Writing a letter to Santa Claus has been a tradition in America, well, since, at least it was possible to mail a letter, and likely long before. Today, despite the advent of more modern communications like email and texting, hundreds of thousands of children, from all over the globe, continue to send their Christmas wish lists to Santa using old-fashioned snail mail.
And incredibly, many of those letters are actually answered. New York is where Operation Santa got its start around , but it was not in full swing until The Museum answers letters sent to the town, and also those from the area that are addressed to Santa or the North Pole.
Surprisingly, the Internet Age has not put a damper on first class mail received by the museum. Santa was first depicted in print in the U. During that early 19 th -century period, Santa was more of a words-to-live-by-dispensing moralist than a present-bringing capitalist, he says. In , Nast drew an illustration of a child posting a letter to Santa. The concept of a Dead Letter Office—to deal with letters and packages with illegible or non-existent addresses, no return addresses, or improper postage—has existed at least since the first Postmaster General, Benjamin Franklin, Pope says.
A handful of such offices were established in the 19th century and early 20th century, with the main DLO being in Washington, DC. A few clerks—almost entirely women at the turn of the 20th century—would sort through the dead letters and burn the ones that could not be returned.
It was harder to burn packages, especially as they were often filled with interesting items—like skulls, reptiles, even a big box of brass knuckles, says Pope. Meanwhile, the pile-up of Santa letters at the DLO each year—and subsequent burning— became a source of angst.
The envelope addressed to Elf Road, North Pole, , requires a First-Class Mail postage stamp in order to be processed through the postal network. The envelope also needs a complete return address: full name, street address including apartment number and street directional, if applicable, city, state and ZIP Code.
Beginning Nov. After you register, your identity must be verified. Follow the prompts. Once your identity is verified, you have created an account. Account information from previous years is not retained and potential adopters must create a new account each year to participate in the program.
Verifying online adopters helps simplify the process of keeping the letter writers safe. We want to ensure we know who is responsible for each gift sent.
In order to verify your identity, we try to match the information you provide with records matching your information. This lets us know you are really you and who is responsible for each gift sent. This year, for the first time, we are offering an in-person verification option for customers unable to get verified online. For example: There might not be enough records tied to your name in order to verify you are really you.
You will have the opportunity to get verified in person at one of 19, post offices nationwide. Find the post office closest to you. Unfortunately, as part of the Postal Service effort to protect the letter writer, if your identity cannot be verified, you cannot adopt letters. Anyone can adopt a letter after they have registered; first they must create an account and have their identity verified.
However, no more than six boxes can be sent per individual adoption. NOTE: you are responsible for postage for every package. You can fulfill the gift however you wish. Sending a gift card is an easy solution to many requests. The gift card will need to be sent in a Priority Mail envelope, along with the Note from Santa.
In many instances, letters are adopted as soon as there are posted. The letters must be opened, reviewed, coded, copied, processed and posted. This happens daily through Dec. But please check back — we are working hard to add new letters. Packages must be under 70 pounds and have a maximum combined length and girth of inches girth is the distance around the thickest part of the package.
If you are worried about the weight or size of your package, consider shipping in multiple boxes. No more than 6 boxes will be accepted per individual adoption or a total of 12 boxes per family adoption.
Read our Shipping Guidelines for more information. The price of postage depends on various factors such as the shipping distance and the weight and the length and girth of the package. Using Priority Flat Rate boxes is a good option to control shipping costs. Many common household and consumer products may not be mailed.
Although these items are not dangerous when stored in your home, they can become dangerous when shaken or exposed to temperature or pressure changes. Additional information can be found here. Postage is based on size, weight and distance. Smaller, lighter packages shipped in-state or to an adjacent state will be the less expensive shipping option. Need magic this season? Learn more. Letters get published We redact personal information and publish these letters online.
Wishes delivered Adopters ship gifts. Holiday wishes are delivered. If your kiddos are learning their letters, you can always have them trace over some of the words. For kiddos that can write, make sure they have enough paper on hand but try and keep it to one page. Remember, this does not have to be a list of all the things they want for Christmas. They can also just send a letter thanking Santa for his hard work or asking him what his life is like.
Be creative! Using your stealth parenting-in-the-night skills, the same ones that power you to wrap presents and fill stockings undetected, you will need to write out the response from Santa disguise your writing if you think necessary and place it in an envelope addressed to your child with a return address of Santa Claus, North Pole. Make sure you put a stamp on this envelope: The current rate is 58 cents, or use a Forever stamp.
Place everything into a larger envelope like a Priority Mail Flat Rate or manilla envelope and make sure there is adequate postage. A flat rate is great because you can buy the postage online and print the label, saving you a trip to the post office.
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