Maltese shoppers of gifts online may be disappointed like thousands of others around the world, who are being warned that they could have a miserable Christmas as online gifts may not be delivered.
A backlog of around four million parcels has developed as private carriers struggle to overcome delays caused by the snow and ice.
And with the predicted second big freeze about to grip Britain it will only get worse, experts said.
The news came as MPs were told rocketing oil prices and restricted deliveries could also mean thousands of homes going without heating this winter.
Parcel and carrier management firm Global Freight Solutions said it could be the first year in which depots and offices do not clear all their gifts.
“This year in Scotland and the northeast it is likely Father Christmas won’t be coming,” said Simon Veale, director of the company.
Dealing with the backlog was like “bailing water out of a sinking ship”.
Mr Veale went on: “There are likely to be more than four million new parcels in the system every day this week on top of several million more which still had to be cleared from the recent extreme weather.
“No-one in the industry likes the prospect of not making collections or deliveries.
“Everyone’s working around the clock to do what they can to ensure that items arrive on time, but the reality is that some will not.
“If there are additional falls of snow, as the weather forecasts are suggesting, the unhappy situation will be compounded further still.”
Carriers began restricting the number of non-urgent packages they will deliver to try to ensure essential items reach their destinations on time, he added.
The Association of Train Operating Companies said it will run “ghost trains” to help keep routes open and have hundreds of ground staff on duty to try to keep key junctions and points clear of snow.
They are clearing and gritting platforms and station approaches to improve passenger safety.
Neil Cotty, managing director of Global Freight Solutions, advised people to order items as soon as possible if they wanted them to arrive in time for Christmas.
He said: “All carriers are used to dealing with tremendous volumes of parcels in the week to 10 days before Christmas.
“However, their ability to do so this year has been affected by a backlog caused by the bad weather coming so close to the expected pre-Christmas peak earlier in the month.
“The UK carriers are doing their best to cope with the remainder of their backlogged deliveries as well as the huge numbers of new items coming into the parcel system in the run-up to Christmas.
“We will be able to collect packages on behalf of our customers early next week and still get them to their destinations in time for Christmas.”