How children in France can write to ‘Père Noël’ for Christmas
Father Christmas will write back to them if a return address is given
Children are encouraged to be polite in their letters
Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock
People in France with a specific gift on their wishlist can now send a letter to Father Christmas with the help of national postal company La Poste.
The company began accepting letters for Father Christmas on November 20, and if a child (or adult) puts the correct return address on the letter, will receive a response before Christmas Eve from Santa or one of his elves.
It is the 62nd year that La Poste has employed its ‘secrétariat du Père Noël’ service, first starting in 1962.
La Poste states on its website children from over 150 countries write to Santa each year.
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How can someone write to Father Christmas?
The service is available both in physical and online format – a link to the latter is available here.
In all cases, La Poste says the letter must be written politely for Father Christmas to respond, and most of the time contains a list of the presents somebody wants as well as a declaration they have been good this year.
Some example texts are found on the La Poste website.
If writing a physical letter, the address must clearly show it is for Father Christmas (Père Noël, Papa Noël, or petit Papa Noël).
The rest of the address should also be written out to make it clear the letter is not a real one. Some example addresses given by La Poste are:
Monsieur Père Noël
Atelier du 25 Décembre
250 avenue des Nuages
1000 Pôle Nord
Petit Papa Noël
1 rue du Ciel étoilé
Pôle Nord
Papa Noël
Avenue des Rennes
Laponie
Père Noël
33500 Libourne
France
(This last address is the headquarters of La Poste’s ‘Father Christmas secretary service’).
The service is free, and you do not need to put a stamp onto the letter.
They can be dropped off at over 1,300 special post boxes installed in La Poste offices across France, or alternatively you can ask your postal worker where to drop the letter off if you do not have a post office near you.
As mentioned, the letter must include the full address of the sender on the back, to guarantee they will receive a response.
The deadline to send a letter and receive a response before Christmas (either physically or online) is December 20.
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