Nov. 17, 2025
USPS Operation Santa Now Open for Letter Adoption
New team option, expanded online catalog make fulfilling kids’ and families’ holiday wishes easier
Key Takeaways
- Letter adoption for USPS Operation Santa opens today, Nov. 17.
- New emphasis on adopting family letters — including a built-in team option — to help fulfill multiple wishes from the same household.
- Santa’s Gift Shoppe — powered by Toys“R”Us — is back with a much larger selection of items, making it easy to shop and ship gifts online from home.
- Adopters should ship gifts by Dec. 13 to help ensure on-time delivery for the holidays.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service today announced that USPS Operation Santa is now open for letter adoption for the 2025 holiday season. Starting today, individuals, families, workplaces and community groups can go to USPSOperationSanta.com to adopt letters to Santa and help make the holidays brighter for children and families across the country.
This year, USPS is placing a special emphasis on adopting family letters — including a new way to do it as a team — to help ensure letters from the same household are adopted and fulfilled together.
“We invite the public to join us in spreading holiday cheer by adopting a USPS Operation Santa letter,” said Sheila Holman, the Postal Service’s vice president of marketing. “Every year, we receive far more letters than those adopting. So if you have the means, we encourage you to adopt a letter. And this year we’re making it easier for groups to adopt family letters — making the holidays brighter for everyone in a household. And they’re fun and easy to complete with friends or coworkers.”
Letter Adoption Now Open
Adopters can visit USPSOperationSanta.com and follow the steps below to fulfill a letter:
- Create a login and verify your identity;
- Browse available letters from across the U.S;
- Adopt the letters you love — including family letters;
- Shop for the perfect gift through Santa’s Work Shoppe or on your own; and
- Ship your gift right away through our online catalog or from a Post Office location
To help ensure gifts arrive in time for the holidays, adopters should ship gifts no later than Dec. 13. Sending gifts as early as possible helps families know their holiday wishes have been met.
Adopt Family Letters as a Team
USPS is highlighting a feature that makes it easier to fulfill letters from the same household together:
- Join forces to fulfill the whole crew — One person creates the team and invites friends, family, or coworkers to help fulfill a family’s letters.
- Each person take a page — Team members can claim the letter from the family that speaks to them and invite others to adopt the rest.
- You’re in charge — All letters in the family must be adopted. The team admin can see unclaimed letters and adopt the remaining ones to make sure the family is fully covered.
This option is designed for offices, teams, community groups and organizations that want to make a bigger impact together.
Santa’s Gift Shoppe Makes It Easy to Shop and Ship
To help make letter adoption easier than ever, Santa’s Gift Shoppe — powered by Toys“R”Us — is back this year with a much larger selection of items. Adopters can send gifts directly from the newly expanded online catalog, saving a trip to a Post Office location and keeping the experience seamless.
Santa’s Gift Shoppe is designed to:
- Give adopters a quick, easy way to find the perfect gift
- Save time and money — with free shipping on orders over $49
- Streamline sending gifts directly to the recipient — because all packaging and shipping is handled for you
- Support adopters who want to fulfill multiple letters — including family letters — in one session
“We want to make it as easy as possible to participate,” Holman added. “You can adopt single or family letters as a team, shop for the perfect gift quickly and easily online, and get it delivered directly from Santa’s Gift Shoppe, all from the comfort and convenience of home. And the best part is, the earlier you adopt, the sooner you can help make somebody’s holiday wish come true.”
How to Get Started
- Visit USPSOperationSanta.com;
- Adopt letters beginning Nov. 17;
- Ship gifts by Dec. 13; and
- Encourage friends, colleagues, and community groups to adopt family letters
For more information, visit USPSOperationSanta.com.
# # #
The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to more than 170 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is celebrating its 250th year of service to customers amidst a network modernization plan aimed at restoring long-term financial sustainability, improving service, and maintaining the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands.
The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
For USPS media resources, including broadcast-quality video and audio and photo stills, visit the USPS Newsroom. Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter; Instagram; Pinterest; Threads; and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the USPS YouTube Channel and like us on Facebook. For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and facts.usps.com.