Illinois Shoppers, Here Are The 2024 Holiday Shipping Deadlines

I know, we're less than a week into the month of November, and here I am posting information about when you need to have your holiday gift packages wrapped up and shipped out.

I figured it would be a good thing to have all of that info ready to go now, so you're not scrambling at the last minute to get your gifts sent, or worse, lamenting the fact that you missed a shipping deadline.

Just print this out and stick it on the fridge next to the school year artwork, and you'll be ready to become the gift-wrapping-package-shipping holiday star you were born to be.

With An Expectation Of 200 Million-Plus Packages Being Delivered Every Week During The Holiday Season, Let's Make Sure You Have The Right Shipping Deadlines

Holiday shipping deadlines are the latest dates you can ship a package with a carrier and have your shipment get to its destination in time for the holidays, so knowing what UPS, USPS, and FedEx have marked as deadlines should keep everyone on your gift list happy on the big day.

According to the 2024 Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey, which polled consumers on holiday gifts and expenditures, gift-givers in Illinois and throughout the country are expected to spend $1,778 this holiday season (up 8 percent compared to 2023) and average planning to purchase nine gifts, surpassing an average of $1,496 they spent in 2019.

Other notes from the survey:

• 70 percent of surveyed consumers said they expect higher prices (aligning with findings in 2023 and 2022), indicating ongoing stress between wanting to be festive and wanting to be financially savvy.
• Shoppers who plan to buy gifts for themselves this year dropped to 32 percent, compared to 48 percent last year, with an average estimated spend of $250.
• One-fourth of consumers said they plan to host a holiday gathering, invite an average of 10 guests and spend an average of $261. To offset costs, 47 percent said they would ask guests to bring food or beverages while 31 percent said they would opt for more intimate gatherings.

Here Are The Major Carriers, And Their Holiday Shipping Deadlines For 2024

USPS

Dec. 18: This is the last day for retail ground shipping.

Dec. 18: This is the last day for first-class mail service (including greeting cards) and packages up to 15.99 ounces.

Dec. 19: This is the last day for Priority Mail service.

Dec. 21: This is the last day for Priority Mail Express service.

More information on USPS holiday shipping deadlines can be found here.

FedEx

Dec. 13: This is the last day for FedEx Ground service.

Dec. 19: This is the last day for FedEx Express Saver and 3Day Freight services.

Dec. 24: This is the last day for FedEx 2Day A.M. and 2Day Freight services.

Dec. 22: This is the last day for FedEx 1Day Freight, Extra Hours, Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight and First Overnight services.

Dec. 23: This is the last day for FedEx SameDay, SameDay City Priority and SameDay City Direct services.

More information on FedEx holiday shipping deadlines can be found here.

UPS

Dec. 15: This is the last day for UPS Ground service.

Dec. 19: This is the last day for UPS 3-Day Select service.

Dec. 20: This is the last day for UPS 2nd Day Air service.

Dec. 23: This is the last day for UPS Next Day Air service.

More information on UPS holiday shipping deadlines can be found here.