NEWJERSEY — Serving our country far from home, few things can do more to brighten the holiday spirits of military and diplomatic personnel than greeting cards and care packages from family, friends, and neighbors. Northern New Jersey Postmasters urge residents to ship as early as possible to Army / Air Post Office (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO), and Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) addresses, but no later than the following mail-by dates:
| Military Mail Addressed | Priority Mail Express Military Service | First-Class Mail Letters and Cards | Priority | Parcel Airlift Mail (PAL) |
| APO/FPO/DPO AE | Dec-18 | Dec-11 | Dec-11 | Dec-4 |
| APO/FPO/DPO AE | N/A | Dec-09 | Dec-09 | Dec-4 |
| APO/FPO/DPO AE | Dec-18 | Dec-11 | Dec-11 | Dec-4 |
| APO/FPO/DPO AA | Dec-18 | Dec-11 | Dec-11 | Dec-4 |
| APO/FPO/DPO AP | Dec-18 | Dec-11 | Dec-11 | Dec-4 |
To send packages to military and diplomatic posts abroad, the Postal Service offers a discounted price of $19.60 on its largest Priority Mail Flat Rate Box. The price includes a $1.50 discount per box for mail sent to APO/FPO/DPO (Air/Army Post Office/Fleet Post Office/Diplomatic Post Office) destinations worldwide.
The Postal Service offers a free Military Care Kit to ship presents and care packages to the men and women in the armed forces. The kit contains: two Priority Mail APO/FPO Flat Rate Boxes, four Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Boxes, Priority Mail tape, Priority Mail address labels, and six Custom Forms Envelopes. To order the kit, call 1-800-610-8734.
Guidelines for packing, addressing and shipping items to U.S. troops can be found at store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/military-care-kit-P_MILITARYKIT. To order flat-rate boxes featuring the “America Supports You” logo, go to usps.com/freeboxes.
