US Postal Service 'Operation Santa' adoption registration now open
Through the program, people adopt and respond to the letters and help fulfill holiday wishes of children and families. (USPS)
You can help fulfill the holiday wishes of children and families through "Operation Santa," the U.S. Postal Service program that lets groups and individuals adopt a letter and shop for gifts.
How to register for Operation Santa
Groups and individuals interested in adopting letters can register at USPSOperationSanta.com. USPS says for security reasons, all prospective adopters must be vetted through a short registration and ID verification process before they can participate, and if you adopted letters in the past, they must still be verified each year.
Operation Santa letter adoption opens Nov. 16
On Monday, Nov. 16, the USPS says approved adopters can begin selecting letters and start shopping for gifts. The deadline to send gifts is Saturday, Dec. 12. Interested adopters can follow a few easy steps to start granting wishes:
- Visit the USPS Operation Santa website for account creation and identity verification.
- Find and select a meaningful letter or letters from an individual or a family.
- Shop for gifts either on your own or via Santa’s Gift Shoppe powered by Toys"R"Us.
- Ship all gifts by Saturday, Dec. 12, from a participating Post Office location or through the online gift catalog.
The Postal Service says it is once again working with Toys"R"Us to provide Santa’s Gift Shoppe, an online gift catalog that gives adopters an easy way to shop for and ship gifts directly to recipients.
Operation Santa
The backstory:
Now in its 114th year, Operation Santa, accepts holiday letters from children and families throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Puerto Rico and sends them to Santa at the North Pole.
Through the program, people adopt and respond to the letters and help fulfill the holiday wishes of children and families.
USPS says letters need to be postmarked by Dec. 5 to be eligible for potential adoption and fulfillment.(USPS)
What they're saying:
"USPS Operation Santa has been an enduring holiday program for more than a century. Through the generosity of others, the holiday season has been made extra special for thousands of children and families in need," said Sheila Holman, vice president of marketing for the Postal Service in a release.
The Source: This article includes information provided by the U.S. Postal Service. This story was reported from Orlando.