The U.S. Postal Service launched letter adoption for its 2025 Operation Santa program on November 17, allowing individuals and groups nationwide to select and fulfill holiday wish letters from children and families through USPSOperationSanta.com.
This marks the start of the adoption phase in the program’s 113th year, following the acceptance of letters to Santa that began September 15, 2025. Participants register on the site, verify identity, browse anonymized letters posted from across the country, adopt one or more, purchase gifts, and ship packages to ensure arrival before December 25.
A key update for 2025 emphasizes family letter bundles, where multiple wishes from the same household appear together. A new team adoption feature lets one person create a group, invite others such as coworkers or community members, and assign letters so all in the family receive gifts. The team administrator tracks progress and can cover remaining letters to complete the set.
Sheila Holman, USPS vice president of marketing, stated: “We invite the public to join us in spreading holiday cheer by adopting a USPS Operation Santa letter. Every year, we receive far more letters than those adopting. So if you have the means, we encourage you to adopt a letter. And this year we’re making it easier for groups to adopt family letters — making the holidays brighter for everyone in a household. And they’re fun and easy to complete with friends or coworkers.”
The expanded Santa’s Gift Shoppe, powered by Toys“R”Us, offers thousands of items for direct online purchase and shipping, with free delivery on orders over $49. Adopters handle packaging and labeling through the site, or buy gifts elsewhere and ship via any post office using provided codes. The deadline to ship remains December 13, 2025, for expected holiday delivery, though earlier sending notifies families sooner.
Steps to participate include creating an account with identity verification, which may require an in-person visit to a post office if online fails. Letters undergo review for safety, with personal information redacted before posting. The program operates fully online for adoption, though gifts sent independently use standard USPS services from local branches in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties.
Operation Santa traces to 1912, when Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock permitted postmasters to allow responses to children’s letters. It formalized in the 1940s with charitable involvement and went digital in 2017 as a New York pilot before nationwide expansion in 2020. The initiative relies entirely on voluntary participation, with no guarantees every letter gets adopted. In recent years, millions visit the site annually, fulfilling tens of thousands of wishes amid hundreds of thousands submitted.
Southern Maryland residents access the same online platform as the rest of the country, browsing letters that may include requests from local families or those farther away. Post offices in Leonardtown, Prince Frederick, La Plata, and other towns process outgoing gift packages, applying special labels generated from the site to maintain anonymity and direct delivery. Community groups, churches, and workplaces in the region often organize team adoptions, aligning with traditions of holiday giving seen in events like toy drives at naval base exchanges or county parks programs.
Identity verification follows USPS standards, using secure upload of documents or in-person confirmation at retail counters. Gifts must comply with mailing guidelines, avoiding prohibited items, and include a note from Santa downloadable from the site. The program accepts letters postmarked by early December for inclusion, addressed to Santa at 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888, with a return address and stamp for processing.
Holman added: “We want to make it as easy as possible to participate. You can adopt single or family letters as a team, shop for the perfect gift quickly and easily online, and get it delivered directly from Santa’s Gift Shoppe, all from the comfort and convenience of home. And the best part is, the earlier you adopt, the sooner you can help make somebody’s holiday wish come true.”
Full details, guidelines, and registration appear at USPSOperationSanta.com.