THE Royal Mail has announced the all important posting dates people should use if they are sending cards and gifts for Christmas.

Second class items should be sent before December 18 and first class items before December 20.

People wanting special delivery should send by December 23. The last international posting dates for places like Canada and Poland is December 9, while posting to the USA is recommended before December 12.

The Royal Mail advises people to 'order early, post early and use the postcode'.

The Royal Mail’s postcode finder can help people locate address details and using the postcode helps Royal Mail sort the cards and letters by machine rather than by hand. It can be found at http://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode