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 Claus of some of the 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 post offices during the holidays, 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 don't want one of Santa's postal elves responding to the letter, and want to be sure Santa Claus sends a personalized letter with details specific to your child, 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.

If you have young kids who can't quite write a letter to Santa yet, Smilebox has a fun way for them to send an electronic letter to the North Pole. And it's free! My daughter loved this! Your child will still need a little help from Mom or Dad, but the format is colorful and fun for little kids.

To get started, visit the special letter to Santa page and download the free Smilebox program. When it opens, you'll be on the page with the free Santa letter design. You can upload a photo or video of your child and then have them help you fill out the other sections, such as what toys do they want, what question do they want to ask Santa, and where do they live. Then save your creation. You can also post it to Facebook or send it via email. To save it to DVD or print it at home, simply sign up for a free trial membership to Club Smilebox. And if you want Santa to send back a Smilebox message, be sure to email your child's video letter to santa @ smilebox.com.

After Santa gets your child's letter and hears about how he or she has been on such good behavior, he'll undoubtedly want to reward them for making his Nice List. Here are some fun gifts Santa can leave on Christmas morning or include with his response.

Santa Claus

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