Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2026: USPS and UPS Dates for Toy Retailers

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Hanukkah running Dec. 4 through Dec. 12, toy retailers have a shorter window than the Christmas calendar alone suggests. The U.S. Postal Service says on its 2026 holiday shipping page that Hanukkah "is earlier this year so please adjust accordingly."

USPS send-by dates

For expected delivery before Dec. 25 in the lower 48 states, USPS recommends these send-by dates: Thursday, Dec. 17, for USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail; Friday, Dec. 18, for Priority Mail; and Saturday, Dec. 19, for Priority Mail Express. The same First-Class, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express dates apply to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and U.S. territories. Ground Advantage between the contiguous United States and those locations has a service expectation of 10 days or more, and USPS tells mailers to look up ZIP-to-ZIP times before they ship. For international packages, USPS recommends Wednesday, Dec. 9, for First-Class Package International Service and Priority Mail International to every region listed on its chart, and Wednesday, Dec. 16, for Priority Mail Express International. Delivery can vary by origin, destination and when the package is accepted. Military send-by dates are on the same USPS page. (USPS release, Sept. 22, 2026)

UPS holiday schedule

UPS will have no pickup or delivery on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. On Christmas Eve, UPS says there is no Ground pickup, and Air pickups are only if they were prearranged by Dec. 18. Starting Monday, Nov. 16, and running through Jan. 8, 2027, UPS says a limited number of UPS Ground and UPS Standard packages will need additional time in transit (UPS holiday schedule). On Nov. 9, The UPS Store, a UPS company, posted recommended ship-by dates for domestic delivery by Dec. 24: Monday, Dec. 21, for UPS 3 Day Select; Tuesday, Dec. 22, for UPS 2nd Day Air; and Wednesday, Dec. 23, for UPS Next Day Air. Those dates are subject to change. UPS says the last day to ship depends on the service, the origin and the destination, so confirm the transit time at ups.com before promising a customer a delivery date.

The season at stake

The National Retail Federation, in its Oct. 15 forecast, expects November and December retail sales of $1.013 trillion, up 4.2 percent from 2025. NRF defines the holiday season as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 and excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.

What to do now

For toy retailers, post the USPS and UPS dates at the register and on the store website, and tell shoppers buying for Hanukkah to ship earlier than the Christmas cutoffs. Finish wholesale reorders before the Thanksgiving close, when UPS will not move packages. For toy manufacturers filling late orders, state the carrier and service you will use, and do not promise a Dec. 24 or Dec. 25 arrival on a Ground shipment that has not left by mid-December. Check the USPS and UPS pages again as the dates approach, because both say schedules can change.