Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Picture this. It's the first week of November. Your holiday ads are scheduled, the gift bundles look great on the product page, and the stock is... still sitting on a shelf in Shenzhen.
Most Christmas shipping guides out there were written in July. They tell you to book a container in August, which is lovely advice if you own a time machine. Others list carrier cutoffs that are either from last year or for parcels mailed inside the US, which doesn't help much when your orders start their trip in China.
Christmas falls on Friday, December 25, 2026. Below we count back from that date for each country, so you can see when a parcel actually has to leave China. After that come carriers, peak season costs, duties, and the January restock before Chinese New Year.
Christmas 2026 shipping calendar: key dates when you ship from China
A few of these dates catch sellers out every year.
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Date (2026–27)
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What happens
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Why it matters for shipping from China
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|---|---|---|
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Nov 11
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Singles' Day
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Huge parcel volume inside China. Domestic pickups and line-haul get busy for a week or so
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Nov 26
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US Thanksgiving
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US carriers slow down for a day; customs and last-mile backlogs start building
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Nov 27 / Nov 30
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Black Friday / Cyber Monday
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Your order spike. Anything sold now has less than four weeks to arrive
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Dec 4–12
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Hanukkah
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Earlier than usual this year, so some gift orders need to land early December
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Dec 17–19
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USPS last recommended send-by dates (domestic)
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After this, even US-to-US parcels are a gamble
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Dec 25 (Friday)
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Christmas Day
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Most carriers don't deliver; many stop on the 24th
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Jan 1, 2027
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New Year's Day
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Returns and exchanges start rolling in
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Feb 6, 2027 (Saturday)
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Chinese New Year
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Factories and many logistics services in China slow down or close for a while
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One quick note on that USPS line. The US Postal Service lists December 17 for Ground Advantage, December 18 for Priority Mail and December 19 for Priority Mail Express as the 2026 send-by dates for the lower 48 states, according to its 2026 holiday shipping deadlines. Those dates are for parcels already inside the US. A parcel from China has to clear customs and reach a US carrier before then, so the China dispatch dates further down are earlier.
Why peak season adds days to every route
Planning December shipments with October transit times is how a lot of Christmas orders end up arriving on December 28.
During the holiday peak the timeline stretches at several points:
- Air cargo and ocean space fill up from October onward. Carriers prioritize contract volume, so smaller shipments can wait a few extra days for a slot.
- Customs handles far more parcels with the same staff. JCtrans, a freight industry news site, reported in April 2026 that China-to-US ocean shipments take roughly 7 to 15 days longer in peak season than in quieter months.
- Local couriers are handling their own holiday surge. A parcel that clears customs on time can still sit at a sorting hub for a couple of days.
We add a five-working-day buffer to the normal transit time in the tables below. If your products get inspected often, add more.
Last ship dates from China for Christmas 2026, by destination
The table covers orders sent as individual parcels from a fulfillment warehouse in China straight to the customer's door.
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Destination
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Reference transit (working days)
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Suggested last dispatch from China
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Risky last dispatch (no buffer)
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|---|---|---|---|
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United States
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7–12
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Monday, Nov 30
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Monday, Dec 7
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United Kingdom
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3–6
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Tuesday, Dec 8
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Tuesday, Dec 15
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European Union
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8–13
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Friday, Nov 27
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Friday, Dec 4
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Canada
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8–13
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Friday, Nov 27
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Friday, Dec 4
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Australia
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8–13
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Friday, Nov 27
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Friday, Dec 4
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These transit ranges are reference numbers for SendFromChina's parcel lines, not promises. Actual delivery time also depends on route, carrier, product category, customs checks and weather. Remote areas usually take longer. If you want route details for a specific market, the country guides for shipping from China to the US, the UK, Europe, Canada and Australia go into more depth.
How to count back from December 25
It works a bit like booking a table for a big dinner: you start from the time you need to be seated and count back to when you leave home.
- Step 1, pick the delivery target. We used December 23, not the 25th. Many couriers don't deliver on Christmas Day, and you want a day or two of slack.
- Step 2, subtract the upper end of the transit range. Count working days only, so weekends are skipped.
- Step 3, subtract a peak buffer. We used five working days. If your product often gets inspected (electronics with batteries, cosmetics, anything food-adjacent), add more.
