WASHINGTON, DC — Starting today, the USPSOperationSanta.com website is active and ready to welcome potential letter adopters to help make the holiday season special for hundreds of deserving kids and their families.

This year, the holiday season is going to be more challenging than usual for many. Fortunately, the USPS Operation Santa program— and its generous Postal Service customers — can still help make it a joyous celebration.

USPS Operation Santa turns 108 years old this year. And like other years, children in need are writing letters in the hopes that their holiday wishes will be granted. Since the program began, millions of less fortunate children and their families have been helped by the kindness of others.

Adopting a Letter
Potential adopters can visit USPSOperationSanta.com, read through the letters, pick one or more wishes that they’d like to fulfill, and follow the directions on how to grant that special wish for a child. For security reasons, potential adopters must be vetted by going through a short registration and ID verification process before they are allowed to adopt any letter.   

Companies also get into the spirit of the season and adopt letters; every year many businesses create teams and adopt several letters. All the better to help grant that special wish to deserving families and kids.

Program Details
USPS Operation Santa was established by the Postal Service to help those in need during the holidays. The program is for any person of any belief, or non-belief. The purpose is to help as many deserving families as we can. And we can only do that if good hearted adopters step forward.

To participate in USPS Operation Santa as a possible recipient of holiday gifts, all you have to do is write a letter, put it in a stamped envelope with a return address, and send it to Santa’s official workshop address:

Santa Claus
123 Elf Road,
North Pole, 88888

The program began accepting letters Nov. 16. Letters will continue to be uploaded to the website through Dec. 15. So, if you haven’t written your letter yet, you still have some time.

When someone writes a letter, it is opened by Santa’s Elves, and for safety reasons, all personally identifiable information of the letter writer is removed (i.e. last names, addresses, ZIP Codes) and uploaded to USPSOperationSanta.com for adoption.

How to Write a Letter
Sending a letter to Santa is easy and the Postal Service has guides and tips to help kids write and send their best letters ever. All the information you could possibly need to write a letter, address an envelope, put on a stamp and send it on its way can be found on USPSOperationSanta.com and in our Holiday Newsroom. These tips are also good all year-round for sending thank-you cards, birthday cards, or  letters to Grandma and Grandpa just to say, “Hi.”

How about what to ask for in the letter? Well, that’s up to the creativity of each and every kid who writes. The only limit is their imaginations.

USPS Operation Santa History
While the Postal Service began receiving letters to Santa more than 108 years ago, it wasn’t until 1912 that Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local Postmasters to allow postal employees and citizens to respond to them. This became known as Operation Santa.

USPS Operation Santa Movie
Starting today in select theatres around the country, and on-demand, is the family friendly, holiday movie Dear Santa. Directed by Dana Nachman, the documentary will look at the impact USPS Operation Santa has had on families and kids around the country.  

The complete Operation Santa history can be found online at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom, along with additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing and shipping deadlines.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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