2020 Holiday Shipping Deadlines to Guarantee Christmas Delivery

Ashley Eneriz
·7 min read

Ho, ho, hold up! With less than two weeks until Christmas, the holiday shopping countdown has just gotten real. If you saved holiday shopping to the last minute, you aren’t alone and there is still time to get your items. We’ve gathered the top 25 shipping services and online retailers’ cutoff dates for Christmas shipping deadlines to help you navigate your holiday shopping so you can get your gifts on time.

Slick Tip: Don’t waste valuable money on costly expedited shipping if you missed the cut-off date. Instead, look for stores that offer free in-store or curbside pick up.

2020 Holiday Shipping Deadlines for USPS, UPS and FedEx

US Postal Service Christmas Shipping Deadlines

  • Dec. 15 – USPS Retail Ground

  • Dec. 18 – First-Class Mail

  • Dec. 19 – Priority Mail

  • Dec. 23 – Priority Mail Express Service

*If you are shipping to Alaska or Hawaii, plan to get your package out by the 15th.

UPS Christmas Shipping Deadlines (For delivery on Dec. 24)

  • Dec 17 (estimated) – UPS Ground
    Calculate the estimated arrival day (avg. delivery window is 1 week in the U.S.) using this UPS link

  • Dec. 21 – UPS 3 Day Select

  • Dec. 22 – UPS 2nd Day Air

  • Dec. 23 – UPS Next Day Air

FedEx Christmas Shipping Deadlines

  • Dec. 9 – FedEx SmartPost

  • Dec. 15 – FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery

  • Dec. 21 – FedEx Express Saver

  • Dec. 22 – FedEx 2Day A.M. and FedEx 2Day

  • Dec. 23 – FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight and FedEx Standard Overnight

  • Dec. 25 – FedEx SameDay City (Standard), FedEx SameDay and FedEx SameDay City (Priority)

2020 Holiday Ordering Deadlines for Online Retailers

You still have time to shop online for your gifts, but we highly recommend you act fast. Because of COVID-19, online shopping is at an all-time high and delivery times have slowed down for many retailers. Slick Tip: When you are cutting it to the last wire, Amazon is your best choice, especially if you have Prime. ‘Tis the season to try a free Prime trial if you haven’t tasted the joy of free one- and two-day shipping.

Ahead are tips and guidelines for some of the more popular stores within the Slickdeals community:

Amazon.com Ordering Cutoff Dates

Amazon did not publish their holiday delivery cutoffs this year. Here is last year’s 2019 schedule, but be mindful that this might not be the year to wait until the 23rd or 24th.

  • Dec. 18 – Standard Shipping

  • Dec. 22 – Two-Day Shipping (Free with Prime)

  • Dec. 23 – One-Day Shipping (In select cities. Free with Prime)

  • Dec. 24 – 9:30 am local time – Same-Day Delivery (In select cities. Free with Prime)

  • Dec. 24 – 9:45 pm local time – Two-Hour Delivery (In select cities. Free and exclusive for Prime Members via Prime Now)

adidas

  • Dec 15 – Standard Shipping (12 PM PST time cutoff) – free shipping on orders $100+

Apple

In most metros, get in-stock items by 2-hour delivery for $5. Shipping cutoff dates vary by product:

  • Dec 22 – Select iPhone models and Apple Watches

  • All other products, look for local in-stock options for pick up

Best Buy

When shopping Best Buy, all items say when they ship by or when they will arrive. You can also opt for in-store pick up or drive up to pick up for select items if you wait until the last minute.

  • Dec 17 – Standard Shipping (3-5 business days) – free on orders $35+

  • Dec 21 – Express Shipping

  • Dec 23 – Next Day Shipping on qualifying products (orders before 3 PM)

Columbia Sportswear

  • Dec 12 – Standard Shipping (10 PM PST time cutoff) – free shipping on orders $99+

  • Dec 19 – Expedited Shipping (10 PM PST time cutoff)

  • Dec 20 – Rush Shipping (10 PM PST time cutoff)

Costco

Shipping cutoffs vary by products and stores, and this year Costco is not making any guarantees this year, so be sure to shop at least a week before Christmas or shop the 2-Day Delivery selections

Dell

  • Dec 15 – Free standard shipping (3 PM ET cutoff)

  • Dec 18 –  Expedited Delivery on select items (3 PM ET cutoff) – Additional $15 charge

  • Dec 22 –  Express Delivery on select items (3 PM ET cutoff) – Additional $25 charge

Dick’s Sporting Goods

  • Dec 17– Standard Shipping – free shipping on orders $49+

Disney Store

  • Dec 10– Standard Shipping – free shipping on orders $75+ with code: SHIPMAGIC

HP

Look for items that say, “Ships on: 12/16/2020” or earlier to ensure you receive your package before Dec. 25th.

