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san jose collage
San Jose
Serving San Jose, California (Santa Clara County)Vol. 1, No. 15
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Holiday gifts for troops overseas should be mailed by Dec. 9, the Postal Service says; Dec. 17 for most U.S. packages

The cheapest option for military addresses, Ground Advantage, had a Nov. 4 cutoff.  Free USPS tools show delivery times and track packages.

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Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026In the Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026 edition
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Shelves stacked with cardboard packages fill a post office back room, with more boxes in the aisle
Holiday packages fill the shelves of a U.S. Air Force base post office in England in December 2021. — Photo:  Senior Airman Joseph Barron / U.S. Air Force, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Holiday packages for service members at overseas military addresses should go out by Wednesday, Dec. 9, by First-Class Mail or Priority Mail to arrive by Christmas, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recommends.  The recommended date for the cheaper USPS Ground Advantage service to those addresses, known as APO, FPO and DPO, the military and diplomatic post offices that serve troops and embassy staff abroad, was Nov. 4.

Send-by dates within the lower 48 states

  • USPS Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail:  Thursday, Dec. 17.
  • Priority Mail:  Friday, Dec. 18.
  • Priority Mail Express:  Saturday, Dec. 19.

For Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories, the First-Class, Priority and Priority Express dates are the same, but Ground Advantage can take 10 days or more.  Packages to other countries should go by Dec. 9, or by Dec. 16 for Priority Mail Express International.  Hanukkah runs Dec. 4 to 12 this year, so USPS says to mail earlier for it.  The dates are recommendations, not guarantees.

Free USPS tools

  • Delivery-time lookup:  shows expected delivery days between two ZIP codes for a mailing date.
  • Informed Delivery:  a free daily email with pictures of letters on their way, plus tracking for incoming packages and redelivery scheduling.
  • Schedule a Pickup:  a free package pickup at your home.
  • Holiday Shipping Dates:  the full tables, including each military ZIP code group; USPS also offers free shipping boxes online and at Post Offices.

Source:  USPS:  2026 Holiday Shipping Deadlines; USPS news release, Sept. 22, 2026; USPS Informed Delivery, checked Nov. 10, 2026.

Drafted by AI from the linked public source. Approved by a Daily News Editor.

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