Letters to Santa 2026: USPS Operation Santa Dec. 5 Postmark, Canada Post Dec. 9

United States Postal Service (USPS) Operation Santa says letters to Santa must be postmarked by Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, and Canada Post asks for its Santa letters no later than Wednesday, Dec. 9. Both dates come from the programs’ own pages, which we read on Nov. 4, 2026. The table below puts every 2026 date for letter writers, adopters and Canadian children in one list.

What are the 2026 Santa letter dates in the U.S. and Canada?

USPS Operation Santa lists its 2026 calendar on its home page. Canada Post’s date is on its Santa letter program page. We added the weekdays.

Date	Weekday	What happens	Who it is for	Source
Sept. 14	Monday	The mailroom starts accepting letters to Santa	U.S. letter writers	USPS Operation Santa
Nov. 2	Monday	Registration opens for adopters; create and verify your account	U.S. adopters	USPS Operation Santa
Nov. 16	Monday	Letter adoption starts	U.S. adopters	USPS Operation Santa
Dec. 5	Saturday	Last day to send letters; they must be postmarked by this date	U.S. letter writers	USPS Operation Santa questions page
Dec. 9	Wednesday	Send your letter to Santa no later than this date	Canadian children and families	Canada Post
Dec. 12	Saturday	Last day to adopt a letter, and the recommended gift ship-by date for delivery before Dec. 25	U.S. adopters	USPS Operation Santa

Fox 9 reported the program’s launch on Sept. 14, 2026, and described it as the 114th year of Operation Santa; we have not checked that count against a USPS page.

How do you address a letter to Santa through USPS?

USPS Operation Santa gives this layout on its “How to Write a Letter to Santa and Where to Send It” page:

• Address: Santa, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.
• Upper left corner: your full name and return address, with the apartment number if you have one.
• Upper right corner: a First-Class stamp. USPS’s price page lists Forever stamps from $0.82 (read Nov. 4, 2026).
• Keep the letter flat. USPS says glitter or glued items can stop a letter from being uploaded.

USPS adds that sending a letter does not guarantee it will be adopted or that a gift will arrive.

How does letter adoption work, and who can take part?

Adopters first create and verify an account, which opened on Nov. 2. Letter adoption starts Nov. 16. The questions page says anyone in the continental U.S., Hawaii and Puerto Rico can participate, and that deployed military overseas cannot at this time.

For gifts, the questions page gives these limits: packages under 70 lb, length plus girth of at most 108 in, and up to six Priority Mail packages per adoption. Ground Advantage is also allowed. Ship from a participating Post Office location by Dec. 12 at the latest. For the general mailing dates, see our USPS holiday shipping deadlines for 2026.

What is the Canada Post Santa letter deadline for 2026?

Canada Post says: “Send your letter to Santa no later than December 9, 2026!” The address is Santa Claus, North Pole, H0H 0H0, Canada.

• No stamps are required to mail a letter to Santa within Canada.
• Include your return address and drop the letter in any Canada Post mailbox or post office.
• Canada Post says it cannot guarantee delivery dates, but Santa does respond to all letters he receives.
• Canada Post says it replies in the same language as the letter.

The page says the program receives “over one million letters per year”, with no year attached. The parcel and card dates are in our Canada Post holiday shipping deadlines for 2026.

What about letters to Santa in the United Kingdom?

Royal Mail has not posted its 2026 letters-to-Santa date on a page we could read, so no UK date or address is printed here. Check royalmail.com before you post.

Is there a printable letters-to-Santa dates sheet?

Yes. The free one-page printable lists the six dates above in order, with the days left before Christmas Day and a Done box on each. It is a dates sheet, not a letter template. Pair it with the December 2026 printable calendar, and see when Christmas falls and when Christmas Eve falls. Children who want to follow Santa on the night itself can read our North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa tracker guide.