Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...

Did you know that if you send a letter to Santa through the mail you can actually get a reply? Ellie mailed off a letter to Santa last month and she got a letter back from one of his head elves. (it was actually addressed and postmarked North Pole, AK!) I found the following about Santa's Mailbag:

About Santa's Mailbag - Our 53 years of Christmas
Santa’s Mailbag started in 1954, when the city of North Pole, Alaska, incorporated and the United States Postal Service began using the North Pole, Alaska postal cancellation. The idea for Santa’s Mailbag was formulated by six Air Traffic Controllers working at Eielson AFB, Alaska. The plan was to mail letters from Santa to the Children of men and women in the armed forces stationed overseas. Before Santa mailed out the first letter both military and civilian children were on Santa’s list.
During Christmas 1954, Santa’s Mailbag answered about 160 letters from children sent to Santa. Over the years, the number of letters received by Santa and his crew of elves has steadily grown. Santa’s Mailbag has been featured in newspaper articles nation wide. Renowned television programs such as, “Good Morning America and The Today Show have featured Santa’s Mailbag during the Christmas Season. Recognition has spread throughout South America, Europe, and in recent years to the Far East and North Africa.
In 2001, the anthrax poisoning of postal letters left Santa’s Mailbag without volunteers. A local service organization, Northern Lights Badger Lions took on the task and helped Santa answer 3,500 letters that Christmas. This heroic deed captured national attention. Once again newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations carried the story coast to coast. In 2002, the North Pole Post Office was covered with an avalanche of 60,000 children’s and adult’s letters addressed to Santa Claus. Under the direction and organization of Santa, the elves at Santa’s Mailbag were able to answer about 10,000 of those letters.
Santa’s Mailbag has been featured in The Lions International Magazine, “(AARP) The American Association of Retired People monthly magazine” and this year People Magazine, featuring the “Santa” behind Santa’s Mailbag in a Christmas Article by Johnny Dodd and photos by Brian Smale.
Santa reports his goals are to ease the ever increasing burden placed on the U.S. Postal Service for handling tens of thousands of Santa letters received each day during the Christmas season. The volume of letters this year in 2007 is estimated to reach as high as 150,000. Children who’s letters are addressed to Santa and not delivered to Santa’s Mailbag are “dead lettered” by the post office. They go unread and are shredded.
Santa encourages parents to order a letter from Santa at santasmailbag.org. A donation per letter is requested. These funds, along with contributions from those who support our effort, go help thousands of children receive a letter from Santa. For many children in this great country of ours, the only gift some might receive for Christmas is a letter from Santa, through Santa’s Mailbag. Each letter is cancelled with the cherished North Pole Christmas Cancellation. It’s the magic of Christmas!”
Santa encourages children to write their letter to Santa on our “write a letter to Santa page.” Santa also encourages parents to pre-order their child’s return letter from Santa now or as early in the year as possible.
If you would like to help with a donation please click here, or write to:
Gabbyc/o Santa’s MailbagP.O. Box 56159North Pole, Alaska 99705
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.


You can also send an email to Santa: http://www.santasmailbag.org/writetosanta/

How cool is that?