Inside: Santa Claus’s real mailing address, free letter to Santa templates and Santa letter replies too…
Writing a letter to Santa is a fun Christmas activity for kids big and small and a must-do Christmas tradition. I love looking back at those early Santa letters my eldest wrote, or should I say dictated, when they were just 3 and 4 and will treasure them forever more.
Of course, that was before I realized that Santa Claus does, in fact, have a real mailing address! And if you use it, you can get a reply back too.
This post has all the “real” and “official” mailing addresses for Santa Claus – because,yes there is more than one!
Plus you’ll find details on exactly what to do if you do want a reply from the magical man himself, or one of his helpers, as well as free printable letter templates to Santa so you can get cracking.
Where does Santa Claus live?
The character of Santa Claus evolved from the 3rd Century monk, or bishop, depending on the source, St Nicholas. He lived in Patara, in what is now Turkey.
He was not round and jolly, but rather tall and gaunt. A devout Christian, he spent his life helping the sick and needy and it was through this unselfish generosity as well as his love of children, that he became the most popular Saint in Europe.
From then the stories and traditions evolved, including his move to the North Pole.
Reindeer live at the North Pole and in stories such as The Night Before Christmas, reindeer are Santa Claus’s preferred method of transport, so it makes sense to live there.
(The name “Santa Claus” came from the Dutch nickname for St Nicholas, “SinterKlaas”. Santa also has another more modern nickname Kris Kringle.)
Secondly, it snows all year round there and snow is symbolic of Christmas.
The final reason for this new location, is that the Arctic was largely undiscovered at the time and had a rather magical and mythical status, fitting with the legendary saint.
So, Santa Claus lives in the North Pole, with his reindeer, helpers and of course, Mrs Claus!
How to get a reply to Santa letters
There are a few different ways to get a reply to Santa letters.
What is Santa Claus’s real address to send a letter?
Santa’s “real” address to send a letter depends on where exactly in the world you’re sending it from. The same goes for the route to getting a letter of reply from Santa, the deadline for sending Santa letters and whether or not you need a stamp; it depends on where you are and which mailing address you use.
There will be more details about each of the different options, but first a summary of Santa’s official mailing address.
America – via Operation Santa
If you’re writing in as part of Operation Santa (more details on this below) which will honor the wishlist via generous members of the public, the official mailing address to use for Santa in the North Pole is this one:
Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole
88888
America – via Letters from Santa program
If you want to use the “Letter from Santa” program to receive a letter back from Santa with North Pole postmark, the official Santa address to use is:
NORTH POLE POSTMARK
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
More details on the Letter from Santa program below.
Canada
Santa Claus’s North Pole address to use if you’re in Canada is below. This is run by Canada Posts Santa letter program.
Santa Claus
North Pole HOH OHO
Canada
Europe
According to the Finnish, Santa lives in Lapland in Finland, by Mt. Korvatunturi in the east. So if you’re based in Europe, send your Santa letters to this mailing address in Finland:
Santa Claus
Santa Claus’ Main Post Office
Tähtikuja 1
96930 Arctic Circle
Finland
UK
If you want to mail a letter to Santa Claus, or Father Christmas as he’s commonly known and you’re here in the UK as we are, then this is the address to use:
Santa/Father Christmas
Santa’s Grotto
Reindeerland
XM4 5HQ
“Operation Santa” program in America – mailing address & full details
The U.S. Postal Service organizes “Operation Santa” to help families and children in America in need.
It started in response to the huge volume of Santa letters being sent to the United States Postal Service in the early 20th Century. In 1912, under the authorization of Frank Hitchcock, the Postmaster General at the time, postal workers and members of the public “adopted” the letters and wrote personalized replies.
When the demand became too high, charities and other organizations got involved and started to send gifts to children too.
In 2017 Operation Santa moved online, with anyone able to respond and send gifts via the USPS. You can sign up to become a letter adopter via their website.
The North Pole mailing address for Operation Santa
Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole
88888
What happens to letters to Santa?
The USPS publishes all Santa letters sent to the address online, minus personal information.
