Dear Santa, Here’s My Christmas List
Did you know that this is Dear Santa Letter Week? I didn’t either, but apparently, it is, which means you should…you know, write a letter to Santa. Or really, help your kids write a letter to Santa.
I suspect that kids have kind of stopped writing to Santa Claus, because why bother when you can just go see him at the mall. My kids still write to him, though, because the thought of experiencing Santa IN PERSON makes them break out in hives. The last time my daughter saw Santa was six years ago, when she was two years old. She was terrified and spent the entire time she sat on his lap crying and yelling for me. My son is five now and has never in his life seen Santa up close simply because I was pregnant with him the last time Madison saw Santa. He absorbed the terror directly through my placenta and that was it for him.
So for us, it’s a letter or nothing when it comes to Santa Claus.
How to Get in Touch With Santa
My daughter likes to hand-write letters and my son is at an age where his ability to write gives him tremendous pride. So we’re working on our snail mail letters to the North Pole.
When your kids sit down to write their letter to Santa, it might be worthwhile to help them consider which one or two things they want the most and then let them fill in the rest of their list with the things that would be nice to have. I say this because my children are commercialized little people and they need gentle reminders of the risks of wanting everything they see on television so much. Most of those “must-haves” from the commercials end up not being as much fun as advertised. To get this point across to my daughter, all I have to say is, “Remember Go-Go My Walking Pup?” and she knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Your kids have a couple different options for how to get in touch with Santa. He appears to be quite fond of email, like we all are, which is great for kids who are learning to use a computer (or already programming one on their own because kids these days sheesh). At NorthPole.com your kids can send an email to Santa — my kids really enjoyed playing on the site. But my goodness, who knew Santa liked animated GIFs so much? Santa Claus might need a web designer elf. If you’re in a hurry to see what your child would like from Santa or if your child is too young to write a letter, an email to Santa may be the easiest way to go.
But if your kids are like mine and prefer the old fashioned pen-and-paper route, you can pop a letter in the mailbox, too. Many country’s postal services have special addresses to send letters to Santa. It all depends on where your kids think the North Pole actually is, I guess.
Where in the World is Santa Claus?
Maybe Santa lives in Canada! If so, here’s his address:
Santa Claus,
North Pole, Canada
H0H 0H0.
The Santa Claus in Finland is quite popular — he gets over 600,000 letters a year from 150 countries. You can send your letter to the Finnish Santa Claus at:
Santa Claus,
Santa Claus Village
FIN-96930
Arctic Circle, Finland
The United States Postal Service says letters to Santa should be addressed to:
Santa Claus
The North Pole, AK
Of course, if you have a child who is on the cusp of realizing the truth about Santa (and knows his state abbreviations), the Alaska address may raise red flags. But then, if your child really wants to believe they’ll let these things slide I’m sure. Especially when there’s an Easy Bake Oven hanging in the balance.
You should also feel free to tell your kids that these are mail collection stations and that the elves carry the letters the rest of the way to Santa’s actual home. My kids bought it, maybe yours will too.
A Letter FROM Santa
Want to really keep the magic alive a little longer? You can arrange for your child to get a letter from Santa, which should absolutely guarantee you a couple weeks of good behavior rolling into Christmas. Write a letter from Santa to your child and put it in an envelope addressed to your child (with correct postage attached). Put that envelope into a larger envelope and send it to:
North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks AK 99709-9998
You’ll need to get your letter in the mail no later than December 15 for it to get back to your child in time for Christmas.
There are services that will write a letter from Santa for you, but frankly, I can be Santa for my kids a lot better than somebody else can. I can add a few choice bits of advice directly from Santa. Like, for example, “Dear Madison, please stop saying, ‘One minute!’ every time your parents ask you to do something. It’s annoying. Love, Santa!” Or “Hey Max. I know you love your parents a lot but 4:00 am isn’t the optimal time for a cuddle puddle. Love, Santa.”
One last note, though: If you have a perceptive little person in the house, I would suggest that you have a friend write out your response in their less-detectable handwriting. It really ruins the magic if the kids know you’re the one who wrote the letter. And they will still keep waking you up at 4:00 am to cuddle.
More From Alpha Mom:
Free Printable Letter to Santa Template
Make Your Own Surprise Ball Christmas Ornaments
To Santa or Not to Santa
