Christmas Help for Families Struggling Financially

First, our message to kids.

(Scroll down for our message to adults)

Dear kids,

We’re glad you will write to Santa, and we hope he brings you nice gifts this Christmas.

You might feel good knowing that Santa has volunteers across the US who want to send extra gifts to families having a hard time with money this year. These good people are permitted to read those children’s letters to Santa at a special Postal Service® website, USPSoperationSanta.com®, and adopt the letter that touches their hearts the most.

The volunteer might be an older person living alone, or someone who knows there are kids out there whose parents are struggling, or maybe the volunteer is a parent who wants to teach their children the real meaning of Christmas.

No worries, postal staff who select children’s letters to copy for the USPS® website always put every letter right back in the mail to Santa the same day! The USPS® delivers each letter to the jolly man in red at the North Pole, and Santa will bring his gifts on Christmas Eve to every child, like he always does.

Ask your Mom or caregiver to enclose a letter with your letter to Santa, right in the same envelope, and ask them to talk about any problems they are having this year. It’s good to be honest about struggles with money, health, or work, because volunteers who read your parent’s letter will understand there is need in your family. Only your letter will be forwarded on to Santa at the North Pole.

If there are no worries about money in your family, address your letter to Santa Claus, North Pole, and mail it soon, so he can deliver his gifts to you on Christmas Eve. But if you think your parents are struggling with money, use this address: Santa, 123 Elf Road, North Pole 88888 and the volunteers will see it. 

To be considered for posting at the USPS® website, your family’s letters must be mailed with real stamps between September 18th and December 9th to the address below. If you write after December 9th, Santa will get your letter, but it won’t be seen by volunteers. 

It’s best if you mail your letter early. Every year starting in mid-September, you can visit USPSoperationSanta.com® to learn the date they will start accepting letters for the website. Be sure to mail your letter to the address below, and follow the steps on this page.

Every year the USPS site opens for letter adoption by volunteers around November 20th. If selected, letters sent in early will be the first ones to be seen by eager volunteers. 

Why so early? Well, i t’s a long way to the North Pole, and the US Postal Service® needs time to deliver your letter up there. Second, Santa’s elves need time to prepare the gifts you ask for. So start writing your letter now and get it in the mail in mid to late September. 

Letters mailed after December 9th will not be considered for the website or seen by volunteers, but they will get to Santa.

If you think your parents might be worried about money this year, here are some tips for writing a letter that will get the attention of volunteers along its way to the North Pole.

First, absolutely ask Santa for whatever you want, but ask one of your parents to enclose a letter to Santa along with yours, because that will help. It will help if they read this web page. 

Put your parent’s letter in the same envelope as your letter, and your brothers and sisters’ letters too. Their letter might begin, “To Santa’s volunteer” — and in it, your Mom or Dad should talk about their financial situation, health challenges, and any other struggles they are having. It might be a really hard letter for them to write, but it will greatly increase the chances that your family will get adopted by a volunteer who reads your letters along the way to the North Pole.

Do not use the contact email to send your letter to us — Santa and his volunteers will not see your letter if you do. But many people do, so what we suggest is, before you send your letter, copy it, paste it into a Word or Wordpad document, and print it out. Then you can mail THAT to the address on Elf Road. That’s where it will be read and seen! Further to this: 

We’re sad to tell you this website does not know Santa’s email. We have no direct contact with the jolly man, but we do know Santa is old-fashioned and he prefers to get handwritten letters in the mail. Emails sent to us will not reach Santa and Be An Elf does not send gifts to families who write to us.

Here’s what does work: you need to handwrite or type your letter to Santa, add a stamp and mail it to him at the address below. Then your letter will get to him; that’s guaranteed.

Your return address is important. Last year we saw letter after letter from kids asking only for a new tablet, a new laptop, a new cell phone, and a new X-Box or PlayStation — and often not much else. Santa might be able to make those wishes come true for some lucky kids, but we don’t think even Santa has enough devices to give to every child around the world who asks him for one. They are pretty expensive!

Most of Santa’s volunteers are ordinary people whose hearts are full of love. But almost none of these good people have the money to send you an expensive device.