Members of the public can then adopt a Santa letter and fulfill the wishes listed and write a letter in return. The letter writers /adopters can send their gifts and their Santa letter reply to a participating post office for delivery.
Letter adoption normally starts on the 28th November.
When should I send my letter to Santa?
For Operation Santa, the Santa letters should be postmarked no later than December 12th.
Do Santa letters need a stamp for Operation Santa?
Yes, a first-class mail postage stamp is needed.
Where to put the return address for Operation Santa
The USPS request that the full name of the sender and return address, including apartment/unit number (if applicable), city, state and ZIP Code, is written in the top left-hand corner of the front of the envelope.
Any other details for mailing a letter through Operation Santa
The USPS asks that the wish list has specifics such as sizing and styles/colors for clothes and shoes sizes and names/titles of books and toys as appropriate.
They also request that senders include information about the type of year they’ve had and to be honest!
For further information on Operation Santa click here.
“Letters from Santa” program in America – mailing address & full details
The Letters from Santa program is a way to get a letter you’ve written (pretending to be Santa) sent to your address with a special North Pole postmark.
So the beauty of this is that you can personalize it however you want to, but it does require a little bit more work and some inspiration. (If you’re lost for ideas on what you can write, here are some Santa reply letters you can use.)
How to get a letter postmarked from the North Pole
- Place your child’s Santa letter in an envelope with the following address: Santa Claus, North Pole
- Place your personalized response (the letter to your child from Santa) in an envelope addressed to your child, complete with return address “Santa, North Pole” and first-class mail stamp
- Place the complete envelopes into a larger envelop and address to:
NORTH POLE POSTMARK
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
What happens to letters to Santa?
Santa’s helpers in Anchorage will remove the envelope addressed to the child, stamp it with the North Pole postmark and post it back. You’ll then receive it in the post along with all your regular mail.
When should I send my letter to Santa?
For the Letters To Santa program, letters should be sent no later than December 10 to receive the North Pole postmarked letter before Christmas.
Do Santa letters need a stamp for the Letters To Santa program?
Yes, the personalized reply will need a first-class mail stamp. The larger envelope containing both your child’s Santa letter and the personalized reply will need the appropriate postage to for delivery at the Anchorage address.
Santa Letter Program for Canada – mailing address & full details
Canada Post’s Santa letter program promises to reply to all letters received by the deadline. They’re yet to announce specifics for 2022, I’ll keep checking back to add details, otherwise here’s the link to the Santa Letter Program on their website.
If you do happen to miss the deadline, they have a Santa reply that you can print off and give to your child. You could even post this so it arrives with your normal mail to make it more authentic.
The mailing address for Santa if you’re in Canada
Santa Claus
North Pole HOH OHO
Canada
What happens to letters to Santa?
The Santa letters are read and replied to by one of Canada Post’s “postal elves”.
When should I send my letter to Santa?
The 2021 deadline was December 14th, but it hasn’t yet been announced for 2022.
Do Santa letters need a stamp for the Santa Letter Program in Canada?
As long as you use the correct mailing address for Santa, above, and send the Santa letters from within Canada, you do not need a stamp.
Receive a letter from Santa Claus’s Main Post Office in Finland
You can order from the Finish post office and receive a letter from Santa from his official workshop address in the Santa Claus Village, a certificate of niceness and coloring card. The letter includes details about what he’s up with his elves in preparation for Christmas.
This is a paid for service that costs Euros 8.90 in 2022 – click here to order online.
Santa’s street address in Finland
Santa Claus
Santa Claus’ Main Post Office
Tähtikuja 1
96930 Arctic Circle
Finland
What happens to letters to Santa?
According to the official Lapland website, Santa reads all the letters – reportedly 30,000 a day – with help from his elves. Santa letters come not only from children but also from adults, from politicians to popstars and from all around the world. His favorite letters are kept at the National Archives of Finland.
However, to get a letter back from Santa you need to order one via the Finish postal service, here’s the link again.
When should I send my letter to Santa?
