The holiday window compresses everything—inventory turns, customer expectations, and carrier capacity. To keep your delivery promises (and your CS inbox quiet), you need a single view of when to ship and how carriers operate around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
Why Early Preparation Isn't Optional This Year
Here’s the thing: the holiday shopping rush brings opportunity, but it also brings chaos. Shipping delays, inventory shortages, customer service overload—these aren’t rare exceptions during peak season. They’re the default if you’re not ready.
Carriers publish two kinds of changes during peak: cutoffs (the last days to ship for a target delivery date) and operational adjustments (modified pickups, closures, and shifted commitment times). For 2025, UPS provides prescriptive “last days to ship for Dec 24 delivery” while also noting later delivery commitments on select time-definite services and extra transit days for a limited subset of parcels. FedEx lays out early/modified pickup windows, service pauses, and a 90-minute extension on time-definite commitments from Nov 29–Jan 4.
What this really means is simple: both carriers are operating at the edge of their capacity. You’re competing not just with other retailers for customer attention, but for space on trucks and planes. Building your plan early—stock positioning, staffing, customer-facing cutoffs—lets you add buffers where needed and avoid last-minute promise breaks.
There’s another layer most businesses miss. Building excitement takes time. Early preparation lets you create engaging content, run teaser campaigns, and build relationships with your audience before the rush hits. Your competitors who wait until November are already behind.
And let’s talk about last-minute shoppers. Customers make more impulse purchases during the holidays, especially in that final week. For those buyers, you need trending products in stock and ready to ship—not stuck in transit or sitting in a fulfillment center that’s already over capacity.
Holiday Shipping Deadlines for 2025
UPS (for arrival by Wednesday, Dec 24, 2025)
- UPS® Ground: Check lane transit time (varies by ZIP-to-ZIP distance)
- UPS 3 Day Select®: Friday, Dec 19
- UPS 2nd Day Air®: Monday, Dec 22
- UPS Next Day Air®: Tuesday, Dec 23 (with prearranged pickup or by tender at a UPS location)
International highlights from the U.S.:
- To Canada: Worldwide Expedited®—Dec 22; Worldwide Express®—Dec 23 (Standard varies; check transit)
- To Mexico: Worldwide Expedited®—Dec 19; Worldwide Express®—Dec 22 (Standard varies)
UPS Holiday Schedule
Thanksgiving (U.S.)
- Wed, Nov 26: Normal pickup and delivery; Next Day Air® picked up today delivers Fri, Nov 28; 2nd Day Air® picked up today delivers Mon, Dec 1 (unless labeled for Saturday, Nov 29)
- Thu, Nov 27 (Thanksgiving): No UPS pickup or delivery (critical service available)
- Fri, Nov 28: Normal pickup and delivery service
Thanksgiving sets the tone for peak. The next four weeks compress decision-making, your cutoffs tighten, and the final week before Christmas becomes all about precision.
Christmas
- Mon, Dec 22: Last day to ship UPS 2nd Day Air® to arrive Wed, Dec 24. (3 Day Select® picked up Dec 22 lands Fri, Dec 26)
- Tue, Dec 23: Last day to ship UPS Next Day Air® for Dec 24 delivery (via prearranged pickup or by tender at an authorized location)
- Wed, Dec 24 (Christmas Eve): Normal delivery; pickup only for Air & International Air if prearranged; NDA picked up today delivers Fri, Dec 26
- Thu, Dec 25 (Christmas Day): No pickup or delivery (critical service available)
- Fri, Dec 26: Normal pickup and delivery
Christmas Eve is operational but constrained. If you must move last-minute orders, they need Air/International pickups that are prearranged—plan those internal cutoffs carefully.
New Year’s
- Wed, Dec 31 (New Year’s Eve): Delivery of Air & International Air only; pickups for those services if prearranged (NDA picked up today delivers Fri, Jan 2)
- Thu, Jan 1 (New Year’s Day): No UPS pickup or delivery (critical service available)
- Fri, Jan 2: Normal pickup and delivery service
FedEx Holiday Schedule
Thanksgiving (U.S.)
- Wed, Nov 26: Early on-call/drop-box pickups may be available in some areas for expedited parcel & air freight; many FedEx Office® locations operate with modified hours the day before holidays
- Thu, Nov 27 (Thanksgiving): FedEx Custom Critical® available; all other locations/operations unavailable
- Fri, Nov 28: Early pickups may be available for expedited services; FedEx LTL (Freight) unavailable
- Sat, Nov 29: Early on-call pickups may be available for expedited parcel & air freight
Thanksgiving week is a useful dress rehearsal. Note the early pickup behavior and LTL pauses, then mirror that planning rhythm into Christmas week.
Christmas
- Tue, Dec 23: Early on-call/drop-box pickups may be available for expedited; FedEx LTL operates with modified linehaul
- Wed, Dec 24 (Christmas Eve): Early pickups for expedited; FedEx LTL unavailable; many FedEx Office locations with modified hours (some close early)
- Thu, Dec 25 (Christmas Day): Custom Critical available; all other operations unavailable
- Fri, Dec 26: LTL modified; early pickups may be available in some areas
From Nov 29–Jan 4, FedEx extends time-definite expedited commitments by 90 minutes across select U.S. domestic and U.S. inbound international services; air freight commitments are unchanged. Adjust any “by morning/noon” messaging accordingly.
New Year’s
- Wed, Dec 31 (New Year’s Eve): Early pickups may be available for expedited; LTL modified; many FedEx Office locations operate with modified hours the day before holidays
- Thu, Jan 1 (New Year’s Day): Custom Critical available; all other operations unavailable
- Fri, Jan 2: Early pickups may be available for expedited; LTL modified
The Path Forward
To land deliveries by Dec 24, 2025, anchor your UPS plan on the carrier’s published last-ship dates—Dec 19 (3 Day Select®), Dec 22 (2nd Day Air®), and Dec 23 (Next Day Air®). Then layer in UPS’s holiday-week pickup rules, later time-definite commitments, and the possibility of extra transit for a limited subset of parcels in mid-December and across Nov 17–Jan 9.
For FedEx, build cutoffs from its operating calendar and the +90-minute commitment extension running Nov 29–Jan 4, noting LTL’s modified/unavailable dates and early pickups around each holiday.
Publish these realities across PDP, cart, checkout, order confirmation, and tracking. When expectations are set to match the network, you reduce avoidable WISMO, protect margins, and deliver a calmer peak for your team and your customers.
One area most businesses overlook is the post-purchase phase. On-time deliveries and the overall post-purchase customer experience are key differentiators during the holiday season. Getting products into customers’ hands isn’t just about meeting deadlines—it’s about building trust and setting yourself up for retention long after the holiday rush ends.
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