MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — The counter of the Packaging Place in East Stroudsburg is filled with gifts awaiting shipment to their holiday destinations.
"I'm cutting it close, but I'm late to work just to make sure I could get her.e I was up at 5 a.m. wrapping," said Stephanie Tettemer, Saylorsburg.
Stephanie Tettemer from Saylorsburg says some of these gifts will be headed to Charleston, South Carolina, to her newest grandchild and other family in New York.
She's been sending holiday gifts from the packaging place for more than a decade, "He's an institution. He's really wonderful; everyone in the neighborhood knows him, and he is knowledgeable; he knows how to get things there quickly tomorrow. He will be shipping things to my aunt, uncle, and cousins in New York," she said.
Owner Frank Monteforte is no stranger to the hustle and bustle of the holiday shipping season, "Somebody is bringing in 25 pounds of meat today to go overnight to Dallas, so we'll see how that works," he said.
He says with Thanksgiving falling at the very end of November, a lot of customers are running a little late getting packages shipped out in the back, staff are getting some items boxed up and ready to be sent out.
"I think the volume is up this year, just smaller because shipping is very expensive. Fed Ex and UPS raised their rates on Dec. 1st," said Monteforte.
With Christmas one week away, time is running out to ship those gifts. Monteforte says the sooner, the better, unless you want to pay more to expedite delivery, "So even if you come in on Monday Jersey northern Virginia, it will be there on Christmas Eve supposedly, so I would say today and tomorrow will be the last days without having to pay extra."