Postal Service Cancels Volunteer Santa Letter Responding Program

Operation Santa, a letter responding campaign that is led by volunteers in North Pole, Alaska, is in trouble and the program has been terminated by the U.S. Postal Service according to the Associated Press. The concern came arose last year as a volunteer was recognized as a sexual offender by a Postal Service worker, according to the Associated Press. Luckily for children trying to write to Santa every year, there are alternative programs such as the Operation Santa program and you can still buy letters to Santa in stores that are custom made.

Volunteers in North Pole, Alaska, are livid since the small town of 2,100 prides itself on the town with such street names as Santa Claus Lane. The program has been completely run by volunteers since 1954 and the tradition is endangered.

Letters to Santa are a tradition that goes back to the famous "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" editorial in the New York Sun in 1897. Everyone has had childhood fantasies of Santa delivering that perfect gift found in the red wrapping paper and a green bow that says "From Santa".

Yes, there will still be letters answered from Santa Claus. I remember writing some letters to Santa when I was kid asking for things like "a new baby brother and not a sister" and a "big new bike". Clearly, Santa couldn't wrap a baby and but it under the tree but at least I didn't ask for something like a pet elephant or a real dinosaur.

My wife and I have our kids' first letters to Santa saved and laminated in our memory book so we can dig them out when they start having their own children. Children writing letters to Santa is a tradition in both of our families and we certainly feel it is valid way for children to celebrate the holiday of Christmas as the most important of the year.

There are still ways to write to Santa that don't necessarily involve writing to North Pole, Alaska. Parents can buy "Letters to Santa" in bookstores and you can jazz it up with stationery and letters that look official. There are other programs that exist for private businesses. Parents can also take matters into their hands. My wife and I did a trick on year where we wrote the letter back and gave it to the local postal office and asked if the postmaster could postmark it with the local post office. Yes, it will not have a postmark from a North Pole-themed area in North America but at least it will seem like your letter got answered.