JCPenney

  • Dec 11 – Last day for free ship to store

  • Dec 14 – Last day for ship to home – free shipping on orders $75+

  • Dec 24 – Same day pick up orders can be placed up to noon on 12/24 to pick up prior to store closing to receive in time for Christmas

Kohl’s

If you want to avoid Kohl’s extra shipping fees, shop for items that are in-stock at your local store and you should be able to pick up your order the same day.

  • Dec 15 – Standard Shipping – free shipping on orders $75+ (3-9 days ship time average, Christmas delivery is not 100% guaranteed)

Macy’s

  • Dec 20– Standard Shipping (5 PM EST cutoff)

  • Dec 24 – Same-Day Shipping (12 PM local time cutoff) – $15 fee for orders $25+

Newegg

Note that some orders require extra processing. Look for shipping speed noted on your desired items before purchasing, and shop early just to be safe

  • Dec 17 – Newegg 3 Business Day

  • Dec 21 – Newegg 2 Business Day

  • Dec 23 – Newegg Next Business Day

Nike

  • Dec 15 (2 PM PT) – Standard Shipping – free shipping for Nike members or on orders $150+

  • Dec 20 – Expedited Shipping – $5 for Nike members and $15 for all other orders

REI

  • Dec 17 – Standard Shipping (11:59 PM PST time cutoff) – free shipping on orders $50+

Sam’s Club

Note that the cutoff for large orders has passed, so if you are hoping to get a new TV from Santa, shop the in-store selection.

  • Dec 16 – Standard shipping (12 PM local time cutoff)

  • Dec 21 – Express shipping (12 PM local time cutoff)

Target

For 2020, Target’s app and drive up pick up have made shopping speedier. If you don’t want to pay for shipping on orders under $35 or you need your gift quickly, try Target’s free drive-up pickup. Note that Target’s Two-Day Shipping is not available for the holidays this year.

  • Dec. 19 – Standard 3-5 business day shipping. Free shipping on orders $35+

Walmart and Walmart+

Orders over $35 ship free on Walmart.com – no membership required. But you can also sign up for a 15-day free Walmart+ free trial and have unlimited items from your local Walmart delivered to your door the same day (often in few hours) for free to save you on Christmas Eve –or Christmas morning for true procrastinators. To start your trial, confirm your address to find out which Walmart+ benefits are available at stores around you. Good to note that Walmart stores are closed on Christmas Day but reopen December 26.

Slick tip: Before you head to your local Walmart to shop and pick up last-minute necessities and gifts, search for items online first and check off the “Free pickup today” box on the left side filters to see only same-day eligible gifts. 

  • Dec. 17 – Standard 3-5 Day Shipping

  • Dec. 22 – TwoDay Delivery (11 AM PST cutoff)

  • Dec. 21 – NextDay Delivery (9 AM PST cutoff) – select items

  • Dec. 23 – Pickup Today (4 PM local time cutoff) – select items

  • Dec. 24 – Pickup Today (4 PM local time cutoff) – select items

How to Save No Matter Where You Shop

Navigate multiple sales at once by setting Deal Alerts on Slickdeals for items you need and are already shopping for, and by checking our coupon pages for current promo codes for your favorite stores.

You can also download the Slickdeals browser extension to help save you money when you shop online. It auto applies coupon codes before you check out and can also show you any active deals our community of over 12 million active deal hunters has found as you visit any of the hundreds of supported stores.

Download the Slickdeals Extension Now

Slickdeals Gift Guides 2020: 

Any product or service prices/offers that appear in this article are accurate at time of publish, and are subject to change without notice. Please verify the actual selling price and offer details on the merchant's site before making a purchase.