So yes, ask Santa for your dreams, but also ask for something you want or need that a volunteer can afford. Volunteers are more likely to adopt letters that ask for new clothes, new shoes, a backpack, school supplies, and of course toys you want, because they can afford those items. They know Santa will send the rest.

Really do ask your Mom or Dad to enclose a letter with yours. It’s helpful because there are so many letters to Santa up for adoption online, and your parents’ letter will make your letter stand out, and help volunteers understand there is need in your family.

Put a real stamp on your letter, or it will be returned to you. Every year Be An Elf gets letters from disappointed families whose letters were returned to them. They thought they didn’t have to add postage, and that was a mistake.

Anyone in the US, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands may write to Santa.

Use this address for Santa only if your family is struggling with money. Letters sent to the 123 Elf Road address below will be considered for posting at the USPS® website, where volunteers will be able to adopt them online. Here’s where to mail your letter where Postal staff will consider it for the website. They send every letter on to Santa the same day, of course!

Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole 88888

If your family is NOT struggling financially, write to:

Santa Claus
North Pole

— and then your letter will go directly to Santa, and not get read by volunteers who want to help the kids who really need help.

Very, very clearly write your return address on the envelope, or Santa and his volunteer elves might not know where to deliver their gifts to you. Include your name, street address, city, state and zip code, and your apartment number if you live in an apartment. If you don’t, it will not get posted on the USPS® website where Christmas volunteers can adopt it. The Postal Service® told us that last year thousands of letters were unable to be posted because the return address was missing, illegible (unreadable), incomplete, or incorrect.

Put your whole family’s letters to Santa into one envelope. The Post Office prefers this, and so do volunteers.  That way, all the kids in your family will get gifts, not just you! We hope parents will enclose their letter to Santa, too. At the USPS® website, volunteers will have a choice to “Adopt a child’s letter,” or “Adopt a family,” and they love adopting families.

Volunteers who adopt a whole family often team up with a few friends or co-workers. It’s fun to share the work, the cost, and the fun!

The USPSoperationSanta®  site opens to Christmas volunteers who adopt letters starting every year around November 20th but the sooner you write in November, the more you’ll be at the front of the line.

All you need now is a pen or colored pencils, some paper, an envelope, a stamp, and your wishes for Christmas!

Read no further now, and forward this webpage to your Mom or Dad. We hope your family’s letters to Santa will get posted on the USPS® website, and that a volunteer will see them and send your family extra gifts for Christmas!

Now, our message to adults.

ONLY GROWNUPS SHOULD READ WHAT FOLLOWS. NOT FOR KIDS!

We understand many Americans are struggling this year, and it’s hard for many people to provide Christmas gifts for their children. Thank heavens your kids will get gifts from Santa! They are counting on him.

But in addition to the jolly man in red, there are Christmas volunteers across the US who want to help, but still many more needy letters than there are volunteers. That’s why it’s best not to count on them. Your kids want gifts from their parents, too.

Every year people volunteer for the USPS Operation Santa ® program, started in 1912 and still going strong. To understand it better, read our Home page. In short, the US Postal Service® has been making letters to Santa written by children in need available to the public to “adopt” every year, for over 100 years.

Not every family’s letters get adopted by volunteers, but reading this page will make it more likely your children’s letters will get adopted. In 2020, the program went fully online, and volunteers were able to adopt children’s letters from home anywhere in the US.

Be An Elf does not send gifts to families who email us directly. Do NOT write to us for gifts! This page is a guide for parents who are struggling financially to (maybe) get extra gifts for their kids from Christmas volunteers.

At the bottom of this page, we also offer you an unrelated alternative: our tips for you to set up a GoFundMe page for your kids.

Follow the suggestions on this page, and you will multiply your chances of getting extra gifts for your kids. The letter you enclose with your kids’ letters to Santa can really motivate volunteers to adopt their letters, and make them stand out from the rest.

Be An Elf is not affiliated with the USPS®, but we support the program in many ways. One of them is offering tips to families in need of help with Christmas.

Important:  There is no guarantee your family’s letters will be selected by postal workers for posting at the USPS® website, or that a volunteer will adopt your child’s letter if it gets posted. We’ve received angry emails from parents in the past saying they never got any gifts from volunteers.

