Christmas time is the season of fun, family, friends, food, gifts and other numerous things that make our lives a bit more joyous and then of course …..working. For lots of people, the Christmas season means long hours, late nights and lots of hard work. My father, Kurt Horwath is one of those people who face long hours and hard work. He gave me a glimpse into his busy work schedule for the holiday season.

Horwath finds himself working about “forty five to fifty hours a week, but through thanksgiving through New Years drivers will work fifty five to seventy hours a week.” That’s a huge jump in hours. UPS also delivers many packages in the holiday season. “On seventeen of the twenty one delivery days between thanksgiving and Christmas, UPS delivers more than thirty million packages daily. UPS delivers five hundred ten million or more in the four weeks before Christmas.” Yes, five hundred ten million. You read that correctly.

For the holiday season, many corporations including UPS needs additional holiday helpers. Horwath says “UPS plans to hire about ninety five thousand additional workers for the holiday season.” The worst things that come out of working the holiday season for Horwath would be “late hours” and the fact that it is the “coldest time of year” it also gets dark earlier, and the routes are two hundred to five hundred delivery stops! However it isn’t all bad. “Customers are in a good mood.” And of course, “You get plenty of cookies, candy and food.”

Many packages will unfortunately arrive late if you order them too late in the season. Horwath advises customers to “plan ahead if you want your gift to make it on time!” The biggest reason for delays would be because of the weather and high numbers of other deliveries. A snow storm can also delay deliveries. “Don’t wait until the last minute to ship.” Kurt would also tell people that they should “plan at least a week ahead” if you would like your package to arrive before Christmas (with some exceptions).

The holidays are rapidly picking up as the days go on. If you plan on ordering packages for gifts, please be patient with your driver. UPS and many other companies are very busy trying to satisfy their customers. Online ordering is at an all time high in our everyday life, and when Christmas comes it skyrockets. They are working hard to get you your package, so make sure you thank them if you can.