How to use the Santa letter template
Choose a letter
From Santa is a reply from the North Pole. To Santa is a letter to Santa template your child fills in by hand. From an elf is a note from one of Santa’s elves.
Make it personal
Type the name, and if you like the age, one thing your child did well this year and their wish. Write the good deed the way Santa would say it: “you were so patient with your baby brother” reads better than “patience”.
Pick the words and the look
“Change text” switches between three versions of the letter. Choose Holly, Workshop or Candy cane stationery and switch the Nice List stamp on or off. The date is today’s; change it to December 24 if the letter arrives on Christmas Eve.
Print it or save it as a PDF
Press “Print / Save as PDF”. Only the letter is printed, on one page, on A4 or US Letter paper. If the colors look pale, turn on “Background graphics” in the print options.
Ideas to make the letter from Santa feel like it came from the North Pole
The words matter most, but a few small touches turn a printed page into a letter from Santa that gets kept for years.
- Print on special paper. Ordinary printer paper works. Cream or parchment-style paper, a little heavier than usual (around 100–120 gsm, or 28–32 lb), feels like real North Pole stationery.
- Use a real envelope. Fold the letter in three and address the envelope to your child in handwriting they won’t recognize. A grandparent or a friend can help. Add a return address such as “Santa’s Workshop, North Pole”.
- Draw a North Pole “postmark” at home. Draw a red circle in the corner of the envelope with “North Pole” and the date inside, or carve a little stamp from an eraser or half a potato. Keep it clearly homemade, and don’t copy real postage stamps.
- Seal it. A gold or red sticker works as a seal. A sprinkle of fine glitter or a pinch of powdered sugar inside the envelope makes “North Pole snow” (and a little mess).
- Time the delivery. Classic moments are a few days after your child posts their own letter to Santa, the morning of December 1, or Christmas Eve: next to the plate of cookies and the carrot for the reindeer, or on the pillow at bedtime.
- Read it aloud together. Let your child find their own name in the letter. Then keep it with the year’s photos: the age and the good deed make it a little time capsule.
Looking for more ideas for the big night? See our Christmas Eve traditions and Christmas Eve box ideas.
What to write in a letter from Santa
If you want to add a handwritten P.S. or write your own letter from scratch, these are the things children notice:
- One specific thing. “You learned to swim” beats “you were good”. Children know which effort they are proud of.
- Praise effort, not perfection. Trying again, being kind, helping someone: that is what Santa remembers.
- No promises you can’t keep. “I read your wish” is safer than “you will get the bike”.
- Keep it short. A few warm paragraphs, read aloud, are better than a full page of small print.
- End with a P.S. Something about the reindeer, the elves or Mrs. Claus makes the North Pole feel real.
Letter to Santa template: tips for kids
Choose “To Santa” in the generator for a printable letter to Santa with lines and boxes: name, age, something from this year, three wishes and a space for a drawing. Some tips for writing it together:
- Little ones draw, you write. Children who can’t write yet can draw their wishes; you can add the words underneath.
- Start with this year. The line about what they did this year gets children thinking about more than the presents.
- Three wishes are plenty. A short list is easier for Santa, and for you.
- Ask about Santa. Children love adding a question for Santa or the reindeer. It is also a good idea for your reply.
- Make a copy. Print two: one goes to Santa, one goes in the keepsake box.
Want the letter to go by mail? In the US, the Postal Service’s Operation Santa program receives letters addressed to “Santa Claus, 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888”. In the UK, Royal Mail answers letters sent to “Santa/Father Christmas, Santa’s Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ”. Rules and deadlines change every year, so check their websites in November. For examples, sentence starters and more places to send it, see our letter to Santa template guide.
A letter from an elf
An elf letter is a fun change from Santa, and a good fit for children who already got a letter from Santa last year. Choose “From an elf” and pick one of three elves with three different jobs: Twinkle from the workshop, Jingle from the North Pole post office and Nutmeg, who checks the Nice List. They are original characters made for this page.
Elf letters work well at the start of December, as a halfway “report from the workshop” when the wait feels long, or as a note that arrives the morning after a kind thing your child did.
The free letter in other languages
Writing to a child who speaks another language? The same free tool makes letters written for each language:
