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How It Works

Every year, hopeful people send letters to Santa with their wishes for the holiday season. Discover how you can be part of the magic by making these wishes come true.

Program Overview

1
Write Letters

Every season, thousands of people write letters to Santa. We remove any personal details and post them on our site.

2
Adopt Letters

Generous people adopt these letters and find just the right gift to help fulfill holiday wishes.

Adopt Letters
3
Ship Gifts

Letter adopters shop and ship gifts through Santa’s Gift Shoppe, our new online catalog powered by Toys“R”Us®, or on their own with USPS.

Send Gifts

Key 2024 Dates

Sep16

Holiday Season Begins

The mailroom starts accepting letters to Santa

Nov4

Registration Opens for Adopters

Create and verify your account to be ready for letter adoption

Nov18

Adoption Starts

Read the latest letters, find a favorite to fulfill, and try to send your gift as early as possible

Dec9

Last Call for Writers

Send your letters to Santa, following these helpful tips how-to’s

Dec16

Last Day to Ship

Last day to adopt a letter, and the recommended date to ship your gift by for expected delivery before December 25

New for 2024

Find Gifts With Ease in Our New Online Catalog

Powered by Toys"R"Us®, our convenient catalog takes shipping off your to-do list.

Learn More

Top FAQs

What are key dates to know for the 2024 program?

  • Monday, September 16: Letters can now be sent to 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.  

  • Monday, November 4: Registration and ID verification for adopters begins.  

  • Monday, November 18: Letter adoption begins.  

  • Monday, December 9: This is the last day to send letters. Letters must be postmarked by this date.  

  • Monday, December 16: This is the last day to adopt letters before the website closes at 8pm ET. Send packages before this date to be sure they arrive by December 25, but the earlier the better to help families plan ahead.

Can I adopt an entire family?

Yes. Letters from the same household are posted collectively as a family. You can adopt entire families. Because we don’t want anyone to think Santa forgot about them, we encourage families to be adopted together and for each family member to receive something, if you are able.

Are there letters in Spanish? Any other languages?

Yes. While most of the letters received are in English, the letters written in Spanish are posted and are searchable using the language filter. Occasionally, letters written in other languages come in — we will be working on adding additional language filters in the future.

Where can I find the letter I adopted?

Your adopted letters can be found under Your Letters in your account profile and in the email account you used to register. If you’ve checked all places and cannot find it, please send an email, with the Letter ID Number, to operationsanta@usps.gov.

Do I have to fulfill expensive gift requests?

No, you don’t have to fulfill expensive requests. Hopeful as ever, kids do tend to wish big. But just hearing back from Santa is a win!