USPS shares holiday shipping date guidelines

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- With Black Friday and online shopping deals hitting stores early, the United States Postal Service is preparing for its busiest time of year.

As Americans plan to splurge on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday deals, there are important guidelines the USPS recommends shoppers follow.

The St. Joseph United States Postal Service (USPS) is in its 250th year and preparing for another holiday season of delivering to people nationwide. 

For the delivery service, one of the biggest concerns for customers is arrival time and how to properly ship their packages.

“If you're mailing a package, especially presents, we ask that you don't wrap the package. If you do wrap the package, place it in another box, make sure that the package is large enough and then the contents are well secured," USPS Strategic Communications Specialist Tara Jarrett said.

For USPS, the earliest shipping times are the most important tip for this time of year.

The USPS recommends packages shipping domestically by these dates to arrive before the Christmas holiday:

• USPS Ground Advantage Service: Dec. 17 

• Priority Mail Service: Dec. 18 

• Priority Express Service: Dec. 20
  

For those concerned about arrival times, USPS, like many other postal services, has package tracking for shipped items.