The frigid below zero temperatures didn’t keep them away.

Pam Vokoun sent off 35 Christmas cards, complete with a festive stamp on each envelope. Terry Schroeder brought in a single package to be mailed, while Mark Plummer, who sells camera equipment on e-Bay, carried in his 110 small packages with two hands.

“It’s a necessary evil,” Plummer said, about braving the long line. “If I don’t ship the stuff out, I don’t make any money, and then I have to go to work for someone else again.”

Yesterday was the busiest day of the year for post offices nationwide, as holiday shoppers hustled to get their packages out to friends and family across the country.

It was the same story at the Austin Post Office where Postmaster Dan Heinz estimated between 500 and 600 customers came through yesterday, the Monday before the Monday before Christmas. Heinz said the post office averages between 300 to 400 customers each day the rest of the year.

“People have gone out over the weekend, and they got their cards ready and they got their packages ready, and now it’s time to get them in the mail,” he said.

On Monday afternoon in Austin, the line to send a package was often out into the post office lobby, although customers didn’t seem to mind.

In an the electronic age, where many consumers ship by way of the Internet, some still enjoy speaking to a live individual, no matter how long the line is.

“That personal touch is still important to a lot of people,” Heinz said.

One person even brought a plate of treats for the post office workers.

While there is more than a week left before Christmas, Heinz said time is running out to ship packages in time for Dec. 25. He recommends those customers mailing cards to anywhere in Minnesota do so by Dec. 20.