Holidays by the Numbers

The Postal Service and its employees have been delivering holiday cheer for 234 years.
An estimated 16.6 million cards, letters and packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
3 billion letters will be mailed over the holidays.
839 million pieces of mail will be processed on December 14, the busiest mailing day of the year.
583 million is the average number of pieces of mail processed daily.
692 million is the average number of pieces of mail processed daily during the holidays.
Postal employees will process 30 million pounds of mail destined to overseas military installations, including war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
192,000 vehicles, including 142,000 half-ton trucks, will transport holiday mail.
The Postal Service printed 2.11 billion holiday stamps this year.
97 million customers will visit the Post Office during the holidays.
41 million customers will visit usps.com during the holidays.
3.6 million Click-N-Ship labels will be printed from home computers during the holidays.

Tune In to 'Mall Man' and 'Cookie Den'

“The Postal Service Delivers the Holidays, the Postal Service Delivers Dreams.” That’s the theme of this year’s holiday campaign.

The first of the holiday ads went live on Monday, November 9, and will continue through Sunday, December 20. The messaging utilized for our current Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box campaign to small businesses has been crafted for consumers and their holiday shipping. "If it fits, it ships," one flat rate to any state and Priority Mail Flat-Rate Boxes are a simpler way to ship are the featured messages.

Two television commercials, “Mall Man” and “Cookie Den” feature Letter Carrier "Al" who provides the Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box as the solution to a holiday shipping problem. The spots will be running on various television programming and stations as follows:

The Country Music Awards on ABC, 8:00 pm, Wednesday, 11/11
Mr. St. Nick Original Movie on Hallmark Channel, 8:00 pm, Saturday, 11/16
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade on NBC, 9:00 am, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, 11/26
Heroes '09 Award Show Special on CNN, 9:00 pm, Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, 11/26
Holiday Celebration (Ice Skating) on NBC, 4:00 pm, Sunday, 11/29
Santa Claus is Coming to Town on ABC, 8:00 pm, Monday, 11/30
Shrek the Halls on ABC, 8:30 pm, Tuesday, 12/8
The Night Before Christmas on CBS, 8:00 pm, Friday, 12/11
It's a Wonderful Life on NBC, 8:00 pm, Saturday, 12/12
Santa Baby Original Movie on ABC Family Channel, 2:30 pm, Saturday, 12/19
Santa Claus the Movie on AMC Channel, 8:00 pm, Saturday, 12/19

In addition, the residential ads will run in Good Morning America, Letterman and Ferguson, and The Tonight Show the weeks of 11/9-12/14.

Honoring Vets: Post-9/11 GI Bill Marches In

Tomorrow is Veterans Day — the annual observance honoring Americans who have served in the armed forces.

The Postal Service currently employs more than 145,000 veterans, about 24 percent of the workforce and more than any other employer in the nation. This year, 306 USPS employees have been called to active duty, often serving 6 months or more.

For the first time since 1984, Congress has updated the GI Bill with a substantial increase in educational benefits. The updated law provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days.

Approved training under the Post-9/11 GI Bill includes graduate and undergraduate degrees and vocational/technical training. Additionally, tutorial assistance, and licensing and certification test reimbursement are included under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

For additional information, visit www.gibill.va.gov.

Greetings from the Postal Service

Supervisor Rose Mesenger-Mannisto selects a birthday card from the display in her South Florida Retail Unit Lobby.

Need a birthday card for your favorite niece? Want to express your condolences to a co-worker who has lost a loved one? How about some words of encouragement to a friend who is going through a difficult time?

Why take a trip to the grocery or drug store when you can select a card (and generate postal revenue) at the Post Office?

Make a gift purchase (perhaps a sheet of the Breast Cancer Research semi-postal stamps). Select from a variety of pre-wrapped ReadyPost decorative packaging. Buy a greeting card. All to let the special people in your life that you're thinking about them.


Marianne Giambrone is all smiles as she ponders over the card selection available at the Fort Lauderdale Main Office. Marianne is secretary to the Fort Lauderdale Postmaster. Photo: Tashia Romano-Kravitz

The assortment includes cards for birthdays, baby announcements, encouragement, sympathy and wedding anniversaries. Additional seasonal displays will offer cards appropriate to various holidays and times of the year, including Mother’s Day.

