The Christmas Checklist

That is the last day USPS suggests for Ground Advantage and First-Class Mail to reach the lower 48 by Christmas. Priority Mail can wait until December 18, and Priority Mail Express until December 19.

Is December 17 a guarantee? No. USPS calls these dates estimates, and weather or a heavy week can slow things down.

FedEx aims for Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day. Overnight has to ship by December 23, and 2Day by December 22. FedEx Ground runs from December 17 for a five-day trip to December 23 for a one-day trip. UPS sets its days by service and distance, and its calculator gives you yours.

What is the last day for UPS? It depends on the service and how far the box is going. The UPS time-in-transit calculator, at ups.com/ctc, gives the day for your two zip codes.

December 17 is the last day USPS suggests for First-Class Mail in the lower 48, but a card mailed a week sooner gets there ahead of the rush and has time to be enjoyed. Cards going overseas should leave by December 9.

Is it too late to send cards after Christmas? Not at all. A New Year's card is an old and friendly tradition, and it's a good way to catch up with anyone you missed.

A mail carrier may accept a gift worth up to $20 on an occasion like Christmas, and no more than $50 a year from one person. Cash, checks and prepaid cards that spend like cash are not allowed. A small gift card to one store is fine, and cookies are always fine.

Does the rule apply to UPS and FedEx drivers? No. Those are private companies with their own policies.

Address it to Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888, with a stamp and a return address. Letters that reach Operation Santa by the deadline can be adopted by volunteers, though USPS can't promise every letter a reply.

Buy about 1 pound of whole turkey per person, which means a 12-pound bird for twelve people. Go up to 1 1/2 pounds each if you want sandwiches the next day. A boneless breast takes about 1/2 pound per person.

How big a turkey for 12 people? About 12 pounds, or about 18 pounds if you want leftovers.

The common figure is about 1/2 pound per person for bone-in ham and 1/3 pound for boneless, because you pay for the bone and nobody eats it. Guides run anywhere from 1/4 pound to 3/4 pound and up, mostly because some count one helping and others count seconds and sandwiches. If ham is the only main dish, plan toward the high end.

How big a ham for 12 people? A bone-in ham of about 6 pounds, or a boneless one of about 4 pounds. Go bigger if you want leftovers.

The usual way to order is one rib for every two people, which comes to about 1 pound of bone-in roast each. For boneless, plan on 1/2 to 3/4 pound per person. Ask for one more rib if you want cold beef sandwiches the next day.

How much does one rib weigh? About 2 pounds, so a four-rib roast runs around 8 pounds.

A 20-pound bird needs 4 to 5 days, so it goes in the refrigerator by Sunday, December 20. The safe faster way is cold water: keep the turkey in a leak-proof bag, allow 30 minutes per pound, change the water every 30 minutes and cook it as soon as it's thawed. Never thaw it on the counter.

How long for other sizes? Up to 12 pounds, 1 to 3 days. 12 to 16 pounds, 3 to 4 days. 16 to 20 pounds, 4 to 5 days. 20 to 24 pounds, 5 to 6 days.

165°F is the safe minimum, checked with a food thermometer in the innermost part of the thigh and wing and the thickest part of the breast. Go by the lowest number you read. Stuffing has to reach 165°F in the center too, in the bird or in its own dish.

If the turkey reads 165°F, is the stuffing done? Check it separately. The center of the stuffing has to read 165°F on its own.

Raw ham and beef roasts, prime rib included, are safe at 145°F with a 3-minute rest before carving. A fully cooked ham straight from its package only needs warming to 140°F. Any other cooked ham, such as one already heated once, goes to 165°F.

Is medium rare safe? Medium rare stops short of 145°F, so it doesn't meet the safe minimum. Recipes that call for it are going by taste.

Cooked food can stay out for 2 hours, counted from when it comes off the heat. If the room is above 90°F, that drops to 1 hour. Food that's been out longer should be thrown out, even if it looks fine.

Does a buffet get longer? Not at room temperature. Food kept at 140°F or warmer, or 40°F or colder, is the exception. Some warming trays only reach 110 to 120°F, so check yours.

Cooked turkey, ham slices, stuffing and side dishes keep 3 to 4 days, so Friday's dinner is done by Tuesday. Gravy gets 1 to 2 days. Reheat leftovers to 165°F and bring gravy to a rolling boil.

