PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – You are fast approaching holiday shipping deadlines if you want those gifts delivered in time for Christmas.

At the UPS store on north 3rd Street in Old City Philadelphia, manager Phil Dillon had some advice.

Dillon says, “I would recommend proper packing material, like peanuts or bubble wrap. They get handled quite a bit and it’s good to keep your items safe.”

One customer shipping to friends and family, Gresham Riley, wanted to make sure his gifts made it there on time.

Riley says, “That was less of a concern than avoiding standing in long lines.

The US Post Office has a Wednesday deadline for parcel post, and the cut-off date for first-class mail is next Monday, to get those cards to their destinations by the 25th.

If you want it to get there on time, FedEx has a Friday deadline for ground packages.

Check with your online retailer, because they too, have deadlines. For example, Amazon’s super-saver deadline for shipping is this Thursday. It’s next Monday for standard shipping.

Reported by Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio