The date that matters isn't the holiday — it's the booking cutoff weeks before it. Sea cargo for Christmas has to be booked by the first week of November; air freight can wait until the second week of December. Here's every upcoming deadline, counting down live.
Christmas 2026
Book by Friday, 16 October 2026
Cars, SUVs and vans arriving before Christmas. Three weeks earlier than the sea cargo cutoff, because clearing a vehicle at Tin Can or Apapa takes longer than clearing a barrel.
Book by Monday, 2 November 2026
Barrels, boxes and containers arriving before Christmas. Book by the start of November: 4–6 weeks at sea puts arrival between late November and mid December, leaving margin for port backlogs, clearing and road delivery.
Book by Friday, 11 December 2026
The last air booking for pre-Christmas delivery. December flights fill fast — book earlier if you can.
Easter 2027
Book by Monday, 25 January 2027
Barrels and boxes for Easter, which falls on 28 March 2027. Book by late January: 4–6 weeks at sea puts arrival between late February and early March, with room for clearing and delivery.
Book by Friday, 12 March 2027
Air freight for Easter week — 7 working days puts arrival around 23 March, a few days before Easter Sunday on 28 March.
Christmas 2027
Book by Friday, 5 November 2027 planning date
Barrels, boxes and containers arriving before Christmas 2027. Estimated from the confirmed 2026 cutoff — confirm with us nearer the time.
Book by Friday, 10 December 2027 planning date
Last realistic air booking for pre-Christmas delivery 2027.
Eid al-Fitr & Eid al-Adha
Eid dates move each year with the Islamic calendar, and deliveries to northern states (Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Abuja) slow during Ramadan. Ask us for the current cutoff — as a rule, book sea about 10 weeks ahead and air about 3 weeks ahead.
How the deadlines are worked out
Work backwards from the day it needs to be in someone's hands. Sea freight is 4–6 weeks to Lagos on a normal month, and the groupage container loads once a month — so the sailing you make decides the arrival. Clearance at Apapa or Tin Can and road delivery both run slower in the weeks before Christmas, when everybody on the corridor is shipping at once. That is why the cutoff sits in early November rather than December — it buys margin for the slow end of the transit range.
Air freight compresses the same journey into 7 working days, which is why it stays open so much later. It costs more per kilo — but for anything urgent, or for anyone who has already missed the sea cutoff, it's the answer.
Book early and you get more than a date
Peak season doesn't only squeeze the calendar, it squeezes space. Booking in October or the first days of November means your barrel goes on the sailing you planned, not the next one, and it gives you room to fix problems — a prohibited item spotted in time, a document chased down, a collection rebooked. Leave it to December and every one of those becomes a crisis.
Dates without a “planning date” tag are our confirmed cutoffs. Tagged ones are worked out from typical corridor transit times and are not yet fixed against a sailing — ask us to confirm before you rely on one.
Questions about timing
When should I send Christmas cargo to Nigeria?
Sea cargo for Christmas needs to be booked in the first week of November — the transit plus port clearing and door delivery is what pushes the deadline that far back. Air freight can go as late as the second week of December. The countdown at the top of this page shows exactly how long is left.
Why is the sea deadline so early?
Because the arrival date isn't the finish line. Sea transit is 4–6 weeks to Lagos, so a booking in the first week of November arrives somewhere between early and mid December — and it still has to clear Apapa or Tin Can and travel by road, both of which slow down in the weeks before Christmas. Working backwards from Christmas Day, and leaving margin for the slow end of that range, is how you get a November cutoff.
What happens if I miss the sea deadline?
You switch to air. It costs more per kilo, but it still arrives — that's the trade. Tell us what you're sending and we'll price both so you can decide.
When is the Easter shipping deadline?
Sea cargo for Easter is a late-January booking; air freight goes in mid-March. Easter is the corridor's second peak after Christmas, so the same "book early" logic applies.
What about Eid deadlines?
Eid moves each year with the Islamic calendar, so we publish no fixed date. As a rule, book sea about ten weeks ahead and air about three weeks ahead — and note that deliveries to northern states slow during Ramadan. Ask us for the current cutoff.
Do prices rise in the peak season?
Space gets tight rather than prices moving wildly — which is the real reason to book early. The customers who book in September get the space and the calm; the ones who book in December get whatever is left.