Dec 3, 2003 2 min read

Here’s a timely reminder from the U.S Postal Service: Get your properly wrapped packages to the post office with plenty of time to spare. The Postal Service expects to handle 20 billion pieces of mail over the holidays. It’s the only time of year when good tidings exceed bills and credit card statements. You might be wondering what’s new at the Postal Service and the folks who handle all that mail. Well this year, the volume is expected to be higher than last year. Whether this means more people are buying gifts for long-distance friends is unclear. But the Postal Service will hire only half as many temporary workers to process the cards and presents. That still is 10,000 seasonal jobs.

The busiest day is expected to be Dec. 15. That’s the last day that packages sent by parcel post will arrive in time for Christmas. Wait longer and you’ll pay more.

Here’s a few handy timeless hints. Don’t guess at ZIP codes. These aren’t something to be made up on the fly. Use the wrong one, and your package might end up several towns or states away.

Don’t tie string on your packages. It’s too tempting for everyone who contacts it to pick it up that way and give it a toss. That hand-blown ornament that you spent hours selecting won’t survive.

The Postal Service suggests that if you are sending Santa a letter, don’t stuff a cookie in the envelope. We would guess that crumbs jam the machines. We suppose the same rules would apply if you were planning to send cookies along with Letters to the Editor. Please wrap them in a box instead.

And if you are wanting to send a special letter to let the public know about an angel in your life, there is still time to send letters to Angels Among Us, Herald-Standard, 8-18 E. Church St., Uniontown, PA 15401.