HOLT, Fla., Nov. 25, 2020—There’s only 29 shopping days left before Christmas.

But there’s even fewer days for people to get those packages mailed out of town.

And with area post offices closing at noon Dec. 24, those shopping days are numbered.

Holiday mail is expected to take longer this season because of a significant increase in mail volume due to the pandemic, according to a U.S. Postal Service news release.

The busiest time of the season peaks two weeks before Christmas, when much of the last-minute shopping starts, according to the release.

Customer traffic is expected to increase beginning Dec. 7 with the week of Dec. 14-21 predicted to be the busiest mailing, shipping and delivery week.

Because of that, it’s recommended people ship earlier than normal, as early in December as possible, to endure packages are delivered by Christmas.

2020 holiday shipping deadlines

Recommended mail-by dates:

• USPS retail ground service, 2-8 business days – Dec. 15
• First-class mail service, 1-3 business days – Dec. 18
• Priority mail, 1-3 business days – Dec. 19
• Priority mail express service, overnight to 2 days – Dec. 23
• International first-class mail – Dec. 7
• First-class military mail – Dec. 11, generally