Military overseas holiday mail deadline is upon us

Post Office reminds Americans: Thursday, Dec. 4 is deadline to send holiday mail to U.S. troops in Iraq & Afghanistan;
and to Africa, Central & South America destinations

– The U.S. Postal Service is reminding Americans that Thursday, Dec. 4, is the deadline to mail holiday cards, letters and packages to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for delivery by Christmas. The Postal Service will of course work with military postal personnel to still try and deliver to the troops in those areas by Christmas even after this date, but getting your holiday mail sent there by Dec. 4 is best.

Holiday mail going to other overseas military locations should be sent by Dec. 11.  Express Mail is available for sending to most overseas military destinations until Dec. 18.
All packages and mail must be addressed to individual service members by name, in accordance with U.S. Dept. of Defense regulations. All military overseas units are assigned an APO or FPO ZIP Code and, in many cases, that ZIP Code travels with the unit. The Postal Service places APO/FPO mail on special transportation to be delivered to our military troops overseas as soon as possible. Customers can also receive discounts by shipping online at usps.com with free carrier pickup.

The Postal Service also reminds Americans that you can obtain a $2 discount and pay only $10.95 postage for using the Large Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box to mail to any overseas military APO/FPO address. The domestic mail price for using the large Flat-Rate Priority Mail box to mail to any U.S. destination is $12.95, also a great value.

Priority Mail Flat-Rate Boxes can be used to ship up to 70 lbs. at one low rate to any U.S. or overseas military destination. Flat-Rate boxes are free at any Post Office, or can be ordered online at usps.com. Postage, labels and customs forms can be printed online any time using Click-N-Ship at www.usps.com/clicknship.

The general deadline is Dec. 4 for mailing to countries in Africa, Central and South America.  The general deadline is Dec. 11 to send holiday letters and packages to most other international countries/destinations including Mexico, Canada, Europe and to Asia/the Pacific Rim. Customers can still mail to most international countries up to around Dec. 19 using Express Mail.
As for domestic deadlines and using regular mail, send holiday cards, letters and packages going to U.S. destinations out-of-state by Saturday, December 20; and in-state by Monday, Dec. 22, for delivery by Christmas. Using Express Mail, you still have time to mail packages to certain U.S. locations until Dec. 23.

For more information on holiday mailing, go to usps.com, call 1-800-ASK-USPS (1-800-275-8777) or contact your local Post Office.