CHRISTMAS will soon be upon us and so will the rush to make sure you have posted all of your presents and gifts on time.

Here are the final dates you can send off your gifts and cards with Royal Mail to make sure they arrive on time.

Already the shops are filling with festive gifts and cards - even if it is only October.

This year, with warnings about product shortages, many people may be getting ready for Christas earlier than ever.

And with covid number rising, people may want to make sure they have Christmas sorted earlier in case restrictions are brought in again.

The last recommended day for people to send Royal Mail 2nd Class and 2nd Class Signed For is Saturday, December 18.

However, if you do miss the deadline you can still send your parcels via Royal Mail 1st Class and 1st Class Signed For which have a cut-off date of Tuesday, December 21.

The last date for people to post using Parcelforce Worldwide express48 and express48large service will be Wednesday, December 22.

Customers should note express48large is only available at certain Post Offices so make sure to check ahead before travelling.

Don't worry if you miss this deadline though as you can still use Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed Parcelforce Worldwide express24, AM 9 and 10 service.

You have until Thursday, December 23 to use this service.

If you have family and friends abroad that you need to send gifts to Royal Mail says it is best to post early to avoid disappointment.

The last recommended posting date to use the British Forces Post Office (BFPO) for Operational HM Forces is Monday, November 29.

For Static HM Forces, the last recommended posting date is a little later Friday, December 6.

If you do not want to miss the deadline to send cards and gifts to the Republic of Ireland the deadline varies depending on the service you use.

Globalvalue is the cheapest and has a deadline for Monday, December 13 or you can use Globalexpress which has a deadline of Monday, December 20.