Just in case Santa doesn’t make it, Australia Post is checking its own list of deadline dates for posting Christmas gifts.

With international and state borders closed and travel uncertain, a COVID Christmas is likely to involve sending presents rather than hand-delivering them.

Despite an Australia Post holiday hiring blitz, delays are expected in mail delivery. The company’s website urges customers to get parcels in the mail as soon as possible for “the best chance of arriving in time for Christmas”.

Here are the dates to get parcels sent on their way to reach their destination in time for Christmas day.

To send by parcel post within Australia, gifts need to be in the mail by Saturday, December 12, to be guaranteed to arrive in time. Miss that deadline and you can use express post, which has a cut-off date of Saturday, December 19.

Delivery deadlines change for parcels being sent overseas, and will vary depending on where they are being sent. Check out deadlines for posting Christmas parcels overseas here.

These dates also apply to buying gifts online, so check the delivery dates to avoid a lump of disappointment under the tree.

While most of Australia has been good and followed coronavirus rules,  Australia Post could find itself on Santa’s naughty list after a host of controversies in 2020.

These include chief executive Christine Holgate’s push for Pauline Hanson stubby holders to be delivered to locked-down Melburnians, a tussle with posties over job security, and this week’s revelations that the firm pulped nearly six million postcards warning customers about its coronavirus service cuts.