Want to Write a Letter to Santa? USPS Program Is Now Open

USPS Operation Santa is ready for the 2025 holiday season. Starting Monday, November 17, individuals, families, offices, and community groups can visit USPSOperationSanta.com to adopt letters written to Santa and purchase gifts for children and families across the U.S.

Now in its 113th year, Operation Santa lets children and families send letters to Santa Claus. Those letters get posted online—personal details removed—so people, families, and businesses can send holiday wishes anonymously.

The program promotes kindness and connection, making sure no one feels forgotten during the holiday season. Nice idea, actually.

"Every year, we receive far more letters than those adopting. So if you have the means, we encourage you to adopt a letter," said Sheila Holman, the Postal Service's vice president of marketing.

Translation: way more kids write letters than people adopt them. So, if you can afford to buy a gift for a stranger's kid, they need you.

How to Send a Letter

Write your wish list, include your full name and return address, and make sure it's postmarked no later than December 6.

Address it to: Santa Claus 123 Elf Road North Pole, 88888

Yes, that's the actual address. The USPS has been doing this for 113 years. They have a system.

Letters are sorted, read, and published on the USPS Operation Santa website. Personal details get removed for privacy. Then adopters browse and select letters to adopt by responding with a gift and a note.

How to Adopt a Letter

Go to USPSOperationSanta.com, create an account, and verify your identity. Browse letters from across the U.S. and adopt the ones you want—including family letters.

Purchase a gift through Santa's Work Shoppe or on your own, then ship it via USPS.

To ensure gifts arrive in time for the holidays, adopters should ship gifts no later than December 13 to get them there by December 25.

That's a tight deadline. So, if you're doing this, don't procrastinate.

Why This Matters

Some families can't afford gifts for their kids. Some kids write letters to Santa asking for basic necessities, not toys. Warm clothes. School supplies. Food.

Operation Santa connects those families with people who can help. Anonymously. No one has to feel embarrassed asking. No one has to feel like they're showing off by giving.

Kids write letters. Strangers read them, buy gifts, send them. Simple.

The program has been running for 113 years. That's since 1912. Back then, postal workers started responding to kids' letters to Santa out of their own pockets. Eventually, the USPS formalized it into Operation Santa.

Over a century later, it's still going. Thousands of letters get adopted every year. Thousands more don't, which is why Sheila Holman is asking people to step up if they can.

The Reality

Not every kid's Christmas wish list includes the latest iPhone or PlayStation. Some kids are asking Santa for winter coats. Shoes that fit. Books for school. Blankets.

Those letters hit different when you're browsing them on the Operation Santa website. It makes you realize how much some families are struggling.

If you've got the means to buy a gift for a stranger's kid and ship it, this program makes it easy. You don't have to figure out which charity to trust or whether donations actually reach families. You adopt a letter, buy what the kid asked for, then ship it directly to them.

Tight Timeline

Letters must be postmarked by December 6. That's soon. So, if you're a family writing to Santa through Operation Santa, get those letters in the mail.

Gifts must be shipped by December 13 to arrive by Christmas. That gives you exactly one week from the letter deadline to adopt letters and ship gifts.

Not a lot of time. So, if you're planning to participate as an adopter, don't wait until the last minute. Browse letters early, buy gifts, and ship them with time to spare.

USPS doesn't control weather delays or shipping problems. Ship by December 13 or risk gifts arriving late.

The Bottom Line

USPS Operation Santa is open for 2025. Kids and families can write letters to Santa at 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888. Postmark them by December 6.

People can adopt those letters starting November 17 at USPSOperationSanta.com. Buy gifts, ship them by December 13 to arrive by Christmas.

The program's been running for 113 years. Thousands of letters get adopted annually. Thousands more don't because there aren't enough adopters.

If you can afford to buy a gift for a stranger this holiday season, consider adopting a letter. This makes a real difference for families who can't afford Christmas presents.

Did you find this information useful? Feel free to bookmark or to post to your timeline to share with your friends.