(KTLA) — Those hoping to help fulfill the holiday gift wish of a child in need can now adopt a letter to Santa through the U.S. Postal Service’s “Operation Santa” program, the agency announced this week.
Adopters can visit USPSOperationSanta.com to browse through letters sent from children and families around the country and pick one or more gifts they want to buy and send to the writers on Santa’s behalf.
“Over the past three weeks, the Postal Service has been delivering letters from all across the country to Santa’s workshop at 123 Elf Road. And today, they are ready to be fulfilled,” USPS announced Monday.
USPS’s “Operation Santa” began 109 years ago to help those in need during the holiday season. The agency said the program has helped hundreds of thousands of people.
Previously, volunteers were able to sift through letters from children at post offices and choose one or more. Amid the coronavirus pandemic last year, the Postal Service announced it was taking the campaign nationwide, making letters from around the country available online.
“Dear Santa,” many of the letters begin before asking for a variety of different gifts, including gaming consoles, bikes, phones and toy sets.
“How are your reindeer doing?” one sender named Orion asks Santa.
The program began accepting letters on Nov. 1, but families in need can still send their letters to Santa.
Letters must be placed in an envelope with a First-Class Mail stamp. Senders must also include their full return address — apartment number, directional information and ZIP Code — and send it to Santa’s official workshop address: Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.
Letters must be postmarked by Dec. 10 and will be uploaded to the website through Dec. 15. The last day to adopt letters is Dec. 22.
After choosing a letter to adopt, users are given directions in an email to make sure gifts arrive on time. Adopters will be responsible for the costs of shipping the gift packages.
Letters are posted to the website twice daily, and there is now a countdown clock so participants know when new letters will be posted.
More information on how to properly address and stamp a perfect letter to Santa can be found on the USPS website.