Guide
When should my store stop promising Christmas delivery in 2026?
Part 1
The 2026 last ship dates, and the order-by date at 1 or 2 handling days
USPS dates are its recommended send-by dates for delivery before December 25 in the lower 48 states.1 FedEx dates are for arrival by December 24, and FedEx gives Ground and Home Delivery a separate date for each transit time, typically 1 to 5 business days within the contiguous US.2
| Carrier | Service | Last ship date | Order-by, 1 handling day | Order-by, 2 handling days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USPS1 | Ground Advantage, First-Class Mail | Thu. Dec. 17 | Wed. Dec. 16 | Tue. Dec. 15 |
| USPS1 | Priority Mail | Fri. Dec. 18 | Thu. Dec. 17 | Wed. Dec. 16 |
| USPS1 | Priority Mail Express | Sat. Dec. 19 | Thu. Dec. 17 | Wed. Dec. 16 |
| FedEx2 | Ground Economy | Tue. Dec. 15 | Mon. Dec. 14 | Fri. Dec. 11 |
| FedEx2 | Ground and Home Delivery, 5-day transit | Thu. Dec. 17 | Wed. Dec. 16 | Tue. Dec. 15 |
| FedEx2 | Ground and Home Delivery, 4-day transit | Fri. Dec. 18 | Thu. Dec. 17 | Wed. Dec. 16 |
| FedEx2 | Ground and Home Delivery, 3-day transit | Mon. Dec. 21 | Fri. Dec. 18 | Thu. Dec. 17 |
| FedEx2 | Ground and Home Delivery, 2-day transit | Tue. Dec. 22 | Mon. Dec. 21 | Fri. Dec. 18 |
| FedEx2 | Ground and Home Delivery, 1-day transit | Wed. Dec. 23 | Tue. Dec. 22 | Mon. Dec. 21 |
| FedEx2 | Express Saver | Mon. Dec. 21 | Fri. Dec. 18 | Thu. Dec. 17 |
| FedEx2 | 2Day and 2Day AM | Tue. Dec. 22 | Mon. Dec. 21 | Fri. Dec. 18 |
| FedEx2 | First, Priority and Standard Overnight | Wed. Dec. 23 | Tue. Dec. 22 | Mon. Dec. 21 |
- UPS isn't in the table. Its holiday schedule page didn't load for us on October 28, 2026. Read it before you set a UPS cutoff.3
- FedEx says these dates are subject to change, and posts updates on its holiday page.2 We read them on October 28, 2026.
- Alaska and Hawaii aren't in the FedEx Ground rows. FedEx Ground typically takes 3 to 7 business days to and from them.2 USPS gives Ground Advantage between the lower 48 and Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico a service expectation of 10 days or more, and no holiday date.1
- USPS international closes earlier. USPS recommends sending Priority Mail International to Canada by Wed. Dec. 9, 9 days before domestic Priority Mail.1
- This table is for orders you ship yourself. Orders Amazon or Walmart fulfills for you run on that marketplace's dates.
Part 2
Set your banner from the slowest service you offer for free
Do this first
- Find the slowest service you offer for free. For FedEx Ground, use the longest transit any of your buyers in the contiguous US gets. Read that row's column for your handling days.
- Put that date in your store's announcement bar before Black Friday, as the last day to order for Christmas delivery.
- The day after it passes, change the bar to a service with a later order-by date, or to a gift card.
- A Saturday ship date counts as the Friday before. A store that ships Monday to Friday can't hand over a parcel on Saturday, so the table treats Priority Mail Express's Sat. Dec. 19 as Fri. Dec. 18, which gives it the same order-by dates as Priority Mail.
Want to see which channel your December actually came from?
Sentopi's monthly report puts Amazon, Shopify and every other channel on one page, so January starts with what sold, where and why. The first month is free, and we never log in to your accounts.