Registration is open for people who want to adopt a child's or family's letter through USPS Operation Santa this year, the Postal Service said Wednesday. Every adopter has to create an account and pass an identity check at USPSOperationSanta.com first, including people who adopted letters in past years.
Approved adopters can start choosing letters on Monday, Nov. 16, according to the program's 2026 calendar:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Now | Adopter registration and ID verification are open |
| Monday, Nov. 16 | Letters open for adoption |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | Last call for letter writers to send letters to Santa |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | Last day to adopt a letter and the date to ship gifts by for delivery before Dec. 25 |
How adopting a letter works
Once approved, adopters pick one or more letters, from a single child or from a whole family, and buy the gifts, either shopping on their own and mailing the presents from a participating Post Office location or using Santa's Gift Shoppe, an online catalog run with Toys"R"Us that ships gifts directly to the recipients. The catalog is optional.
"Every year we receive thousands of letters filled with holiday wishes," said Sheila Holman, the Postal Service's vice president of marketing. She said the letters often outnumber available adopters and that many come from entire households. She encouraged companies and organizations to form teams and adopt a household together.
For families writing to Santa
The Postal Service has been accepting this year's letters since Sept. 14, and they need to go out by Dec. 5. The Postal Service warns that not every letter will be posted online, and a posted letter is not guaranteed to be adopted. Letters and related messages can be published with personal identifying information removed.
The program is 114 years old. If you are mailing your own gifts this season, check the Postal Service's holiday shipping deadlines too.
