An Post announce last days for posting around Christmas

Letters within the Republic of Ireland need to be sent by December 22, while parcels must be sent by December 21

Christmas Booklet of 17 National Stamps: Our Christmas stamps this year capture both the festive traditions which bring us joy and the importance of light: joy in the form of precious time with the people we care for and the treasured memories of celebrations past - and light bursting through winter with the shimmering ornaments and bright lights we use to adorn our homes and public spaces.

As we countdown the weeks to Christmas, An Post has announced its last dates for postage to ensure it gets there ahead of the big day.

With an influx of post expected, the service is encouraging customers to post early regardless.

• Letters within the Republic of Ireland need to be sent by December 22, while parcels must be sent a day earlier on December 21. 
• Registered and Express post should be sent by December 20.
• All post and parcels to Northern Ireland needs to be send by December 19 to ensure it arrives in time and for Britain, the deadline is the 18th.
• Letters sent by standard post, registered post and express post to Europe should be sent by December 17, while parcels sent by standard post need to be sent by the 12th. Parcels sent by international courier service can be sent by the 18th.
• The deadline to send standard letters and express post to the USA is December 10, while parcels and registered post should be sent by the 5th.
• Finally, letters, parcels and registered post to the rest of the world needs to be sent by December 5, while express post must be sent by the 10th.
• International courier service, which is only available at select post offices, for the USA and the rest of the world can be posted by December 16.
• PostAim, An Post’s service for bulk mailing, has a deadline of December 4 before 12 noon, to ensure it will reach it’s destination by the 23rd of the month.

An Post has said that these dates may be subject to change. On their website, the service said: "Millions of people all over the world are using post to send Christmas letters and parcels to loved ones. While these are the last dates of posting, this year is like no other and we advise customers to post early."

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