Yesterday was one of the busiest mailing days of the year in Hawai'i, with almost a million more pieces than normal going through the postal system, but lines moved smoothly due to extra window service and alternative mailing options initiated last year.

People standing in line in Kane'ohe were unaware they were adding to postal statistics. They only wanted to get their packages and letters mailed in time for Christmas.

"That's part of the holiday, everybody doing the same thing at the same time," said Debby Allen, a new arrival to the Islands. Allen said she's still trying to learn the routine at the post office.

That routine has changed for many post offices in the state during the holidays, with extended hours to help process the extra mail, said Duke Gonzales, U.S. Postal Service spokesman.

He said Hawai'i is unusual because it has two busiest days while the rest of the nation only has one, the Monday before Christmas.

Normally, Hawai'i handles about 2.4 million pieces a day, but from Thanksgiving to Christmas, the average rises to 2.8 million and peaks at 3.3 million on the last two Mondays before Christmas, Gonzales said.

The number of packages processed in Hawai'i will rise from 57,000 to 310,000 on the busiest days, he said.

Nationally, the service expects to handle 900 million pieces of mail on Dec. 19.

The last day to send priority mail to guarantee Mainland delivery by Christmas is Friday, unless you're willing to pay more.

Lines at the downtown post office were steady yesterday, with 12 to 30 people filling the lobby, Gonzales said. In Kane'ohe, the situation was about the same.

Stephanie Doughty, a 35-year Kane'ohe resident, said she'll be one of those people in line next week because "spending a great deal on postage is a Christmas tradition."

"I never seem to get organized in time to send at a lower rate," Doughty said, laughing at herself. "I like to wait until the last minute (and) spend more on the postage than on the gift."

But she does take advantage of the Automated Postal Center and avoids the long lines, she said. While about 30 people waited for window service yesterday, she stood in a line of four at automated service.

People in the automated line said it was the fastest way to weigh mail and buy postage. The center, which requires credit or debit card, takes people through the process step by step. Gonzales said the center is limited to accepting containers about the size of a box of Xerox copy paper.

He said Kane'ohe residents are some of the highest users of the center, and there's a growing number of people in the Islands processing mail online with the Click-N-Ship service that includes pickup by your local carrier. Officials believe these options are reducing the number of people in lines this year, he said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.