So please don’t gamble that your family will be adopted. Of course Santa will bring his gifts for your children on Christmas Eve, even if a volunteer does not adopt their letter. That’s so important to them, as you know. They also want gifts from you, their caregiver, so don’t put all your marbles in one basket!

Follow our suggestions and your family’s letters will stand out from thousands of others. They’ll be more likely to be selected by postal workers for the USPSoperationsanta.com®  site, and will make it more likely that your letter/s will be adopted by a volunteer.

At the bottom of this page are our suggestions for your creating your own campaign at GoFundMe.com, as a backup plan.

DO NOT COACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT WHAT TO ASK SANTA FOR! INSTEAD, ENCLOSE YOUR OWN LETTER. 

When it’s time for your kids to write to Santa, don’t coach them. Let them ask Santa for whatever they want and dream about. If you like you can tell them he has a very limited supply of gaming consoles, cell phones, laptops, and tablets, and they might want to ask him for less expensive gifts too, just in case.

Most volunteers do not have funds to send a device. They are much more likely to adopt a family when a parent also encloses their own letter “To Santa’s volunteer,” in which the parent talks about their situation with their job or health, and then asks for new shoes or clothes for their kids (with sizes), a backpack for school, school supplies, and other basic necessities.

Let your kids ask Santa for laptops and gaming devices or whatever they dream of, but if the caregiver encloses a letter too, it will move volunteers and make your family stand out. Letters from kids who only request devices, with no enclosed letter from a parent, are not likely to be adopted.

Write to Santa as a family. The USPS® prefers that all the children in each family mail all their letters in one envelope. A parent should also enclose their own letter “To Santa’s volunteer.” Describe your circumstances, and list your children’s first names and ages, clothing and shoe sizes. Put it in with your kids’ letters, and that will help get volunteers’ attention. The kids can ask Santa for whatever they want!

Mailing all your kids’ letters in one envelope also helps ensure that no child gets left out. If each of your children writes to Santa separately, only one child might get gifts, and the others may get no extra gifts.

At the USPS® website, volunteers will initially be required to choose whether to “Adopt a family” or “Adopt a child”. Some volunteers form teams and share the work, the fun, and the cost of sending gifts to an entire family. This is being done at some companies, too.

So put all your kids’ letters in one envelope and mail them to the address below.

Anyone in the US, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands may write to Santa.

Use this address for Santa if your family is struggling with money. Letters sent to the Elf Road address below will be considered for posting at the USPS® site, where volunteers will be able to adopt them online. Assure older kids, if they know, that the US postal staff always send every letter on to Santa the same day they read it. Here’s where to send your family’s letters:

Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole 88888

If your family is NOT struggling financially, have your kids write to:

Santa Claus
North Pole

— and then their letter will go directly to Santa, and not get read by volunteers who want to help the kids who really need help.

Very, very clearly write your correct return address on the envelope. Include your name, street address, city, state and zip code, and also your apartment number if you live in an apartment. If you don’t, it will not get posted on the USPS® website, where Christmas volunteers can adopt it.

The Postal Service® told us that last year thousands of letters were unable to be posted because the return address was missing, illegible, incomplete, or incorrect.

Another tip: Mail your letters early! –It’s best to mail them during November, but they must be postmarked between November 1 and December 10.

Here’s one more reason it’s important for a parent to enclose their own letter, letting Santa’s volunteers know why your family needs help with Christmas this year.

In 2020, so many kids from all income levels wrote to Santa asking for laptops, cell phones and gaming consoles. When volunteers read those letters, it was impossible for them to tell which families were in need.

If you enclose your own letter that lets Santa’s volunteers know why this year is financially or emotionally hard for you, it will set your children’s letters apart. Keep your letter to one or two pages and write on one side only, for easier scanning by the post office. Make sure the return address is clearly written.

You might begin your cover letter, “Dear Santa’s volunteer,” and briefly thank them for volunteering.It’s okay to say you know about the USPS Operation Santa ® program. Being honest builds your credibility.