- Step 4, subtract your own handling time. If your warehouse needs a day to pick and pack, the order has to come in a day before the dispatch date.
A customer reading "ships by December 7" on your store page still has no idea whether the gift will be there for Christmas. Show the likely arrival date instead.
Missed the date? What to tell your customers
Some orders will come in after the cutoff. Customers mostly accept that if they hear it before they pay.
- Add a banner with your Christmas order cutoff per country. Update it the morning after each date passes.
- Change the delivery estimate on product pages to "arrives after Christmas" once the risky date has passed.
- Offer late buyers a digital gift card or a printable "your gift is on its way" card to put under the tree.
- For high-value orders, give customers the choice of a faster, pricier option at checkout instead of quietly upgrading and eating the cost.
Choosing carriers for Christmas shipping from China
Which carrier fits depends on the product and the deadline. As of November 2026, the four main options look like this.
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Option
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Rough transit
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Holiday 2026 status
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Best for
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|---|---|---|---|
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Ocean freight (FCL / LCL) to an overseas warehouse
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Several weeks port to port, plus clearance and trucking
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Mostly closed for Christmas delivery
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Next season's bulk stock
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Air freight to an overseas warehouse
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A few days in the air, plus clearance and receiving
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Possible if booked right away, at peak prices
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Top sellers with healthy margins
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Express couriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS)
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Usually the shortest door-to-door transit
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Open until mid-December, with peak surcharges
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Urgent, high-value or lightweight orders
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Cross-border e-commerce parcel lines
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Reference 3–13 working days depending on market
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Open, ship order by order
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Most everyday orders and long-tail SKUs
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Ocean freight (FCL and LCL) is mostly closed for 2026
If your goods are still in China in November, ocean freight won't get them onto a US or EU warehouse shelf in time for Christmas sales. Containers for the holiday season mostly needed to leave in September or October.
Ocean is still useful for January and February restocks, including Valentine's Day stock, if you book soon. Chinese New Year comes right after that, which we cover further down.
Air freight to a local warehouse
With air freight you fly a batch of your best sellers to a warehouse near your customers, then ship them out locally. It costs more per kilo than ocean, and holiday rates are higher than usual, but domestic delivery from inside the country is quicker and more predictable during the last two weeks before Christmas.
You do have to guess which SKUs will sell. Overestimate, and you've paid air rates for stock that sits in a warehouse until spring.
Express couriers: DHL, FedEx and UPS
Express is what you use for urgent orders. It usually has the shortest door-to-door transit from China, and these carriers usually keep accepting parcels later into December than most other services.
The base rate is higher, and peak surcharges come on top. FlavorCloud's 2026 surcharge tracker lists, for example, a DHL Express a weight-based demand surcharge running from October 1, 2026 to February 5, 2027. Other carriers have their own versions. On a small, high-value item that's manageable. On a 3 kg throw blanket it can wipe out the margin.
Cross-border e-commerce parcel lines
Most online sellers send the bulk of their orders this way. Orders get picked and packed in a China warehouse and sent one by one on tracked e-commerce shipping lines built for small parcels. No need to pre-ship inventory abroad, no bulk import paperwork, and you only pay to ship what you've actually sold.
Transit is longer than express, so the cutoff dates above matter. For the long tail of your catalog, products that sell a few units a week, parcel lines usually make the most sense.
Peak season shipping costs and cost-saving tips
Holiday shipping rates go up every year. How much of that reaches your margin depends mostly on packaging, routing and paperwork.
Shrink dimensional weight with better packaging
Carriers charge for whichever is bigger: actual weight or dimensional (volumetric) weight. A light but bulky item, like a plush toy, a pillow or a gift box with lots of air inside, can cost far more than its real weight suggests.
- Use the smallest box that protects the product. Every extra centimeter on each side adds up.
- Swap rigid boxes for padded mailers where it's safe to do so.
- Vacuum-compress soft goods like blankets and clothing.
- Skip the double box unless the item is fragile.
If you're not sure where your break-even is, run a few sizes through a shipping cost calculator before you lock in your holiday packaging. Over a few thousand orders, a smaller box adds up.
