Canada Post deadline for Christmas delivery is Dec. 11

Pity the person who just needs to buy a stamp today. They may be waiting in a long line of last-minute Santas having their parcels weighed, measured and stamped for timely Christmas delivery.

Canada Post suggests that if you want your gift to arrive before the big day, you'd better load your sleigh and get down to the post office sooner rather than later. 

"This is our big, big week," said Marina McCready, a Canada Post manager in Whitehorse. "We're going full-tilt now."

Parcels to the U.S. need to be mailed by Monday, but the shipping deadline for within Canada regular post is Friday.

"If you mail them after, it's very likely they will get there in time, but if you want to be dead sure, these are suggested dates," McCready said.

'The Great Wall of China'

The Whitehorse postal facility is now a blizzard of activity, with piles of boxes coming and going. Extra staff have been hired to deal with the volume, which McCready says is probably about 5 or 6 times higher than at any other time of year.

"Certainly people are taking advantage of online shopping," McCready said. "Our dock was just packed, it looked like the Great Wall of China."

Of course, there are other shipping options that can seem like precious (though more expensive) gifts to procrastinators. The deadline for express delivery is Dec. 22. Miss that, and you may earn a lump of coal for next Christmas.

Manon Desforges in Whitehorse took a day off work this week to get her gifts organized and shipped. She happily waited in line at the busy postal outlet.

"This is the best part of Christmas — making the deadline so you don't pay the 80 bucks for Xpresspost. Yay!" Desforges said.