Be careful how you judge your mailing times. If you don’t give the Post Office enough time to deliver your entries, you may end up having them sent back to you.

It doesn’t happen to us too often, but every now and then we will receive our entries back because of a closed Post Office Box. We just didn’t allow enough time for the Post Office to deliver the mail. This can make you feel very angry for spending the time and postage for sending in the entries, and it also doesn’t get your entries into the sweepstakes.

A good rule of thumb is to allow 4 to 5 days leeway for mail delivered within the 48 continental states, and 7 to 10 days for delivery from or to Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada.

Also remember that certain times of the year, the Post Office is going to be swamped with mail. Major holidays, of course, include Christmas and Hanukkah. But some families like to send cards throughout the year, especially if they have young children. Other times of the year to consider are Halloween, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Graduation, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s and Father’s Days, Thanksgiving Day, and the infamous April 15th (for tax returns).

During busy times of the year, we suggest that you add a couple of extra days for the mail to get delivered properly.

Plan Ahead for Holiday Mail

When Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Day get close, start planning to get your entries filled out far enough ahead of time. In the mad rush to get everything done for the Holiday Season, the last thing you have time for is filling out 3x5s and entering sweepstakes.

We generally like to have multiple entries filled out and ready to go by mid November. Then, all we need to do is enter for those sweepstakes that have just been announced with short entry deadlines.

By planning ahead for the holidays, you can significantly reduce the stress that sometimes accompanies them. There are only so many hours in the day, and if you have multiple entries ready ahead of time, that’s one less thing you have to think about during the holiday season.