Christmas Posting and Opening Hours
UPDATE 05/01/2021
Things seem to be getting back to normal - post is arriving much quicker both within the UK and to Europe.
We won't update this page any more - it's a New Year and we're looking forward to a brighter 2021.
Please see our Shipping Policy page for all updates on shipping including the impact of Covid19.
UPDATE 21/12/2020
Royal Mail have confirmed that there is little chance of 1st class post arriving in time for Christmas now. Officially the deadline is today but they have a big backlog in many areas.
Special Delivery will NOT be guaranteed for next day service if posted on the 23rd! This has been confirmed by Royal Mail.
Special Delivery is normally a guaranteed next day service in the UK. Some of our First Class orders are turning up next day, some are taking up to two weeks. There's no way to predict - it's Christmas and Covid together taking a toll on our postal network!
To help our customers we are temporarily offering FREE UK shipping and reduced European shipping on all orders.
Special Delivery charges have also been reduced to £3.99 for Christmas.
We are working flat out to fulfil orders as soon as possible and will aim for same-day shipping on all orders received by 4pm each day.
Last orders is 4pm on Wednesday the 23rd of December. After that we're closed until Tuesday the 29th.
Christmas Shipping
We primarily ship with Royal Mail, so this data is straight from them. These are not guaranteed, and as ever if you need an urgent shipment talk to us first.
We have heard multiple reports of delays within Royal Mail, caused by a combination of record levels of parcels being posted, Covid impacting staff and processes, and of course Christmas. Please use Special Delivery if you want to be sure orders reach you before Christmas!
UK Customers
| Service | Last Posting Date |
| 1st Class | Monday 21 December |
| Special Delivery | Wednesday 23 December Tuesday 22nd December |
International Customers
| Destination | Last Posting Date |
| Australia, New Zealand | Friday 4 December |
|
Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central and South America, Far and Middle East |
Wednesday 9 December |
| Canada, Cyprus, Malta | Thursday 10 December |
|
Greece, Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and Turkey |
Friday 11 December |
|
Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, USA |
Saturday 12 December |
|
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland |
Wednesday 16 December |
| Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg | Friday 18 December |
Remember folks - these are the Royal Mail recommendations, and they assume they get the parcel in their network by these dates. Our cut-off for same day shipping is normally 12 noon.
Christmas Opening Hours
Elegant Bricks is a family business, and we don't have a huge off-shore customer services team. As such when we're closed we're closed and won't be actively responding to chats or emails during this time.
Our website remains open for orders, of course!
We will be closed on the following days:
- Thursday 24th December
- Friday 25th December
- Saturday 26th December
- Sunday 27th December
- Monday 28th December
- Friday 1st January
Orders placed when we're closed will be shipped on the next working day.
