Postal workers stayed on their toes Monday as hundreds ofLincoln County residents sent Christmas packages out at the lastminute.

Monday was considered the busiest mailing day of the year acrossthe nation because it was the last day people could mail packagesin time for Christmas arrival.

“We were told not to turn anyone away,” said Lincoln CountyPostmaster Gary Black.

Although some customers had to wait in line, postal employeesattempted to make the wait as short as possible, usually only a fewminutes.

“We had the windows staffed with two people at both offices,”said Black.

The two Brookhaven post offices saw a steady stream of customersall day, but employees had prepared for the day, ensuring therewere no major problems.

“It went pretty smooth all day,” said Black. “We had our mailout on time, and everything worked properly.”

The biggest demand Monday, as well as during the past few weeks,was for Christmas stamps. They were such hot-selling items that thepost office has just a limited supply left, according to Black.

“I ordered a little bit more than last year, and we’ve soldalmost all of them,” he said. “We’ve had a real good year.”

Even though yesterday was designated as the busiest day, postalemployees said it wasn’t the busies they had seen all year. MostBrookhaven residents sent packages well ahead of time.

“Last week was much busier,” said postal worker Anita Smith.

Customers who were not able to send their holiday packages outMonday are advised to send packages priority if the destination iswithin the state, or express if the destination is out of thestate.

“If you send it express, it will be guaranteed to get there,”said Black. “We will even be delivering packages on Sunday andChristmas Day.”