USPS mail carriers deliver holiday happiness during busy season

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Time is running out to ship packages for arrival before the holidays, and postal workers are in the thick of the busy season.

Kristin Lutu is one of the hundreds of mail carriers hard at work this week.

She said to deliver these boxes it will take her five hours.

“My load today is pretty heavy and I still have to go back and reload,” said Lutu.

Lutu is assigned to the Kaimuki area.

Her everyday route includes 345 stops, and now that it’s the busy holiday season, she drops off at least two boxes at each house.

While Lutu says she doesn’t get overwhelmed, the heat does get challenging, especially while loading up big boxes of grills.

She’s already delivered four of them this week.

The Christmas rush is always hectic, but Lutu says delivering all this holiday happiness is part of the reason why she applied five years ago.

“I thought about when I was a kid playing out on the streets with the neighborhood kids and how much fun we had racing to the mail lady to grab our mail and she looked happy and it is, it’s a happy job,” said Lutu.

Despite drowning in packages, the highlight of her day is getting to see the homeowners that she’s become friends with and knowing she’s made a difference in their lives.

“Whenever I hear the mail truck, I just sprint out of the house and get the mail,” said 9-year-old Kaimuki resident Asher Ala.

Neighbor Nathan Kapule added: “It’s always nice to receive mail because you know someone is communicating with you ... so I think it’s important for us to depend on them, which we do.”

Postal workers say all of the holiday cheer is important, but always remember, safety must come first.

“We may be out early in the morning or late in the evening so we kind of suggest our residents keep their dogs leashed and safe for our employees to deliver because they might come up unexpectedly,” said USPS holiday spokesperson Darlette Wong.

Procrastinators still have some time, but not much.

Friday is the last day to use priority express service to have your packages arrive before Dec. 25.

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