Holiday Shipping To and From Hawaiʻi Just Got Slower

OMG. I had to read it twice when I saw a post this morning about USPS shipping getting slowed down to and from Hawaiʻi and the US mainland.

As a small business owner, my heart dropped. We are an online business, and most of our orders ship to the US mainland.

We are already dealing with higher USPS shipping costs, plus rising prices on everything from production to utilities and overhead. Seeing this was just the icing on the cake.

So what does that mean for you? Here's everything that changed, what it means for your holiday gifts, and how to still get them there in time.

Ground Advantage now takes 10+ days

Starting October 1, 2026, USPS changed how long packages take to travel between Hawaiʻi and the US mainland. It goes both ways, island to mainland and mainland to island.

Light packages under 1 lb now mostly ride by boat instead of by plane. If your package has ever ended up on the slow boat, you know how excruciating that wait is.

Personally, I pay for Priority to avoid the craziness of Ground Advantage.

Postage goes up for the holidays

USPS added a temporary peak-season price bump on Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express. It runs from October 4, 2026 to January 17, 2027.

Here's the good news. Spend $125 with us and shipping's on us.

• Skip the holiday postage bump
• All your gifts in one box, with one tracking number
• Put what you save toward shipping protection

Need ideas to get there? Shop our Gifts page.

Lost, stolen or damaged? Get shipping protection

The volume of packages moving around is going up starting this month, and unfortunately, mistakes happen sometimes during transit. Longer trips just mean more chances for something to go wrong.

Without protection, once your package leaves us and is marked delivered, it's out of our hands. With shipping protection, if your package is lost, stolen or damaged, it covers the replacement. It's one checkbox at checkout, and it's way less stressful than replacing a gift on December 23.

Sending to a neighbor island?

Good news, island to island is still quick. Here's what USPS lists for mail from Oʻahu to the neighbor islands.

Holiday volume can still slow things down, so use the same order-by dates below to be safe.

In Hawaiʻi? Skip the mail and grab it in person

1. Our warehouse in Pearl City. Select Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9am to 1pm at Waiau Center. We are cashless, card or contactless payments only.
2. Our retail partners. Visit one of our retail partners across the islands. You can find the list on our website.
3. Come see us at a market. Nov 5 at the Mana Up showcase at Bloomingdale's, and Nov 21 at Mom Made Market at Kahala Mall.

Order by these dates for Christmas

We ship within 3 business days. USPS suggests mailing Hawaiʻi Ground by Dec 16 and Priority by Dec 18, but with 10+ day transit, we're giving it extra room.

Missed the cutoff? A Keiki Dept gift card lands in their inbox right away, no shipping needed.

I'm not the early holiday shopper. I tend to push the limits of online shipping deadlines, so I may have to change my ways this year. 😅

Tag a friend who needs this heads up on shipping to and from Hawaiʻi and the US mainland. Even a friend shipping from the mainland to Hawaiʻi, because these delays affect them too.

Online or in person, how are you shopping this year?

Mahalo for shopping small this season.

Me ke aloha, Leilani & Fam

Questions? Email us at aloha@thekeikidept.com