Today’s Holidays Need Today’s Mail

Southern Indiana Postal elves postmark replies from only town named after Santa Claus

SANTA CLAUS, IN — Santa may be able to visit every boy and girl around the world in one night, but he relies on the holiday magic of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver his mail. Postal elves in Southern Indiana will postmark his replies and mail them back to the children from the only town in the world named after Santa Claus.

People wishing to have a letter from Santa Claus, IN sent to their children need to follow three simple steps and remember the Dec. 20 deadline.

Parents are encouraged to work with their children while they write letters to Santa so they can pick up a few tips when they later help craft Santa's reply. Once the reply is written, "Santa's response" should be placed in a stamped envelope addressed to the child.

This envelope should then be placed in a larger, properly stamped, First-Class Mail or Priority Mail envelope and mailed to:

Postmaster
Santa Claus Station
Santa Claus IN 47579-9998

“The Santa Claus, Indiana, post office is offering a unique ‘picture postmark’ to cancel the postage stamps on holiday mail this year, said Postmaster Marian Balbach. “Our postmark has become one of the most popular in the nation. We receive requests from around-the-world and many customers drive hundreds of miles to receive the cancellation on their holiday mail.

Each year’s unique postmark is designed by a local high school art student, as part of an annual contest. This year’s winner was Mari Marley Jahn, a member of the Heritage Hills (IN) Class of 2007 and now attending Purdue University.

Balbach asks anyone interested in having the unique cancellation on their holiday mail to please follow these guidelines:

Postal elves postmark replies

Allow at least a 2-inch by 4-inch space in the stamp area for the picture postmark.
Have postage applied to cards or letters before bringing or mailing them to the Santa Claus Post Office.
Customers who wish to mail Christmas cards to the post office should package them—with postage stamps already on them—in a sturdy envelope or box.
The picture postmark is available on working days between Dec. 1- 24.
The picture postmark must be requested by the postal customer.
There is no charge for postmarking—however there is a limit of 50 picture postmarks (hand cancellations) per person per day.

Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 20, Balbach expects nearly 500,000 pieces of mail to come through her Post Office. A different picture postmark has been offered at the Santa Claus Post Office each holiday season since 1983.

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An independent federal agency, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that visits every address in the nation, 146 million homes and businesses, six days a week. It has 37,000 retail locations and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to pay for operating expenses, not tax dollars. The Postal Service has annual revenues of $75 billion and delivers nearly half the world’s mail.