Christmas is a busy time of the year, and is arguably one of the biggest times of the year too. With many people living, working and studying abroad, away from their friends, families and loved ones, posting cards and gifts to them is the perfect way to spread Christmas cheer.
Royal Mail is the main postage service in the UK, and every year they run well-publicised campaigns for the last posting dates for sending mail within the UK. What doesn’t get shouted about so much is the last posting dates for letters and parcels going to Europe. Never fear, we’re here with our European Christmas posting guide.
International Economy
This is the most affordable service that Royal Mail offers its customers. This is great for student budgets, but you need to bear in mind that this is the slowest service that they offer. The last posting dates for many countries will be coming up as early as mid-November. Some dates may have already gone, but don’t despair, there are other services available!
For places like Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece, Iceland, Malta and Turkey, the last posting date for International Economy is Saturday 2nd November. For Western Europe, the last posting date is Saturday 16th November.
International Standard & International tracking and signature services
- For Cyprus and Malta, the last posting date is Thursday 10th December.
- Eastern Europe, with the exception of Poland and the Czech Republic, is the day after on the 11th December. Greece and Turkey’s last posting date is the 12th of December.
- The Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland and Sweden’s last posting date is Saturday 14th December.
- Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland all have their last posting date on Monday 16th December.
- Finally, for Belgium, France, Ireland and Luxembourg, you have until Wednesday 18th December.
Left it too late?
If you’ve left it a bit too last minute to post your items with Royal Mail, all is not lost. There may be other services that can help. You may be able to send your items at short notice with a courier such as DHL, UPS or Parcelforce.
These services will be better-placed to offer express delivery services. Be aware, however, that these services will also have their own last posting dates, so be sure to check their websites. Another thing to consider is that due to the express nature of these services, they will cost significantly more than the services offered by Royal Mail.
This is a christmas posting guide for students posting to Europe
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