Split SKUs: fly the best sellers, parcel the long tail
A simple split by sales and margin works for most catalogs:
- For your top 10–20% of SKUs by holiday sales, consider air freight to a local warehouse, so they can ship domestically right up to the last week.
- Keep everything else in China and send by parcel line as orders come in.
- For heavy, low-margin items, set an earlier Christmas cutoff for them, rather than paying express rates to save the sale.
Consolidate suppliers before export
If products come from three or four factories, shipping each supplier's goods on its own means more small shipments and more paperwork. Consolidated shipping from China brings them together in one warehouse first, so they leave as a single, better-packed shipment. Cost and clearance outcomes still vary by route and product, but fewer, fuller shipments are usually easier to manage.
Bundle gifts before they leave China
Gift sets sell well at Christmas. If you build them in China instead of shipping each item separately, you pay for one parcel instead of three, and the customer gets something that actually looks like a gift. Kitting and assembly covers this: putting multiple SKUs into one box, adding a greeting card or insert, and labeling the finished set as its own SKU. Just note that custom packaging work isn't automatically included or free; it's quoted based on what you need.
Get declared values and HS codes right
Few sellers budget for customs holds, but in late December a parcel stuck for a week usually turns into a refund.
- Declare the real transaction value. Undervaluing to save on duty can get parcels held or returned.
- Use a specific product description. "Gift" or "accessories" is a red flag for customs.
- Check the HS code for each SKU before peak, not during it. A quick HS code and tariff rate check also shows you the US duty rate you're likely facing.
Duties and customs for holiday orders: DDP vs DDU
A customs bill on the doorstep spoils a Christmas present. Before you write "no extra fees" on your checkout page, check how duties work in each market this year.
US imports after the end of de minimis
The old US rule that let low-value parcels under $800 enter duty-free no longer applies to goods from China. That changed in 2025, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection has since moved to suspend duty-free treatment for low-value mail shipments indefinitely. CBP has also pushed the compliance date for new informal entry procedures on international mail to January 20, 2027. Its e-commerce guidance page is the place to check for current rules.
In practice, almost every parcel from China now owes duty, and DDP or DDU decides whether you or your customer pays it.
Low-value import rules in the UK, EU, Canada and Australia
- The EU removed the €150 customs duty exemption on July 1, 2026. Low-value parcels now carry a flat €3 customs duty per item, on top of import VAT, which is often collected at checkout through the IOSS scheme.
- In the UK, the £135 customs duty relief is still in place for now, but the government has confirmed it will be removed in the next couple of years. VAT already applies to imports and is usually collected by the seller or marketplace at checkout.
- In Canada, duty and sales tax depend on the value of the goods and how they're shipped (postal or courier). Low thresholds mean many holiday orders will owe something.
- In Australia, GST applies to low-value imported goods and is generally collected by the seller or marketplace at the point of sale.
These rules change often, and details such as whether a parcel counts as a gift can change the result. A customs broker can confirm before peak.
What DDP covers and where it doesn't apply
DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) means the shipping price doesn't include import charges. Your customer pays any duty or VAT when the parcel arrives. It's cheaper upfront, but some customers refuse the package rather than pay.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means duties are included in the shipping cost, so the recipient doesn't get a surprise bill. For SendFromChina's US DDP service, there are two conditions to know:
- The declared value per parcel can't be more than US$150.
- DDP doesn't deliver to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Guam.
For Christmas gifts, DDP spares the recipient a bill on delivery. Whichever you use, say on the checkout page which method applies to which order.
Week-by-week Christmas shipping checklist (Nov 9 to Jan 10)
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Week
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What to do
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|---|---|
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Nov 9–15
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Pick which SKUs fly and which stay in China. Lock in holiday packaging and gift bundles. Check HS codes and declared values.
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Nov 16–22
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Book any air freight for best sellers. Publish country-by-country Christmas cutoffs on your store. Brief your support team.
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Nov 23–29
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Black Friday week. Watch stock daily. EU, Canada and Australia suggested cutoffs pass on Nov 27.
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Nov 30–Dec 6
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US suggested cutoff Nov 30. Switch EU, Canada and Australia product pages to "arrives after Christmas" from Dec 5.
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Dec 7–13
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US risky cutoff Dec 7. UK suggested cutoff Dec 8. Push gift cards for late shoppers.
