Deadline for mailing Christmas cards and packages from US to overseas nearing

People with friends and relatives abroad need to start thinking about those Christmas cards and gifts.

The deadline for sending first-class mail and priority mail to Africa and South and Central America to assure delivery for the holiday is Dec. 4, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday.

The deadline for first-class and priority mail sent to other foreign countries is Dec. 11.

For Express Mail International, the deadline is Dec. 12 to Africa and Central and South America. It is Dec. 17 for Asia and the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. Canada gets an extra day, Dec. 18.

And Global Express Guaranteed mail must be on its way by Dec. 19 for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America and the Middle East. The deadline is Dec. 22 for Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe.