Some major retailers post ordering deadlines for guaranteed holiday arrival on their Web sites. The folks over at have collected a for 170 major retailers, based either on their standard shipping policies or special holiday commitments (which DealHack notes).

Guaranteed deadlines typically come with a promise of compensation of some sort if the gift arrives late--a gift card, perhaps, and a refund of any shipping charges. These vary by retailer, so read the fine print.

Apple doesn't make any holiday shipping guarantees, but it does offer detailed explanations of what time frames to expect for its various shipping options (standard, 2-day shipping, 2-3 day international shipping, and next business day). If you're thinking of doing your holiday shopping at , check out its , which tells you where you can send gifts paid for with a U.S. credit card, as well as its packaging and card options.

If you choose to ship gifts yourself (perhaps you want to wrap them personally), check the holiday shipping deadlines for the , , and . If you want to compare prices, has a bunch of calculators to help figure out costs based on destination, package type, and other variables.