Adopter registration begins November 6 

For many Golden State families, the holiday season represents happy times with family and friends celebrating in the abundance of the year. For others, the season can represent just the opposite. That’s where you and a trip to the North Pole at USPSOperationSanta.com comes in. 

The United States Postal Service would like to extend an invitation to Southern California residents, corporations, and charity organizations to consider participating in this year’s USPS Operation Santa Program.

For 111 years, USPS Operation Santa has been accepting letters from children and families with a mission to answer every letter. Each year, the letters continue to grow, and so does the need for adopters to come forward and help bring a season of joy to help spread the cheer.

Due to the skyrocketing prices of toys, clothing, and other goods, some Southern California families may find it difficult to fulfill their children’s holiday wishes this year. Californians can make the magic happen by visiting USPSOperationSanta.com to review and adopt letters submitted by children and their families; letters can be filtered by state.

This year, USPS began accepting letters to Santa as of September 18 and will continue to accept them through December 11.

Interested adopters can begin the registration process to create and verify their account starting November 6, 2023, in preparation for letter adoption, which opens on November 20.

About Adoptions – Finding a Letter 

Help Santa fulfill the hopeful requests of children and families this year.

• Create an account and get verified, then read the letters and adopt one you love.
• Find the perfect gift and ship it from a participating Post Office™ location.
• The package will arrive straight from Santa himself and wow its recipient.
• Mail packages before December 18 so they’re delivered by Christmas.

Ways to Give – Adopt as a Team or On Your Own 

Come together with friends, family, and co-workers to adopt and fulfill letters. Here are the steps for a team adoption:

• Set goals to get your team excited and ready to respond to more letters.
• View the progress of your team’s activity and adoption status.
• Connect with teammates and host team events to multiply the magic.

Not ready for a team? Find a letter yourself and decide whether to create or join a team at any time. 

• Create an account and get verified,
• Select one or more letters.  Adopting an entire whole family’s letters can make their holiday truly magical.

What are key dates to know for the 2023 program?

• Monday, September 18: Letters can now be sent to 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.
• Monday, November 6: Preregistration and ID verification for adopters begins.
• Monday, November 20: Letter adoption begins.
• Monday, December 11: Last day to send letters. Letters must be postmarked by this date.
• Monday, December 18: This is the last day to adopt letters before the website closes at 8 p.m. ET. We recommend sending packages by this date to arrive by December 25th.

Complete details on how to adopt a Santa letter and a history of the program are available atUSPSOperationSanta.com. 

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Please Note: The United States Postal Service is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable, and secure delivery of mail and packages to nearly 165 million addresses six and often seven days a week. Overseen by a bipartisan Board of Governors, the Postal Service is implementing a 10-year transformation plan, Delivering for America, to modernize the postal network, restore long-term financial sustainability, dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories, and maintain the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products, and services to fund its operations.