The holidays are rapidly approaching, and if you need to order a gift for delivery — or send it yourself to family or friends across the United States, your shopping and shipping days are dwindling. If you insist on pushing the envelope, however, you’ll have to strategize — and know the best ways for your presents to reach their destination.

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Have a Procrastinator’s Plan in Place

The best solution when it comes to shipping is to ship early. You can — and should — get your packages in the mail well before the standard mid-month cutoff that the major carriers impose. But procrastinators are going to do the only thing they can do — wait until the last minute. If you’re among them, you should know the following:

Dec. 17 is the last day for USPS Retail Ground Service if you want delivery before Dec. 25, but that isn’t your only option. You have three other chances to beat the clock:

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  • First-Class Mail Service by Dec. 17
  • Priority Mail Service by Dec. 19 (Dec. 17 for Alaska and Hawaii addresses)
  • Priority Mail Express Service by Dec. 23 (Dec. 21 for Alaska and Hawaii addresses

For UPS, you can still get it there by Christmas Eve if you ship:

  • 3 Day Select by Dec. 20
  • 2nd Day Air by Dec. 21
  • Next Day Air by Dec. 22

Of the big three shipping companies, FedEx is the only one that offers same-day delivery during Christmas week. If you miss the FedEx Ground and Home Delivery deadline of Dec. 14, you can get it there on time by shipping with:

  • Express Saver by Dec. 20
  • FedEx 2Day by Dec. 21
  • Standard Overnight, Priority Overnight or First Overnight by Dec. 22
  • FedEx Same Day by Dec. 23

Obviously, procrastinators can expect to pay a whole lot more to send their packages by tossing them into the mix in the frantic days just before Christmas.

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Use Your Memberships

If you have any of these memberships – or are a member of other programs – it’s time to use the benefits.

Other retailers also are offering free shipping this season – a key to continued business, X Delivery’s study showed.

Retailers offering free shipping include:

  • Nordstrom: Free standard shipping on all items if ordered by 8 p.m. Eastern time on Dec. 17.
  • Home Depot: Free two-day shipping with $45 order of qualified items.
  • Lowe’s: Free standard shipping with a $45 order of qualified items. Members of MyLowes.com will receive their items in one to four business days.
  • Best Buy: Next-day delivery or free standard shipping with a $35 minimum purchase on qualifying products. No minimum required for Best Buy Totaltech members.
  • CVS: CarePass members receive free one- to two-day shipping when the order contains at least one eligible item.

Let Them Deal With It: Go Curbside

Finally, most major retailers offer contactless curbside delivery, and you could order your gift online for pickup at the recipient’s closest store location. This option only works, of course, if your recipients are willing to pick up their gifts themselves and don’t mind not being surprised, but it’s a great option if you’re sending gifts to kids whose parents planned to hit the stores anyway. (Maybe those parents will wrap the gift, too!)

Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.