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The final Christmas rush is on for postal carriers in Michigan

Dustin Dwyer
/
Michigan Radio
Suzzi Nowak, one of "Santa's helpers" for delivering holiday packages.

The final rush is on to get packages delivered in Michigan before the Christmas holiday.

Suzzi Nowak delivers mail in Kentwood, a suburb south of Grand Rapids. She says most of her days this time of year start at 7 a.m. Usually, she’s done by 5 or 6.

"A day at the post office is never the same," she says. "They’re always different. It all depends on how much mail you have."

Of course there’s more this time of year, but Nowak says the weather has been helping. No snow and ice means delivery doesn’t take as long.

Nowak says the work is hard but she gets to tell kids she’s Santa’s helper, getting all the packages out in time for Christmas.

"I do love what I do," she says. "I complain once in a while, but you know."

The deadline to get first class mail delivered by Christmas is Thursday. If you don’t mind paying an extra fee, you still have until Saturday to send packages

Dustin Dwyer reports enterprise and long-form stories from Michigan Public’s West Michigan bureau. He was a fellow in the class of 2018 at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. He’s been with Michigan Public since 2004, when he started as an intern in the newsroom.