How long does a whole ham keep? A whole fully cooked ham keeps 7 days in the refrigerator, half a ham 3 to 5 days, and slices 3 to 4 days.

Baked cookies keep 2 to 3 weeks in an airtight tin in a cool spot, and they don't need the refrigerator, though soft ones are at their best the first week. To freeze them, cool them completely, stack them with paper between the layers, seal and label the container, and thaw them in it at room temperature. Eat frozen cookies within about 3 months for the best flavor.

How long can cookies stay in the freezer? University guides run from 2 months to a year at 0°F. Past about 3 months they're still safe, but they taste less like the day you baked them.

Yes, if you cook the eggs and milk to 160°F, stirring the whole time, or start with pasteurized eggs. Raw eggs can carry Salmonella even when they're clean and cold, and liquor doesn't take care of that. Store-bought eggnog is pasteurized, but read the label to be sure.

How do I know it's reached 160°F? Use a food thermometer. The mixture will coat a metal spoon at about that point, and much hotter can curdle the eggs.

The usual guide is up to the cost of one visit for a hairdresser, up to a week's pay for a housekeeper, up to an evening's pay for a regular sitter and $10 to $30 for a newspaper carrier. That's common practice, not a rule, and a small gift with a note is fine if money is tight. In a national survey in the fall of 2025, the typical holiday tip was $50 for a housekeeper and $48 for child care.

What if I already tip at every visit? Then a smaller holiday tip or a small gift is plenty.

A gift card is the favorite. In an informal poll of about 700 educators in 2024, 79 percent picked one and about 7 percent wanted a mug, and in a national survey in the fall of 2025 the typical holiday amount for a teacher was $25. Common practice is a gift rather than cash, with a note, and some school districts limit what a teacher may accept, so check with the school first.

Can the class go in on one gift? Yes. One gift card from the whole class is a common way to do it. Some districts set a limit on class gifts too, so ask first.

Everyone draws one name in secret and buys one gift for that person, up to a spending limit the group agrees on. Common practice is to draw two to four weeks before the exchange, so there's time to shop and ship. Most groups pick a number between $20 and $50.

Can couples be kept from drawing each other? Yes. On our Secret Santa page you can mark any two people who shouldn't draw each other before you draw.

Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. On your turn you unwrap a new gift or steal one that's already open, and whoever loses a gift does the same. Most groups freeze a gift after two or three steals and set a price limit of about $20 to $30, with $25 the most common.

What's a good price limit? About $25, the most common choice. Say one number out loud, so nobody feels shown up.

By old tradition an orange goes in the toe, a custom usually traced to the legend of St. Nicholas dropping gold into stockings hung by the fire to dry. Above it, common choices are candy and chocolate coins, with socks or lip balm for grown-ups and small toys for children.

Why an orange? Nobody can say for sure. The favorite explanation is that it stands in for the St. Nicholas gold, and oranges were also a rare treat in hard years like the Depression.

Bring it up before anyone has started shopping, and say it plainly, to the whole group at once if you can. Offer something in its place, like a cookie swap or gifts for the children only. That's common practice, and you'll often find someone else was hoping you'd say it.

Do we have to give a reason? No. Saying the family has grown and you'd like to simplify is plenty.

Ask your host what would help, and bring that. If they say nothing, common practice is a small gift that needs no work from them, like chocolates or flowers already in a vase. Don't expect it to be served that night, and don't bring a dish nobody asked for, since it can throw off the menu.

Do I have to bring something? No. A gift isn't required at most gatherings, though it's customary at a dinner party unless you're close friends who eat together often.

No federal law sets a deadline, so the store's own policy decides, and 30 days from purchase is a common standard. Many big stores stretch that for holiday purchases, often into mid or late January, and the clock usually starts the day the gift was bought, not the day you opened it. Without a receipt, you'll often get store credit at the lowest recent price, if the store takes it back at all.

Do stores have to take returns at all? Generally no, unless the item is defective or wasn't as described. Some states require a store to post its return policy, so look at the register or on the receipt.

Four to five weeks is a fair expectation for a fresh-cut tree that never runs dry, and a Fraser fir can go a little longer. A tree bought Thanksgiving weekend should reach Christmas Day in good shape. Keep it away from heat vents and fireplaces, and make a fresh cut before it goes in the stand.

