"Letters to Santa" box decorated at Conneaut Post Office
Nov. 21—CONNEAUT — The lobby of the Conneaut Post Office has received some festive touches, celebrating the mailbox for letters to Santa.
Rebecca Gaines, whose daughter works at the Conneaut Post Office, has been decorating the mailbox for the past several years, she said.
"The Post Office has such a big role in holiday shipping, that's how it all started," Gaines said. "After I realized just how busy they are in there during the holidays, it just seemed fitting."
The United States Postal Service has accepted letters to Santa since 1912, according to the USPS website.
Children can write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope. Letters should be addressed to Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888, with a first class stamp and an accurate return address on the envelope. They can then be mailed or dropped off at any post office, according to the USPS website.
Anyone can write a letter to Santa, but writers are encouraged to be specific regarding requests by including titles of books or video games and including sizes and colors for clothing.
The letters will be opened to make sure they contain a full name and complete address of the child. Volunteers can then adopt the letter and fulfill some or all of the wishes.
Letters must be postmarked by Dec. 12, and letters without return addresses will not be able to receive any gifts.
Gaines said she hopes decorating the area and publicizing it will make more people aware of the program.
She said she generally tries to start setting up the decorations around Thanksgiving.
Post office employees love the decorations, Gaines said.
Mordechai Rubinoff, supervisor of customer service at the Conneaut Post Office, said the decorations are very nice.
"It's really nice that we have somebody here who does this," he said.
Mail carriers often receive letters to Santa while out on their routes, he said.
Gaines also decorated the area for Halloween as well, Rubinoff said.
"A lot of offices are plain, business-like," he said. "This gives customers a smile on their face, gets them in the holiday spirit too."
