They need more than a bit of Christmas magic: US Postal Service processes 640 MILLION deliveries on busiest day of the year 

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It took a sprinkling of Christmas magic and a helluva lot of hard work but more than 640 million cards, letters and packages were processed nationwide Monday, on what the United States Postal Service described as their busiest day of the year. 

Fuelled by a surge of online purchases, in many areas deliveries will be made seven days a week, including Christmas Day.

However, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe was confident they could cope, saying they were, 'ready for the rush and ready to deliver.'

'This isn't just our busiest time of year, it's our season,' he said. 

Dressed in a Santa hat, a postal worker moves a trolley full of packages at a mail processing plant in Indianapolis. Monday was the United States Postal Service's busiest day with more than than 640 million cards, letters and packages processed

A postal worker pulls another pile of packages onto the processing line. Despite the huge amount, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said they were ready for the rush

This year's total is up 33 million from 607 million last year and the service said it was expecting that 12.7 billion cards, letters and packages will have been delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve

Part of the reason for Monday's spike is that people spend more time shopping and writing cards on the weekend 

Parcel delivery services FedEx and UPS have also reported an increase in deliveries. All have hired extra hands to cope with the demand 

This year's total is up 33 million from 607 million last year and the service said it was expecting that 12.7 billion cards, letters and packages will have been delivered between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. 

Part of the reason for Monday's spike is that people spend more time shopping and writing cards on the weekend.  

While Saturday is the final day that people can post to ensure delivery by Christmas, the Postal Service estimates an additional three billion items will be shipped between Christmas and New Year's Eve. 

The Postal Service is not the only one affected as delivery companies are also reporting an increase, according to CNN. 

FedEx told the station that it projects making 290 million deliveries this season, up nearly nine percent from last year, while UPS said it was planning for 585 million packages this month. Amazon said there are just four days left to place an order for free delivery by Christmas.

All have hired extra hands for the festive period to cope with the demand.   

Even regular post offices were also struggling to cope with the extra demand. Postmaster Jeremy Coffey told KNXW said employees working longer shifts than usual at his branch in Bentonville, Arkansas.

'With Christmas falling on Thursday it kind of changes the pattern of customers, but absolutely today seems to be the busiest day so far,' he said. 'We usually have three to four clerks, but we've had four to five clerks today and we still can not keep up.' 

FedEx said that it projects making 290 million deliveries this season, while UPS said it was planning for 585 million packages this month

There will be no let up after Christmas as the Postal Service estimates an additional three billion items will be shipped between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve

 Working around the clock, even employees at local post offices have been stretched to the limit as they try to cope with the demand