With thousands of holiday packages and cards on the way to loved ones, this is -by far- the busiest time of the year for the U-S Postal Service. Mason City postmaster Alan Steckman says if you need to send something overseas, it’ll have to be done ASAP if it’s to arrive before Christmas. December 2nd and 3rd are the last day at many locations to get the packages out on time.Steckman says there are several ways to avoid standing in long lines at the post office, like when you need stamps, such as stamps by mail or stamps by fax.There’s also a website now to order stamps over the Internet. Steckman says the big day for handling tons of mail should come in a just less than two weeks on December 13th.Post offices nationwide will handle about 20-BILLION pieces of mail between Thanksgiving and Christmas.