Take a moment to thank Santa’s unsung helpers at the postal service

Nam Y. Huh / AP, file

A United States Postal Service employee works outside a post office in Wheeling, Ill., Dec. 3, 2021. Four environmental groups that want the U.S. Postal Service to buy more electric delivery vehicles are suing to halt further purchases. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, April 28, 2022, in federal court in California, asks a judge to order the Postal Service to conduct a more thorough environmental review before moving forward with the next-generation vehicle program.

Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022 | 2 a.m.

Every year in December, postal workers find themselves buried in a mountain of mail. Some of that mail is holiday cards, advertisements from retailers and gyms promoting “new year, new you” opportunities, and even last-minute invoices that simply must be paid by the end of the calendar year. But many of the biggest, bulkiest, heaviest and most critical deliveries are the result of the U.S. Postal Service’s tireless commitment to helping parents, friends, family members and even Santa Claus himself deliver truckloads of gifts and packages across the country.

This holiday season, take the time and effort to show your appreciation for their hard work.

Don’t get us wrong, Santa’s nighttime joyride in a sleigh pulled by magical reindeer from the North Pole and around the world is an impressive feat to behold. So impressive that the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has a group of satellites and radar facilities dedicated to tracking Santa’s sleigh and providing real time updates tonight at noradsanta.org.

But without the 500,000 men and women employed by USPS, delivering Christmas to everyone in the United States would be a tall order indeed. And the explosive growth of online shopping and recent ill-advised cuts to the postal service budget has only made their jobs more difficult.

Americans now purchase more than $9 billion worth of goods and products online each year. Moving those products from the seller or a warehouse to our front door takes an army of trains, planes, automobiles and USPS, UPS and FedEx employees going the extra mile to deliver the “last mile” of the supply chain.

In total, the postal service delivers just shy of 129 billion pieces of mail each year, including 7.5 billion packages and 66.2 billion pieces of marketing mail delivered to more than 160 million different delivery points.

During the holiday season, postal employees and other delivery drivers may work as many as 12-16 hours a day, delivering more than 300 packages per route. They do it in unpredictable conditions in which everything from traffic to uncontrolled animals to the “cyclone bomb” that struck much of the country this week can rapidly confound them and make their task immeasurably harder. And the holidays aren’t the only time we depend on them to deliver for us in today’s online, just-in-time economy.

Much like health care workers and teachers, postal service employees (and their counterparts at private companies like UPS and FedEx) became a lifeline for many Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. They delivered food, clothing, supplies for projects to occupy our minds and even critical medications. Yet as it is with many public-facing roles, complaints are too often amplified and directed toward those with little power while grace and gratitude are rare.

Taking the time to thank them for their hard work is a great way to demonstrate the spirit of the season.

One simple way to express your gratitude is to write a thank-you note that shares what their service means to you. This is also a great way to teach your children about the importance of giving thanks and acknowledging those people who make our lives better.

Homemade food and snacks can be tricky due to food allergies and concerns about insects and other animals. But, if possible, you can speak to your carrier face-to-face and offer a bottle of water or a warm thermos of coffee or cocoa on a cold day. Delivering the mail can be a lonely job, and taking a moment to thank them in person gives the gift of gratitude and a personal connection. Just be prepared that they might say “no, thank you” — liquids are heavy, and they may literally have enough weight on their shoulders already.

Finally, if the spirit moves you, consider a card with cash or gift card inside. According to the USPS, mail carriers can accept gifts or gift cards valued up to $20.

No matter how you say thank you, take pride in the knowledge that you are helping support the spirit of the holiday season, giving fuel to the magic of Santa Claus and making someone’s day a little brighter.