If you are writing on behalf of a toddler, you might say something like, “I’m writing this because my kids are still too little to write to Santa, and I know what they really need. I heard about USPS Operation Santa ® and that there might be a volunteer out there who will send gifts to our family. Here’s why I need help this year…”

Speak from your heart truthfully about why you are having money problems this year, and that you are worried you won’t be able to get your kids much for Christmas. If you are struggling financially, jobless, living in a shelter, or close to being homeless, talk about that in your letter. And talk about the emotions you are experiencing as you write — sadness, fear, shame, love — whatever you really feel in your heart. Your feelings speak louder than anything else and will be heard. There are no bad or wrong feelings, and you can have two or three all at the same time. Include them in your letter.

Remember that most volunteers are ordinary people who are unable to afford expensive gifts like laptops or X-boxes. Without a letter from a parent enclosed, volunteers who read a child’s letter asking only for devices will likely pass their letters by.

Letters asking only for expensive devices make it look like they came from an affluent household. Children have no bad wishes, and there is no need to tell your children what they can put in their letters to Santa. Devices are the things kids from all income levels want most.

Don’t discourage your kids from asking for what they dream about — but you might tell them Santa has a very limited supply of devices, and it would be smart to have a list of second and third choices on their letters to Santa, just in case!

Some kids truthfully let Santa know that their parents probably won’t be able to get many gifts for them this year – but they should not be told to write this. Let them write 100% on their own, from their hearts.

Your cover letter might make all the difference. Some letters move volunteers more than others, and there will be many letters online for them to choose from. 

A letter from you describing your personal financial hardship and health struggles will get the strongest response from volunteers. It’s hard to write about this for most of us, but you don’t need to write a long, detailed letter. Less is more. Stick to the facts of your circumstances, and your impact will double if you describe the emotions you feel as you write. Save a copy of it for when your kids are adults. You’ll also need it if you do a GoFundMe campaign, which might be another way to get gifts for your kids. You’ll find a description of that and detailed instructions further down this page. 

Adults writing cover letters should not ask for money, rent or house payments. That turns volunteers off, and they can’t afford to send money.

Instead, list some basic items that your kids really need — like new shoes, backpacks, school supplies,  books, a basketball, or a gift card from Big Five Sporting Goods. 

List your kids’ first names, ages, clothing, and shoe sizes, backpacks, school supplies, a warm coat, dolls, footballs or soccer balls — in short, things ordinary people can afford.

Try to keep your letter to a page or two. It will be easier to scan for the USPS® website if you only write on one side of the paper. They will black out your family name and home address before posting your family’s letters. 

Other items ordinary people can afford include a new basketball, a small lego toy, backpacks for school, a baseball glove, a doll, new shoes, a warm coat, pens, disposable diapers and baby food, if you have a baby, and school supplies.

The caregiver writing might add a sentence like, “I understand if you don’t have time to shop, wrap, and mail a package to us at the post office. A gift card from Target, Walmart, or Costco would be great, too. I know what my kids need most, and I’d be happy to do the shopping for them and wrap the gifts. But whatever you do, thank you so so much!”

Put that request in your own words, so volunteers don’t see the same exact sentence in other letters. Many people visit the USPS® site, and if they see those words over and over it might turn volunteers off. Make it your own.

Do NOT just ask for a VISA gift card, because that’s like asking volunteers for money. Volunteers know that with a Target gift card, parents are limited to what’s offered at Target — clothes, food, and so on. Be An Elf has reviewed many letters from parents asking Santa for money, help with paying bills, and even asking for several months’ back rent or house payments. Asking for money is not the right ask! We promise you if you do this, your letter will very likely be ignored. 

In sum, the people who volunteer for this program cannot afford significant cash gifts. They only want to make children smile on Christmas morning, and the gifts they send will likely be small ones.

Remember, this is about making your kids smile on Christmas morning. The truth is, your letter has only  50-50 chance of getting adopted — even if you follow all the tips on this page. And even if it gets adopted, volunteers who fully intend to buy gifts at the moment of adoption, sometimes never do and the letter . You’ll absolutely need to buy presents yourself. At least Santa will bring his gifts to your home, but your kids want presents from you, too. Parents should make best efforts to not leave their kids empty-handed.

If you don’t see your letter/s at the site, know that letters are automatically taken down from the site as soon as they are adopted. We get emails asking if there is a way to confirm a letter was approved for the site. There is not, and no way to confirm a letter was adopted.

