SANTA Claus will now accept letters in the mail.
The magic of Christmas is coming early, and it’s all starting with a stamp as kids across America can now write heartfelt letters to Santa.
The USPS is re-opening Operation Santa on November 17, 2025 (Stock Image)[/caption]
Operation Santa allows families to write letters and strangers to adopt them. Adoptees directly use the USPS catalog online to purchase the items (Stock Image)[/caption]
It is all with the help of the U.S. Postal Service, which has just kicked off its famous Operation Santa, now in its 113th year.
The program, according to the USPS, “connects letter writers with generous individuals and organizations who help fulfill their holiday wishes.”
Starting November 17, generous strangers can “adopt” a letter and play Santa’s helper by buying gifts through an online gift catalog, which was introduced in 2024 to “streamline the fulfillment and shipping process.”
But the program isn’t just about toys and games – it often covers real needs too.
This year, USPS has rolled out a major change to how it works: families can now write a joint household letter, and adopters can help multiple family members at once.
This means that instead of one wish list per child, the entire home can send one shared message.
That way, when a letter is adopted, everyone under that roof is included.
“For more than a century, USPS Operation Santa has brought communities together to make the holidays brighter,” said Sheila Holman, USPS marketing vice president.
“Each year, we receive far more letters than we have adopters, and this year we want to change that – especially by encouraging participants to adopt family letters, which makes it possible to fulfill the wishes of an entire household at once.”
There’s also a deadline families can’t ignore, as letters must be postmarked by December 6, 2025, to make it onto Santa’s list.
After that, they’re uploaded to USPSOperationSanta.com for adoption.
Volunteers across the nation can log in, browse the letters, and choose one to fulfill.
Privacy is carefully protected and adopters see only the wishes, not personal details of the wisher.
Gifts can be purchased using the USPS Operation Santa online gift catalog. After that, they’re shipped straight to the families.
USPS Operation Santa history
- In 1912, Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock officially authorized local postmasters to open letters addressed to Santa so that postal staff (and citizens) could read them and respond.
- By the 1940s, the program had expanded: charitable groups, corporations, and ordinary people could adopt letters and send gifts, not just write responses.
- In 2017, USPS piloted an online version in New York City so people could adopt letters via the internet.
- Over the following years the program kept expanding digitally — more locations, more letters available online, more people able to adopt from anywhere in the U.S.
- In 2020, for the first time, the program was open nationwide in its digital format, letting people around the country adopt letters via USPS’s Operation Santa site.
- More recent years have added features like:
- An online catalog (“Santa’s Gift Shoppe”) in partnership with Toys “R” Us, making it easier to pick out gifts and ship them directly.
- The option to adopt family letters (letters from multiple people in one household) instead of single letters, increasing the reach.
For many children, it’s the closest thing to real-life Christmas magic they can get, while for donors, it’s a chance to step into Santa’s boots for a season.
USPS CHANGES
Other USPS changes include stamp and mailing price increases that started July 13, 2025.
The cost of Forever stamps rose from $0.73 to $0.78, while postcard prices, both domestic and international, also went up.
These hikes are part of ongoing USPS adjustments.
USPS has warned that customers should expect regular price jumps.
On April 1, 2025, USPS changed its service standards.
Around 11% of First-Class Mail arrives more slowly now as part of the “Delivering for America” plan, but this also means that a 2-day delivery could now take 3 days.
Meanwhile, more than 20 Contract Postal Units (CPUs), or USPS desks inside retail stores, will close by September 2025.
Closures are happening in California, Arizona, North Dakota, and South Dakota, while USPS says nearby branches will absorb the workload.
USPS is adding AI to call centers to improve service as well, in the hopes that new tech will allow more natural customer interactions.
The goal is faster help and better tracking info.
The USPS made changes to Operation Santa, now families can write a joint letter (Stock Image)[/caption]
