How much are 1st and 2nd class stamps and what do parcels cost? Royal Mail Christmas 2019 post prices explained

If you've got friends in far away places, you'll need to act fast. Picture: Shutterstock

But making sure that all your cards and presents arrive on time can be a lot trickier than you might imagine.

There's stamps to buy, deadlines to meet and parcel sizes to consider.

If you want to make sure that everyone on your Christmas card list is still talking to you in the New Year, it's important to get everything posted on time.

Is your "Nice" list on the long side? Better get some stamps! Picture: Shutterstock

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To help relieve some of the seasonal stress, here's a quick practical guide to spreading festive cheer.

When are the deadlines for Christmas post?

If you have far-flung friends and family, and you want to make sure they've got something from you to open on Christmas morning, it's important to get your cards and parcels mailed in time.

If you're playing Santa this year, there's a few things you'll need to know. Picture: Shutterstock

For sending things to folk within the UK, the last date you can post is Wednesday 18 December if you're going Second Class, while you've got until Friday 20 December for First Class mail.

Those using Royal Mail's Tracked 24 service have until Saturday 21 December, while those mailing their gifts with Special Delivery Guaranteed can leave it all the way until Monday 23 December.

Of course, if you're sending mail internationally then you'll need to be even more on the ball. A full list of international dates can be found here.

How much do stamps cost?

At the moment, if you're just looking to send a couple of cards, it will cost you £4.24 for a book of four First Class stamps and £3.32 for a book of four Second Class ones.

Price-wise though, it makes more sense to buy in bulk, unless you really do only have a couple of things to send for the foreseeable future.

A book of 12 First Class stamps currently costs £8.40, while it's £7.32 for 12 Second Class stamps (so basically you're getting three times as many but only paying twice as much as for four).

What about this year's Christmas stamps?

As is traditional, this year Royal Mail have released a set of Christmas stamps to commemorate the festive season and make all your seasonal parcels look that much more cheerful.

This year, the designs have been provided by paper-cut artists Hari & Deepti and portray scenes from the Nativity story.

Best of all, they cost exactly the same as regular stamps – so you're getting an injection of festive cheer absolutely free!

How about parcels?

If you're looking to post something a little heftier than a Christmas card, you'll need to take the parcel size guidelines into account.

Basically, the bigger and heavier your parcel is, the more it will cost to send it.

Small parcels can weigh up to 2kg, medium ones can be as heavy as 20kg and large ones can swell all the way up to 30kg, though you will have to take their other dimensions into

account as well.

A small parcel, going First Class can cost as little as £3.55 while a medium one going the same way could cost as much as £33.40, so you'll want to know ahead of time how you're getting

your gifts where they need to go.

The full size guide can be found on the Royal Mail website as can a full list of prices.