U.S. Postal Service gears up for holiday rush

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Like accountants anticipating Tax Day, people at the post office know what’s coming with the holidays.

It’s going to be busy, but, “hey, really get into it,” says Robert Hamm, the Supervisor for Customer Support at Reno’s Main Post Office on Vassar Street. “They wear their Santa hats. We know this is our time to shine and it makes them all that happier to do it.”

The busiest period is actually December 12-17. That’s a few weeks away, but it’s not too soon to get ready.

They’ll get some seasonal help from new hires as they do every year, and new machines to help sort packages faster, but part of their gearing up is public outreach, reminding all of us about some important deadlines.

“For the military or overseas you’re going to want to ship by December 9th. For First Class and ground package domestically, you’re going to want to ship by the 17th, 19th for Priority and 23rd for Express,” said Hamm.

Porch pirates can spoil a Christmas surprise, so it helps to know when something is coming your way. You can stay up to date by signing up for informed delivery at usps.com.

That leaves letters to Santa. They get a lot of them. For the record, his address is 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888.

They’ll get it there one way or the other with or without postage. What’s really important is the sender’s return address.

“We need that return. The full name and address so we can return those.’

So, Santa will respond?

“He will respond.”

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