Local man makes sure Santa letters get a response

For 15 years, retired mail carrier Jeff Boyles has been on a mission to make sure letters from local children to Santa get answered.

His tradition started during his mail route with the St. Joseph Post Office and has continued into retirement. He said it began with just two letters that he came across in his mailbag and has since become an annual partnership with other mail carriers in the area.

“Every kid will get an autographed picture of Santa, a candy cane with a decorated envelope and sometimes a little extra surprise,” Boyles said.

Now that he is retired, the mail carriers still utilize his experience in getting in touch with Santa and making sure special, personalized responses are part of the reply. Through the years, Boyles said he has learned to stay alert about timing and requests.

“They start coming in sometimes in July,” Boyles said. “I have had them come from as far away as the Bronx, New York.”

No matter where they come from, Boyles said he tries his best to make sure “Santa” responds quickly, although some of the requests go a little beyond what even St. Nick can handle.

“One child wanted a boyfriend for her mother,” Boyles said. “I didn’t know that I could get that done, but I did ask Santa, and I don’t know how it worked out.”

For St. Joseph letters to Santa to get to Boyles, he said the address on the letter should be: “Santa Claus, #1 North Pole.”

In addition to the response service Boyles provides, the post office has its own “Operation Santa” program. The small red mailboxes are located in local post offices, and those who wish to help can volunteer by contacting local post offices and adopting a letter, according to the USPS Operation Santa website at usoperationsanta.com.

Letters that are placed into the Operation Santa mailboxes can be addressed in a wide variety of ways and will be assisted by one of many volunteers signed up for the Operation Santa Program.