Also see our FAQs page.

How to Be An Elf

Three ways to volunteer:

1. The best way to help would be to select one or more letters to Santa and buy a gift for a needy child. It may take some research on your part to find out if there is a postal branch in your city offers the Santa letters. Follow the steps outlined below exactly. If there is no branch where you live, we offer some great alternative suggestions below.

2. Another way to help, if you can't go to the post office yourself, is to Donate Online to Be An Elf. If you prefer to give by check, see Giving by Check. Your donation to Be An Elf will further our mission and help us recruit new volunteers.

3. Another great way to support our mission is to let your friends know about our group. If you like, use our suggested draft of a message to friends to tell them about us. Feel free to rewrite the message any way you wish.

Continue reading below!

WHICH POST OFFICE IN MY CITY OFFERS 'OPERATION SANTA CLAUS'?

BACKGROUND

Operation Santa has been in place since 1912, but few people know about it. We're hoping to support it, by working together with the USPS to increase public awareness of it.

Some cities have a postal branch offering Operation Santa Claus, while others do not. The USPS allows every city to create its own policy.

Please be understanding if this program is not yet offered in your city.

If there is no Operation Santa program in your city, here are our suggestions for other cool ways to volunteer at Christmas.

In December, 2007, we started a modest new directory of postal branches offering the "Operation Santa" letters, and we have continued to update it, as information comes in from volunteer elves like you.

So far, we only have listings for a few cities on our Directory page. If you find a branch offering Operation Santa in your city, please send us the info on it. We will verify it and then post it in our Directory.

Our hope is to work together with the Postal Service, and to partner with them on the management of this website in future. One of our primary goals is to support the USPS' Operation Santa program by increasing public awareness of it, and making branches offering it easier for people to find. We have some great and innovative future plans.

The USPS is doing a great job; in many participating cities, they send out press releases to let people know about the Operation Santa program. Each year many postal employees selflessly volunteer their own time and personal funds to participate in Operation Santa Claus.

Many members of the public, as well as companies large small, also participate each year. The good it does is immeasurable.

Not too many Americans have heard of Operation Santa Claus. An online search of the phrase 'Operation Santa Claus' shows a mix of mostly local websites, some linking to commercial products. Searching online will not always tell you which post office in your city which offers the Operation Santa program. Try our new directory, and if your city is not yet listed there, follow the steps below.

FIRST STEP

The first step is to learn if there is a branch offering this great program in your area. Instead of going in person, we recommend that you first call the branch manager of your own local post office, or try the main branch in your city. Ask whether there is a branch in your city offering the Operation Santa program.

Not everyone under the manager level will know, so use the phone and ask for the manager.

See below for an easy way to get your branch's phone number. Let us know what you find!

It's easy to find your local post office's phone number

Use the USPS website or Yellow Pages, or call the USPS' national toll free line at (800) 275-8777 and follow the prompts. Here are some shortcuts when calling the 800 number above:

• When the first series of choices begins, don't wait, say aloud, "More options".
  
  
• When the next series begins, say "Post office information."
  
  
• Next, say "Delivery office".
  
  
• When prompted, dial in your zip code.
  
  
• Finally you will hear the phone number of your local post office!
  

Ask for the branch manager, and if they don't know, ask them for the number and location of the main post office in your city. Call them next, and if the person who answers the phone doesn't know, ask to speak to the station manager there. Be nice; it's their Christmas season, too! But be persistent.

Hopefully, you'll finally be rewarded with a visit to the local "North Pole" room where you may read this year's letters to Santa.

Our YouTube video was filmed in the Los Angeles USPS "North Pole" room, so we can verify that it exists. In the video you can briefly see two boxes labeled "Needy kids" and "Needy families", and get a glimpse of the postal workers who read and sort the letters.

In Los Angeles, all children's letters to Santa are sent to the main LA post office, which is Central Station in South Central LA. It's at S Central Ave & E Gage Ave, Los Angeles 90001. Both Hans Dohm and Patrick Reynolds go every year, along with others who do the same.

That's how to find the Operation Santa Claus station in your city. It may take some effort, but the rewards are immeasurable!

OTHER COOL WAYS TO VOLUNTEER AT CHRISTMAS

If there is no Operation Santa program at any post office in your city, and you can't convince the manager to start one, then click on our suggestions for other cool ways to volunteer at Christmas.

SIGN A RELEASE FORM

Before gaining admission to the North Pole room, you'll be asked to show a photo ID and sign an appropriate legal form. Your information will be linked to each letter you take home. The post office keeps careful track of every child's letter it gives out, and keeps records of which volunteers took which letters home. This clearly will help to protect our kids.

Once you are given access, you will need to read letters to Santa on post office premises. You will probably be allowed to read as many letters as you wish in the North Pole room, if your city has one.

Companies are also allowed to take letters to Santa back to employees who wish to participate. In Los Angeles, for example, companies may take up to 100 letters, and individuals may take up to 10 letters. This varies from city to city.

WHEN TO VISIT THE POST OFFICE

Of course, most children mail their letters to Santa Claus during December. Time your visit accordingly. Up to Christmas eve, it's not too late to buy a needy child a gift!

HOW MANY LETTERS SHOULD YOU RESPOND TO?

