Next week is Thanksgiving and Black Friday, the day which kicks off the holiday shopping season. Many people ship holiday cards and gifts to family and friends.

There are deadlines for shipping, if you need a package to reach its destination by December 24.

Below are deadlines and policies for the United States Postal Service, UPS and FedEx.

United States Postal Service

Deadlines for domestic shipping:

• Parcel Post: Dec. 14
• First-class mail: Dec. 20
• Priority Mail: Dec. 21
• Express Mail: Dec. 22

Locations

• USPS Broomall: 2628 West Chester Pike, Broomall. 610-356-5530
• USPS Newtown Square: 3576 West Chester Pike. 610-353-4896

Extras: The USPS website has deadlines for shipping internationally and to military personnel. You can also order packaging supplies, holiday stamps, and find store operating hours on the USPS website.

FedEx

Deadlines for domestic shipping:

• FedEx Ground/Home Delivery: Dec. 17
• FedEx Express Saver: Dec. 19
• FedEx Overnight: Dec. 22
• FedEx Same Day: Dec. 25

Locations

• Media Pack and Ship: 4 State Road. Media. 610-892-9100
• FedEx: 1001 Baltimore Pike, Springfield. 610-328-7877
• MailSource: 491 Baltimore Pike, Springfield. 610-328-6646
• FedEx: 381 West Lancaster Ave., Wayne. 610-995-1209
• FedEx/Kinkos: 795 East Lancaster Ave., Villanova. 610-527-0699

Extras: The FedEx website offers location information and ideas for packing and shipping holiday items. It also outlines a suspension of certain money-back guarantees for services from Tuesday December 18 through Monday December 24.

UPS

Deadlines for domestic shipping:

• UPS 2nd Day Air: Dec. 20
• UPS Next Day Air: Dec. 21

Locations:

• UPS Store: 3553 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square. 610-359-6250
• UPS Store: 1167 West Baltimore Pike, Media. 610-566-1988

Extras: UPS has normal delivery service for air, international and ground packages on December 24 and no pickup or delivery on December 25. Visit the UPS website for details on international shipping. Click here for the complete UPS 2012 Holiday Shipping schedule.

Do you ship any gifts for the holidays? What is your preferred shipping method? Let Patch know in the comments.