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Editor’s note: This story gives us a small peek into Santa’s workshop. If you still wear footed pajamas and like to leave out cookies for Santa, this might not be the story for you.

Seeing the letters children send to Santa is one of the highlights of the year for many local postal workers.

“It’s the best thing I do all year long,” said Gale Rice, information clerk at the Bend Post Office.

Letters arrive addressed in tell-tale handwritten fashion, often in crayon. All of the children are hoping Santa Claus will grant their wishes. Inside the notes, some words are misspelled and some letters are written out backwards.

Rice says some children send pages and pages, others cut out items from a catalog to pass along, “So Santa is sure to get the correct thing.” The spelling is what gets Rice — she thinks it’s pretty cute.

The letters

According to a selection of letters from Prineville children, the wishes of kids are varied.

One little letter writer this year asked Santa a series of questions: “How many elfs on the shelfs have you gave to the world?” “How long dose it take to get arown the world?” “Is Rudolph real?” “Is every one in your hous doing well?” The misspelled words somehow add to the charm.

Some letter-writers get straight to the point: “Yo Santa I want for Christmas is an Oscar that says superstar of the year award” reads one from a little boy.

Many children this year are seeking out high-tech gadgets. A new phone, an iPod Touch, “turtle beach headphones for xbox 360” and a ruby red Nintendo DS. But the sweet underlying sentiment is there — with lots of pleases — whether kids are asking for iPads or a new book. Some want very low-tech items — one child asked for “a horse with carrots, apples, water, pen, bolws for carrots oats apples water.”

Another asked for a “real real talking parrot with cage, food please I always wanted a talking parrot.”

Many children make their case, “p.s. I have been a very good student and big sister,” writes one. In case Santa needs extra encouragement to visit, one writer shares: “I will make sure to have cookies and milk out for you.”

Small town

Darrel Krabill, the contractor for the postal station in Christmas Valley, plans to personally respond to all of the letters to Santa he receives, although he doesn’t expect to get more than just a few.

Until recently, there was a man in town who used to respond to all of the letters and would also send a gift to the children, but he died, Krabill said. Krabill, who has lived in Christmas Valley “forever” and knows all the kids in town, likes to personalize the notes to the children — suggesting a girl be nice to her little sister and mentioning the little girl by name. Or mentioning a second-grade teacher’s name. He likes to think of the kids saying “How did Santa know that?”

Typically kids just include a list of items. “I don’t even know what some of this stuff is,” said Krabill. But sometimes the lists make him laugh. Krabill shared his favorite gift request sent in by one little girl in town: DQ Blizzard Maker, Nintendo DS, Magic Unicorn Cuddle Puppet and summer sausage. Something about the inclusion of summer sausage made him crack up, he said.

Other times, kids include apologies — he recalls one letter that said “I’m sorry I’ve been so rude before Christmas.”

Krabill says, just because they live in Christmas Valley doesn’t mean they receive more letters to Santa — although some people send Christmas cards to the post office to get a special Christmas postmark.

Letters back

Local children who send letters to Santa are also likely to get a personal response. Postal workers in Bend and Prineville send back a form letter with the child’s name on it. Rice says they serve the zip codes that start with 977 in the area and prefer to make responses in-house. “It’s so important that they get a response,” said Rice. She thinks the work is important because it’s a child’s Christmas.

“That’s the magic,” said Rice.

The Bend Post Office’s letter reads, “Thank you for your lovely letter. There is lots of snow here at the North Pole. The elves and I are very busy! Rudolph has been busy shining up his nose and all the reindeer are excited about flying through the sky. Remember, my elves are always watching. They are so tiny they can hide in the funniest places. Your friend, Santa.”

Brian Moore, the postmaster of the Prineville Post Office, said so far this year they are receiving more letters than they did in years past. He expects to have about 50 by the time Christmas is here.

The ones that stand out to Moore are the letters that ask a lot of questions: How do you go down the chimney? Do you know the name of every child in the world?

The children receive back a form letter with their name on it. The letter from Prineville is in verse. Here’s an excerpt: “I’ll be checking my lists to find out just who/ has done all the things I expected them to./ Have you minded your manners and tried to be good?/ Been thoughtful of others as everyone should?/ I want you to know in this message I send/ that Santa Claus loves you, my dear little friend ~ My friends at the Post Office have helped me so;/I received your letter, in spite of the snow./ So try to be patient, my sweet little dear/ I better get finished, for Christmas is near.”

The sooner a child mails a letter to Santa, the more likely post office staff will have time to reply — responses are less likely after Dec. 20.

Not all children who write letters to Santa, however, will receive something in return. The letters of many children in Oregon will go unanswered this year due to a change in policy from the U.S. Postal Service. According to Ron Anderson, customer relations coordinator with the Portland Postal District, the program is cancelled this year due to concerns about child safety. In the past, a group of volunteers had helped answer the large volume of letters to Santa they received. Anderson said staff members — like those in Bend, Prineville and Christmas Valley — were still allowed to respond.

Responding to the letters is “something we enjoy doing,” said Moore. The staff members usually post the letters to a Bulletin board for employees to enjoy. “It kind of brightens our year,” said Moore. “It’s nice to take a minute and remember kind of what the season is all about.”

Letters from Santa

The Postal Service offers a program in which parents or relatives can send a letter “from Santa” to a child. The letter receives a North Pole postmark and then is sent to the child. To participate, mail letters by Monday.

Directions:

1. Write the letter from Santa to the child.

2. Place the letter into an envelope addressed to the child. Write “Santa, North Pole” as the return address.

3. Add a stamp.

4. Put that letter into a larger envelop with the appropriate postage and mail that to: North Pole Postmark, Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, AK, 99530-9998

The letter will arrive to the child with a postmark from the North Pole.