Great Photo Opportunity to Treasure for Years

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 17, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NORTH POLE -- Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus — and the U.S. Postal Service can help you prove it when Santa replies to your child's letter — complete with a North Pole postmark.

Here are the steps for your child to get a letter back from Santa:

1. Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.
2. Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response.
3. Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child.
4. Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.
5. Affix a First-Class Mail stamp, such as a new Holiday Windows stamp, to the envelope.
6. Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope — preferably a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope — with appropriate postage and address it to:
 
North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998
 
"Letters from Santa" must be received by the Anchorage, AK, postmaster no later than Dec. 15. Santa's helpers at the Postal Service will take care of the rest.
 
Be sure to share the experience on social media using #LettersFromSanta.
 
Tips

• To save paper, write Santa's response on the back of your child's letter. If you keep them together, your child will also be able to recall what he or she wrote.
• When responding as Santa, make the response as personal as possible by highlighting your child's accomplishments over the past year, for example, helping around the house, receiving good grades in a particular subject at school or participating in community service activities.
• This is a great activity to do at Thanksgiving that the whole family can enjoy, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other caregivers.
 
The Letters from Santa program adds to the excitement of Christmas and is ideal for interesting youngsters in letter writing, stamps and penmanship.
 
The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
 
Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm. A complete list of the holiday shipping deadlines and information can be found at about.usps.com/holidaynews.
 
For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Posts blog (uspsblog.com).
 
For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.

A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=41896

CONTACT: Mark Saunders
         202.268.6524
         mark.r.saunders@usps.gov
         usps.com/news