How to Design a Letter From Santa

Send your child a letter that appears to come from Santa Claus.

A common Christmas tradition is for children to write letters to Santa Claus telling him what they would like to receive as gifts for Christmas. When your child still believes in Santa, getting a personal reply from him would be a thrilling experience. If you would like your child to receive a letter that appears to be from Santa, write it yourself, and mail it to your child via the North Pole post office.

Things You'll Need

• Decorative holiday paper
• Two envelopes, one of which will fit inside the other
• Two stamps

Instructions

1. Look at the letter your child wrote to Santa to get ideas about how to reply. If your child visits Santa at the mall or a department store, listen in on the conversation so you can incorporate elements of the discussion into the reply.

2. Select a piece of paper with a holiday print around the edges. Other options are to download and print a Santa border or craft one yourself. For example, you could glue strips of red paper across the letter to make it look like a giant candy cane.

3. Address the letter to your child, and write a note from Santa saying how he enjoyed receiving the child's letter or getting a visit from the child. Talk about the specific gifts that he is working on and looking forward to delivering on Christmas.

4. Place the letter inside a stamped envelope addressed to the child. In the return address section on the envelope, write, "Santa, North Pole, Alaska."

5. Place the stamped envelope inside a larger envelope and address it to:
   North Pole Christmas Cancellation
   Postmaster
   5400 Mail Trail
   Fairbanks, AK 99709-9998

6. Send the letter so it arrives at the North Pole station no later than December 15. The postmaster will cancel the stamp on the letter to your child and mail it back before Christmas.

Tips & Warnings

• If your child knows what your handwriting looks like, disguise yourself by writing in a different style or dictating the letter to someone else who can write it for you. Another idea is to type the letter and print it onto the paper. If you do this, sign Santa's name with pen, because a printed "signature" might be disappointing for the child.

References

• United States Postal Service: Even Santa Needs a Little Help Every Now and Then