The U.S. Postal Service is undergoing its 109th Operation Santa program guided by random acts of kindness and plenty of Christmas spirit to ensure everyone gets a taste of the holiday magic.
Operation Santa was established by USPS to help those in need during the holidays.
This year, letters have been streaming in since Nov. 1. However, there is still time to get your wishes to the big guy this season.
To try your luck at receiving a gift of your choice, simply write a physical letter to Santa, put it in an envelope, include a complete return address (full name, street address, apartment number, city, state and ZIP Code), add a postage stamp and put it in the mail.
All letters need to be postmarked by Dec. 10 to be entered on USPSOperationSanta.com where strangers who create an account identifying themselves can gift your Christmas present.
Once postmarked, the letters arrive at Santa’s satellite workshop in the U.S. where they are reviewed. Do not worry parents, all personal information is redacted to protect the writers, and the letters are posted for generous people to adopt.
Letter adoption begins Nov. 29 and those interested must first create an account on the website and get their identities verified by following the prompts.
Letter writers do not need to create accounts.
While there is no guarantee a letter will be adopted, or a gift will be provided, there is a way to ensure your letter is as sincere and detailed as possible.
Writing the personal letter just takes a little bit of time and should include specific information like sizes, styles and colors for clothes and shoes, titles of books and names of toys to make it easier for the letter adopter to fulfill wishes.
Letters can be written in English or Spanish to help include a broader audience.
Remember, envelopes without full names and complete return addresses will not be posted. Envelopes without postage stamps will not arrive at the location.
Whether you believe in Santa or not, the nondenominational program is intended to help as many deserving families as possible experience a happy holiday season. And that can only happen if there are letters to post on USPSOperationSanta.com.
All the information you need can be found at USPSOperationSanta.com and the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom.