Greeting cards join the selection of shipping and mailing products at the Postal Service, designed to better meet the needs of customers. In addition to items like mailing tape, envelopes and packaging, decorative mailing boxes make sending a gift easier than ever.

Current participating South Florida Post Offices include:

Boca Rio Branch, 8185 Via Ancho Road, Boca Raton FL
Delray Beach Post Office, 14280 S Military Trail, Delray Beach FL
Doral Branch, 1700 NW 97 Avenue, Doral FL
Fort Lauderdale Main Office, 1900 W Oakland Park Blvd, Fort Lauderdale FL
Jupiter Main Office, 1095 Military Trail, Jupiter FL
Kendall Branch, 13101 S Dixie Highway, Miami FL
Milam Dairy Branch, 5600 NW 72 Avenue, Miami FL
Oakland Park Branch, 3350 NE 12 Avenue, Oakland Park FL
Palm Beach Gardens Branch, 3330 Fairchild Gardens Avenue, Palm Beach Gardens FL
Pinecrest Postal Store, 11301 S Dixie Highway, Miami FL
Plantation Branch, 7580 NW 5 Street, Plantation FL
Snapper Creek Branch, 11000 SW 104 Street, Miami FL
South Florida Main Office, 16000 Pines Blvd, Pembroke Pines FL
South Miami Branch, 5927 SW 70 Street, South Miami FL
Stuart Post Office, 801 SE Johnson Avenue, Stuart FL
Tamiami Branch, 8880 SW 8 Street, Miami FL
West Palm Beach Main Office, 3200 Summit Blvd, West Palm Beach FL

Miami Team Makes Conference a 'Priority'

Customer Relations Coordinator Rose Castro (pictured top), with support from Sales and Service Associates Jose Lopez and Maria Negrin (pictured bottom), organized a successful Priority Mail Flat-Rate Box promotion at a Blue Cross/Blue Shield conference in Miami.

The postal trio was very pleased that although FedEx was represented by a self-service table with boxes and labels (and many conference attendees had a FedEx Corporate Account), the majority chose the Postal Service for their shipping needs!

"Everyone was impressed with our postal presence at the conference," Rose said. "Attendees appreciated our providing personalized customer service and assisting them in packaging their conference materials to ship home."

Thank you Rose, Jose, Maria ... and to Miami P&DC Supervisor Yoland Macon who ensured the team followed all Aviation Security requirements. Thanks also to Miami VMF personnel for providing the vehicles for transportation to and from the event and to the BSN Staff for providing the Blue Cross/Blue Cross contact information that made it all possible!

T-E-A-M ... Together, Everyone Achieves More!

Photo Credits: Rose Castro and Maria Negrin

Get a Tax Break with FSAs

If you're like most employees, you may have some out-of-pocket health care expenses that your insurance doesn't cover. And your medical expenses may not be high enough for you to claim a deduction on your taxes.

But you can get a tax break by signing up for a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), which allows you to transfer money from your paychecks to an account that pays for your eligible health care expenses using tax-free money.

Check your mailbox for an FSA brochure ... A series of postcards will arrive during Open Season which begins November 9 and closes December 27 at 5 pm Central Time. Use PostalEASE to make your election, but don't wait until the last minute!

Home for the Holidays

"The Postal Service Delivers the Holidays, the Postal Service Delivers Dreams." That's the theme of this year's Holiday Public Relations and Media Campaign.

As always, our employees will play an important role in promoting the great value of our products ans services to family, friends, neighbors, and business associates.

The latest issue of the Postal Bulletin includes a Holiday Mailing Season Service Talk on Getting the Mail Home for the Holidays. The Bulletin also includes a “Flavor of Home” Priority Mail Publicity Kit to promote the use of Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes for sending college students, service members, friends, and family around the world a little taste of home during the holidays.

For the first time, holiday messaging also will be communicated through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! From online videos showing proper packaging instructions to holiday shipping "tweets," social media will help us promote our products and services.

Check out the online "Holiday Press Room." Go to usps.com, select "About USPS and News," scroll to "USPS Newsroom," and see what's in store this holiday season!