(WBAY) — In the original “Miracle on 34th Street,” post office workers came to the rescue for Kris Kringle. Now the postal service is coming to the rescue of parents everywhere to carry on Santa’s magic for their children.
The U.S. Postal Service offers the following instructions for sending a “letter from Santa” to your child with a postmark from the North Pole:
- Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.
Later, when alone, open the envelope and remove the letter.
- Write a personalized response.
- Insert the response letter into a new envelope.
- Address the envelope, like any letter, to your child at your home address. In the upper left corner write the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE
- Affix a first-class mail stamp to the envelope addressed to your child.
- Place the envelope into a larger envelope with appropriate postage and address it to:
North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998
To add to the magic, let the child seal their envelope to Santa (step 1). Have someone else write the personalized response AND address the new envelope so your child won’t recognize the handwriting (steps 3 & 5).
The cost of postage for the larger envelope varies depending on the envelope and mailing options used. For a large, flat envelope the price can range from $3.25 for First-Class Mail to $22.95 for Priority Mail Express 2-Day.
Letters must be received by the Anchorage, Alaska, postmaster no later than December 15.