Shipping delays disappoint Bay Area Christmas plans

ORINDA, Calif. - Plenty of Bay Area families didn't get their Christmas gifts delivered on time this year, even if they ordered them weeks ahead of time.

The New York Times estimates there are three billion packages being shipped this holiday season, 800 million more than last year, and shipping couriers are slammed.

Christmas morning at Joel Tesch's home in Orinda came with a few surprises missing from under the tree. 

Gifts ordered from a third party seller on Amazon went from "in transit" to "lost," this week, and he'll either claim his refund or wait a couple more days to see if they'll turn up.
 
Chris Parman in Santa Rose ordered golf sets for both of his sons more than three weeks ago, but only one arrived before Christmas.

"It is disappointing, especially when you have to look at your 14 year old and go, 'hey uh, your brother's golf clubs, you got some coming too, but enjoy the bathrobe and pajamas!" Parman said. "It's kind of like, dad did not win on that one," he added.

With FedEx and UPS delivering gifts on top of COVID-19 vaccines, a spokesperson for the Postal Service said an "avalanche of deliveries" fell upon them as a result.

"It was almost like a perfect storm of everything at once The pandemic, the national election, the holiday, the vaccine

Many families were sympathetic over the circumstances of their missing gifts.

"I understand they're all working super hard, it's just one of those 2020 things. It could be a lot worse," Tesch said.

Some websites with popular children's gifts, like YouTuber Moriah Elizabeth's merch site selling plush animals, made printable messages apologizing for delays.

"You can make that kind of fun for someone to open it, 'hey, this is on the way, we promise,'" Tesch said, of the printable messages.

Ruiz with USPS added that volunteer couriers were out on Christmas day, delivering Priority Mail packages to cities across Northern California.