Full list of Christmas Day posting deadlines - one is just 10 DAYS away
Sending Christmas parcels can be a minefield, but a new list of courier cut-off dates shows exactly when gifts must be posted to arrive on time
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Sending cards and presents to friends and family over the Christmas period can be a complicated business - because you've got to ensure your parcel is in the courier's hands, or your card is in the post-box, before the cut-off date.
And with so many couriers operating to so many different deadlines, it's hard to know which one to use and when. The cheapest courier might have a catastrophically early cut-off date, and the most expensive one might do, too.
Obviously, it pays to be early, but we're busy people, so having time to shop around for cheap posting prices, and then cross-checking all the Christmas deadlines, is a chore we could do without.
Thankfully, there are companies that do all this for us. One of the market leaders is Parcel2Go, which scans the prices offered by all the major couriers and postal services, and then gives you a list of prices for sending your parcel.
This week Parcel2Go has gone one step further, though, and published a complete list of all the Christmas cut-off dates, so you know that the courier you choose will be able to deliver your present in time.
For example, you might see Evri pop up as a cheap courier service, but beware the early cut-off. If you don't post your presents before 11am on December 20, it won't arrive in time for Christmas day. Even on the next-day service.
You'll fare better with Parcelforce, DHL, UPS, and Royal Mail, because these cut off on December 22 - but they might be more expensive. You can find that out by using the calculator here.
And watch out for Yodel's economy service. It might be cheap, but if it's not in the courier's hands by December 15, you'll miss out. Mind you, Whistl appears to be the one to avoid if you're running late, because they need your consignment by December 12.
For a full list of the couriers and their cut-off times, click here.
