United States Postal Service (USPS Operation Santa)

USPS Operation Santa (2026) — How to Write a Letter to Santa from the USA

USPS Operation Santa — how to write a letter to Santa from the US, the real North Pole address, mailing deadline, and how to get a reply. Free, no signup.

Last verified against United States Postal Service (USPS Operation Santa) sources: May 2026

Santa's address in United States

Santa Claus North Pole, AK 99705

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

Mailing deadline

December 15

Reply rate

varies

Postage required

Yes

Reply languages

English, Spanish

What makes this program different

→USPS Operation Santa scans letters and posts them anonymously to operationsanta.com — volunteers and businesses adopt letters and send replies.
→Older program in the world: running since 1912.
→For most reliable reply, mail by December 15. Letters mailed after still get processed but reply window narrows.
→Adult-written letters are explicitly welcomed (military families, hardship, elderly) — Operation Santa's adoption side is one of the warmest things USPS does.

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 States 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 States Santa letter program

USPS Operation Santa traces back to 1912, when Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorised local postmasters to let charitable groups read and answer the letters children were sending to Santa. Before 1912, those letters were considered dead mail and quietly destroyed.

The program ran in semi-secret for almost a century — individual post offices handled their own batches, kids whose letters happened to land at a participating office got replies, kids whose letters didn't, didn't.

USPS pulled the program online in 2017 with operationsanta.com. Letters are now scanned (with personal details redacted), posted to the public portal, and 'adopted' by individuals, families, or companies who buy the requested gifts and ship them through USPS. The post office handles delivery so the adopter's identity stays private and Santa gets the credit.

What kids in United States traditionally ask for

🎁American wishlists tend toward branded toys and electronics: LEGO sets, video game consoles, the year's hot action figures, Nike or Air Jordans for older kids.
🎁Operation Santa adoption letters often shift toward essentials — winter coats, school supplies, a working bicycle for a sibling. The portal is full of letters from families having a hard year.
🎁Including a 'one big wish + a few small ones' structure (instead of a wall of demands) helps with adoption rates on the public portal. Adopters tend to pick letters that feel personal.
🎁Handwritten letters with a child's drawing on the back perform better than typed ones — they signal authenticity to the volunteer reviewers.

Sample letter template (United States)

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 Santa,

My name is [name] and I am [age] years old. I live in [city, state].

This year I tried to be good. I helped [something specific you did — fed the dog, helped with the dishes, was nice to a sibling].

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

Please give my love to Mrs. Claus and the reindeer. I will leave you cookies and milk.

Love,
[name]

PS: My address is [address] in case you can write back!