Royal Mail

Royal Mail Santa Letter (2026) — How to Write to Father Christmas from the UK

Royal Mail Santa letter — how to send a letter to Father Christmas from the UK, the Reindeerland XM4 5HQ address, mailing deadline, and how to get a personal reply.

Last verified against Royal Mail sources: May 2026

Santa's address in United Kingdom

Santa/Father Christmas Santa's Grotto Reindeerland XM4 5HQ

Copy the address exactly — extra punctuation or missing lines can route the letter to the wrong sorting office.

Mailing deadline

Early December (check royalmail.com for current year)

Reply rate

high

Postage required

Yes

Reply languages

English

What makes this program different

→XM4 5HQ is a special Royal Mail postcode reserved for letters to Santa.
→Standard first-class stamp required.
→Cutoff date varies year to year — usually between December 6 and December 10. Always check royalmail.com for the current year.
→Reply usually arrives within 1-2 weeks of mailing.

While you wait for Santa's reply

Once the letter is mailed, the wait begins. On Christmas Eve, you can watch Santa fly his sleigh through United Kingdom in real time on our free Santa tracker. It's a privacy-first simulation that runs in your browser, no signup, no tracking — and we've been refining it for years.

A short history of the United Kingdom Santa letter program

Royal Mail has run an official Santa reply service since 1963, when a small team of postal workers in Edinburgh started answering the bag of Santa-addressed mail that was piling up each December. The Post Office formalised it within a few years, and the now-famous XM4 5HQ postcode was assigned to give Santa's mail a dedicated routing path.

The XM in the postcode stands for Christmas (X-Mas) and 4 5HQ is structured like a real UK postcode but corresponds to no actual address — it's reserved exclusively for Santa. Royal Mail processes letters through a dedicated sorting team each November and December.

Modern volume sits around three quarters of a million letters a year. The reply is a printed letter from Santa on Royal Mail Christmas stationery, signed and stamped with a Reindeerland postmark. Kids who write in late November or early December get the most reliable turnaround.

What kids in United Kingdom traditionally ask for

🎁British wishlists lean toward LEGO, Hot Wheels, books (Roald Dahl, David Walliams), and whatever the year's BBC Christmas advert is pushing. Football kits — Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United — are perennial.
🎁Selection box chocolates are part of the tradition. Kids often ask for a Cadbury or Quality Street box even though they know it'll appear in the stocking anyway.
🎁British kids leave a mince pie and a glass of sherry (or milk) for Santa, plus a carrot for Rudolph. Skipping the carrot is considered a serious oversight.
🎁Older kids in the UK sometimes ask for Premier League match tickets or a Center Parcs trip — the experience-gift trend has reached the Santa letter.

Sample letter template (United Kingdom)

A starting point — change the names, the gift list, and the kind thing you did this year. Santa likes specifics over generic wish lists.

English

Dear Father Christmas,

My name is [name] and I'm [age] years old. I live in [town/city].

I've tried to be good this year. I [something specific — tidied my room, helped Mum with the washing up, was kind to my brother].

For Christmas I would really love:
- [main wish]
- [smaller wish]
- [small wish]

I'll leave a mince pie and a glass of sherry by the fireplace, and a carrot for Rudolph. Please say hello to Mrs Claus and all the reindeer.

Love,
[name]

PS: My address is [address] so the elves know where to write back!