Is your little one sending a letter to Santa?

As a little kid, there is nothing more magical than the holiday season. Kids wait patiently through 24 days of December so they can wake up on Christmas morning and rush to the tree to see everything Santa brought them. You can make this season even more special for your child (and for the children of your customers) by encouraging them to send their very own letters to Santa Claus.

The history of letters to Santa
The U.S. Postal Service has been receiving letters to Santa for more than 102 years, and is still getting them today. It wasn't until 1912 that Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock decided to have his postal employees and citizens write back to children who addressed letters to Santa to keep the holiday magic alive. Today, this program is known as Letters to Santa. When the letters arrive at the post office, the employees open and sort the letters, remove the child's personal information and place them in a public adoption area. Whoever comes into the post office wanting to adopt a letter must fill out the proper forms and present identification. They then fulfill the child's wishes with a gift and a letter back.

Guidelines
After your child has written his or her letter to Jolly Old St. Nicholas, send the envelope with adequate postage to the following address:

North Pole Postmark Postmaster
4141 Postmark Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

Make sure to get these letters out on time (much like your happy holiday cards), as they should be received by the post office no later than Dec. 15, 2014.

When the letter arrives back home, it will be complete with official North Pole postage. Be sure to get out your camera and take some memorable photos of your child excitedly opening his or her letter from Santa. You can even tweet the pictures on social media using the hashtag #SantaLetters.