A former Australia Post contractor in Tasmania has been placed on a 12-month good behaviour bond for failing to deliver more than 40 Christmas parcels.

Melanie Moran, 33, told the Magistrates Court in Hobart she became overwhelmed by the Christmas rush in 2011 when she had to deliver 400 parcels a day.

The court heard Moran had held the delivery contract in the Blackmans Bay area since 2008 but by Christmas 2011 she was struggling.

Her husband was in an induced coma, her baby was unwell, and instead of the average of 150 parcels a day in the contract, there were more than 400 a day.

Instead of returning 47 undelivered parcels to the post office, she began stashing them in a shipping container at her Kingston home.

She then delivered them at random times, including Easter.

Magistrate Simon Cooper recorded convictions on each of the 47 counts of concealing post and ordered Moran to be on good behaviour for a year.

Magistrate Cooper said it was an unusual case because it was not a situation of dishonesty as much as of being overwhelmed.