How to Write a Letter to Santa Claus

1. Get in the Christmas mood. Put on some Christmas music or your favorite holiday shirt so you'll be ready to think about Santa.

2. Ask your parents for some paper and a pen. You can use any kind of paper, but if you'd like something special, try the Dear Santa letter template at Christmas Letter Tips.com, the free Santa letter template at Santa's North Pole Zone.com or the free letter to Santa template at Santa Letter Templates.com. Ask your parents to help you download these documents.

3. Start your letter with a greeting, also known as a salutation. Good ways to start your letter include "Dear Santa" or "Dear Santa Claus."

4. Let Santa know who's writing the letter. Of course he knows who you are! But you need to let him know that it's you that is writing the letter because he gets so many letters every day.

5. Ask Santa how he's been. Santa only hears from you once a year, so before you start asking about toys, it's polite to ask how he's doing or how the reindeer and elves and Mrs. Claus have been.

6. Tell him how good you've been this year. Before you ask for toys, you'll also want to remind Santa of good things you've done this year. Have you been nice to your sister or brother? Have you helped your parents by putting all your toys away? Santa already knows these things because he sees you when you're sleeping and knows when you're awake, but he likes to be reminded of the reasons you should be on Santa's Nice List.

7. Politely let him know what toys you'd like. Ok, you've asked about his life and told him how good you've been, so NOW you can let him know what toys you'd like. Try to keep your list to the two or three things that you want the very, very most. That way he'll know which gifts to bring.

8. Thank Santa for being so kind and close your letter with your signature. After asking Santa for a few toys, be sure to thank him for his kindness by saying something such as, "Thank you, Santa, for bringing so much joy to kids like me" or "Thanks, Santa, for bringing me toys every year." Santa loves little kids who are polite. Then end your letter with a closing such as "Sincerely" or "Love" or "Best wishes" and sign your name.

9. Put your letter in an envelope and seal and stamp it. Make sure to lick the envelope so it's sealed tightly, and then ask your mom or dad for the address.

10. Give the letter to your parents to send. They'll put it in the mail and make sure it gets to Santa in time for Christmas.

Then wait patiently for your reply! He's a very busy man, but he always answers all his mail with a Christmas letter from Santa.

Ok, parents, your kids have done the hard part of writing a letter to Santa, so now you need to make sure it gets to the jolly old elf so he can write back. Santa has elves at many local post offices during the holidays, so check with the local postmaster to see if they accept letters from Santa and will ensure Santa sends a reply. If so, you can simply address your letter to Santa Claus, The North Pole and let your child put the letter in your mailbox or drop it in the box at the post office. Santa's elves will then take care of the rest.

In Canada, you can send your letters to Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada - H0 H0 H0. Volunteers will help Santa respond.

If you're not sure if Santa's elves are in your area, you'll probably want to take the letter to the post office when your kids aren't with you (wink, wink). And in that case, you might also want to use a service such as Package from Santa to make sure your child gets a response. You can also learn how to become one of Santa's helpers by drafting your own free printable Santa letter or using Santa letter templates you can find online.

Santa Claus

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