Gary Ingraham got an extra hour of sleep, and would have a big breakfast with his family when he was done delivering packages on Christmas morning.

During the final stretch of holiday gift-giving -- when procrastinators anxiously hope their gifts arrive on time or when Santa has forgotten to slip a crucial toy under the tree -- there still is one chance for a Christmas delivery.

In Salem, that chance rested with Gary Ingraham.

About 6 a.m., while many people slept or children eagerly ripped open gifts from Santa, Ingraham suited up for work. By 8 a.m., he was at the Salem post office, dressed in creased pants, a light blue button-down shirt and a navy sweater adorned with a U.S. Postal Service patch.

The postal service operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Ingraham said. Holidays are no exception.

The mad rush for last-minute deliveries was Dec. 19. That was the busiest day for deliveries, according to the postal service Web site.

Still, the postal service guarantees the delivery of Express Mail, packages for one-day delivery, even on Christmas. Packages postmarked on earlier dates can be delivered, too.

On Christmas morning, Ingraham had eight packages, including one for Express Mail. His white U.S. Postal Service truck was one of few signs of activity along Salem's Main Street.

Ingraham has worked at the Salem post office for six months, after three years of working at the post office in Blacksburg. This was his first Christmas delivery shift.

With each delivery, he knocked on the door, and if there was no answer, he set down the box and walked away.

On Academy Street, he made it down one driveway and back to the street when the door opened and a woman reached down to scoop up her box.

"Working hard today?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so."

It's not so bad, Ingraham said.

He got about an extra hour of sleep, and would have a big breakfast with his family when he was done working. It would take only about an hour to deliver the packages.

Sherry Lindamood and her two sons opened the door when Ingraham stopped at their house in South Salem.

Toys her sons want -- such as the Steve Irwin action figure Ingraham delivered -- aren't available in local stores, she said. So she shopped on eBay and warned her sons that a couple of their gifts may be late.

Olga Hartman was waiting for her box when Ingraham's truck stopped at her house. The box contained a gift that her sister had sent from California with the promise that it would arrive on time.

"It means a lot," Hartman said. She moved to Roanoke about 40 years ago, and now lives in Salem. She admitted that she still gets homesick and writes her sister letters every day.

"The mail to me is life," she said, and then thanked Ingraham for his work.

He replied with a smile: "I'm just doing my job."