Christmas post deadlines looming

Monklands residents have just a few days left to ensure their Christmas cards are posted in time.

Tuesday is the latest recommended date to send second-class items; Royal Mail’s latest dates are next Thursday, December 20 for first class and December 22 for special deliveries.

Meanwhile, this Friday is the latest posting date for the USA and Canada plus Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic; while the last dates for other European countries are between Saturday and Tuesday.

Royal Mail UK process operations director Simon Barker said: “Christmas is the busiest time of year for Royal Mail and our customers, and we’re encouraging people to post and order presents early to help us spread the workload in the run-up.

“Postcodes are critical at this time of year – they really do make a difference and we’re asking everyone to help our hardworking postmen and women by using postcodes, writing clearly on cards and parcels and including a return address just in case.”

The final posting dates are also now available via Amazon’s Alexa for the first time, with Royal Mail saying the hope is that introducing the technology “will help encourage even more people to post by the correct date”.

Group marketing director Ben Rhodes added: “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to remind people of the last posting dates to every destination in the world, and Alexa fitted the bill.

“We are really pleased the dates will be delivered by Alexa to make life a little bit easier for many households all over the country – this helps cards, letters and parcels to be delivered on time to loved ones.”

More details are at www.royalmail.com/greetings