Holiday shipping rush heats up after UPS recovers from nationwide system outage

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- With a week left until Christmas Eve, Bay Area residents are handing over their packages to mail carriers to make sure presents are under the tree on time.

Before a San Jose UPS store opened its doors Tuesday morning, there was a crowd of customers waiting to send off packages.

"I am trying to get my Christmas packages shipped to my family that lives far away," said Kathy Kale.

It was Kale's first stop this morning after dropping her child off at school. She said she tried to make it to the same UPS store on Monday evening after work, but couldn't get her package off in time.

"I came last night and I thought I got here before the deadline, and the line was too long and I was not able to do it," said Kale. "So I'm back this morning, waiting for it to open so I can be first in line and get it done today."

RELATED: San Francisco shipping companies prepare for busiest mailing week of the year

What Kathy experienced wasn't an isolated issue. UPS and it's more than 4,800 stores across the country are bouncing back Tuesday after what it called a nationwide system outage that caused delays and longer than normal lines.

UPS confirms to our sister station KTRK that all stores are now fully functional after the glitch.

Customers like Peter Feghali are grateful for the quick fix.

"I got the wrong thing, holiday shipping rush," said Feghali. "Just trying to make sure (I) get the right thing in time."

If you are someone who likes to wait until the last minute, here are the final days to ship to make sure gifts are under the tree by Christmas Eve.

HOLIDAY SHIPPING DEADLINES 2019: Last day to mail packages for Christmas delivery

FedEx: Dec. 21 - FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx First Overnight deadline.

USPS: Dec 23 - Priority Mail Express deadline.

UPS: Dec. 23 - Last day to ship UPS Next Day Air deadline.

If you are looking to ditch the wrapping paper and order you presents so they are delivered directly to friends and family, retailers are releasing their final days to shop for delivery by Christmas Eve.

For Walmart, Target, and Best Buy you must place your order by early Friday. If you're shopping online at Macy's you have until noon Saturday. And if you like testing the limits, Amazon and Nordstrom are giving shoppers until Sunday.

RELATED: How to make sure your holiday packages get where they're going