How do I keep it fresh the longest? Saw about a half inch off the trunk, straight across, and get it in water within a few hours. Check the stand every day, and keep the tree out of direct sun and away from anything that gives off heat.

A tree can use up to one quart of water a day for each inch of trunk width, so a four-inch trunk can take up to a gallon. Check the stand every day and keep the water above the base of the trunk. The stand should hold at least a quart per inch of trunk.

How often should I check the water? Every day. A tree may take up a gallon in its first 24 hours and about a quart a day after that.

Plain tap water is what the National Christmas Tree Association says to use. Research has found some commercial additives and home mixtures can actually make a tree hold less moisture. Aspirin and sugar aren't needed, so put your effort into keeping the stand full.

Do store-bought tree preservatives help? They aren't needed. University extension offices say plain water keeps a tree fresh.

There's no official date, but a tree bought soon after it reaches the lot is usually the freshest, since it was cut recently. Many lots open around Thanksgiving, and a tree bought that weekend, November 27 to 29 in 2026, has four weeks to reach Christmas. Waiting too long means fewer good trees to choose from.

Can I buy early and keep it outside? Yes. Cut an inch off the trunk, stand it in a bucket of water in an unheated garage out of the wind, and cut it fresh again when it comes inside.

Close your hand around a branch and pull toward the tip, and the needles should stay on. Bend an outer branch, and it should give without snapping. Faded color, wrinkled bark or a musty smell mean it's too dry, so try another tree or another lot.

Should the lot drop the tree on the ground? It's a fair test. Raise it a few inches and let the trunk hit the ground. A few green needles are fine, and inner brown ones fall off any tree.

There's no rule. Many Christian homes keep the tree up through the Twelve Days and take it down around Epiphany, January 6. A real tree should come down sooner if it goes dry, and the US Fire Administration says to get rid of it after Christmas or when it is dry.

Is it bad luck to leave it up past January 6? That's an old superstition from the English-speaking world, and that's all it is. The real concern with a late tree is a dry one.

Take off every ornament and strand of tinsel, then check with your town or county. Many collect trees at the curb in the two weeks after Christmas, and most counties have free drop-off sites where trees get chipped into mulch. Never burn one in a fireplace or wood stove.

Can I leave it in the yard for the birds? Yes, once every decoration, hook and strand of tinsel is off. It makes a good bird feeder.

Common practice is a short greeting and one line meant only for that person, in your own hand. Mention something you noticed about their year or something you shared, then sign off however you like. A printed card with just your name is fine too, and signing it by hand helps.

How do I sign it? Any warm closing works. When several people sign, the order doesn't matter, though adults usually go before children.

Say that you are thinking of them, and write the name of the person who died. A few lines are enough, and a small memory or one specific offer of help is welcome if you have one. This is common practice among hospice and grief groups, and a few gentle lines are better than silence.

Should I still send a card? Yes. Even a short message tells them someone remembered.

Common practice for a family is The Smiths, or The Smith Family if you'd rather, with an s or es and no apostrophe, so The Joneses. For a couple, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith is the traditional form. For a widow, Mrs. John Smith is the traditional form if you don't know her preference, and Mrs. Mary Smith or Ms. Mary Smith is right if that's what she uses.

What if she kept her own last name? Write both in full, on one line if they fit: Mr. John Smith and Ms. Mary Jones. Either name can go first.

There's no rule, but common practice is to write as soon as you can, ideally within a week or two of Christmas. A note is still worth sending after that. If you opened the gift in front of the giver and thanked them then, a note isn't needed, and if the giver wasn't there, a handwritten note is the preferred way to thank them.

Is a text or a call enough? Between peers it can be, as long as it sounds like you mean it.

Yes, when it's short and kind. Common advice is one page at most, with the good news, no bragging, and a line added by hand on each one.

Should I print it? Printing is fine. Write a sentence or two by hand on each one and sign it yourself.

Common practice now accepts it for casual friends and for relatives who use email or text, as long as you write it the way you would a paper card. Paper is still the traditional choice, so mail a real card to anyone who would rather have one. For someone grieving, write a real note.

Can I send one email to my whole list? You can, but use Bcc so nobody's address shows, and keep the attachment small.

Hallmark+ costs $8.99 a month or $79.99 a year after a 7-day free trial, and Hallmark Channel's new movies stream there the next day. To watch it live, Hallmark Channel is on Frndly TV, Philo and YouTube TV, among others. Frndly's basic plan is $8.99 a month, and Philo starts at $25 a month.

