Workbench Guides · Seasonal
Christmas Posting Dates
Here are Royal Mail's last posting dates for Christmas 2026, for the UK and for friends further afield. Every miniature we sell is printed to order in resin, just for you, so the earlier you order, the better the chance it's under the tree on the big day.
Christmas is a lovely time to give someone a miniature, and a busy time for the post. Royal Mail publishes a last posting date for each of its services every year. It's the last day it recommends handing a parcel over if you'd like it delivered before Christmas.
This page gathers those dates in one place, for the UK and for the main places we send to abroad. The UK dates are confirmed by Royal Mail. The international ones are guides for now, clearly marked, and we'll update them as soon as Royal Mail confirms.
What this covers
- Royal Mail's UK last posting dates for 2026.
- Guide dates for Europe, the USA and Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- Why ordering early helps a printed to order gift.
- Gift ideas, and Royal Mail's full UK list.
All dates are Royal Mail's posting dates, the day a parcel goes into the post. For how UK delivery and tracking work the rest of the year, see our UK delivery guide.
UK posting dates
Our UK Christmas service is Royal Mail 24, and Royal Mail has confirmed its dates.
Our UK Christmas service
Royal Mail 24
Royal Mail last posting date
Monday 21 December
ConfirmedRoyal Mail Tracked 48
Last posting
Saturday 19 December
ConfirmedSpecial Delivery Guaranteed
Last posting
Wednesday 23 December
ConfirmedThe posting date is the day a parcel goes into the post, not the day you place an order. Every miniature we sell is printed to order in resin, then measured and packed, so it spends a little time in our workshop before it meets Royal Mail. Ordering early gives yours the best chance of arriving in time.
Tracked 48 and Special Delivery Guaranteed are shown alongside for reference. Royal Mail's full UK list, including Parcelforce and Evri, is in the small print.
Tap the diagram to open it full size.
The last week before Christmas. Royal Mail's confirmed last posting dates for UK addresses, with our UK Christmas service in red. Bob has his parcel ready.
Europe and beyond
Guide dates for now, clearly marked. We'll update them as soon as Royal Mail confirms.
Parcels going abroad spend longer in the post, so their last posting dates come earlier, and the further they go, the earlier the date. If you're sending a miniature to a friend overseas, or ordering from abroad yourself, these are the dates to keep in mind.
Europe (EU and non-EU)
Last posting
Monday 14 December
GuideUSA and Canada
Last posting
Friday 11 December
GuideAustralia and New Zealand
Last posting
Monday 7 December
GuideRest of the world
Last posting
Friday 4 December
GuideAbout these dates. Royal Mail has not confirmed its 2026 international dates yet. These are our guide dates from previous years and we will update them as soon as it does.
Tap the diagram to open it full size.
Further away, posted earlier. The longer the trip, the more time a parcel needs in the post, so the last posting date moves earlier for each step further from the UK.
Why order early
Every miniature is printed just for you, and December is the post's busiest month.
We don't pull your miniature off a shelf. When you order, it's printed to order in resin, measured against its stated size and packed, and only then does it head off with Royal Mail. That's what makes it yours, and it's also why a little extra time before Christmas is a lovely thing to give it.
December is busy for everyone in the post, so an early order is simply a relaxed one. You get to enjoy the run up to Christmas, and your miniature gets the best chance of arriving in good time.
Tap the diagram to open it full size.
From our workshop to your door. You order, we print it, Bob packs it, Royal Mail carries it, and it ends up under the tree.
Early is relaxed
Order when the idea strikes. Then it's done, and you can get back to mince pies and painting.
Check the address
Sending straight to a friend? Double check their address and postcode before you pay, so Royal Mail knows exactly where to go.
Abroad? Go first
Overseas parcels have the longest trip, so start with those and save the UK ones for later.
Gifts and ideas
Not sure what to pick? We've written guides for exactly that.
