Royal Mail: Posting the seasonal message

Christmas cards travelling across the globe should be in the post by 6 December, the Royal Mail said yesterday.

Cards and letters being sent to addresses within Europe should be posted by 13 December to arrive before Christmas Day. Inland second-class letters and cards should be sent by 18 December. For first-class mail the last posting date to be sure of pre-Christmas delivery in the UK is 21 December. The Royal Mail is expecting to handle more than two billion cards by 25 December. "The message, as always, is to post early and please remember to use the full address," said Royal Mail spokesman Mike Hilder.