SOUTH CHARLESTON, WEST VIRGINIA (WOWK) — Christmas is now just over a week away, and while the holiday season snuck up on some of us, it doesn’t mean your last-minute shipping troubles have to as well.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is expecting to deliver about 900 million packages from now until Christmas.

“This week will be our busiest shipping, mailing, and delivery week. So if you want to avoid the holiday crush, please mail your items as soon as possible,” said Susan Wright, USPS Spokesperson for West Virginia.

Last year, the Charleston Postal Plant processed more than 4.6 million packages in December alone, and they are expecting, even more, this year. The USPS released their deadlines for packages to arrive on time by December 25th.

December 17 is the deadline for first-class mail. That’s things like Christmas cards, newsletters, and small first class packages. December 18 is the deadline for priority mail packages. And then for procrastinators, the deadline for priority mail express is December 23,” said Wright.

The Charleston Postal Plant has made more than 160 seasonal hires and has machines operating 20 hours a day to meet the demand.