The parcel service asks you to be patient as a precaution. “Due to the current high number of parcels,” the company emails the waiting online shopper, “there may be delays in the delivery of your parcel in some cases.”
But it’s not just orders from the Internet that are pushing parcel services to their limits these days. Many people also send Christmas gifts to relatives or acquaintances who they will not meet in person – for example in view of the pandemic. The logistics industry therefore warns: Customers should post parcels as early as possible.
In order for the parcels to arrive within Germany before the presents are delivered, they should be in the branch or packing station no later than the Monday before Christmas Eve (December 20th) – the rule of thumb is lunchtime. Many competitors of Deutsche Post, for example DPD, want to accept Christmas parcels until Tuesday noon.
If you want to send gifts through the republic afterwards, which should arrive on time, you can try express or so-called priority shipments. But these are significantly more expensive. When ordering online, you should use the delivery dates or time periods specified by the retailer as a guide.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a package, sometimes a greeting on the cell phone, an email – or a classic letter again? Swiss Post promises: Christmas letters should arrive on time if the sender has posted them by December 22nd at the latest. And before the emptying time of the respective mailbox, so in some places quite early.
Officially, money cannot be sent by ordinary letter; Swiss Post is not liable if bills are lost on the way. The safe way is a so-called registered mail, which is a good four euros more expensive than normal postage.
Parcel services recommend that you wrap fragile gifts such as chocolate Santa Clauses or tree decorations in bubble wrap or air cushions. A note such as “Be careful, fragile” is not enough, says the Federal Association of Parcel and Express Logistics, “because the parcel is always on the way with other, sometimes very heavy parcels”. Senders should refrain from using decorative ribbons as they could get caught in sorting systems.
For Christmas parcels abroad, some deadlines have already expired. Swiss Post will accept consignments to Italy and France by December 14th at the latest; for all other neighboring countries of Germany the deadline ends next Wednesday, December 15th. Competitors like DPD want to accept Christmas parcels to other European countries a few days later.