“Dear Santa Claus”: The Swedish Post receives thousands of letters to the white-bearded giant every year, answers them, but also archives unusual letters for more than a century.
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Postnord receives around 16,000 letters to Santa Claus every year with addresses such as “Lapland”, “Land of the Reindeer” or “Santa's Igloo”.
AFP
Some of them are selected and included in the company's museum archives, a collection of around 10,000 letters from around the world, the oldest of which dates back to the 1890s.
“These come from the USA, from Asia and I have some from Taiwan,” Kristina Olofsdotter, head of stamps at PostNord, told AFP from the Postal Museum in Stockholm.
AFP
Games, pets and books have always been at the top of children's wishes, although earlier children may have had more modest expectations.
“You can see that in the old letters the children may have asked one or two things. Now their lists are longer,” the manager added.
AFP
Many of them also contain questions for Santa Claus in child-like writing.
“What is your favorite drink so we know what to make for you?” asks a child in her 60s.
A four-year-old girl wants to tell Santa that she just learned to write her name and adds, “I hope your reindeer are doing well.”
All letters are read and if an address is provided, the museum will send a response.
Olodsdotter explains that the response often begins with “Hello from Santa Claus,” who thanks you for the letter and explains that he still has a lot of work before Christmas and that he really appreciates the letter.
The answer encourages children to brighten someone's day by writing them a letter and to “remember that dreams can come true if you believe in yourself.”
It's not just children who write: This year, a 20-year-old adult sent a letter from Taiwan.