The holiday rush is reaching fever pitch at the Manteca Post Office as Christmas Day fast approaches. At the Maple Avenue location, customer lines that practically spill into the front door are becoming a common site throughout the day as people try to get their Christmas gifts and greeting cards to out-of-town loved ones in the mail in time for the big day on Wednesday.

To accommodate the anticipated crush of last-minute senders, the Manteca Post Office at 165 N. Maple Avenue downtown and at 668 Industrial Park Drive off South Main Street will be open until noon on Christmas Eve – Tuesday, Dec. 24. Both locations will be closed on Wednesday.

The same schedule will be followed the following week, with both sites open New Year’s Eve – Tuesday, Dec. 31 – until noon, and closed New Years Day on Wednesday.

Regular hours at the Maple Avenue post office are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday; closed on Sunday. At the Industrial Park post office annex, the regular hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, closed on Sunday.

Closed throughout the holiday season until Monday, Jan. 6, are the offices of the Manteca Unified School District and at all elementary and high school sites. Teachers will be on the job that Monday. The first day of school for all students will be on Tuesday, Jan. 7.