East.
Dec. 22—Canada, Caribbean, Mexico and Europe.

“We hope the publication of these dates will prove beneficial to persons mailing cards and gifts to foreign countries so they will arrive in a timely manner,” she said.

She said the Postal Service’s website www.usps.com can prove to be a helpful resource during this holiday mailing season, offering a wide variety of links to mailing and shipping tools.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation — 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.