Your mail carrier helps to deliver letters to and from your home all year long—but before Christmas arrives, they may be charged with delivering a very important note from your family all the way to the North Pole. The United States Postal Service has been receiving letters, notes, and holiday wish lists addressed to Santa Claus from families across the nation for more than 100 years, but it wasn't until 1912 when then Postmaster General Frank Hitchco*ck created a program now known as Operation Santa to help Santa answer all of those letters he receives each and every year.
Post officials know just how special it is for a little one to open a note from Santa himself, so they've made it easier than ever for you to ensure your family receives handwritten letters from Saint Nick himself. And if you're willing to help in the spirit of the holidays, you can take some time to answer letters on Santa's behalf, too. We're sharing how you can help kids and teens alike send a note to Santa Claus in the North Pole, and if you're inclined, how to answer some letters yourself.
Write a Letter to Santa With Our Printable Template
How to Write to Santa
According to Kim Frum, a senior public relations representative with the United States Postal Service, you'll need to get your child's letter to Santa Claus in the mail by December 8. Letters addressed to Santa will travel all the way to Anchorage, Alaska, where the postmaster will help spread holiday magic by sending back a pre-written reply that is affixed with an official North Pole Postmark.
You'll need to address your child's note to the following address exactly as it appears here:
Have your child practice their penmanship by writing a one-page letter addressed to Santa. Then, later that day, Frum suggests that you save paper by writing a personalized response (signed "From Santa") right on the back of the same page. In the same envelope that is being sent to Santa, you'll need to include another pre-addressed envelope to your child that bears the return address with "Santa, North Pole" on the upper left corner of the envelope. This second envelope should have a first-class mail stamp affixed so it can be sent back to your home. Frum says the holiday greeting should return to your home by Christmas Eve, just in time for December 25.
If you've missed the December 8 deadline, don't fret! The holiday elves at the Santa Claus Village and Museum in Santa Claus, Indiana, will respond to any Christmas note addressed to Santa, as long as it's received by December 20. Send a note alongside a legible return address to: Santa Claus, PO Box 1, Santa Claus, Indiana, 47579. You'll get a free response from Santa before Christmas arrives.
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How to Help Santa and Grant Wish Lists
Operation Santa was largely made into what it is today back in the 1940s when the sheer number of letters addressed to Santa inspired officials to ask charities and corporations to give back by providing written responses to letters and small gifts, if possible. Now in its 107th year, the USPS has opened the program to anyone who wishes to "sponsor" a holiday letter by providing a written response and sending gifts to families in need. This year, families with a wish list will send their notes to a secret address—123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888—and USPS officials will sort the notes, with local post office employees spending time responding to each and every letter including a handwritten response signed by Santa himself.
Residents living in 15 different metropolitan areas (including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Washington, D.C., among others) will have the opportunity to go online and read thousands of letters addressed to Santa. Volunteers can then choose to respond to as many as they'd like while remaining anonymous, and they can send gifts to these families with their post office's help should they choose to do so. It's one of the easiest and kindest ways your family can choose to spread a little holiday cheer this year—after all, Santa needs all the help he can get. For more information on how you can participate in the program, visit your local post office or head to the USPS Operation Santa web portal to get started.
Send your letter to the following address, and make sure to include a stamp on the envelope: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ. If you'd like to receive your reply in Welsh, send the letter to: Sion Corn, Ogof Sion Corn, Gwlad Y Ceirw, XM4 5HQ.
It is believed that the first Santa Claus was Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a monk and therefore did not marry. The Santa Claus that we know lives in the North Pole. According to some North American sources, his original name was Kris Kringle before he changed his name to Santa Claus.
Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole. Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response. Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child. Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.
The regular or business-size envelope must have a First-Class Mail postage stamp to travel through the Postal Service processing systems. The envelope needs to be addressed to: SANTA CLAUS, 123 ELF ROAD, NORTH POLE 88888. Letters received without last names and correct return addresses cannot be uploaded.
How texting Santa works. Santa's elves have taken over SimpleTexting's business texting software and turned it into a dedicated Christmas toll-free line for boys and girls across North America! All you have to do is text your Christmas list to (833) 798-0109 and Santa will do the rest!
"Now, if you are talking about St. Nicholas, he is a bishop out of Turkey so a man. If you are talking about the character that came from the legend of the Saint he is both a man and an elf depending on which legend you believe in. So, yes, Neda, you are both right."
And the first question after that, in the “People also ask” section, is: “Is Santa real or is it your parents?” The top response comes from the motherhood website Her View From Home. “The answer is no.We are not Santa. There is no one, single Santa.
Father Christmas can be reached at 605-313-4000, his official hotline. Those wishing to call Santa can also visit FreeConferenceCall.com/Santa-Hotline to call the Santa Hotline through the official website.
That guarantees a postmark on the return letter from the North Pole. Letters with postage and an address of the North Pole or Santa Claus are usually routed to one of 15 regional post offices that participate in Operation Santa.
The United States Postal Service has two ways of responding to letters to Santa. Through Operation Santa, people can "adopt" letters and either respond or grant the child's wish. Letters From Santa allows response letters to get stamped with a North Pole postmark.
If you think, judging by that white beard and hair, Kris Kringle might be around 70 or 80, the truth is he's far, far older. According to History.com, the monk who over time would evolve into Santa Claus was born in what is now modern-day Turkey in 280 A.D., making him a whopping 1,741 years old!
Bruce Hall's latest children's book attempts to answer the hypothetical science behind Santa Claus. Have your kids send Santa a text message with their Christmas list. All you have to do is text 833-798-0109 to access this free Santa text from SimpleTexting.
It will end up in a default area for mail without a complete address and then be sorted back into the Operation Santa program, where a postal worker or member of the public can respond. Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, making a child feel special is a wonderful way to finish out the year.
Santa's list is very long, and it can take up to 10 days for his letter to reach you. If you can't wait, or it is taking longer, please download the card he'll send you here pdf, 5.53 MB. If you'd like your response in Welsh you can download the card he'll be sending you here pdf, 5.68 MB.
Send your letter to Santa no later than Dec. 7 to receive a reply before the holidays. It's a long way to the North Pole and back. Santa will reply to letters until the end of January.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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