The Post Office wants to help you get your cards and gifts to family and friends in good time for Christmas, so they have provided us with a handy list of last posting dates.

Asia, Far East, Japan, New Zealand - Wednesday 4th December

Australia - Thursday 5th December

Africa, Caribbean, Central & South America, Middle East - Friday 6th December

Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Turkey - Monday 9th December

Canada, France, Greece, Poland  - Tuesday 10th December

USA - Friday 13th December

Western Europe (excluding France, Greece, Poland) - Saturday 14th December

HM Forces Mail - British Forces Post Office (BFPO) Airmail to Operational BFPOs - Monday 29th November

 Airmail to Static BFPOs - Friday 13th December

Sending in the UK

2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed For - Wednesday 18th December

1st Class and Royal Mail Signed For - Friday 20th December

 Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed - Monday 23rd December

To make Christmas 2013 with the Post Office a little easier they’ve also created a simple festive reminder service.  Simply let them know where you’ll be sending your items to and they’ll let you know when it’s time to post them.

Using the reminder service

Visit www.postoffice.co.uk

Select the destination(s) that you'd like a Christmas post reminder for from the list. They'll send you an email three days before the recommended last posting date for the destination(s) requested.

The Post Office also follows it up with a text message one day before (if you've provided a mobile number).