Gurnee Post Office offers holiday mailing tips on Dec. 17

Are you ready for the holidays? Need some help mailing or shipping your holiday packages? Don't have time to stand in line?

Then come by the Gurnee Post Office, 1 N. Oplaine Road, on Dec. 17, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Postal representatives will demonstrate how easy it is to mail or ship letters and packages by using usps.com or the Automated Postal Center located in the outer lobby.

Using the Postal Service's website, usps.com, customers can ship packages from the comfort and convenience of their home or office. With a computer and Internet access to usps.com, there's a Post Office at your fingertips — one that's open 24/7, 365 days a year. The Postal Service even offers free package pickup from your address the next business day.

The APC is an ATM-like kiosk that accepts credit or debit cards and can handle 80 percent of retail counter transactions – like buying stamps, weighing packages and buying postage for Express and Priority Mail shipments, and First-Class and Parcel Post mailings. The Buffalo Grove Post Office APC machine is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

They will also answer questions about other mailing and shipping products and services and provide holiday mailing tips.

“We know this is a busy time of year for our customers,” said Gurnee Postmaster Linnea Rosing.“ That's why we're here to help make their holiday mailing and shipping easy.”

Americans will mail close to 16 billion cards, letter and packages this holiday season. The busiest mailing day is expected on Dec. 20 and the busiest delivery day is Dec. 22. The Postal Service will also see a dramatic increase in traffic to its website, usps.com. Visits each day to the website are expected to grow to 1.7 million, up from the usual 1.3 million.

Recommended mail-by dates:

Dec. 15 – Parcel Post

Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail

Dec. 21 – Priority Mail

Dec. 22 – Express Mail

For more information about Postal Service products and services, visit www.usps.com.