Eight southern Idaho post offices will offer extended Saturday retail hours the three Saturdays before Christmas -- Dec. 8th, Dec. 15th and Dec. 22nd, postal officials said.
The same locations will also open a "dutch door" from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the three Sundays before Christmas -- Dec. 9th, Dec. 16th and Dec. 23rd for customers wanting to pick up notified mail or packages. The only exception is in Nampa, where packages will be available for pick up on Sundays at the Nampa Carrier Annex at 820 N. Park Centre Way.
"It's all about customer convenience." said Boise Postmaster Dan Corral. "As we count down to the holidays, we know how demanding the season can be, as we rush to get everything done on time. Staying open later the three Saturdays before Christmas will help our customers' check holiday mailing off their to-do list."
The branches offering extended retail hours on Saturday, Dec. 8th, Dec. 15th and Dec. 22nd are:
--Boise Main Post Office at 770 S. 13th St. -- open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
--Boise Five Mile Post Office at 1350 S. Five Mile Rd. -- open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
--Boise Overland Post Office at 1650 W. Targee St. --open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (normally not open on Saturdays)
--Caldwell Post Office at 832 Arthur St. -- open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
--Meridian Post Office at 1200 N. Main St. -- open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
--Nampa Post Office at 123 11th Ave. South -- open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
--Pocatello Main Office at 730 E. Clark St. -- open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
--Twin Falls Pioneer Post Office at 1376 Fillmore St. -- open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, the Postal Service nationwide expects to deliver more than 900 million packages and nearly 15 billion pieces of mail -- for a total of nearly 16 billion cheerful deliveries this holiday season.
Officials say it's better to skip a trip to the post office and ship online. "Consumers don't even have to leave home to ship their packages. They can simply visit usps.com to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup," Corral said.
The Postal Service recommends the following Christmas mailing and shipping deadlines:
Holiday Military Shipping Deadlines
· Dec. 4 - for Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to Military addresses in Iraq and Afghanistan
· Dec. 11 - for Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to all other Military addresses
· Dec. 18 - for USPS Priority Mail Express to Military Addresses (except Iraq and Afghanistan)
International Shipping Deadlines
· Dec. 1 - for Priority Mail International to Africa, Central and South America
· Dec. 8 - for Priority Mail International to all other countries
· Dec. 15 - for Priority Mail Express International to Africa, Central and South America
· Dec. 18 to 20 - for Global Express Guaranteed depending on country
Domestic Shipping Deadlines
· Dec. 14 - for USPS Retail Ground
· Dec. 20 - for First-Class Mail and packages
· Dec. 20 - for Priority Mail
· Dec. 22 - for Priority Mail Express
