Mailing a letter to the North Pole is a beloved Christmas tradition. If you’re looking for a way to make your child’s letter to Santa a special experience, you’ve come to the right place. Now that your child has finished writing their letter to Santa you need to get it to the North Pole. There are many different ways to get a “Dear Santa” letter to the North Pole; you just need to find the one that works best for your family. You know how much available time you have, your budget, and most importantly you know what your children will enjoy.

Before choosing how to get your letter to the North Pole you need to decide if you’d like to have your child’s letter as a keepsake. If you do, keep in mind that letters sent to Santa through mail or North Pole Wind are unable to be returned, however, letters sent to Santa through magic are able to be collected by the elves and returned to you for safe keeping.

Sending your letter to Santa by Magic
*If you send a letter to Santa through magic you can request that it be collected by an elf once Santa is done with it and returned to you for safe keeping. You can then save these treasures in a special book to give to your child when they are older.

Elf Express Delivery: If you have an Elf on the Shelf or an Elf Magic Elf, or a personal family North Pole Elf, they would be happy to deliver your letter to Santa. Some elves prefer that you first put your letter into a small magical mailbox in your home. They will later retrieve the letter and deliver it to Santa personally.

Santa or Elf Pick-Up: You can leave your letter to Santa somewhere in your house for Santa or one of his elves to pick up during the night. Some more popular places are by the fireplace, under a pillow, or in your shoe. If Santa comes to visit you on the Eve of St. Nicholas Day (December 6), you could leave your letter for him that night.

Sending your letter to Santa by North Pole Wind
*If you send a letter to Santa through North Pole Wind
you be unable to retrieve a copy as a keepsake.

Chimney Delivery: In Britain some children burn their letters to Santa on the fire and the ashes and smoke travel up the chimney and are magically transported to the North Pole by the wind. This isn’t as common today since there are fewer working fireplaces and it poses safety and environmental hazards.

Balloon Delivery: In Mexico and other Latin American countries, children tie their letters to a helium balloon and release them in the air where it will magically travel to the North Pole. This method may not appeal to those more environmentally cautious.

Sending your letter to Santa by Mail
*If you send a letter to Santa through mail
you will be unable to retrieve a copy as a keepsake.

Believe 2010- Santa’s Post Office at Macy’s:
“At every Macy’s across the country there is a mailbox to collect letters for Santa Claus. Bring your stamped letter to Macy’s, addressed to Santa at the North Pole, and drop it into Santa’s special mailbox. We will count them up, and for each letter received, we’ll donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1,000,000. We’ll deliver them to the Post Office, and together, we’ll collect a Million Reasons to Believe.”

Use Macy’s Mailbox locater to find a store near you.
Their website has free printable stationary that you can use for your letter to Santa. You can also create your letter on their website and “draw” on the letter and add “stickers” before you print it out…what fun! There’s also a free Activity Guide and School Toolkit.

North Pole Address
*You can mail your letter to Santa through the post office at the following addresses. Many post offices have special Santa letter drop off boxes located on site. Letters going to the North Pole through the Post Office should be mailed no later than December 08 in order to receive a reply from Santa in time.
I’ve found several different addresses online for North Pole, AK but I’m not certain which is the most current. I’ve included them all below. You should contact your local post office with any questions. The most current information from the USPS is found here (from 2018).

NORTH POLE POSTMARK
POSTMASTER
4141 POSTMARK DR
ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998

U.S.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus Village
North Pole, Alaska 99705

North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530-99998

North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks, AK 99709-9998

North Polar – Santa Claus
P.O. Box 56099
North Pole, Alaska 99705-1099
***ADMIN NOTE: ^ I was informed via email on 12/20/2018 that the above P.O. box is closed. Please refrain from using this address in the future. Thank you.***

Canada
Santa Claus
The North Pole
H0H 0H0

UK
Santa
Reindeerland
SAN TA1

Finland
Santa Claus
Santa Claus Village
FIN-96930
Arctic Circle, Finland

*Christmas Postmarks:
This is a great list of North Pole and Christmas related postmarks and zip codes!

Preserving the Memory
Don’t forget to take photos of your kids as they’re writing their letters. Other important snapshots to take are holding up the finished letter, and putting the letter into the mailbox. If you will be sending your letter by mail, through Macy’s, or via North Pole Wind, you will be unable to retrieve your letter and will need to make a copy.

Keep a Copy
You can take a photo of the letter, scan a copy of it, or make a photo copy of it to have as a keepsake for scrapbooking. You can hand write or type a copy of the letter, however, you won’t have your child’s handwriting or any drawings they’ve included. For this reason I recommend also taking a photo of the letter or scanning it.

Send a Copy to the Newspaper
Consider sending a copy to the newspaper or local records and landmarks department. Be sure to save a copy of the clipping if your child’s letter gets published.

Special North Pole Postmarks and Stamps

Photo Credit: NorthPolePostmark.blogspot.com

*If you send a letter to Santa through the mail you might receive a letter back from Santa with a North Pole Postmark! Letters going to the North Pole through the Post Office should be mailed no later than December 15 in order to receive a reply from Santa in time. Of course, sending a letter through magic is a more certain way of receiving a response from St. Nick since there aren’t as many time delays.

Below are some places online where you can purchase the special North Pole Postmark that letters from Santa bear and stamps that Santa uses when replying to children. Please be advised that I have not personally purchased or used any of the products below and therefore cannot comment on the quality of the product or reliability of the company. Also, any prices listed are obviously subject to change at anytime causing the amount written here to be different. As always please use caution when purchasing products online.

*Christmas Postage Stamps – Price Vary : Lovely Christmas postage stamps at ChristmasPostageStamps.net
*NorthPolePostmark.blogspot.com – Free!: Free North Pole Postmark! Go here to right click and save the postmark image shown at the top of this post. This can be printed onto an envelope.
*SantaLetter4You.com – Free!: Free North Pole Postmark and Stamp…choose from two! Go here to print the postmark image onto an envelope.
*Personalized Santa Letters – Free!: Go here for free North Pole Postmark clipart and free printable letters from Santa.
*North Pole Rubber Stamps – Prices Vary (etsy.com): Search results on Etsy.com for ”north pole rubber stamp”

How does your family get Santa’s letter to the North Pole? Share in the comments!

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