Drop off your letters to Santa at special mailboxes across town

John Feagin, who is charge of the Letters to Santa initiative, said the biggest problem “Ole Santa” faces now is trying to understand what all these new gift items are.

Regardless of that, he said after writing to Santa, the kids of Mountain Brook should expect to get a response back that says Santa will do everything he can to make their dreams come true. Some of those responses will come through Letters for Santa.

Feagin has been running Letters of Santa, where he helps respond to some of the letters meant for the jolly man in red, for so many years that he can’t remember how long it has been, and he is excited for the kids to start dropping off the letters any time after the Thanksgiving holiday. 

“Some of them are just so sincere,” he said, noting that kids often ask Santa for things such as little brothers or little sisters, and a couple of them even ask for gifts for their pets. 

And while no return address is necessary to send a letter through Letters to Santa, Feagin encourages everyone to check that the return address is correct and legible. That’s usually the only reason why Santa might not send a letter back. 

“About a third of them don’t have addresses on them, either, and that’s alright too, if they just want to send them,” Feagin said. 

While it is a big task to respond, he said it’s no problem for him to receive the letters each year, and since “Santa’s busy at the pole, I’m happy to be a helper every now and then.” 

But he still encourages people to drop off their letters to Santa earlier rather than later. 

“It’s a long way to the pole,” he said, with a laugh.

To send a letter to Santa, drop them off at City Hall in Crestline Village.