Santa Will Reply to Letters from Children in Maple Grove

Every year, millions of children sit down to make a wish list for Santa, hoping he will make all of their Christmas dreams come true.

But what if Santa actually wrote back?

Children in Maple Grove have two options to correspond with Santa during the 2012 holiday season.

1. Stop by the Maple Grove Community Center between Dec. 1-12, 2012 and place a letter in Santa’s mailbox, special box where letters will be delivered directly to the North Pole. According to the Fall 2012 Maple Grove Park and Recreation brochecure, "Santa’s elves will pick up letters each evening to bring to the North Pole. Mr. and Mrs. Claus request that each letter include the full name and address of each child so that Santa and his elves can use their computer to answer each one."

2. The United States Postal Service is now accepting "Letters From Santa," a program that allows any person to play Santa by sending a letter signed by Saint Nick to any child.

According to a postal service news release, "The 'Letters From Santa' program helps parents fulfill the dreams of their own children."

Instructions to send a letter from Santa:

1. Write a letter to your child from Santa Claus and sign it "From Santa." Put the letter in an envelope addressed to your child with the return address SANTA, NORTH POLE.
2. Ensure a First-Class Mail stamp is affixed to the envelope.
3. Place the envelope into a larger envelope, with appropriate postage, and address the larger envelope to:
   NORTH POLE POSTMARK
   POSTMASTER
   4141 POSTMARK DR
   ANCHORAGE AK 99530-9998
4. Your letter “from Santa” will be mailed back to your child, postmarked from the North Pole.
5. “Letters From Santa” must be mailed to the Anchorage, AK postmaster by no later than Dec. 10. Santa’s helpers in Anchorage will take care of the rest.

In Maple Grove, letters to Santa can be dropped off at the U.S. Post Office at Grove Square or in Bylerly's.

TELL US: Do your children or children in your family plan on writing a letter to Santa this year?

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