Order by Wednesday, December 16 to have a Creative Crafthouse gift under the tree on Christmas morning 2026. Personalized and engraved pieces are made after you order, so those need to be in by Tuesday, December 15. The dates for the other holidays are in the table below.
2026 holiday order-by dates
| Occasion | Order by, standard | Order by, personalized or engraved |
|---|---|---|
| Halloween, Saturday October 31 (in hand by October 31) | Monday, October 26 | Thursday, October 22 |
| Thanksgiving, Thursday November 26 (in hand by November 26) | Friday, November 20 | Tuesday, November 17 |
| Hanukkah, first night Friday December 4 (in hand by December 4) | Saturday, November 28 | Wednesday, November 25 |
| Christmas morning, Friday December 25 (in hand by December 24) | Wednesday, December 16 | Tuesday, December 15 |
| New Year's Day, Friday January 1, 2027 (in hand by January 1) | Wednesday, December 23 | Tuesday, December 22 |
How we count these dates
We count backward from the day the gift needs to be in your hands. A standard order gets five counted days. A personalized or engraved order gets seven, because we laser it after your order comes in. Christmas is counted to Christmas Eve, so the gift is in the house before anyone wakes up on Christmas morning.
These rules decide which days count, so you can check any row in the table yourself:
- Saturdays count.
- Sundays do not count.
- Christmas Day does not count, because nothing moves that day.
- Personalized and engraved dates carry one extra counted day of margin.
- The standard Christmas date carries two extra counted days of margin.
- Each order-by date is a day we are open and shipping, so if the count lands on a day we are closed, the date moves back to the last day we ship. We ship Monday through Friday, plus Saturdays from the Saturday after Black Friday through Christmas. We are closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
One more thing sets the date. A standard order placed before 12:00 pm Eastern goes out the same day. Order after noon and it goes out on the next shipping day instead, which costs you one of your five. Ordering ahead of the date on your row is always safer than ordering on it.
Need it faster than that?
We offer expedited, second-day, and next-day shipping. If you are already past a date above, email Sales@CreativeCrafthouse.com with the day you need it in hand and we will tell you what still works. We would rather answer that email than have you guess.
Missed the date? Send a Creative Crafthouse gift card instead. It skips shipping altogether: add their email, pick the day it should arrive (Christmas morning works), add a note, and it goes straight to their inbox. They get to pick the puzzle they actually want. Cards come in $10, $25, $50, $75 and $100.
Personalized and engraved orders
We laser names, dates, and logos onto pieces after the order comes in, so a personalized gift spends extra time with us before it ships. That is the whole reason for the second column of dates. Personalized and custom items cannot be returned. If we make a mistake on your order, we'll replace or refund it at no cost. If a mistake comes from information you supplied, such as an engraving detail or a delivery address, we do not refund the item or the shipping cost. That is the reason to check your engraving text and your address carefully, and to hit the earlier date.
Where your order ships from
Orders placed on this site ship from our workshop in Hudson, Florida, where our family has been making wooden puzzles and games since 2003. The dates above are for shipping inside the United States. If you are shipping somewhere else, email Sales@CreativeCrafthouse.com before you order and we will work out the timing with you.
Gift help and returns
If you are still choosing, our Puzzle and Game Gift Center groups our pieces by who you are shopping for. Standard orders are covered by our 30-day returns promise, and we cover the cost of shipping them back. Personalized and custom items cannot be returned. Gift cards are not eligible.
