Australia Post is all set to deliver Aussie kids’ Christmas wishes directly to the North Pole as Santa Claus gets ready to personally respond and check his list again.
With just eight weeks to go, Australia Post is calling on all families and kids to put pen, pencil or crayon to paper to let Santa know just how nice they’ve been this year and tell him what they wish to see under the Christmas tree.
A much-loved tradition, Santa Mail has connected children directly with their number one hero for years, and last year Australia Post received more than 100,000 letters destined for the North Pole.
Australia Post Chief Marketing Officer Amber Collins said the precious letters give children the chance to discover the joy of letter-writing and experience the thrill of receiving a reply from someone very special.
“Santa Mail is one of those Australian traditions that families look forward to every year and it helps bring a sense of excitement and hope at this magical time,” Ms. Collins said.
“It’s also a fantastic way for children to practice their literacy skills at home or at school, and we’ve already seen hundreds of schools download this year’s lesson plans designed specifically for classrooms.
“We’re encouraging families to get their letters in nice and early so Santa has plenty of time to respond and to visit our Santa Mail website for handy tips, templates and to follow along with the Santa Mail Tracker.”
Children of any age are encouraged to take part and letters should be addressed to Santa, North Pole 9999 with a 65c Christmas stamp affixed to the front of the envelope, and a name and return address on the back so Santa knows where to send his reply.
Parents and children who have low vision can opt-in to receive a large text reply from Santa by sending their letters to Santa Mail (large text), North Pole 9999.
Santa Mail letters can be placed in any red street posting box, or a dedicated Santa Mail box in participating Post Offices, and families are encouraged to post letters before Friday 3 December, so Santa can reply before loading up his sleigh.
For more information on how to address letters to Santa, lesson plans, letter templates, and writing tips visit auspost.com.au/santamail, where you can also track the letter’s progress with the Santa Mail Tracker.
Australia Post releases Christmas delivery deadlines
Australia Post is helping people to plan ahead for what is expected to be its busiest-ever festive season with the announcement of domestic delivery deadlines for this Christmas.
With parcel volumes already setting records in 2021, this December is predicted to surpass last year’s 52 million parcels and customers are encouraged to send their presents and Christmas cards as early as they can, to give them the best chance of reaching loved ones in time.
For most sending within Australia the key dates to remember to send parcels by are Monday 13 December for Parcel Post and Monday 20 December for Express Post. For some locations, including Perth, Darwin and outside of metro areas, we recommend sending earlier and to check the Australia Post website for details.
Christmas cards should be sent by Thursday December 16, and customers sending overseas are encouraged to do so as soon as possible as cut-off dates vary depending on the destination.
Australia Post Executive General Manager, Business and Government Gary Starr said preparations for the peak season were already well underway, including recruiting a record more than 4000 Christmas casual team members.
“We’re seeing record parcel volumes with more than 5.9 million households shopping online a month – that’s more than half of all Australian households, and it’s showing no signs of slowing as we head into the online sales season and Christmas,” Mr Starr said.
“That is why we’ve planned ahead with extra air freight capacity, weekend deliveries and recruitment of thousands of new team members to ramp up our delivery services, parcel sorting and customer care, and we’ll be delivering right up until Christmas Eve.
“We encourage people to make a note of these important delivery dates, because although we'll deliver items sent after these dates as quickly as we can, they may not arrive until after Christmas.”
The Australia Post app the best way to keep across deliveries, choose the best place to receive parcels, and to stay updated about impacts to the network. For more information visit auspost.com.au/sending/christmas-sending-dates
