You Can Get Your Kids' Letters From Santa Postmarked From The North Pole

All it costs is a stamp to make this a Christmas for your kids to remember

There may only be one thing more magical for a young kiddo than writing a letter to Santa Claus: actually getting one back. And now, with the help of the U.S. Postal Service, you can write a letter back to your kids from “Santa,” and have it postmarked from the North Pole for an extra special touch.

The USPS provides all the instructions on its website for creating this magical moment, starting with a hilarious first step: “Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.”

That’s followed by this Step 2: “Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response.”

Step 3: “Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child.”

Step 4: “Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.”

Step 5 (including a shameless plug for holiday-themed stamps, because the USPS runs on things like stamp sales, not tax dollars): “Affix a First-Class Mail stamp, such as a new Christmas Carols Forever stamp to the envelope.”

Step 6: Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope — preferably a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope — with appropriate postage.

And finally, address it to:

North Pole Postmark

Postmaster 4141 Postmark Drive Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

Definitely don’t forget to document this process and the looks on your little ones’ faces when they get their letters back. The USPS is asking people to share them with the hashtag “#LettersFromSanta.”

Just keep in mind that letters have to be received by the Anchorage, AK, postmaster, AKA the one doing the North Pole postmarking, no later than Dec. 15, so they have time to get stamped and sent back to your kiddos before Santa shows up in the chimney (he doesn’t do hand deliveries, apparently).