It's not Halloween yet, but it's never too early to start thinking about the holiday season.The U.S. Postal Service has just released its recommendations for when to ship holiday gifts and cards to guarantee arrival before Dec. 25. This year, Dec. 25 marks the first night of Hannukah, in addition to Christmas, and Dec. 26 is Kwanzaa. Those sending items within the contiguous U.S. should ship by Dec. 18 if using the Postal Service’s ground advantage or first-class mail options. Priority mail and priority mail express can be used between Dec. 19 and Dec. 21, but prices will be higher.The Postal Service has further recommendations for those shipping to Alaska, Hawaii and internationally on its webpage, along with the deadlines.FedEx can do same-day shipments until Dec. 24, but items shipped using its ground economy service need to be sent by Dec. 13. Those using the company’s ground and home delivery service should ship items as early as Dec. 17 if using the five-day shipping plan.UPS deadlines vary depending on the package and its destination for its ground service. The company recommends using its online calculator to estimate the deadline for sending an item. Packages can be sent as late as Dec. 23 if customers use the UPS next-day air service.The Postal Service recommends that gifts and cards be sent as early as possible to guarantee arrival by Dec. 25.