s4story -- The international delivery expert Parcelhero has been comparing all the major parcel companies' final collection dates for parcels to arrive in time for Christmas. It says that  – ironically, considering its name – it's already too late to organise a parcel collection for Christmas Island. This year, the Pacific atoll, now more commonly known as Kiritimati, had the earliest deadline of all: 2 December.

Parcelhero says there is better news for everyone planning to send to most other international destinations. Brits still have around a fortnight to send their parcels to most of the more common destinations. However, some countries' final courier collection dates may be earlier than you think, it warns –  and the final recommended deadline to the most common European destinations is a day earlier than last year.

Parcelhero's Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: 'More people every year are choosing to book a courier collection to send their Christmas gifts, rather than braving long Post Office queues. That makes a lot of sense. However, the world's leading couriers have announced some surprisingly early recommended collection deadlines this year, in order to ensure parcels get to their destinations in time for Christmas Eve. Don't forget, no couriers deliver on Christmas Day itself.

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'Perhaps the biggest surprise for anyone tempted to leave their courier collection until the very last minute is that they have a day less than last year in which to book a collection and be certain their gifts will arrive on time for the big day. That's because international couriers usually recommend 20 December as the final collection date but this year the 20th lands on a Saturday, and most couriers don't offer a standard weekend collection.

'That means for popular destinations such as France, Germany, The Netherlands and Ireland, we are recommending people organise a collection date of no later than 19 December. Leaving your parcel pick up until Monday, 22 December is taking a big risk that your gifts won't arrive on time for Christmas.

'If you are worried about getting gifts to friends and loved ones in time, we recommend you enter your parcel's destination and dimensions into our online parcel price comparison tool. You will then see the date your package is due to be delivered. For full details of UK and international prices and collection times to ensure your packages arrive in time for 24 December, see https://www.parcelhero.com