NEW YORK — The most wonderful time of the year is also the U.S. Postal Service’s busiest.
Between today and Christmas day, they’ll deliver 15 billion pieces of mail. Some of those have a long way to go.
“We get tons of letters from children addressed to Santa or the North Pole,” Mike Cooke, United States Postal Service Corporate Communications Manager told WQAD. “So we do our best to get those to Santa’s helpers.”
And every year, they help Santa’s elves answer them.
It’s called “Operation Santa,” a 105-year-old USPS program, where employees sort the letters, read them, and send return letters from Santa himself back to kids who’ve made the “Nice List.”
“It reminds us of the spirit of Christmas,” Cooke said. “This is a very busy time for us, but it kind of brings you back.”
Here’s how your family can get involved:
- Have your child write a letter to Santa.
- You give Santa a hand, by writing the response for him.
- Put both letters in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Mark the return address as “Santa, North Pole.”
- Put that envelope in a bigger envelope addressed to:
North Pole Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530
Time is running out! The North Pole must get your child’s letter by Friday, December 15th in order for it to be signed by Santa, stamped by the North Pole, and returned to you by Christmas.