Isle of Man Post Office will be distributing this year's Christmas brochure from the 12th of November, and is pleased to announce details of its last posting dates, opening and closing times across its services for the festive period and other important information for customers.
This year Isle of Man Post Office are delighted to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Beano together with Dennis & Gnasher in "A Beano Christmas on the Isle of Man". This festive, fun-filled set of eight stamps was designed by artist Nigel Parkinson, who is the most prolific Beano cartoonist, having drawn Dennis since 1999 as one of a select band of artists. An exclusive comic strip has been created to tell the story of Dennis & Gnasher's time on the Isle of Man for Christmas.
These vibrant and creative stamps depict Dennis & Gnasher with various iconic Isle of Man landmarks and were issued on October 29th. The collection includes stamp sheets, with gummed and self-adhesive options, a presentation pack and a first day cover. There is a special Beanotown Post Office 'Top Secret Message' Kit, a Beano Christmas Collectors Album and a Beano Christmas Fan Pack available. Furthermore, we offer a decorative Beano Christmas Comic Sheetlet which is also available framed and as a special limited edition print, signed by artist Nigel Parkinson (limited to 100). The stamp collection is available from Post Offices and Pay & Post Kiosks Island-wide and the full range of collectables is available to order online at iompost.com/Beano.
The Post Office network will be open as normal in the lead up to Christmas. Some of our branches will be operating extended opening hours over the festive period, visit iompost.com/christmas for a full breakdown. Please note that on Monday, December 24th our Post Offices close at 12:30 and Post Office Headquarters will close at 15:00. All Post Offices will be closed on December 25th and December 26th. In the lead up to New Year's Post Offices will close at 16:00 and Post Office Headquarters will close at 17:30 on December 31st. Tuesday January 1st all Post Offices will be closed. As of Wednesday, January 2nd, all Post Offices and delivery offices will be open as usual.
During the festive period the Department of Health and Social Care has advised of the early encashment of pensions and allowances for the convenience of customers. Therefore, pensions and allowances due for payment on December 24th, December 25th and December 26th can be collected on December 21st and allowances due on December 31st and January 1st 2019 may be collected on December 28th.
Customers are kindly reminded to make sure any items being sent are safe to fly this Christmas. Many everyday items are classified as prohibited or restricted under transport legislation therefore some cannot be flown whilst with others there may be exceptions. For a full list of prohibited and restricted items visit iompost.com/restricted. Alternatively, if you are unsure about any items you wish to post to the UK or overseas this Christmas, please contact Customer Services on 664664 or ask at your local post office.
The last recommended posting date for delivery before Christmas for airmail to Africa and Middle East is December 4th, while Asia, Caribbean, Cyprus, Far East, Japan, Central and South America are December 7th. Greece, Australia and New Zealand should be sent no later than December 10th and Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden and USA should be sent no later than December 14th. December 17th is the last posting date for Austria, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland and those posting to Belgium, France, Ireland and Luxemburg should post items by December 18th.
For friends and family of HM Forces personnel, mail must be sent by no later than December 11th for static BFPOs and November 27th for operational BFPOs. Don't forget friends and family can continue to send letters and parcels up to 2kg free of charge to any BFPO address.
The last posting date for sending letters, large letters and packets to the UK is December 21st; this is also the last posting date for local mail and Parcelforce next day and Special Delivery next day guaranteed service. Special Delivery Saturday guaranteed to the UK, Channel Islands and local delivery is also Friday 21st December.
Customers are also reminded to make sure their letters and parcels are addressed complete with a return address and postcode included.
For full details of our Safe to Fly advice, last posting dates and addressing standards visit iompost.com/christmas.
Customers that miss their parcel delivery are encouraged to use our online redelivery request service to arrange delivery of their item on a more convenient day. Alternatively, to avoid missing any deliveries altogether, customers can sign up for Isle of Man Post Office's free Safe Place service. This means if you are not at home when the post person delivers a package, it can be left in a designated Safe Place as nominated by you. If customers are signing up for Safe Place, Isle of Man Post Office also encourage them to sign up for our Authority to Sign service, to allow the post person to leave your 'Signed For' items in your Safe Place while you're out.
Details of Redelivery, Safe Place services and Authority to Sign services can be found at iompost.com, alternatively, pick up a form at your local post office.
This Christmas Isle of Man Post Office continue to offer a free reply service for all the children that write letters to Father Christmas. Father Christmas will endeavour to respond to each and every letter so these should be sent as soon as possible in an envelope with a first class stamp, so it reaches Father Christmas in Lapland in a timely manner. To ensure children are not disappointed, all letters should also include a return address, so Father Christmas knows who to send a reply to.
Information about Father Christmas letters and sending and receiving Christmas mail can be found on the Christmas page of our website iompost.com/christmas.
Customers are also reminded of the Isle of Man Post Office's self-service Pay & Post Kiosks which are positioned across the Island and offer convenient access to postal services out of working hours without the need to queue. The Pay & Post Kiosks assist those customers wishing to pay to send letters and packets, purchase postage and pay Government rates and rents, fixed and endorsable penalty fines and utility bills. Details of their locations can be found at iompost.com/kiosks.
Finally, Isle of Man Post Office would like to remind customers that they offer competitive rates with 0% commission, plus commission free buy-back on notes when you return. Foreign currency is available to order at any time online or in any of the 26 branches across the Island. You can either collect your ordered foreign currency from any branch, or get free quick delivery via our Special Delivery service straight to your door or desk. Euros and US Dollars are instantly available in these branches: Douglas, Peel, Port Erin, Laxey, Ramsey or at Postal Headquarters. If you plan to give foreign currency to your loved ones as a Christmas gift for their next trip you can ask for a gift wallet in branch or tick the selection box online.
Visit iompost.com/forex for further information or call into any branch for details.
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