Dutch postal service PostNL has admitted that it failed to deliver ‘a small number’ of Christmas cards and parcels on time, because it was too busy, website  NU.nl has reported.

Some cards took three weeks to be delivered, with many people receiving their Christmas messages a week after the event. ‘Most mail arrived in time but a small part was late,’ a PostNL spokesman told NU.nl.

The delay was caused by the volume of cards and parcels and the fact that many Christmas cards were posted just before the festive season started, the spokesman said.

In 2018 PostNL was also late delivering cards. It tried to avoid the same situation by delivering mail on the Monday before Christmas, a day on which it normally does not have a service.

‘We regret that hasn’t worked. The cards that are still in the system will be delivered as quickly as possible,’ the spokesman said.

The volume of late post has led to a lot of comment on social media.

‘First you complain not enough post is being sent and then you complain there is too much,’ said one user on Twitter.

Eerst klagen dat er steeds minder post wordt verstuurd, en dan gaan klagen dat er teveel post is verstuurd met kerst😂 Wat een fail bedrijf! #postnl https://t.co/jz5vVaSRee

— ɱɽ Ҭ (@Twi_Terr) January 7, 2020

Is anyone else wondering why it takes @PostNL over two weeks to deliver Christmas cards from one side of Amsterdam to the other?

— ThisAmsterdam (@ThisAmsterdam) January 4, 2020

Postal volumes are falling at a rate of around 10% a year, and PostNL has reduced delivery and collection times in an effort to cut costs.