SASKATOON -- With Christmas around the corner, the people at Canada Post are getting ready for long winter hours as they make sure countless presents get delivered on time.

"What we do to help deliver all those packages is we hire more delivery agents, we hire more processing employees, we also rent a lot of vehicles too to help us deliver all those parcels on time," said Matt Ziebarth, operations manager at Canada Post in Saskatoon.

The Saskatoon branch sees a large spike in work this time of year.

"Here in Saskatoon on a daily basis during the rest of the year, it’s about 3,000 parcels a day, right now were doing close to 78,000.” Ziebarth said.

One thing to keep in mind this time of year is ensuring safety for all delivery people.

"Our delivery agents are coming to your house every day. " Ziebarth said. "Just make sure you clear your walks, get rid of any ice up and down your stairs, your driveway, and Just ensure that when we come and deliver your box and ring your doorbell, if you own a dog please secure it before you open that door."

With an increase of packages getting delivered, Canada Post wants to remind people of ways to avoid getting anything taken by porch pirates.

“We do offer a program called flex delivery where customers can have their parcels shipped directly to one of our 6,100 retail postal outlets across the country, and it’s very convenient because you can get a parcel delivered close to your home or close to your business.“

Some people in Saskatoon see the hard work put in by Canada Post around the holidays, and they are appreciative.

“They do quite a bit of work, they do a lot at this time of year," said Saskatoon resident Martha Whitehead, who sends letters and parcels this time of year for her granddaughter in B.C.

"I’m actually very proud of what they do.”

With Santa getting busy this time of year, Canada Post wants to make sure that he gets all of the letters so he knows what to deliver on Christmas morning.

“We help Santa answer all those letters from children. If you want a letter from Santa before Christmas make sure to get it into the mail before Dec. 12 and we’ll make sure that Santa does his best to get his response to you in a timely manner.”

No postage is needed when writing Santa, just address it to Santa Claus in the North Pole, postal code HOHOHO.