MAILING DEADLINES FOR SENDING HOLIDAY PACKAGES BEGIN TODAY; TIME RUNNING OUT FOR CHRISTMAS DELIVERY.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

'Tis the season for holiday cards and gifts, but the U.S. Postal Service says mail yours now or risk having them arrive late for Christmas.

Today is the deadline for almost-certain, on-time arrival for first-class letters and packages to Central and South America, said postal spokesman David Mazer.

``This is the busiest time of the year, and if you mail it by the deadline, you can be sure that it will get there on time,'' he said.

However, he said, there are always those who procrastinate, and that usually results in late arrivals, especially of gifts sent abroad.

``You have to remember that once we hand off packages to foreign postal services, it's up to them to deliver. They usually do a great job, but it's always best to leave a time cushion just to be sure,'' he said.

Other first-class deadlines for delivery abroad include Dec. 9 for Europe, most of Asia and the Caribbean.

Although there is no delivery-guarantee deadline for domestic packages, Mazer said it is best to allow a few extra days because of the large holiday volume.

For those who wait until the last minute, there is the option of priority or express mail, which the post office will deliver through Christmas day. The last regular mail will be delivered the day before Christmas.

The busiest postal day of the season will be Dec. 13, just 10 delivery days before Christmas.

``We usually handle about 150 million pieces of mail per day during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas,'' said postal spokesman George Marsh. ``If this year reflects previous years, that number will go up to 280 million pieces of mail postmarked on Dec. 13 alone.''

In all, he said, the postal service will handle about 20 billion parcels during the 1999 Christmas season, a 4 percent increase over last year.

New first-class Christmas postage stamps include a single reindeer stamp and a madonna-and-child stamp. Both stamps are self-adhesive.

MAILING DEADLINES

For domestic cards and letters the agency no longer sets deadlines, though it expects Monday, Dec. 13, to be its busiest day.

For packages going by regular parcel post, mail them the first week in December. Priority mail can be sent through Dec. 20, and after that use Express Mail.

Parcel airlift military mail headed for APO and FPO addresses with ZIP codes beginning with the numbers 090-098, 340 and 962-966 should be sent by Friday; priority and first-class cards and letters by Dec. 10.

Recommended deadlines for overseas civilian Christmas mail:

Thursday: Air cards and letters and air parcel post to Africa and Central and South America.

Dec. 9: Air cards and letters and air parcel post to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.

Dec. 13: Air cards and letters and air parcel post to Canada and Mexico.

- Associated Press

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