Have a Christmas package to send? The postal service shipping deadline is coming soon

Three and a half weeks.

That’s how long you’ve got if you want to send something to someone through the U.S. Postal Service to arrive before Christmas.

Dec. 15 is the recommended send-by date to ensure your cards and gifts will arrive by Dec. 25.

That’s just for regular ground mail.

There are some requirements for that, such as the package can weigh no more than 70 pounds or be larger than 130 inches in combined length and girth.

And you have to go to the Post Office.

You’ve got a bit more time if you are sending first-class mail. USPS’s suggested deadline: Dec. 17. Priority mail is Dec. 18, and priority express can wait all the way until Dec. 23.

Even with the woes of the Postal Service these days, they are guaranteeing delivery by Christmas with priority express shipping, or you can get your money back. And they’ll pick it up. In some places, they’ll deliver on Sunday, they say. (Christmas is on Saturday this year.) They’ll offer tracking, insurance and proof of delivery.

Sounds a lot like UPS or FedEx.

The postal service adds this: Priority express shipping prices start at $26.60.

Different — and earlier — dates apply to items shipped to Hawaii or Alaska, internationally and to military outposts.