2025 Holiday Shipping Deadlines: USPS, UPS & FedEx Cut-Off Dates

As the holiday season draws near, shipping deadlines are just around the corner! To help you out, we've made a list of key shipping dates and thrown in some handy tips to help make this busy shopping season go off without a hitch and help you stress less. 

2025 holiday season: Carrier deadlines

No matter which holiday your customers are celebrating, whether it's Hanukkah (December 14 to December 22), Christmas (December 25), Kwanzaa (December 26 to January 1, 2026), or any other special occasion, being aware of the shipping deadlines for this year can help ensure that their gifts arrive in time for the festivities. 

It is also important to note that while Hanukkah and Kwanzaa span over multiple days, Christmas is a one-day event. This means that even the slightest delay in delivery could have a significant impact on your customer's Christmas celebration, and could potentially affect your reviews as well. 

USPS holiday deadlines for delivery before December 25

Domestic (Lower 48 States)

• USPS Ground Advantage: Dec 17
• First-Class Mail: Dec 17
  
• Priority Mail: Dec 18
  
• Priority Mail Express: Dec 20
  
  

Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico & U.S. Territories

• Ground Advantage: Dec 16
  
• First-Class Mail: Dec 17
  
• Priority Mail: Dec 18
  
• Priority Mail Express: Dec 20

Full list of the cutoff dates for December 25 via USPS

USPS Christmas deadlines for shipping to military destinations 

We also want to ensure you know the delivery deadlines for military destinations. Therefore, for those who are sending holiday packages to Air or Army Post Offices, Fleet Post Offices, or Diplomatic Post Offices, here are the shipping deadlines to ensure those packages arrive in time: 

• Ground Advantage to APO/FPO/DPO: Nov 4
• First-Class Mail to APO/FPO/DPO: Dec 9
• Priority Mail to APO/FPO/DPO: Dec 9
• Priority Mail Express Military Service: Dec 16

FedEx holiday deadlines for delivery before December 25

U.S. Domestic

• FedEx Ground Economy: Dec 15
• FedEx Express Saver: Dec 20
• FedEx 2Day: Dec 22
• FedEx SameDay: Dec 24

U.S. to Canada

• FedEx International Connect Plus: Dec 17
• FedEx International Economy: Dec 18
• FedEx International Priority: Dec 19
• FedEx International First: Dec 20
• FedEx International Next Flight: Dec 23 

U.S. to Mexico

• FedEx International Connect Plus: Dec 19
• FedEx International Economy: Dec 19
• FedEx International Priority: Dec 20
• FedEx International First: Dec 20
• FedEx International Next Flight: Dec 23

UPS holiday deadlines for delivery before December 25

UPS Ground: Check the website - http://ups.com/ctc  - for deadlines

For U.S. Domestic (to arrive on or before Dec 24):

• UPS 3 Day Select: Dec 19
  
• UPS 2nd Day Air: Dec 22
  
• UPS Next Day Air: Dec 23

For U.S. to Canada:

• UPS Worldwide Expedited: Dec 22 
• UPS Worldwide Express: Dec 23
  
  

U.S. to Mexico:

• UPS Worldwide Expedited: Dec 19
• UPS Worldwide Express: Dec 22

Full list of recommended last days to ship for December 24 delivery via UPS

Shipping deadlines for Hanukkah &
Kwanzaa in 2025

Hanukkah

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, will take place December 14 to December 22 this year. If you don't mind your presents arriving early, you can follow the same shipping deadlines above. Or, if you can, go to the individual shipping carrier websites to find a delivery date that works best for you. 

Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa this year starts on December 26 and ends on January 1, 2026. Because the day before Kwanzaa is a national holiday, if you want your package to be delivered before the first day of Kwanzaa, you can use the shipping deadlines above. 

Fulfilling orders this holiday season?
Here are some tips to help you out

The holiday season is not only a lucrative time for businesses, but it is also a period where things can easily go wrong, resulting in negative reviews. It is crucial to prioritize customer satisfaction and ensure that orders are delivered on time, so that no one is left without their gift. To assist you in this endeavor, we have compiled a list of tips to make this season merry and bright.

Add a buffer 

To reduce unnecessary stress and headaches during the holiday season, it's wise to include a buffer when communicating shipping deadlines to your customers. By incorporating a buffer, you can guarantee that the promised packages will arrive on time, bringing joy to your customers' holiday celebrations.

Evaluate last year to plan for this year

To ensure that you don't underestimate delivery times, it's important to consider past trends and anticipate the level of order fulfillment activity your team will experience in the days leading up to December 25. Doing so lets you determine the optimal expected delivery date to share with your customers and avoid any potential delays.

Mark the cutoff date and time for holiday delivery

To effectively plan for this holiday season, it's valuable to consider the previous years' warehouse and team activity. This will allow you to calculate the time it takes to fulfill an order and determine when you should notify customers that their package might not arrive in time. Additionally, running corresponding promotions can inform potential customers of the expected timeframe for delivery. For example, sending out engaging email campaigns like "Only 2 Days Left to Receive Your Holiday Gift" can prompt action and gently remind individuals who may be overwhelmed by the holiday season and end-of-year activities.

Pivot to gift cards or run a "treat yourself" promotion after holiday shipping deadlines

Even though packages will no longer arrive in time for the holidays, there are still opportunities to boost sales before the festivities begin. Take advantage of the post-deadline period by running two enticing promotions:

1. Promote digital gift cards to your email subscribers and website visitors, offering a convenient solution for last-minute shoppers to find the perfect gift just in time for the holiday.

2. Run a promotion that encourages customers to treat themselves instead of buying gifts for others. Pair this with a tempting sale to entice individuals to indulge in some well-deserved self-care.

Remember, there are always creative ways to keep the holiday sales momentum going, even if shipping deadlines have passed.

Streamline & simplify your shipping with Zenventory

During the busiest time of the year, you shouldn’t be stressing about rate hikes, hunting for the lowest-cost service, or juggling multiple shipping tools. ZenShip, Zenventory’s built-in multi-carrier shipping engine, does the heavy lifting for you.

With ZenShip, you get pre-negotiated carrier discounts, real-time rate shopping, intelligent service recommendations, batch label generation, and automated packing workflows, all in one place. So, whether you’re fulfilling from one warehouse or many, Zenventory helps you ship smarter, faster, and with total cost visibility.

Zenventory doesn’t just save you time at the packing station. It also streamlines everything upstream, from inventory updates to order routing, so your entire operation moves in sync during peak season and beyond.

Let us show you how we can help by booking a free product demo here.

Remember: Nothing is guaranteed

The deadlines in this blog are the carriers' recommendations and do not account for storms and other challenges that might arise during peak season. By shipping out earlier, you can avoid any potential mishaps.