A miniature makes a thoughtful gift for a painter, a gamer or someone who just loves a good dragon. Our gift guides by occasion cover Christmas alongside birthdays and Father's Day, and the gift guide for a miniature painter helps when you're buying for someone who already has a brush in hand. There are plenty more ideas in our Workbench guides.
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Pick a guide
Start with our gift guides by occasion for ideas for painters, gamers and beginners.
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Check their size
Our compare tool shows 28, 32, 35, 55 and 75mm side by side, so the gift matches their collection.
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Still stuck?
Ask us about a gift card. With 12,000+ miniatures to choose from, they can pick their own.
Workbench guide
Gift guides by occasion
Christmas, birthdays and Father's Day, with ideas for painters, gamers and complete beginners, and how to get the size right.
Read the gift guides
The small print
Royal Mail's full UK list, and a few things worth knowing.
| Service | Last posting |
|---|---|
| Royal Mail | |
| Royal Mail 48 | Friday 18 December |
| Royal Mail Tracked 48 | Saturday 19 December |
| Royal Mail 24 (our UK Christmas service) | Monday 21 December |
| Royal Mail Tracked 24 | Monday 21 December |
| Special Delivery Guaranteed | Wednesday 23 December |
| Parcelforce | |
| express48 | Monday 21 December |
| express10, expressAM and express24 | Tuesday 22 December |
| Evri | |
| Standard Parcels | Sunday 20 December |
Confirmed and guide dates
A confirmed date has been published by Royal Mail for this Christmas. A guide date is our best estimate from the dates Royal Mail set in the last two years, mapped onto this year's calendar. Royal Mail hasn't published its 2026 international dates yet, and we'll swap the guides for the real thing as soon as it does.
Tap the diagram to open it full size.
Two kinds of date. Green means Royal Mail has confirmed it. A dashed amber outline means it's a guide for now, and it turns green when Royal Mail publishes the date.
Working days
Royal Mail counts its delivery aims in working days, and Sundays and bank holidays aren't working days. A weekend in the middle of a parcel's trip adds a day or two, which is one more reason an early order makes for a relaxed Christmas.
Bank holidays
Christmas Day and Boxing Day are bank holidays, so they don't count as working days either. The posting dates above already allow for them.
Posting dates, not promises
Last posting dates are Royal Mail's recommendations, not guarantees, apart from guaranteed services such as Special Delivery Guaranteed. They're the best guide there is. And if anything isn't right with your miniature, our Love Us Guarantee means a full refund or replacement, no quibbles.
Ready for Christmas?
- Checked the posting date for where it's going?
- Ordered early, so there's time to print it just for you?
- Delivery address and postcode double checked?
- Sending abroad, and seen that the date is a guide for now?
- Picked the right size for their collection?
- Found a hiding place you'll actually remember?
Never do this
Rely on the elves
They're lovely, but they don't work for Royal Mail. Check the posting date for where your parcel is going.
Address it to the North Pole
Unless your friend really is Father Christmas, check the address and postcode before you pay.
Hide it too well
Every year a beautiful miniature turns up in a sock drawer in March. Pick a hiding place and write it down.
Open it with the bread knife
There's a resin miniature in there, not a Christmas cake. Scissors on the tape, gently, please.
Let the cat unwrap it
Cats love boxes. Cats also love knocking tiny knights off the table. Unwrap it somewhere sensible.
Hang Bob on the tree
He's a knight, not a bauble. Although, to be fair, he would look very smart up there.
Quick answers
The short version
Order early, relax
In the UK, Royal Mail's last posting date for Royal Mail 24, our UK Christmas service, is Monday 21 December. Tracked 48 is Saturday 19 December and Special Delivery Guaranteed is Wednesday 23 December. Parcels going abroad have earlier dates, shown as guides until Royal Mail confirms them.
Every miniature is printed to order in resin, just for you, so the earlier you order, the better the chance it's under the tree on Christmas morning. Happy Christmas from all of us, and from Bob.
Back to the painting table
12,000+ models from leading independent designers, printed to order and ready to prime and paint.