East Orange Post Office licensee Conrad Sylvester was waiting on a new delivery of stamps specifically for Christmas cards after he ran out with a week still to go until the special day.

“Compared to the numbers we had last year, it’s really up this year,” he said.

“I’ve underestimated how popular cards would be this year.”

Mr Sylvester said despite greeting emails at Christmas being quicker and easier he believes people are looking for a more traditional experience.

“Seeing a card sitting on your shelf seems to have much more meaning for people than a greeting that comes off your printer,” he said.

Mr Sylvester and his staff, along with staff at the main post office in the central business district, are working longer hours to deal with the pre-Christmas rush.

During the last week at times there have been long lines of customers at the CBD branch, sometimes stretching out the door.

No one from the main post office was available for comment on whether there has been a trend in parcels being delivered as a result of online shopping.

“Last year we delivered an additional 100,000 parcels a day Australia-wide over the Christmas period compared to the year before,” according to a Melbourne-based Australia Post spokesperson.

“We’ve been busy preparing for Christmas by focusing on providing convenient services seven days a week for our customers, to make sending and receiving parcels as easy as possible over the Christmas period.”

East Orange Post Office is opening from 7am to just before 6pm on weekdays in the lead-up to Christmas.

The main post office this week reverts to usual operating hours of Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day.