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Dec 14–20
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UK risky cutoff Dec 15. Express only for anything still urgent. Track every late parcel and reply to "where is my order" emails fast.
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Dec 21–27
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Keep support staffed. Log delays and damages. Prepare return instructions.
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Dec 28–Jan 10
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Handle returns and exchanges. Check stock levels and place Chinese New Year restock orders.
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After Christmas: returns, delays and the Chinese New Year 2027 squeeze
After Christmas come the returns and the "it arrived on the 27th" emails. Have a clear policy ready: who pays for the return, where it goes, and whether you refund or replace. For low-value items, a refund without return is often cheaper than shipping the item back across the world.
About six weeks later, Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027. Many factories start winding down a week or two before the holiday, and some workers don't come back right after it ends. If you sell out over Christmas, your restock window is basically the first three weeks of January. Miss it, and you might be waiting until late February or March for new production.
So place post-holiday restock orders in the week after Christmas. Waiting until after New Year's often pushes production into the holiday.
Where SendFromChina Fits in Your Holiday Plan
SendFromChina is a third-party fulfillment partner based in China. For holiday sellers it handles:
- Warehousing in China. We receive your goods from suppliers, inspect and label them, and store them in our China warehouse so your stock stays close to where it's made.
- Picking, packing and shipping. Orders come in from your store, a spreadsheet or an API, then get picked, packed and sent out with tracking through our pick and pack service.
- Custom packaging, inserts, relabeling and quality checks are available as value-added services, quoted to your requirements.
- DDP and DDU shipping options, with reference transit times by market.
There's no fixed public price list; costs depend on your products, destinations and volume. To price your Christmas setup, you can get a quote and we'll go through it with you. If you're also prepping for the cyber weekend rush, our Black Friday and Cyber Monday fulfillment checklist covers the warehouse side.
Conclusion
If your stock ships from China, your Christmas deadline is weeks before December 25. For parcels, dispatch by late November for the US, EU, Canada and Australia, and by early December for the UK. Choose the carrier for each product, watch dimensional weight, and tell customers up front about duties and arrival dates. Then order your Chinese New Year restock in the last week of December.
FAQs
What is the last day to ship from China for Christmas 2026?
It depends on the destination and shipping method. For tracked parcels from a China warehouse, we suggest dispatching by November 30 for the US, December 8 for the UK, and November 27 for the EU, Canada and Australia. After that, delivery before Christmas gets risky, and express couriers become the main option.
How long does shipping from China to the US take in December?
SendFromChina's reference time for US parcels is 7 to 12 working days. In December, plan for extra days on top of that because of customs backlogs and busy local couriers.
Is it too late to order from China for Christmas?
For ocean freight, mostly yes. For air freight, parcel lines and express couriers, there's still time in November and early December, depending on the destination.
Which carrier is best for shipping from China during the holidays?
There isn't one best carrier. Express couriers suit urgent or high-value orders, parcel lines suit most everyday orders, and air freight to a local warehouse suits your top sellers.
Is air freight worth it for Christmas inventory?
It can be for best-selling, higher-margin products, since local delivery is quicker in late December. For slow movers, the extra cost usually isn't worth it.
Do carriers add peak season surcharges in December?
Yes. Most express carriers add holiday or demand surcharges. DHL Express, for instance, set a demand surcharge from October 1, 2026 to February 5, 2027. Check each carrier's notice before you set shipping prices.
Will my customers pay import duties on Christmas orders from China?
Possibly. Under DDU, the customer pays any duty or VAT on arrival. Under DDP, duties are included in the shipping cost, so the customer doesn't pay on delivery.
What is the difference between DDP and DDU shipping?
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) includes import duties in the shipping price. DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) leaves duties for the recipient to pay. SendFromChina's US DDP service applies to parcels declared at US$150 or less and doesn't cover Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Guam.
When should I stop promising Christmas delivery on my store?
Once your risky dispatch date for a country has passed: around December 4 for the EU, Canada and Australia, December 7 for the US, and December 15 for the UK. After that, switch to "arrives after Christmas" or push digital gift cards.
How does Chinese New Year 2027 affect restocking after Christmas?
Chinese New Year falls on February 6, 2027, and many factories slow down before it. Place restock orders right after Christmas so production and shipping finish before the break.
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