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Adopting a Letter to Santa

Help make people’s holiday wishes come true by adopting a letter and sending them the perfect gift.

Steps to Adopt a Letter

You must complete the following steps in order to adopt a letter:

Step 1

Create Your Account

Create an account and get verified. This helps keep letter writers safe.

Create an Account
Step 2

Read and Adopt Letters

Look though letters and find one or more you want to fulfill. You can use the filter to look for family letters as well as ones within your region.

Step 3

Shop for and Ship Your Gift

Decide how you want to fulfill your gift, and aim to send it on its way as soon as possible:

Make Even More of an Impact

Explore ways to make the most of the giving season:

Adopt a Family
If you’re able to do so, adopt a family letter in order to fulfill wishes from multiple people within a single household.
Read Family Letters →
Adopt as a Team
Come together with friends, family and co-workers to adopt letters as a group — perfect for adopting families.
Create a Team →
Spread the Word
Spread the joy by spreading the word about the USPS Operation Santa® program on social media.
Share on Social →

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 anyone in the continental U.S. adopt letters in the USPS Operation Santa® program?

Anyone in the continental U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands can participate. All you have to do is sign up, create an account and get verified.  

Is there a limit to the number of letters I can adopt?

Yes. Each registered person can adopt no more than 15 letters. Teams can adopt 15 letters per participating team member. 

Please be sure you are able to fulfill the letters that you do adopt. Every adopted letter is removed from the site. If you are unable to fulfill the request, cancel your adoption on the Your Letters section of your account so it can be adopted by another generous person.

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.

Why can't I see any letters on the site? When will there be more?

New letters are added to the site daily starting Monday, November 18 through December 16. In many instances, letters are adopted as soon as they are posted. If there are no letters, it means they’ve currently all been adopted and are getting their holiday wishes fulfilled. But check back — new letters are added to the site every day. 

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