Delight Your Kids by Sending Them a Letter from Santa
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Every year mail carriers around the country collect letters addressed to the North Pole. These letters are often filled with wish lists and requests made by children who are counting down the days until the arrival of the holiday season. Even more exciting, though, is the possibility that they may hear back from Santa Claus. And with the right address and a bit of Christmas cheer, you can help make your little ones' dreams a reality.
Related: How to Write a Letter to Santa
Sending Greetings to the North Pole
The Greetings from the North Pole Post Office is a program for kids—or kids at heart—hoping to receive a personalized letter from Santa, says Kim Frum, senior public relations representative with the United States Postal Service. To take part in this service, all you need to do is help your child write a letter to the jolly man in red and put it into an envelope addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole. "Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response on the back of the letter and sign it 'From, Santa,'" she says. "The child will get his or her original letter back along with Santa's message from the North Pole!"
How to Write a Letter from Santa
To ensure your mail gets there (and back), Frum says you just need to follow these steps: Insert the letter from Santa—also known as the response letter—into an envelope and address it to the child. Add the return address: Santa, North Pole, to the envelope. Put a holiday stamp or a First-Class Mail stamp on the envelope. Place the complete envelope into a larger one with appropriate postage.
Where to Send the Letter
Address the envelope filled with your child's letter, and your response letter, to:
North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Dr.
Anchorage, AK. 99530-9998
Get It to the Elves on Time
Just make sure your child's letter to Santa makes it into the mail before the deadline. "The recommended mail-by date in order to receive a response before Dec. 25, is December 7 so that they can be received by the Anchorage, Alaska, Postmaster no later than December 14," she says. "Santa's helpers in Anchorage will take care of the rest!" Meaning they'll send the letter you wrote from Santa for you after they receive the letter to Santa your little one wrote.
Help Your Child Write Their Letter to Santa
Start with some fun paper, an envelope, and plenty of things to decorate it, suggests Danielle Kurtz, Director of Marketing and Creative at Kid Made Modern. "Stickers, glitter, and markers are all good ideas to make your letter stand out," she says. "For younger kids, consider downloading or creating a letter to Santa template where they can just fill in the blanks." To make the moment extra special, Kurtz suggests tying it to another fun holiday activity. "Maybe while you're decorating your tree, you can talk about what they might want, then once the tree is up, sit down and start writing," she says. "Or make some holiday cookies and write your letters while they're in the oven."
Personalizing Santa's Response
Frum says that the letter "from" Santa can be as creative as you want to make it. "Some suggestions include mentioning how well the child is doing at school, how nice they've been to their siblings/friends/family, the weather at the North Pole (currently snowing), the reindeer are getting excited for the trip, Mrs. Claus is making lots of good food for Santa and the elves to keep up their strength."
