Father Christmas letters

[Judyandherdreamofhorses]

I'm sure this has been done before, but I can't find it.

How do you do Father Christmas letters in your family?

It's our first year doing it with our dc, so not too sure.
When I was little we used to write letters then leave them on the fireplace for Father Christmas to collect over night.
We didn't do it until December though, maybe around the same time as the Christmas tree went up.

When I was little, I wrote my letter, rolled it up and we put it in an empty milk bottle outside the front door. During the night, the Christmas Robin came and collected it, and took it to Father Christmas.

We don't have a milkman, so no empty bottles, so our tradition is now to take the rolled up letters down the garden and stick them in the holly hedge. We scatter some bird seed too, in case the Robin is hungry after his long trip.

This year, when we put them out (last weekend, day before Stir Up sunday), there was a robin lurking in the hedge, singing his heart out. DD was, of course, convinced that that was THE Robin, so she kept 'hiding' to see if she could see him take the letter. But she didn't; he came in the night to take it :)

Love it

In our house, everyone write their letter to Santa, thanking him for last years presents, and giving him an idea what they would like this year. letters into an envelope (then switch envelopes to one that just contains blank paper so we can keep real letters). Envelope addressed to "Santa, north Pole", and posted a couple of weeks before Christmas.
Then the fun bit for the adults..... Santa writes back a personal letter commenting on what they have been doing, and letting them know of any difficulties in the workshop to make certain toys. He can also wind the excitement up big time about Christmas, and reminds them of the real meaning of this special time.
Santa letters arrive in the post, with North Pole postmark.
Sadly, after nearly 20 years of "The Real Santa" visiting, it will be a bit different this year, as the youngest is now 12.
Each of the children said that the Santa letters were one of the most significant things that helped keep Santa so real when others at school were doubting!

We post them to the North Pole and the postal service send back a letter on Christmas Eve, saying "To Xxx, I see you have been a very good girl and want Yyyy for Christmas, since you have been so good I will do my best to give you something very special.
Make sure to remember my mince pie and carrot for rudolf tonight
Love from Santa"
The kids love getting post as it is, but post from Santa is extra special