You can send your letter to Santa at any time, but to receive a letter back you’ll need to order by early December, date TBC.
Do Santa letters need a stamp?
You’ll need to use the correct postage to reach the Finnish mailing address, according to the country from which you’re sending.
Royal Mail Santa letters 2022 – UK
To get a free letter from Santa in the UK you simply need to mail your letter before the deadline. There have been years when demand has been too high and not everyone received as response so advice is to send letters as early as possible.
Or, with a suggested donation of 5 pounds you can order a personalised letter from Santa through the NSPCC, a children’s charity.
Santa’s postal address Royal Mail UK 2022
Santa/Father Christmas
Santa’s Grotto
Reindeerland
XM4 5HQ
What happens to letters to Santa UK?
Santa letters are read and replied to, but on occasion high demand means not all letters will receive a reply.
When should I send my letter to Santa?
As early as possible but no later than the deadline stated on the Post Office website, which was 10th December in 2021.
Do Santa letters need a stamp?
Yes, you’ll need a first or second class stamp to ensure your Santa letter arrives in Reindeerland!
What should be included in a Santa Letter?
Writing a letter to Santa helps keep letter writing skills alive. And can help little ones with writing skills in general.
They’re a great way to capitalize on an enthusiasm to write. My daughter loves to write – as soon as she could put pencil to paper, she was away.
My son, well, he’s a different story. However, there’s one thing he needs no encouragement in and that’s writing a letter to Santa at Christmas. Funnily enough, there’s no way he’s going to miss out on the opportunity to make sure Santa knows EXACTLY what he wants. LEGO model numbers and all.
There are certainly plenty of benefits to kids in writing a letter to Santa and they’ll simply love getting a letter back in reply.
Achievements from the year
Beyond the all-important wish list, I encourage the kids to tell Santa Claus something fun and interesting about themselves. It’s a good (and eye-opening!) exercise to get them to reflect on the whole year, or last few weeks if that’s top of mind, and write down some achievements.
An “achievement” can look very different in their eyes versus yours!
If they get stuck you can help them too. This is a great way to boost confidence too, as you discuss together some of the things they’ve done and show them just how proud you are of them for doing so.
Get them to own those achievements and feel proud of themselves.
In the free Santa letter template below aimed at older preschoolers and young school-age children, the statement, “I’ve been working really hard and I’m proud of myself because…” to encourage this sentiment.
Things they’d like to gift others
This can help encourage children to remember that Christmas is as much about giving as receiving. Little kids cannot help but only think about themselves – we need to help them with this!
Any questions for Santa
Writing a Santa letter is another way to gain a lovely insight into the inner workings of your child’s brain, by getting them to ask Santa some questions. Here are some silly things my eldest two have come up with in the past:
- Do you sleep with your hat on?
- Why do the reindeer not get tired?
- Why is lego so expensive?
- Can your elves make anything in the world?
- How old are you?
FREE Santa letter templates
There are 3 free Santa letter templates for kids of different ages:
For toddlers/young preschoolers
CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for TODDLERS & YOUNG PRESCHOOLERS
For preschoolers/young school age children
CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for PRESCHOOLER & YOUNG SCHOOL AGE KIDS
For older kids
CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for OLDER KIDS
How do I write a letter to my child from Santa?
If you want to write a letter of response, pretending to be Santa, firstly start by talking about things mentioned in their letter. If following the prompts in the free Santa letter templates above, then there should be something you can say in response without too much difficulty.
Hopefully, you’re in agreement with your kids achievement and share their pride. In which case, you (aka Santa) can congratulate them etc. Of course, if they’re proud of their incredible drawing, all over their bedroom wall, that’s a bit trickier to be positive about!
You can also include some fun facts of things you – Santa – have been doing at the North Pole in preparation for Christmas and the big trip around the world.
Stuck on writing your Santa letter reply or short of time?
Life is busy. And that was before kids! Add in Christmas and sometimes there can feel like there’s no time to do the simplest things.
Save yourself a little bit of time (and brain power) and Click to grab the Santa Letter Kit which includes a choice of 3 Santa letter replies.
