As much as I hate to admit it, boys and girls, the holiday season is nearly upon us and that means *drum roll* downrange holiday mail deadlines.
I am one of these people for whom the “holiday season” does not start until the day after Thanksgiving. I begrudgingly do Christmas shopping year round because I simply cannot turn down a good deal, but you should see my indignation that Christmas garlands have already been hung downtown. That’s right! In late October. Why?!?
(Bah, humbug! There, I said it).
When it comes to taking care of our servicemembers downrange, holiday spirit must descend early to make sure it gets sent there in time. And while mail will no longer be sent to Iraq after Nov. 17, we still need to help Santa get to Afghanistan and everywhere else we have troops.
And so the postal service brings you: holiday mail 2011 deadlines. Ta-da!
Deadlines to ensure arrival by Dec. 25 are Nov. 12 for parcel post mail; Nov. 26 for space-available mail; Dec. 3 for parcel airlift mail; Dec. 10 for priority mail and first-class mail, letters and cards; and Dec. 17 for express mail military service.The Military Postal Service Agency highly encourages customers to mail packages on or before the dates for the specific mail category in order to avoid unplanned transportation delays. Not all Military or State Department post offices are eligible for Express Mail Military Service therefore, customers should plan accordingly.
And that’s that. Don’t expect much else from me on Christmas until after Thanksgiving. (God bless us, everyone! No wait, wrong character).
