Remember writing to Santa when you were a kid? Even if you didn’t get a response, there was a thrill of writing down your wishes with the possibility that some might get granted.
Now that we’re adults (most of us), we know that Santa was really our parents. However, where do the letters really go?
The United States Postal Services.
And to real people!
For over 100 years, the USPS has been receiving letters to Santa. Both postal employees and citizens helped write responses to the letters and later in the 1940s, the Santa mail increased so much, that the Postal Service enlisted the help of charities and corporations to participate with small gifts.
Today, everyone can log in to the USPS Operation Santa site to “adopt” a Santa letter to fulfill someone’s wish. However, it was so popular, that the letters ran out in a week and now they need more letters!
So you can do a couple things:
Encourage a Child to Write to Santa
If you know deserving kids, have them write to Santa! This would be a great classroom activity as well.
Envelopes addressed like this will only be accepted and must be postmarked by December 15th.
Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
Road North Pole, 88888
There’s even a letter kit to help the child with how to write along with some ideas.
Letters will be uploaded onto the Operation Santa site with private information protected. In the past, the USPS only accepted letters in certain cities. But this year, for the first time, Operation Santa is nationwide!
Adopt a Letter Yourself
Once the site populates with more letters from kids and families, pick one to fulfill someone’s wish! You’d be an anonymous volunteer that will send a toy, clothes, or shoes depending on the content of the letter you adopt.
If you live in New York or Chicago, you can adopt letters in-person at the USPS offices.
Adopt Letters with Your Team
On December 4, the option to adopt letters with your co-workers and team will open. You’ll be able to make a bigger impact and this would be a great bonding activity at work!
Help Promote Operation Santa
The USPS site has a lot of downloadable resources to help promote letter writing and adopting.
‘Tis the season for goodwill!
