By William Croyle
Enquirer contributor

Today is to Ken Staples what the day after Thanksgiving is to a toy store cashier.

Staples is a U.S. Postal Service mail handler at the processing and distribution center in Queensgate. And today will be the busiest day of the year for the postal service.

On a normal Monday, about 8 million pieces of mail are processed. But today, the center anticipates about 13 million letters, cards, magazines, catalogs and Christmas presents will need to be processed.

"I look forward to it," said Staples, in his eighth year as a mail handler. "It's a joyous time of year and I know somebody is waiting for everything that comes through. I handle each piece as if it's going to someone I know."

Nationwide, the postal service will postmark 850 million items today, almost 200 million more than normal.

With Christmas just 10 days away, some delivery services are hoping people have already sent their holiday packages. Many have.

FedEx has been busy all month, with its busiest day so far yielding 3.1 million packages, said company spokeswoman Sally Davenport.

But today, she said, "Between our express and ground service, we will be handling about 7 million."

It's no different at UPS.

"We're picking up pretty good," said Eddie Newman, manager of the UPS Store on Buttermilk Crossing in Crescent Springs.

UPS expects to deliver more than 300 million packages during the holidays, with the busiest days today through Wednesday.

While these delivery services are prepared to dot the highways with their trucks and to hit the air with still more goodies, they still recommend getting your items sent as soon as possible.

"Those who procrastinate pay premium prices. The longer you wait the more you have to pay," said Bonni Manies, communications specialist for the Cincinnati district of the postal service.

By mail, the price of a 5-pound package sent priority (two- to three-day service) is less than half the cost of next-day service. The slowest level of express service from FedEx (two-day shipping) for the same package is more than twice the cost of shipping by ground. At UPS, any service above ground delivery costs nearly two to five times more.

Add that to the cost of the gift, and it may not be worth sending.

"Think before you buy kids' toys," said Newman. "For the size ... items may end up being more expensive to ship than it's worth."

Tracy McCurry of Florence mailed 40 cards from the Erlanger postal branch last Thursday. "I'm trying to get everything done early," she said. "I usually send them out closer to the 20th."

Manies says that workers consider seasonal mail as more than just "things" that have to get out.

"They feel like they're delivering Christmas to people all around the world."