Our friend Hans Dohm (see his photo on the About page) has been an elf for years. He typically reads 50 to 100 letters. He always buys gifts for ten families, but we recommend that you start with one to three families. It's your decision, but be aware that you may be tempted to take on more children than you can actually provide gifts for. We need you not to overextend yourself, financially or otherwise. We want you back again next Christmas! So start small, and know that you are making a real difference to someone in your community.

SELECT ONLY LETTERS YOU WISH TO REALLY FULFILL. EXPECT DEEP REWARDS!

Select only those letters you can truly fulfill. Commit firmly to yourself before you leave the post office.

Hans Dohm finds deep rewards in being an elf. In December, 2005, he and Julie, part of his extended family, chose eleven letters to fulfill! He and Julie did the shopping and gift wrapping together, and on Christmas eve, Hans personally delivered the gifts in the daytime to some needy families and their kids. Smiles all around!

Hans is a modest, quiet man, always respectful when delivering gifts. He prefers not to let the family know that he's answering a letter to Santa Claus. He tells the families with humility and respect, "A friend asked me to deliver these gifts to your home." The gift tags simply read, "From Santa." This keeps the kids believing, and most parents prefer that.

Giving is of course a Christmas tradition. Giving selflessly is perhaps at the core of the Christmas spirit.

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH LETTERS ARE FROM TRULY UNDERPRIVILEGED KIDS?

In Los Angeles, the postal workers read and sort the letters. They can usually tell which letters are from truly needy kids. For example, if a child is asking for a "warm coat" or food, or clothes for other family members, that's a clear sign.

There is no shortage of letters in the "Needy kids" box in the North Pole room; you'll be able to choose freely among the many letters. Feel free to ask the postal worker elves in the room why they chose a particular letter.

At this site, you can read sample letters from kids. Just see our Real Letters to Santa page. The return addresses and family names were deleted, of course.

SEND US A COPY OF YOUR SANTA LETTERS

You may wish to keep Santa letters to which you respond as part of your personal treasure. That's great, but consider adding your story to our archives.

If you send us original Santa letters, we will consider posting them here. We'll return them to you if you include a stamped, return envelope. You'll find our mailing address on our Contact page.

REMEMBER MOMS, DADS, AND SIBLINGS

If your budget permits, include gifts for parents and siblings. A disproportionate number of Americans now living below the poverty line are single parents, and many of them feel lonely and depressed during the holidays.

So, in addition to answering a child's request of Santa, Hans almost always includes gifts for the mom, or the dad if the child's letter refers to him. He buys gifts for siblings, too, lest they feel left out! Just read the child's letter, look into your heart, and you will know what to do.

SUGGESTED GIFTS

Great gift ideas for kids include backpacks or book bags for school, pens, paper, and other school supplies, and new clothes, like little T-shirts (used clothing may not be so well received). It's wonderful, too, if you can answer the child's wish in their letter.

We do not recommend used clothing, lest they feel insulted! Instead, for moms and dads, we suggest products that they can't afford to buy for themselves on a tight budget. You know, special holiday treats. Think of things you might like if you had no money to spare for a luxury or two. Things of quality are always welcome.

If your budget permits, try to remember siblings or other kids who may live in the same household, too. Hans buys about 10 gifts per household, wraps them all individually, and tags them "From Santa Claus."

HOW MUCH DO I NEED TO SPEND?

Hans donates his own money. He told us that he spends an average of about $60 per family. The ten households he chose in 2004 required a cash outlay of about $600, he said. In 2005, we raised part of Hans' gift from your donations, and were able to subsidize about half of his total gift.

What you spend is up to you. $5, $10, anything you can contribute will help make a child's Christmas dream come true. But please, don't write to us asking us to subsidize your shopping, because we will not do that. Remember, this is about YOU giving!

HOW SHOULD I DELIVER MY GIFT/S?

If you mail your gifts, consider choosing Priority or Express Mail. That way, you can track and trace your packages. For more expensive gifts, consider using Certified Mail. In any case, make every effort to ensure that your gifts arrive by Christmas day.

Some postal workers who work delivering packages on Christmas Day dress as Santa Claus!

If your gifts are going to a family near you, consider delivering them in person. Person-to-person contact is easily the best reward of being an elf. However, safety and respect for privacy is paramount to everything we do. Please be mindful of this if you choose to deliver your gifts in person. We urge you to say the gifts are "from Santa," and if you go in person, to present your gifts with humility, respect, and smiles.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO DELIVER GIFTS IN PERSON, GO IN THE DAYTIME AND WEAR CASUAL CLOTHES. Check with the post office which delivers mail to the address to confirm that it's a valid address.

Being an elf in this way will be rewarding. As Elf Hans Dohm says, "It feels great every time I do it."

Also see our FAQs page.

Another way to help, if you can't go to the post office yourself, is to Donate Online to Be An Elf. If you prefer to give by check, see Giving by Check. Your donation to Be An Elf will further our mission and help us recruit new volunteers. Let's put smiles on kids' faces by recruiting more volunteers together!

Another great way to support our mission is to let your friends know about our group. If you like, use our suggested draft of a message to friends to tell them about us. Feel free to rewrite the message any way you wish.

If there is no post office offering the Operation Santa program in your city, see our suggestions for other cool ways to volunteer at Christmas.