The Christmas holiday period is quickly approaching and the United States Postal Service has now issued this year’s military mailing guidelines:

As the holidays approach and military families start thinking about what they’re going to send loved ones serving overseas, there are a few dates to keep in mind.
“The earliest deadline is for troops that are serving in the Iraq [and] Afghanistan area,” said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the western region of the U.S. Postal Service. “You want to send all your holiday mail and packages [to those areas] by Dec. 4.”

Holiday mail, including packages and cards, going to military bases in other parts of the world should be shipped by Dec. 11, he said.

“We do encourage people to closely follow these deadlines,” DeSarro said. “Of course, we make every attempt, even if you miss the deadline, to deliver the mail to our troops.”

Pseudo-Santas who can’t beat those dates have another option to get holiday goodies to their destinations in time: Express Mail. But it will cost a bit more and it’s not available for servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Priority Mail Flat-Rate boxes are the best value when shipping to military members serving at home or anywhere overseas, DeSarro said. The largest flat-rate box costs $10.95 to ship to an APO or FPO address. That’s a $2 discount, and the boxes are free.

The flat-rate boxes come with another bonus. If it will fit in the box, and weighs 70 pounds or less, it ships at the established rate.

“We also offer a special military package kit, … and this applies even if you want to send to our troops here in the U.S.,” DeSarro said. “If you call … 1-800-610-8734, they’ll send you a free kit of packaging materials — priority mail boxes, tape, labels and stuff that can make your holiday packing much easier.”  [Armed Forces Press Service]

For everyone in Korea pretty much you need to get your items mailed by the first week of December if you want it to reach its destination on time.  I like using the flat rate boxes because you can pay and print for the postage on line and avoid having to wait in the long lines to mail your boxes.

Read the rest of the article for more mailing information.