Click to grab the Santa Letter Kit here
Each Santa letter reply remarks on the kid’s achievements, hard work over the year and kindness to others. There are also a few snippets of info on life at the North Pole and the behind the scenes prep work before the big day.
More than enough to excite a little one!
Also included in the Santa Letter Kit are a certificates for being “good” or “nice”, dependent on your preferred terminology, envelope fronts, to stick onto a regular envelope and, of course, the Santa letter templates.
In addition, all the details for getting a response from Santa via the services mentioned in this post are included in the kit.
Click to grab the Santa Letter Kit here
40+ easy activities handpicked for busy moms of kids aged 2 to 6 years – because Christmas needn’t be chaotic or cost a fortune!
Create gorgeous hand and footprint art with your little one
PLUS THE SANTA LETTER KIT
Sending letters to Santa online
We’ve covered Santa’s real mailing address but does Santa have email? What is Santa’s email address and can kids email Santa?
Well, my research didn’t uncover an email address for Santa or one from which you can get a reply from Santa a helper or anyone else pretending to be Santa.
But having said all of that, you can write to Santa online, via www.emailsanta.com. To send a letter to Santa online fill in the blanks in the online Santa letter template, including age, gender and your wish list. You don’t need to enter any personal details or a real email address to complete the letter.
Simply fill it out, hit “send” and you’ll get a personalized and, obviously automated response. Pretty clever and great if you’re looking for a speedy reply that reads surprisingly well!
What is Santa’s phone number?
Sadly, no official phone number for Santa has so far been found! Watch this space, you never know what the future holds.
Got Santa Claus’s real mailing address? Time to get writing!
Don’t forget to grab your free Santa letter templates – here are the links again:
- CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for TODDLERS & YOUNG PRESCHOOLERS
- CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for PRESCHOOLER & YOUNG SCHOOL AGE KIDS
- CLICK HERE to download the Santa letter for OLDER KIDS
Or why not try the Santa Letter Kit complete with Santa letter replies or grab the Christmas Activity Pack for fun and easy activities for little ones…
Merry Christmas!
Looking for more fun Christmas activities for your littles? Try these:
- 55 easy Christmas crafts for toddlers age 2, 3 and 4 (perfect for age 3-4)
- 41 Easy Christmas Tree Arts and Crafts for Toddlers
- 25 Easy Christmas ornaments made from nature or nature-inspired, perfect for kids to make
- 50 fun Christmas crafts for preschoolers
- 43 easy-peasy Christmas activities for toddlers & preschoolers
- Silver pasta Christmas tree ornaments – a cute and simple toddler craft and keepsake
- Salt dough Christmas tree ornaments to make with toddlers – simple and stunning!
- Homemade snowman Christmas card to make with your toddlers
- Easy paint chip Christmas tree card
- 41 Fun, Easy & Adorable Nativity Crafts for Kids
- 41 Easy Santa Claus crafts for toddlers (inc. Santa hat crafts)
- 50 Christmas sensory activities & bins for toddlers & preschoolers
- Santas real mailing address & letters to Santa free printable
- 25 easy FAKE SNOW sensory bins & sensory play activities for kids this winter
For more easy toddler activities to keep your little ones busy indoors and out check out:
- 100 fun & easy toilet paper roll crafts for toddlers 2 & 3 years old
- 39 Fun & easy arts & crafts for 1 – 2 year olds
- 39 simple & sanity-saving activities for toddlers & preschoolers to do at home
- 49 Simple & fun outdoor activities for preschoolers
- Marble rolling: easy art activity for toddlers & preschoolers
- 50+ Indoor gross motor activities for toddlers & preschoolers (1,2 & 3 year olds)
- 40 Fun & easy dinosaur activities for preschoolers (arts, crafts, sensory + more!)
- 50 Fun Transportation Crafts & Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers
- 10+ Fun & simple dry messy play ideas for 1 and 2-year-olds
- 21 Easy Finger Painting Ideas For Babies 1-2 Years Old
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