Holiday gift givers rush to get packages delivered as holiday shipping deadlines loom

CHICAGO (WLS) -- It's the final countdown to get your holiday shopping and shipping done.

Monday is the deadline for shipping by FedEx Ground and it also marks the busiest delivery day for DHL.

Holiday gift givers like Moncserat Alcina swarmed the United States Postal Services to drop off gifts for her grandnieces who live in Washington, D.C.

"I thought they would be really happy to get packages from me but I have to hurry,"Alcina said .

She's not alone, hundreds of other USPS customers rushed and stood in long lines to get their packages in the mail in time for Christmas.

"I have 25 more of these packages at my office and they do have to get there by Christmas," said USPS customer Ashley Stevenson.

USPS delivers the most packages in this United States. They predict they'll deliver about 28 million packages a day this week, and a total of about 800 million between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

"This is something we look forward to. This is our time to shine," said Tim Norman, a USPS spokesperson.

It's also hard work, Monday is the busiest day the year for DHL drivers, who will deliver about 15 percent more packages this Christmas season than last year. UPS, Fedex and other carriers said package deliveries are up this year compared to last Christmas.

"For us this is the super bowl of delivery," said Nemer Abohasen, a supervisor at DHL.

UPS cutoff for ground delivery already passed. It was on December 13. USPS standard shipping was December 14, while FedEx Ground's is Monday.

After that, gift givers will have to pay more.

Amazon Prime members can get free shipping until December 22.

Chicago's main USPS location, 433 West Harrison Street, is extending its hours until midnight Monday through Friday, to meet the demand. They'll also be open on Sunday, but workers recommend not waiting until the last minute.