Is Hallmark still on Peacock? No. Hallmark's shows and movies left Peacock on May 1, 2025, so anything that still says Peacock is out of date.

Great American Family is on Frndly TV, Philo, Sling, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and YouTube TV. GFam+ is a commercial-free live feed for $5.99 a month, and Great American Pure Flix is the company's on-demand library, with plans from $9.99 a month.

What is GFam+? A commercial-free live feed of Great American Family's programming, at $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year. At Christmas it runs movies around the clock from October 10 through January 5.

Great American Family started on Saturday, October 10, 2026, and Hallmark's Countdown to Christmas followed on Friday, October 16. New Christmas movies run on Great American Family through December 19 and on Hallmark through December 20.

What nights do Hallmark's new movies premiere? Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, usually at 8 p.m. Eastern, through December 20.

All three stream free with commercial breaks. Hallmark has its own free channel with ads, Hallmark Movies & More, on several free streaming services. Which Christmas movies each one has changes through the season, so look before you settle in.

Why are they free? Ads pay for them. Pluto TV says its short commercial breaks are what keep it free.

Great American Family says its movies celebrate faith, family and country, and Great American Pure Flix, from the same company, has its own shelf of faith stories. Disney+ has plenty for the little ones. No list can vouch for every film, so check the rating before you press play.

What do TV-G and TV-PG mean? TV-G means most parents would consider it fine for all ages. TV-PG means some parents may want to watch with younger children.

ABC airs Home Alone on Christmas Eve at 8 p.m. Eastern, and it runs until 10:15. The Santa Clause is on ABC the night before, Wednesday, December 23, at 9 p.m. Eastern.

What else is on ABC this season? Mickey's Christmas Carol airs Wednesday, November 25, at 8 p.m. Eastern, and Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town airs Monday, November 30, at 10 p.m. Eastern.

Hallmark is premiering 34 new Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel in 2026, a record for Countdown to Christmas. New movies run Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 20, and the count changes every year.

How many does Great American Family make? 18 new Christmas movies for 2026.

The usual advice is to start with "What do you think?" and listen. A child who wants the story to keep going will usually tell you so, and you can follow their lead. If a child is truly ready for the whole answer, many families tell them gently and invite them to help with a younger child's stocking.

Around what age do children start asking? Anywhere from about 7 to 10 is common, and some ask sooner.

Go to noradsanta.org on December 24, or call NORAD at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723), where in recent years the lines have opened at 6 a.m. Eastern. Google's Santa Tracker at santatracker.google.com follows the same sleigh on the same night. NORAD posts each year's details on its own site closer to Christmas, so check there for 2026.

Why does NORAD track Santa? In 1955 a child dialed a military number by mistake, thanks to a newspaper ad misprint, and the colonel on duty played along. NORAD took over the job in 1958.

The elf sits and watches by day, flies to the North Pole each night to report to Santa, and turns up in a new spot by morning. Children give it a name and can talk to it, but they're told not to touch it or it may lose its magic. Families usually bring it out between Thanksgiving and December 1, and it goes home on Christmas Eve.

What if a child touches the elf? The book says it can lose its magic. A common family fix is an apology note to Santa overnight or a sprinkle of cinnamon beside the elf, and all is well by morning.

USPS will postmark a letter from Santa at North Pole, Alaska, if it reaches Anchorage in time, so mail it between November 23 and December 1, 2026. Put the letter in an envelope addressed to the child, with a Forever stamp and Santa Claus, North Pole, as the return address. Send that inside a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope or box to North Pole Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Dr, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998.

Does USPS write the letter? No. It adds the postmark, so the letter needs to be written and sealed before it goes to Anchorage.

The 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas named eight, known today as Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. Rudolph joined in 1939, in a story written for the Montgomery Ward stores, which makes nine.

Is it Donner or Donder? Both. The 1823 printing said Dunder and Blixem, later versions changed them to Donder and Blitzen, and Donner became the usual spelling in the early 1900s.

In many churches the four candles stand for hope, peace, joy and love, with one more lit each Sunday of Advent, the season of getting ready for Christmas that begins November 29 in 2026. Names and colors vary by church. Catholic wreaths usually have three purple candles and a rose one for the third Sunday, and some Protestant churches use blue candles, change the order or add a white Christ candle in the center.

