Does mail get delivered on Christmas Eve 2018?

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 11: A US Postal worker delivers Amazon boxes outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 11, 2018 in New York City. Following a massive sell-off of over 800 points yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 100 points in morning trading. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) /

Expecting some last minute deliveries before Christmas? Mail will be delivered on Christmas Eve along with package delivery from UPS and FedEx.

With the prevalence of online shopping for the holidays there has been an increase in package deliveries leading up to the holiday. With Christmas Day falling on a Tuesday, the only business day beforehand is Christmas Eve. Thankfully there is mail delivery on Christmas Eve.

This year’s holiday schedule is tricky for deliveries. Many shipping companies don’t deliver on Saturdays, and the major shipping companies don’t deliver at all on Sundays. That leaves a ton of mail to be delivered on Monday, which is also Christmas Eve.

The big exception to all of this is Amazon. Since Amazon relies heavily upon its own couriers, you can expect those last minute Prime deliveries on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. In some cases there are drivers who deliver on Christmas Day, but that isn’t a guaranteed feature and shouldn’t be relied upon. Amazon is offering same day delivery or pick-up for many items on Christmas Eve so if you’re waiting until the last moment to shop for gifts, Amazon will be your best bet.

At this point there is no guarantee that Postal Service mail will arrive before Christmas, so it’s best to plan accordingly. If you need to send a last minute gift, Amazon will be able to ship directly and arrive on time provided that you meet the minimum shipping requirements for expedited shipping. Otherwise, sending electronic gift cards is another good option to guarantee on-time delivery.

Keep in mind that weather can negatively impact shipping, so even if a package has a guaranteed delivery on Christmas Eve a big storm can prevent the delivery from happening. That’s why it’s best to keep an eye on the weather and plan accordingly.

If you’re waiting on a package delivery, be sure to check the tracking information for status updates. With one day to deliver everything before Christmas, you can imagine how busy the post office and shipping centers will be.