Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Last Posting Dates for Christmas 2020
Moneymagpie Team
24th Nov 2020
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… if you plan ahead! Even with lockdown easing, many of us are choosing to stay at home for Christmas. That means the Royal Mail and postal services will be busier than ever delivering cards and parcels to your loved ones! Here’s what you need to know about last posting dates for Christmas 2020.
UK Mail
You’ve got more time than international mail to send your cards and gifts. However, make sure you anticipate delays as the postal service is expecting an overwhelming amount of parcels and letters being sent this year!
Your last posting dates for Christmas 2020 in the UK are:
- Friday 18th December 2020 – 2nd Class (including Signed For)
- Monday 21st December 2020 – First Class (including Signed For and Tracked 48)
- Tuesday 22nd December – Tracked 24
- Wednesday 23rd December – Special Delivery Guaranteed
Remember – these are the last posting dates so if you can send a few days earlier then your recipient is more likely to receive their items! This is particularly important to remember if you’re sending parcels – should the recipient be out when the postman delivers, they might not receive their parcel until after Christmas due to redelivery or collection times.
It’s also worth sending as early as you can because it’s much cheaper, too! The slower services start from just 65p for a second class letter – while Special Delivery Guaranteed is a minimum cost of £6.70 for a small parcel weighing less than 100g – up to a whopping £44.20 for items over 20kg.
International Mail
You’ve already missed the deadlines for the cheapest options – those are in October and November every year. But don’t fret! There’s still time to send parcels abroad.
Your last posting dates for Christmas 2020 internationally are:
- Friday 4th December 2020 for Australia and New Zealand
- Wednesday 9th December 2020 for Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central and South America, Far and Middle East
- Thursday 10th December 2020 for Canada, Cyprus, and Malta
- Friday 11th December 2020 for Greece, Turkey, and Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia)
- Saturday 12th December 2020 for the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and USA
- Wednesday 16th December 2020 Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, and Switzerland
- Friday 18th December 2020 Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg
With so many international travel disruptions lately, it’s even more important to try and post your items well before these last posting dates if you want to guarantee they’ll arrive in time for Christmas! Remember, too, that your recipient may need to pay customs charges to release their parcel – which adds time to the journey, too.
Using Couriers
The last posting dates for Christmas 2020 are for the Royal Mail. If you prefer, you could try using a courier like MyHermes or DPD to send your parcels instead.
These services are very competitively priced – but many have found difficulties if their parcels are lost or broken in transit. The customer services departments are often overwhelmed at the best of times – and with reduced operational hours for many due to Covid restrictions, you might have a frustrating time of it!
However, couriers can be a faster way to get your parcel to someone – making them ideal if you want to deliver at a certain day and time.
More importantly, you can use courier services to collect your parcels. This means you don’t even have to leave the house to send them – which is ideal for anyone who is required to self isolate or shield.
Compare prices with the main couriers – and check if they do collection from home – to decide which one to use. The main courier services include:
Consider a Delayed Christmas
We’re not seeing friends and family this year in the way we’re used to at Christmas. Sending gifts is a nice way to connect with them while you’re apart – but why not save money this year? Instead of sending gifts through the post, wait until we’re able to get together properly again. You’ll not only save on postage costs – you’ll reduce your carbon footprint AND could delay buying gifts until the January sales!
Alternatively, think about sending e-cards instead of paper ones, or digital gifts. This could be gift cards – but also try signing loved ones up to receive a subscription box for a few months. It’s a recurring present that they’ll love! From beauty boxes to food hampers, there are tons of different types of subscription box out there. It’s a nice way to connect with loved ones over an extended period of time – and postage is included so you don’t have to worry about that!
Very useful information.