WASHINGTON -  The U.S. Postal Service is playing Rudolph this year, saving the long tradition of helping to make sure that needy children have gifts to open during the holidays.

Operation Santa program celebrates its 108th year of taking letters from children to St. Nick and forwarding them to generous people who help fulfill the children’s holiday wishes.  This year the post office is opening Operation Santa for nationwide participation this holiday season.

To participate in the USPS Operation Santa program as a possible recipient of holiday gifts, all you have to do is write a letter, put it in a stamped envelope with a return address, and send it to Santa’s official workshop address:

  • Santa Claus
  • 123 Elf Road
  • North Pole
  • 88888

Letters will be accepted Nov. 16 – Dec. 15. For safety reasons, all personally identifiable information of the letter writer is removed (i.e., last names, addresses, ZIP Codes) and uploaded to USPSOperationSanta.com for adoption.

Beginning Dec. 4, letters will be available for nationwide adoption by visiting USPSOperationSanta.com — all from the socially distant safety of your own home.

Potential adopters can read the letters and pick one or more they would like to fulfill. For security reasons, potential adopters must be vetted by going through a short registration and ID verification process before they can adopt any letter.

Companies also help adopt letters. Every year many companies create teams and adopt several letters. All the better to help grant that special wish to deserving families and kids.

How to Write a Letter

Information on how to write a letter, address an envelope, put on a stamp can be found on USPSOperationSanta.com and in the Holiday Newsroom.

While the Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa more than 108 years ago, it wasn’t until 1912 that Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local Postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to them. This became known as Operation Santa.