We can affirm to you that families whose letters adhere to these tips will be more likely to approved for the website and get adopted.

Here’s another, completely different idea.

ANOTHER IDEA FOR YOUR LARGER NEEDS

A more appropriate outlet for larger needs such as money would be to post your own fundraiser, free at GoFundMe.com. Include a video in your GoFundMe campaign; more on that in a moment. As soon your GoFundMe campaign is published, copy the link to it and post it on NextDoor.com, also free. Stick to your neighborhoods in your local area. 

GoFundMe provides an easy way for people to send small donations directly to your bank account. Post a link to your GoFundMe campaign on Next Door. Then people will have a simple way to send money to you.

We have some great tips for you about creating a successful GoFundMe campaign and making a video. Here they are:

Use the letter you wrote to Santa as a starting point. 

First, have your kids write to Santa using the guidelines above. Some parents may be open to taking photos of their kids as they write them. Also take photos of every  letter your family writes, too. Post the photos in your GoFundMe campaign, but make your video the primary image.

Write out a list of short talking points for your video; you might base them on your letter to Santa. The images of the kids writing to Santa, the letters they wrote, and the video you film will all be important in your campaign on GoFundMe.com.

A video is more powerful by far than photos, but you can post both in your GoFundMe.com campaign. We’ll tell you how to make a very persuasive video for your GoFundMe campaign in a minute.

After you’ve filmed your video and created a GoFundMe.com campaign, do the following:

Post the link to your GoFundMe campaign on NextDoor.com in your own neighborhood, but in all the surrounding neighborhoods, too. Post it in the more affluent parts of your city, and on your Facebook page.

Your simple cell phone video will surely be the most powerful way to get the gifts your kids need most — especially if you keep it 100% honest, and utilize our suggestions which follow.

Read on!

Here’s how to make a powerful video for your free GoFundMe campaign, and then promote it for free on NextDoor.com

If you want to make a truly effective video, practice and rehearse for a day or two saying aloud the points you are going to make when you shoot your video. Make a plan to have a friend use your cell phone to film you, as you speak directly and authentically into the camera.

Rehearse by yourself for a day or two before you film. Pretend you are talking to a volunteer. Take a few deep breaths, very slowly exhale after each; this will help you totally relax.

Take a fresh piece of paper and write down a list of short talking points to make in your video. Trust yourself and that you know your points well; it’s your life, after all! We’re betting you could glance at one five-word talking point and talk for 15 seconds about it. Imagine you are speaking to one of Santa’s volunteers in the room with you.

If you read a long letter or speech when you film, you’ll risk sounding sing-songy and like you are reading it. Instead, use your short written talking points and stay in the moment as you rehearse.

You can always post a photo of your entire letter to Santa as part of your GoFundMe campaign. No problem there, but the video should be the item you feature, and it should sound spontaneous, not like you’re reading it.

If using talking points makes you nervous, another way to go is to prepare four or five interview questions — questions you think a volunteer would likely ask. But try rehearsing using talking points!

If you prefer to be asked questions, on the day you film, you should have a second friend there to ask the questions and interview you. Rehearse answering them beforehand, aloud, by yourself or with a friend.

Even in rehearsal, it’s important to pick a single point in the room and keep your eyes steadily on that point as you speak. If you look down or to one side, you will come off as shifty-eyed, and therefore not trustworthy. So practice a steady gaze into the “camera”, or any single point in the room, as you speak. If you rehearse alone, it will definitely help you to draw an X on a piece of paper and tape it to a lampshade or to the wall. Gaze steadily at the X as you speak, and do not look away at any friends or kids who may be in the room. I repeat: that looks shifty-eyed. When the day to film comes, you will be looking straight into the camera, preferably just 2 feet from your face.

As you rehearse your talking points, speak from your heart and imagine you are talking to a volunteer, instead of a fixed point in the room.

On the day you film, it will likely be a cell phone camera you are talking to. If you take the advice which follows, it will be very close to your face during most of the filming. Trust me, I went to film school, then acted in films and TV, and on top, I’m a movie buff! This is something I know about.

