NORTH POLE, AK - Once again this year, the U.S. Postal Service is offering North Pole postmarks on holiday mail.

To receive the North Pole postmark on your holiday cards, you should:

• Purchase stamps at any post office.
• Affix the stamps to envelopes of your choice.
• Address the sealed envelopes, with the cards enclosed, to those on your mailing list.
• Mail them in a larger envelope, box, Priority Mail or Express Mail package to:

NORTH POLE HOLIDAY CANCELLATION
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998

Requests must be received in Anchorage by Dec. 15 in order to ensure delivery by Christmas. The Postal Service receives hundreds of thousands of requests each year for North Pole postmarks from around the world. The service is provided at no cost. Each card or letter must have the correct amount of postage and be addressed.

Many communities around the country have local programs set up to respond to letters to Santa Claus. Check with your local post office.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation - 146 million homes and businesses. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world's mail.