With Christmas only 50 days away, Santa Claus and his postal elves are working closely on their plans to deliver a happy holidays to keiki across the state. A key component of their plan is the U.S. Postal Service’s Operation Santa wish fulfillment program, which kicked off its 2021 edition Monday.
With Christmas only 50 days away, Santa Claus and his postal elves are working closely on their plans to deliver a happy holidays to keiki across the state. A key component of their plan is the U.S. Postal Service’s Operation Santa wish fulfillment program, which kicked off its 2021 edition Monday.
The program will accept children’s letters submitted for potential “adoption” by anonymous gift givers. Adopters fulfill keiki letter writers’ Christmas wishes by purchasing and sending them gifts on behalf of Santa. In 2020, more than 23,000 Santa letters submitted to the program were adopted nationwide, including 140 in Hawaii.
With so many island families struggling due to financial or health issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impacts, some parents may not be able to fulfill their children’s holiday wishes this year. That’s where USPS Operation Santa comes in.
Since its beginning in 1912, the USPS Operation Santa program has helped to connect millions of children and their families with generous adopters. In recent years, the program transitioned from a hard-copy program hosted by certain Post Offices to a digital program that allows customers to access Santa letters at the USPS Operation Santa web site.
To participate in the program as a potential holiday gift recipient, all children need to do is write a letter to Santa, put it in an envelope with a First-Class Mail Forever stamp, include their complete return address, and send it to the USPS Operation Santa workshop address: Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888.
Letters must be postmarked by Dec. 10, and will be uploaded to the USPS Operation Santa website through Dec. 15 for potential adoption. Letters should be legible, include a full return address, specific requests like sizes and colors, and a postage stamp.
Hawaii residents are encouraged to go online beginning Nov. 29 to adopt letters submitted to USPS Operation Santa to help a child have a happy holiday. Letters can be filtered by state. Details on how to adopt a Santa letter and a history of the program are available at USPSOperationSanta.com
