The United States Postal Service is reminding about shipping deadlines to ensure gifts arrive by Christmas Day.

The agency reports the following deadlines:

• December 16: USPS Ground Advantage Service for shipments from Alaska and Hawaii  
• December 17: USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail for packages sent from the contiguous United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii
• December 18: Priority Mail
• December 20: Priority Mail Express 

USPS Ground Advantage Service or First-Class Mail Service customers have until December 17th while Priority Mail Service users have until December 18th and Priority Mail Express Service customers have until December 20th.

The deadline for USPS Ground Advantage Service for shipments from Alaska and Hawaii is December 16th and international shipping deadlines vary.

The USPS expects a high volume of packages, but says they have increased  processing capacity to handle an estimated 88 million packages per day.

The USPS is emphasizing the importance of sending packages early to avoid delays.