🎄 For children, the ultimate holiday tradition is writing a letter to Santa Claus. But do you know where and how to send it?
✉️ As of November 20, the French Postal Service has officially opened the Santa Claus Secretariat. Along with his 60 elves, Santa reads over a million letters each year and replies to them in French or English, as long as a return address is written on the back of the envelope. No stamp is needed—just address it to “Santa Claus,” and it will reach him! Additionally, 1,300 post offices across France have set up special mailboxes for the occasion.
💻 In today’s digital age, children can also choose to send their letters online at: père-noel.laposte.fr.
📜 Did you know? The Santa Claus Secretariat originated as a volunteer initiative in a small village in Normandy between 1950 and 1958. A postal worker, with the help of her local mail carrier, replied to the children’s letters that passed through her hands.
📆 In 1962, Jacques Marette, then Minister of Posts, Telegraphs, and Telephones (PTT), made the tradition official and tasked his sister, Françoise Dolto, a renowned pediatrician and psychoanalyst, with helping the elves craft the very first official reply letter.