When are the Sundays of Advent in 2026? November 29, December 6, December 13 and December 20.

Matthew says only "wise men from the east" and lists their three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Three is tradition, likely taken from the gifts, and the names Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar came centuries later. As for when, Matthew has them find "the young child" in "the house," some time after the birth, and he doesn't say how long.

When did the wise men come? Matthew gives no date. They find a young child in a house, and Herod's order later reached children two and under, so the visit may have come well after the birth. Many churches remember it at Epiphany, January 6.

Many families leave the manger empty through Advent and lay the baby in on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning, often with the children watching. Many also hold the wise men back and move them in for Epiphany. It's a custom and not a church rule, so a set with the baby in it all season is fine.

Who made the first Nativity scene? St. Francis of Assisi is credited with it, for Christmas Eve of 1223 at Greccio, Italy.

The Twelve Days begin on Christmas Day and run through January 5, the day before Epiphany. Counting differs a little by church. United Methodists, for one, describe thirteen days, from sunset on Christmas Eve through January 6.

What is Twelfth Night? The evening that closes the Twelve Days, January 5 for churches that count from Christmas Day. Some traditions keep it January 6.

Epiphany is January 6, a Tuesday in 2026 and a Wednesday in 2027, when Western churches remember the wise men reaching the Christ Child. Most US Catholic dioceses keep it on the Sunday between January 2 and 8, which was January 4 in 2026 and is January 3 in 2027. Orthodox churches keep it as Theophany, with the focus on Jesus' baptism, and those on the old calendar mark it January 19.

What does the word mean? It comes from a Greek word for a shining forth or appearance. Orthodox churches often call the feast Theophany.

Open with the angels, then say thanks in your own words: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Lord, there was no room at the inn, and there is room at this table. Thank you for this food and for everyone who got here. Bless the ones we wish were with us. Amen."

Is there a shorter one? "Lord, thank you for this table and everyone at it. Amen." Nobody has ever complained about a short grace.

Yes. Christmas is a holy day of obligation for US Catholics every year, whatever day it falls on. In 2026 that means Mass on Friday, December 25, or the evening of Thursday, December 24, and a separate Mass for Sunday, December 27, or the evening of Saturday, December 26.

Does Christmas Eve Mass count? Yes. A Mass on the evening before the feast meets the obligation, so Thursday evening counts for Christmas in 2026.

Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026, which makes a three-day weekend, and Christmas Eve is the Thursday before. In 2027 it lands on a Saturday, so the federal holiday moves to Friday, December 24.

How many days until Christmas? The number drops by one every midnight, so it isn't printed here. The JustChristmas Countdown has today's count.

Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which in 2026 is November 29, and it runs through December 24. Many Advent calendars start on December 1, so the church's season opens two days ahead of them this year.

How many Sundays are in Advent in 2026? Four: November 29 and December 6, 13 and 20.

The Bible gives no date for the birth of Jesus, and the first record of December 25 comes from Rome around 336, in a calendar known as the Chronography of 354. Scholars still debate the reason. One view counts nine months from a March 25 conception, and the other points to Rome's midwinter feasts.

Was Jesus really born on December 25? The Bible doesn't say, and most major Christian churches don't treat December 25 as the historical date. It's the day set aside to celebrate his birth.

The ceremony runs from 7 to 10 p.m. Eastern at Rockefeller Center in New York, and the lights come on near the end. There are no public tickets for it, but anyone can see the tree for free once it's lit, and it stays up into January.

Can I watch it on TV? NBC usually televises the ceremony. Its 2026 broadcast details hadn't been posted when this was checked.

There's no rule for this. In a national poll in December 2025, 58 percent of people with a tree put it up between Thanksgiving and the end of the first week of December, and 18 percent went earlier. A fresh-cut tree that stays watered usually lasts four to five weeks, so the weekend after Thanksgiving should carry it through Christmas.

How early is too early for a real tree? A fresh-cut tree that stays watered usually lasts four to five weeks. For Christmas 2026 that reaches back to about November 20.

Winter begins at the solstice, at 3:50 p.m. Eastern on Monday, December 21, 2026. It's the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and the days start getting longer after that.

What time is the solstice where I live? 3:50 p.m. Eastern, 2:50 p.m. Central, 1:50 p.m. Mountain and 12:50 p.m. Pacific.