Some people have a lot of fun with one simple exercise. It is called, “Just Like Me,” and it focuses on one human behavior from the perspective of deciding how collective behavior impacts states, nations and continents. During the holidays, “Just Like Me,” is a great game to play. Here, you can focus on shipping statistics. This exercise will illuminate what it is like to be a UPS, FedEx or USPS worker between Thanksgiving and New Years. On a global scale, it is startling how many people approach the holiday with a similar mindset.

To begin the game, ask yourself the question: When do I plan to ship my Christmas cards? If you are “Just Like Me,” you probably put this task off until—oh—December 20th. Chances are, you are “Just Like Me,” and so are one billion other people. The twentieth of December is the busiest day for cards, and the United States Postal Service delivers eight hundred million cards on that day alone.

Let us try again. Ask yourself: When do I plan to send my Christmas gifts to friends and relatives? You, me, and two hundred twenty three million others will choose November twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth to complete this task. UPS, FedEx, the USPS, and other shippers will ship more than eight hundred million packages from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Two days of shipping, the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of November will account for twenty-five percent of the total volume. Late shippers still make up the biggest thrust of the year and twenty-four million shippers choose UPS to send their packages on December 22nd. Talk about a shipping mess!

Play once more? Of course! It is the holiday season, and for a bit of extra income, you are thinking about getting a part-time, seasonal job. Where do you look? Like me, and fifty thousand others, you chose one of the major shipping companies as a seasonal employer. With all of the extra shipping to do, UPS and FedEx have to grow substantially for a three month season. UPS hires almost twenty thousand employees for Christmas, an increase from its standard season size of 400,000 employees to 420,000 or a five percent growth. Another way to consider this statistic is that UPS hires more people for seasonal work than half of US towns have in population.

On the world stage, the days between November 24th to January 3rd shipping accounts for the largest hiring bubble in any professional industry. Though not all countries observe Christmas and Thanksgiving, the largest density of national holidays occur during this period, meaning that many cultures are also shipping gifts and well wishes in the same time frame.

Along with the amazing growth in the industry, holidays are the most challenging time for shipping providers of all sizes. UPS and FedEx, for example, suspend their delivery guarantee during Thanksgiving and Christmas week. Though they still deliver nearly the same percent of packages by the stated deadline, about nine percent of packages are one to three days late during the holidays. One percent of twenty-four million packages is two hundred forty thousand, and if every parcel cost fifteen dollars to ship (most cost almost twice that sum), UPS, under its guarantee would have to refund 3.6 million dollars of revenues. Despite the fact that UPS sees 3.6 million as a drop in the bucket, it is still a large sum of money for most people. In addition, FedEx and other shippers would have similar returns.

When looking at shipping statistics and considering that one in ten packages during the holidays may miss its mark in the US and Europe, people might fear that they are subject to disappointing eager recipients of their prompt deliveries. For perspective, consider the global shipping condition during the holidays. Most South American countries, largely Catholic, celebrate Christmas and ship gifts for the occasion. But unlike the US, as many as half of the parcels shipped in Argentina, Chile, Peru or Brazil will arrive later than the stated delivery date (not applicable to UPS or Fed Ex deliveries). In Africa, where several December holidays are celebrated, there are either none or only one shipping options to choose from. Guarantees do not exist and people may not even receive parcels that are shipped.

So, for Christmas, when you see the UPS truck, wave and smile. Holiday shipping is not only one of the most challenging industries to work in, but it is one of the most critically assessed. If you are shipping, do all you can to get your promises delivered, but also enjoy the season and relax. Your package will arrive precisely when it does. The holidays are a time to relax, not rage.