Really do have a friend there to film you on the agreed-on day. If your friend is also in real need of Christmas gifts for their kids, offer to make a video for them, too, and email this web page to them.

You could have your children present for the beginning of the shoot, or take photos together with them for your Go Fund Me campaign. Don’t use old posed photos! Take new ones with your kids that show your life and environment as it truly is — outside in your front or back yard, or at a street corner that suggests your neighborhood.

Cooking a meal together in the kitchen might make a good photo, or showing your kids reading a book or doing a math problem.

Film your video in the daytime, near a window so there is plenty of light. Do not place yourself directly in front of the window, however, or you will appear as a silhouette when the camera glides up close to your face. Film only in a horizontal frame, not a vertical “Tiktok” frame. Horizontal is better for GoFundMe.com and for YouTube too.

It’s a good idea to ask your friend holding the camera to begin filming from 20 or 30 feet away. Before you film, instruct them to glide the camera toward you, as slowly and smoothly as possible.

You should look at the camera the entire time, and say nothing until the camera is two feet from your face (that way the sound will be okay). As the camera slowly approaches, you could have your kids sitting next to you, exactly the way they usually look (not in their Sunday best!)

When your friend begins filming from the far side of the room, your kids can all wave and smile, and might say, Merry Christmas! By the time the camera is halfway there, we see them get up and leave the room, say Bye, Mom! — and you tell them goodbye. Finally, the camera moves in and holds 2 feet from your face, but keeps filming. That’s when you begin speaking.

The reason for all this approach is first, that you will only hold most viewers’ attention for a few seconds, and second, it will give viewers an idea of your home as it is every day. If you take time to interview your kids at the beginning of your video, people may stop watching.  is  The opening we’ve suggested moves right in for your close-up, and you can start delivering your important message twenty seconds after the video begins — before your viewers tune out.

Trust us that it’s important to not begin speaking until the camera is 2 feet from your face — very close up. That way, the sound will be excellent. To be sure, the sound will not be good from 30 feet away, or outdoors where there is noise with cars going by here and there. Film indoors, and make sure there is total silence in the house as you speak. Bad sound will render your video useless.

Be absolutely authentic and honest as you speak to the camera. The whole video should be two to four minutes and no more, because that’s all most people will watch. Speak naturally into the camera, and talk like you were talking to a volunteer there with you.

Your first words to camera might be something like, “OK, the kids are gone, we’re alone now, and I can tell you what I have to say.”

If you post still photos as part of your campaign on GoFundMe.com, take new ones specifically for the campaign. Flattering old photos of you dressed up for church, smiling at a wedding, or a happy night out on the town — none of that will much elicit much caring by volunteers. Facebook type photos of your “perfect” life will not help you reach your goal.

Instead, take new photos of you and your kids as you usually look and dress — in your back yard, the front yard, or on a street corner in your neighborhood. Those images will be stronger, tell your story better and back up the words you are speaking in the video.

Talk about your circumstances and why you need help for the holidays this year. Describe the feelings and emotions you are experiencing as you talk. Write down the word “Feelings” as one of your talking points. Trust that you will know what to say.

Making a video and posting it on GoFundMe.com, and then posting a link on Next Door.com in all the neighborhoods around yours, is another promising way to get extra gifts for your kids for Christmas this year.

TELL THE TRUTH and ALWAYS BE AUTHENTIC, because Santa knows who’s naughty and who’s nice. He knows three or four year olds can’t write letters to Santa, and his volunteers know it, too. Simply explain this is Mom or Dad writing the letter because they can’t.

There’s no shame in asking for extra help for the holidays, but if you are feeling shame, say so. Be real. That’s what will help you reach your goal.

Writing your letter might be hard and bring up a lot of painful feelings. Remember, this is for your kids.

If you like you can mention that you heard about this program from BeAnElf.org — because that is real, too. However it’s not necessary.

Do not email this website asking for gifts.

Santa will not see your letter here. Be An Elf only adopts letters from the USPS® website, like everyone else.

Please mail your letter to Santa, and put a stamp on it, or it will be returned to you.

Mail your family’s letters to Santa at this address:

Santa Claus
123 Elf Road
North Pole 88888

Another tip: Mail your letters early —  but they must be postmarked between November 1 and December 10. Around early November is best!