Letters from Santa · Compare
Handwritten, printed or the North Pole postmark?
There are three common ways to get a letter from Santa into your child’s hands: a letter written with a real pen and mailed for you, a printed letter, or writing one yourself and sending it through the US Postal Service’s North Pole postmark program. Each has its place. Here’s an honest look at all three.
Written with a real pen (what we make)
You tell Santa about your child, he writes the letter in his own words, and you read and change it before you pay. Then a real pen writes it on real paper, guided by a handwriting machine, in the handwriting style you pick. The same pen addresses the envelope, with “Santa Claus, North Pole” as the sender, and it’s mailed with a real stamp.
- Real ink pressed into the paper, with the small unevenness of handwriting.
- Personal: their name, town, good deeds and wishes, at their reading level.
- You don’t need to write or post anything.
- Optional voice or video message from Santa, played from a code on the letter.
- It costs more than doing it yourself, and the postmark is wherever the letter is mailed from, not Alaska.
Printed letters
A printed letter is made by a printer. The words may be personalized with a name and a few details, but every letter is the same ink, the same shapes and the same spacing. Some use a font that imitates handwriting; up close, each “a” is identical to the last, and there is no pressure in the line.
- Often cheaper, and they can look festive on decorative paper.
- Usually built from a template, so letters for siblings can read alike.
- Older children who look closely may spot that it’s printed.
If a printed keepsake is what you’re after, our free Nice List certificate is one you can print at home in a minute.
The USPS North Pole postmark
The US Postal Service runs a program, “Greetings from the North Pole Post Office”, that puts a special North Pole postmark on a letter you write. It doesn’t write the letter for you. As of October 2026, the USPS page describes it like this:
- Your child writes a letter to Santa.
- You write a personal reply and sign it “From Santa”.
- You put both letters in an envelope addressed to your child, with “SANTA, NORTH POLE” as the return address and a First-Class Mail stamp.
- You put that envelope inside a larger one, with postage, addressed to the North Pole Postmark Postmaster in Anchorage, Alaska.
- The Postal Service adds the North Pole postmark and mails the inner envelope to your child.
It costs only postage and it’s a lovely tradition, especially if you enjoy writing. The page suggests mailing your envelope between November 23 and December 1, without saying which year that applies to, so check the official USPS North Pole postmark page for this year’s dates and the full address before you send it. The letter is in your own handwriting, so children who know it well may recognise it; the USPS page suggests using a different pen.
This is a different program from USPS Operation Santa, where volunteers read children’s letters to Santa and send gifts.
Side by side
| Written with a real pen | Printed | USPS North Pole postmark | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who writes the words | Santa drafts, you edit | A template, personalized | You |
| How it’s written | A real pen on real paper | A printer | Your own hand |
| Envelope | Hand-addressed, real stamp | Varies | You address and stamp it |
| Postmark | Where it’s mailed from | Varies | North Pole (applied in Alaska) |
| Your part | Fill in a form online | Order online | Write it, two envelopes, a trip to post it |
| Voice or video from Santa | Optional | Varies | No |
Which should you choose?
If you love to write and have the time in late November, the USPS postmark is a charming, low-cost tradition. If you want a quick printed keepsake, a printed letter or a certificate does the job. If you want a letter that really looks and feels written, that knows what your child did this year, and that arrives without you writing or posting anything, that’s what our Santa letters are for.
You can also do more than one: some families send a handwritten letter in early December and save the postmarked one, in their own words, for Christmas Eve. Check when to order for this year’s dates.