THE last posting dates for Christmas have been announced by the Royal Mail. 

With the big day fast approaching, people will have right up until Saturday, December 22, to send their last letters and gifts. 

And for the first time ever, the Post Office has teamed up with Amazon's Alexa to ensure everyone knows the last dates for any destination in the world for UK post. 

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By downloading the Royal Mail last posting dates Alexa skill, the device will also be able to tell senders when they should post their mail to armed forces personnel stationed overseas via the British Forces Post Office (BFPO).

It’s hoped the new initiative will help to encourage even more people to post by the correct date.

This will help hard working postmen and women during the busy Festive Season.

The move to having posting dates with Amazon Alexa is part of Royal Mail’s substantial financial investment in additional resources at Christmas to help ensure we provide the best possible postal service to our customers throughout the UK.

Ben Rhodes, Director of Group Marketing at Royal Mail, said: “We are always looking for new and innovative ways to remind people of the last posting dates to every destination in the world and for the UK’s own last posting dates, Alexa fitted the bill.

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“We are really pleased that last posting dates will be delivered by Alexa to make life a little bit easier for many households all over the country. This in turn helps cards, letters and parcels to be delivered on time so that loved ones can enjoy them no matter where they are in the world.”

A full list of last posting dates,  can also be found at https://www.royalmail.com/christmas/last-posting-dates#last-post

The UK last posting dates are:

Tuesday, 18th December – 2nd Class and Royal Mail Signed For® 2nd Class

Thursday, 20th December – 1st Class, Royal Mail Signed For® 1st Class and Royal Mail Tracked 48®

Friday, 21st December – Royal Mail Tracked 24®

Saturday, 22nd December – Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed®