Is mail delivered on Christmas Eve? USPS schedules, post office hours and more explored

Mail will be delivered on Christmas Eve. Even though updates have been made to the federal holiday schedule, the U.S. Postal Service continues to maintain regular mail delivery and retail services on December 24. Households and businesses all over the United States can expect it to be a normal mailing day.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order turning the Christmas holiday into a three-day event. This included Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after. However, the order does not prevent the postal service from operating during this time. The U.S. Postal Service states that post offices will close on Christmas Day, December 25. That is the one day there will be no mail delivery across the country. However, on December 24 and December 26, post offices will stay open, and mail will still be delivered.

The executive order that names Christmas Eve and December 26 as federal holidays applies to the year 2025. This does not make any lasting changes to the federal holiday calendar. To declare a day a federal holiday permanently, the bills must be passed through Congress and signed into law by the president. Juneteenth is the most recent permanent addition to the federal list of holidays, in 2021.

Holiday operations for USPS, banks and major retailers during Christmas

Declaring temporary federal holidays has happened before. In 2014, President Barack Obama declared December 26 a federal holiday, as it fell on a Friday. During his first term, President Trump also declared Christmas Eve a federal holiday. These types of orders apply to federal agencies and do not cover public or private organizations.

Federal government offices may close on Christmas Eve and December 26, but most people in the U.S. will not receive those days off unless their employer already observes those holidays. Federal agencies will close during that time, although some employees may still be required to work, depending on the decisions made by agency leaders. Private companies have no legal need to shut down or provide paid time off.

According to USPS, the activities will remain the same over the holidays. All post offices will be closed, and no mail will be dispatched on Christmas Day. However, retail delivery and service on the eve of Christmas and the day after Christmas is something people can rely on. In accordance with their holiday schedules, banks will remain open on December 24 and 26, but will close on December 25, as confirmed by the Federal Reserve.

Large stores are also maintaining their traditional holiday schedules. Target, Walmart, and Costco are some of the retail outlets that will be closed on Christmas Day. Indicatively, Target will be open between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve and will resume regular business hours on December 26.

To track packages or send last-minute mail, people can rely on USPS Christmas Eve delivery. This makes December 24 a crucial day for shipping and receiving during the holiday season.