Letters To Santa

December 14, 2010 12:48 PM

Uh, the Postal Service began receiving Letters to Santa Claus more than 100 years ago. In 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to the letters through programs such as Operation Santa, Letters To Santa & Globe Santa. Individuals or Groups fill out a form, and then basically make a kids' wish come true. Some letters get replies. Some Letters go to Macy's. Some busy elves even stay up all night to help. Like Tonight.
posted by Israel Tucker (16 comments total)

Instructions from the US Post Office for getting a North Pole postmark - apparently Santa operates out of Fairbanks.
posted by exogenous at 12:52 PM on December 14, 2010

*SPOILERS*
posted by infinitefloatingbrains at 12:53 PM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

Rumor has it that wikileaks is going to release over a million letters to Santa.
posted by empath at 12:54 PM on December 14, 2010 [10 favorites]

Canadian children can write to Santa too, but they might not like the responses they get.
posted by bewilderbeast at 1:00 PM on December 14, 2010

Santas are serious bizness.
posted by kmz at 1:05 PM on December 14, 2010

I hope this isn't too off-topic but our air traffic controlling mob, Airservices Australia, counts down to Santa's trip and then tracks his journey during Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

Online Santa-tracking! How cool is that?

I hope postal services in other countries do something similar.
posted by malibustacey9999 at 1:11 PM on December 14, 2010 [1 favorite]

In 1999, an Oshawa seven-year-old received a Santa message from Canada Post that called him "one greedy little boy!"

Looks like there was a typo and they sent the letter to Satan instead...
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 1:11 PM on December 14, 2010

Rumor has it that wikileaks is going to release over a million letters to Santa.

Wikileaks: North Pole edition has revealed several damaging diplomatic cables:

Rudolph is driven by paranoia that the other reindeer still secretly make fun of his nose.

Santa is feckless, vain, and ineffective as a modern Arctic leader.

Mrs. Claus enjoys the company of a “voluptuous blond” Ukrainian nurse in all her travels.

posted by kmz at 1:13 PM on December 14, 2010

To be fair, if Santa says your mom sucks dicks and your dad is gay, it's probably true.
posted by klangklangston at 1:17 PM on December 14, 2010 [2 favorites]

great idea, today i'm going to sit down next to my grandson, and help him write a letter to SANTA, making sure he adds a small simple present he would like to share with the rest of his family, one brother (older) and two wonderfull, but stretched out($) parents. go Zachary and write with the fire and zeal of young warrior.
posted by tustinrick at 1:20 PM on December 14, 2010

I hope this isn't too off-topic but our air traffic controlling mob, Airservices Australia, counts down to Santa's trip and then tracks his journey during Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. ... I hope postal services in other countries do something similar.

Yeah, we so something like that.

(Oh, and there is also this.)
posted by exogenous at 1:21 PM on December 14, 2010

But if all these organizations respond to the letters, how are they ever going to make it to the New York County Courthouse to prove that Santa is real?
posted by Katrel at 3:14 PM on December 14, 2010

I'm actually waiting in line for the Chicago event right now! This will be my eighth time attending it and I plan on sticking around the whole 24 hours, as I have the last several times.
posted by borkencode at 3:58 PM on December 14, 2010

apparently Santa operates out of Fairbanks.

That's because there's a town in the Fairbanks metro area called North Pole. That's what the postmarks say when you get them back.
posted by decathecting at 4:27 PM on December 14, 2010

Growing up, we wrote our letters to Santa and then burned them in the fireplace so the ashes would get to Santa. Did anyone else do this?

It makes sense to me since Santa is magical and should get his mail through magical means not the human post office.
posted by vespabelle at 11:34 PM on December 14, 2010

The John Lewis Partnership in the UK has been operating a system where children in their stores can write to Father Christmas, posting the letter in-store, and will then get a letter back--mostly boilerplate but with her name hand-written at the top, and showing a remarkable restraint at pimping their stores or their products. My three-year-old is hardly a model of restraint but I don't think I've ever seen her so excited at anything as receiving a letter from The! Real! Father! Christmas!
posted by Hogshead at 8:57 AM on December 15, 2010