How To Send Letters To Santa 2016: North Pole Address And Ways To Get A Reply Before Christmas

As (probably) evidenced by the decreasing number of chocolates in your advent calendar, the days until Christmas are ticking down. With just weeks to go until the Dec. 25 holiday, you're probably in full preparation mode. But have you written your letter to Santa Claus yet?

Well, if you're a kid, leave the computer and get to work! If you're a parent, read on for tips on how to send mail to the big man — and receive a response.

You can send a snail-mail letter through the United States Postal Service. If you simply put a letter in the mail with an envelope labeled "Santa Claus, North Pole, Alaska," it will stay within your area. Postal workers and volunteers try to respond to the messages they get, so make sure to include a full return address.

If you're hoping to pen your own message back to your child, you can take advantage of the Postal Service's Letters From Santa program. Once your kid writes a letter to Santa, read it and then write a response from Saint Nicholas himself. Put both letters into an envelope addressed to your young one, write Santa's return address and stick a stamp on it. Then put that into a bigger envelope with a stamp of its own and send to North Pole Postmark Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998. Send it by Dec. 15.

You can also print a Santa form letter on the Santa Claus Museum website and send it to Santa Claus, P.O. Box 1, Santa Claus, IN 47579. Mail it by Dec. 21 to get a response from the elves.

Missed the deadline or can't find stamps? You and your child can also send an email to Santa Claus via the Santa Claus Office, aletter4santa or Elf HQ. Score a personal video from Santa on Portable North Pole or a phone call using ChristmasDialer.com.