The Christmas dates at a glance
Standard shipping is the least expensive way to get cards under the tree, and it comes with one date to remember: place the order by Monday, December 14. Orders placed by then are expected to arrive by Wednesday, December 23.
That date already allows for production and the trip through the mail. Ordering earlier leaves more slack if a carrier runs behind in December.
- By Monday, December 14: standard shipping, expected by Wednesday, December 23
- After December 14: Priority or Overnight, priced live for your address at checkout
- Any time: every service shows its estimated arrival window before you pay
Missed the 14th? Use a rush service
Rush is built into the faster shipping services. When available, Priority and Overnight orders placed before the same-day cut-off on a business day ship that same day. Checkout prices each service live for your address and shows the cut-off and the arrival window, so you can see whether it lands before Christmas before you pay.
Expedited services can be paused at the busiest moments. If checkout does not offer a service for your address, it is not available for that order, and an order is never quietly downgraded to a slower one.
Sending it straight to them
Put the recipient's name and address in the shipping fields and the box goes directly to them. A Rookie Box arrives in a branded card box with a magnetic display case, which looks finished without wrapping. Checkout has no gift-wrap or gift-message option, and the confirmation and tracking emails come to you.
How to beat the deadline
Most late Christmas orders are late because the photo was not ready. Work in this order:
- Pick the photo first. A sharp, well-lit shot makes the best card.
- Design the card. It takes about a minute, and designing is free until you order.
- Put every card for one address in one order so they ship together; cards in one Rookie Box cost less each.
- Compare the arrival window at checkout with the day you need it, not only with the order-by date.
