Shipping
Holiday Hours
We will be closed on Christmas Eve (December 24), Christmas Day (December 25), and limited staff on December 26. Any orders placed after 1:00 pm CST on Tuesday, December 23 will be shipped on Monday, December 28.
We will be closed New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and limited staff on January 2. Any orders placed after 1:00 pm CST on Tuesday, December 30 will be shipped on Monday, January 5, 2021.
NOTE: We are comparatively a small, family-owned and operated business, so thank you for your patience during any holiday delays. Due to vendor warehouse closures (12/22-1/2), many items may not ship until the first full week of January (see individual product pages for estimated fulfillment times).
Shipping Method & Rates
Shipping costs are calculated at the time of purchase and determined by product weight, dimensions and quantities. Our online shopping system is integrated directly with USPS and UPS so the rates shown are current rates.
- USPS — Smaller packages of items with immediate availability will show an option to ship USPS.
- UPS — UPS operates Monday thru Friday except major holidays.
- FedEx — Not directly an option during checkout, but when items ship directly from some of our suppliers, FedEx may be used instead of UPS.
See sections below for processing and transit times.
When Will My Order Ship
Since 2020, we have found it beneficial for our customers, our suppliers, and our company to expand our product offerings of items we may not have previously offered. This means that some items will be shipped directly from our suppliers in which case many of our String Light Sets, many LED Bulbs, and other unique offerings require an additional 3-4 days business days processing time. Once the items have shipped, refer to the maps below for estimated transit times.
- Availability/Processing Time — Items that require additional processing time (typically 3-4 business day) will be noted on the item page next to the "Availability" heading (just above the price). These items will be shipped via UPS or FedEx within 3-4 business days.
- UPS — Items will immediate availability will ship from our warehouse either the same day if ordered before 1:00 pm CST or the next business day.
- USPS — Orders that require the use of USPS may take 1-2 extra days to leave our warehouse.
- Warehouse Pickup — For orders placed in the greater Houston area, free warehouse pickup is an option during checkout. Indicate in comments the date and approximate time you'd like to pick up your order. Please allow at least a couple hours for us to get your order ready. Pickups can be done Monday through Friday 10am–4pm CST.
Shipping Transit Times
Depending on the shipping method chosen and AFTER any processing times mentioned above, below are estimated transit times on orders shipped from our warehouse.
- UPS Expedited (Service Guaranteed) — Even though UPS does provide a service guarantee for some of their shipping services, if your timeline is critical, from our experience, we still suggest allowing an extra day ... just in case! UPS shipping options that provide a service guarantee include:
- UPS Next Day Air Early – next business day by 8 am (major cities) and 9:30 am (most other cities)
- UPS Next Day Air – next business day by 10:30 am or noon
- UPS Next Day Air Saver – next business day by 3-4:30 pm (commercial) and end of day (residential)
- UPS 2 Day Air AM – 2nd business day by noon (not available for residential addresses)
- UPS Worldwide Express – 1-3 business days; typical delivered by noon
- UPS Worldwide Saver – 1-3 business days; delivered by end of day
NOTE: Even though the above express shipping options are guaranteed, severe weather, natural disasters, and other conditions beyond the control of UPS can occasionally disrupt services. See the UPS website for active service alerts.
- UPS Expedited (NOT Guaranteed) — Since the following services are not guaranteed by UPS, we highly recommend building in an extra day or two to account for any possible shipping delays.
- UPS 2 Day Air – 2nd buisness day by end of day
- UPS 3 Day Select – delivers on 3rd business day
- UPS Worldwide Expedited – 2-5 business days
- UPS Ground — See map below for the estimated number of days in transit once your order has been processed and ready to ship.
- UPS Standard (Canada) — Allow 3-7 business days
- USPS — Smaller/lighterweight packages will provide an option to ship via USPS which tends to be the most economical. It's a great option when you item's arrival date isn't time senstive.
- USPS Priority — Delivers in 1-3 business days (see transit map below).
- USPS Ground Advantage — Delivers in 2-5 business days.
APO and PO Box Shipments
Shipments to APO and PO Box addresses are shipped USPS Priority Mail. Allow an extra 1-2 business days for your order to leave our warehouse.
International Shipments
Currently we only ship to Canada. We use UPS due to the quicker ship times, better express options, better package tracking, and quicker clearing of customs. Transit times listed above are listed as ranges because delivery always depends on how quickly a package clears customs. We DO have a Non-Resident Importer account through UPS which helps our packages clear customs faster. PartyLights.com also pays all duties and taxes, therefore, you are not responsible for any additional shipping costs.
Holidays
During the year we are closed the following days:
- New Year’s Day
- Memorial Day
- July 4th
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving
- The Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas Eve
- Christmas Day
- New Year’s Eve.
If UPS is closed in addition to any of these days, we will be closed as well. UPS is open on the Friday after Thanksgiving, so packages will be delivered accordingly. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, UPS does deliver all packages, however there is no package pick up.
If you have any questions regarding shipping methods, please e-mail us or call us at 713-861-3400, Monday-Friday between 10 am and 3 pm CST.