EDITORIAL: Get some magic, give some magic
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Dec. 9—A holiday story for your Saturday from The News Courier:
Once upon a time, more than 100 years ago, the United States Postal Service began receiving letters addressed to Santa. At that time, the letters were sorted and set aside.
But in 1912, something magical happened: Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to open the letters for employees to read and respond — creating Santa's first mailroom.
In the 1940s, something even more magical happened. The USPS Operation Santa Program was opened to the public and nonprofit organizations, corporations and everyday people like us, readers of The News Courier, all participated.
In 2017, the opportunities to participate exploded as the USPS began to digitize the experience with a test online program in New York. Two years later, the success of that program grew nationwide. Today, there's even a "big screen" tour of the 100-year tradition of the program. You can watch it on-demand at https://www.dearsanta.movie/.
But even better, there's still time to ask for, or give some Christmas magic of your own.
Writers can still dash off a list to Santa — but you'll have to do it by Monday. Here are a few tips from Santa's mailroom to do that:
What should be included in a letter?
Tell Santa what type of year you've had. Be honest. He knows!
Requests for clothes and shoes should include preferred size, style and color. For toys, games and books, include names and titles.
Return address information with a full name, street address, apartment/unit number (if applicable), city, state and ZIP Code.
What is the deadline to send letters to Santa?
Letters to USPS Operation Santa must be postmarked no later than Dec. 11.
How should I address a letter to Santa?
Return address: Write your full name and home mailing address, including apt number if applicable, in the upper left corner of the envelope.
Santa's mailing address: Address the envelope to: Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.
Postage stamp: A First-Class Mail postage stamp is required, placed in the upper right corner of the envelope.
Will my information remain private?
USPS Operation Santa is committed to protecting the privacy of all our participants, including children and adopters. Before letters written to Santa are posted online for adopters to view, all personal information and identifying details are redacted to protect the anonymity of children and their families (like last names, addresses, community, location and contact information). Additionally, those who adopt letters are kept anonymous — it's from Santa, after all!
Where can I get more information?
More information on letters to Santa and adopting letters available at https://about.usps.com/holidaynews/operation-santa.htm#letter.
What if I want to adopt a letter?
If you want to help provide the magic, there's also time for that. Letter adopters have until Dec. 18 to respond and ship a gift to ensure holiday delivery — but don't wait until that date to start the process. You'll have to register first. You can find the details at https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/how#about.
And with that, we finish our story — on a happy ending.
