Letters from Santa · For parents
How a letter from Santa works, step by step.
You tell Santa about your child. He writes back in his own warm words, you read it and change anything you like, and then the letter is written with a real pen and mailed with a real stamp, in an envelope from “Santa Claus, North Pole”. Here is exactly what happens, and what your child will and won’t see.
1. Make a free account
The Santa form needs a free account, so your children’s details stay with you and Santa can remember them next year if you want him to. It takes an email and a password. You never pay for the account, and there is no subscription: you pay for the letters you send.
2. Tell Santa about each child
Only you fill this in; your child is never asked anything. For each child you give their first name, age and town, and one to three good things they did this year. Those are the heart of the letter, so the more specific the better: “kept practising piano even when it was hard” beats “was good”.
You can also add something they are working on (Santa only mentions it as gentle encouragement, never as a telling-off), anything from your child’s own letter to Santa (a line or two from their wish list), pets and brothers or sisters, and a private note to Santa for context. He reads the note but never quotes it, so it’s a good place for “her grandma moved in with us” or “he’s nervous about his new school”.
Santa never promises or names a present on his own. If you’d like him to mention one, tick “Santa may mention the gift” and tell him which. For ideas of what to write, see what Santa can mention at every age.
3. Add brothers and sisters
Press “Add a brother or sister” for each extra child, up to 6 in one order. Each child gets their own letter, written about them, and you check out once. Santa can say hello to the others by name if you mention them.
4. Choose how it looks and when it arrives
- A full letter on festive North Pole letterhead, or a smaller Santa card for less
- The handwriting style the pen will use
- An optional P.S. from one of Santa’s elves
- An optional voice or video message from Santa, played from a small code on the letter
- The day you’d like it to arrive: any day of the year, with early to mid December suggested for Christmas
- The address it goes to, and your family name for the envelope
Arrival dates are an estimate. We work back from the day you pick and mail it so it typically arrives around then. If Christmas is close, check when to order.
5. Santa writes back, and you check every word
Press “Ask Santa to write” and each letter appears on screen shortly. Read it. Change any word you like, fix a nickname, take out a line, or ask Santa for a new version. Santa writes at your child’s reading level: a few short, simple sentences for a toddler who will hear it read aloud, early-reader words for a six-year-old, and something warmer and gently witty for an older child who is still believing.
Santa follows a few house rules in every letter: no naughty-list threats, nothing scary, nothing that says or hints Santa isn’t real, and no mention of a company or a website. If you added Santa’s voice message, it is made before you pay so you can listen first.
6. Pay, and we take it from there
You see the full price before you pay, with the stamp included. Then the letter waits until it’s time to be written for your arrival date. A real pen writes it on real paper, the same pen addresses the envelope from “Santa Claus, North Pole”, and it is mailed with a real stamp.
If you added Santa’s video, it is made right after you order and emailed to you to watch first. Tap “Looks great” to switch it on, or ask for a new one once, free. If we don’t hear from you, it switches on by itself 24 hours before the letter is mailed.
What your child sees
An envelope addressed to them by hand, from Santa Claus at the North Pole, with a real stamp. Inside, a letter in ink that mentions their name, their town and the things they did this year. The back of the letter carries only a small code (it plays Santa’s message if you added one), with no company name and no website. Nothing gives the game away.
A tip, if you like a little theatre: let your child find it in the mailbox themselves, and keep the envelope with the letter. Together they make a lovely keepsake.
What happens to the details you typed
We use them only to write the letter (and Santa’s message, if you add one). The details you typed are deleted 60 days after the letter is mailed, unless you keep your child in your address book so Santa can remember them next year. If you keep them, we send you one reminder in October when Santa’s mailbag opens again.