The United States Postal Service is giving customers a heads up—holiday shipping will soon cost more. Starting October 5, temporary price hikes take effect on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select. USPS says the higher rates will help cover extra handling costs during the busy holiday season. The increases will remain in place until January 18^th, 2026. The Postal Service is also reminding customers of key deadlines. For the lower 48 states, Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail must be sent by December 17^th to arrive by Christmas. Priority Mail should be mailed by December 18, and Priority Mail Express by December 20^th. Deadlines come earlier for Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and overseas military mail, as well as for international shipping. Packages headed to Central and South America by First-Class or Priority Mail need to be sent as early as December 2^nd To save money, USPS recommends using Ground Advantage, which starts at six-eighty. Waiting until the last minute could mean paying as much as thirty-one dollars or more for Express service. Along with the price changes, the Postal Service has rolled out new holiday stamps and kicked off Operation Santa, now in its 113th year—giving families the chance to “adopt” letters to Santa and help make children’s wishes come true.