Deadline for sending Christmas post revealed: How to make sure YOUR loved ones receive their presents on time

Britons are being urged to post Christmas gifts as soon as possible after yesterday was the Post Offices busiest day across UK branches for sending parcels and posts.

Royal Mail last posting dates for inland mail are confirmed as Wednesday, December 18 for second class and Friday, December 20 for first class and Tracked 48.

Those leaving it even more last-minute can pay extra to post Royal Mail Tracked 24 by Saturday, December 21 or Special Delivery Guaranteed by Monday, December 23.

The Post Office has encouraged Britons to post early to ensure gifts arrive on time, amid expectations that yesterday would be peak posting day for UK branches.

Last dates for Royal Mail international economy and standard post have already passed for all countries, although tracked post is still available to 30 nations.

Tomorrow is the final date for tracked post to eight of these countries - comprising Austria, Denmark, India, Lithuania, Philippines, Qatar, Slovakia and Slovenia.

This Friday is the last date for tracked mail to Belgium, China, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, South Korea, Thailand and the US.

And next Monday, December 16 is the final day for France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Last posting dates for inland mail in the UK have been confirmed as above by the Post Office

People at the desk inside a branch of the Post Office at Paddington in London last month

Other delivery companies have also been revealing their last Christmas posting dates, with Evri saying deadlines for next-day parcels being dropped off at a ParcelShop will be by 11am on December 21.

The deadline for standard delivery parcels is 11am on December 20.

And those looking to arrange a courier collection directly from their home will need to have done so by December 19.

Evri will operate a normal delivery schedule on Christmas Eve, but no deliveries on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Years Day.

The last date from DPD for Next Day and Next Day by 12 delivery is December 21. 

And the deadline for Parcelforce Worldwide Express 48 is December 19, while Parcelforce Worldwide Express 24 and Express AM need to be posted by December 20.

Royal Mail said in October that it was recruiting 16,000 temporary workers to help its 85,000 postmen and postwomen sort the mail this Christmas, while adding that nearly 4,000 new vans, trucks and trailers to its fleet in time for the festive period.

The temporary positions were located in two parcel hubs, five seasonal parcel sort centres and 37 mail centres across the UK – while 5,000 delivery and collection roles were also made available in local delivery offices.

The companys two parcel hubs based in Daventry and Warrington were due to hire more than 2,000 extra staff this Christmas amid expectations that they will process 1.7million parcels per day across both sites.

A total 141,000 sq metres (1,517,711 sq ft) of extra temporary space – equivalent to 20 football pitches - was also created across the five seasonal parcel sorting centres located in Atherstone, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Daventry, and Greenford in West London.

Alistair Cochrane, chief operating officer for Royal Mail said: Every year we pull out all the stops to deliver Christmas for our customers.

The Royal Mail parcel hub in Warrington where extra staff have been hired this year (file image)

Its our busiest time of year and we plan all year round to help ensure we deliver the best possible service for UK consumers and businesses.

The Post Office also said 20 per cent of Brits would be sending gifts across the nation and 17 per cent abroad this year.

Most of those sending gifts in the post (28 per cent) will be doing so in early to mid-December, but 10 per cent will be leaving it until the week before Christmas.

The Post Office has more than 11,500 branches, with 4,000 open seven days a week. It claims 99.7 per cent of the population live within three miles of a branch.