Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! What child wouldn’t want to write Santa Claus a letter and tell Santa just exactly what they want for Christmas? And then get a reply from Santa? The United States Post Office is making this possible again, this year. They are ready for Santa’s letters.

To make it easier Santa has offered to share these easy tips with children and their families to help their letters get to him as quickly and safely as possible:

Children should ask their parents for help addressing and putting stamps on their letters. This can help reduce misspellings-which can slow down letters- or using too much or too little postage.

Like all mail, it is important that letters to Santa include a complete return address with zip code.

Santa enjoys candy canes and cookies, and his reindeer enjoy fresh hay. But because these treats can be damaged or crushed when sent in a regular envelope, it is best to leave them out for Santa on Christmas Eve rather than to mail them.

No extra packaging material, such as tape or string, is needed on a letter to Santa. The glue on the envelope flap does the trick.

The Postal Service is helping create holiday memories for children by mailing back a reply. After the children write their letters to Santa, parents, guardians and other Santa’s helpers can write a response from Santa and mail it in a second envelope to the Fairbanks, Alaska Post Office. Postal elves at the nearby North Pole Post Office will open the envelopes, postmark Santa’s reply letters and mail them back to the children they are addressed to.

All you have to do is after writing Santa’s response letter, place it in a stamped envelope addressed to your child. Santa, North Pole Alaska, should be included as the return address in the upper left corner of the envelope. This envelope should then be placed into a larger, properly stamped First Class Mail or Priority Mail envelope with your correct return address and mailed to:

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

Terry Adams (Postmaster, Italy Post Office) said, "North Pole postmark requests must arrive in Fairbanks, Alaska. before December 15, 2009. Please mail your request by December 10th. We would love to see the kids respond and send letters to Santa Claus. What better way to teach children to write letters than to send them to Santa?

Santa is waiting for your letters!