USPS holiday mail collection, hours

HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - No matter where you went, there was no getting around it. All the packages, all the people. It's the same thing on the same day every year: Monday, two weeks before Christmas.

“Today is the busiest mailing day of the holiday season,” U.S. Postal Service Spokesperson Fran Sansone told WAVY.com

More than a million cards and letters will be process in Hampton Roads to be sent just about everywhere, she said.

At the Witchduck Station Post Office on Columbus St. in Virginia Beach, some people had to bring a little patience to pack while waiting in line. "My husband is still waiting, but we didn't do too bad did we buddy,” Sara Mulkey said to her toddler son outside the building.

Even still, there was a plan in place to alleviate any frustrations.

“We do have a lobby director out here helping folks making sure they have the right form and they have all the packaging materials they need,” Sansone said.

It made things go a bit smoother, but not quite as smooth as Tom Mister. He walked to the door with a tub full of packages, marked, stamped and ready for mail. All he had to do was drop them off.

“But if [the drop box] its jammed up, we're stuck and we have to wait and give it to somebody.”

There was no jamming. Mister was in and out in less than 5 minutes.

But for customers who had to wait just a little longer, there were people on the other side of the counter ready and happy to wait on them. “This is like a great time of the year for us, we really like it, it gets really busy and it's a good feeling helping people get their packages on the way,” Sansone added.

The United States Post Office is predicting Monday will be the heaviest card and letter mailing day of the holiday season. One million cards and letters are expected to be postmarked on Monday alone. That's a lot compared to the typical 435,000 or so delivered on a typical day, according to the USPS.

Post office officials say the next busiest day will be next Monday, December 21. You're encouraged to get any holiday cards and letter mail ready to post by December 20.

"Those cards will be processed and dispatched first," said Virginia Beach Postmaster Gerald Roane in a news release, "and they'll get to their destination sooner as well."

The USPS recommends the following mail-by dates:

Dec. 16 - Parcel Post Dec. 21 - First-Class Mail
Dec. 21 - Priority Mail
Dec. 23 - Express Mail

Postal service hours:

The post office will not be open for retail or delivery service on Christmas Day and New Year's Day except for Express Mail delivery. However, all offices will be open Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but some smaller offices may shorten retail hours. All retail offices normally open on Saturdays will close at noon on Dec. 26. Although a lobby notice will be posted for operating hours changes, customers should check with their local office for specific retail hours. Regular mail delivery will be unaffected on Dec. 26.

Other shipping companies:

FedEx is also expecting a busy day on Monday. Officials expect to process over 13 million shipments on Monday alone. Last year, FedEx shipped over 12 million packages on its busiest day of Dec. 15, 2008. On an average day, more than 7.5 million packages move through the FedEx systems daily.

As for the United Parcel Service (UPS), Monday in not its busiest day of the year. UPS officials expect December 21 to be the busiest day of the year. TO LEARN MORE CLICK HERE.