Email Friends and Pen Pals

Help from Canada Post gets pen pal spot in Guinness.

When many of us were young, we had pen pals. We’d sit and carefully write letters with a pencil and paper, being careful not to leave out any important details about what was happening in our busy lives. We’d wait with baited breath for a reply, and when we got it, we’d cherish that letter, reading it over what seemed like a million times.

While most correspondence between long-distance friends has gone the way of the Internet today, there is still one guy that keeps pen pal correspondence old school, with more than than a million of his pals every Christmas.

Impossible? The Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t think so. Officials recently inducted Canada Post into it’s prestigious records’ book, on behalf of their biggest customer, who has received and replied to more letters than anyone in the history of the world.

Okay, technically speaking it is a little impossible for one man to reply to over one million letters each year, especially with keeping track of who’s been naughty, who’s been nice, and keeping a team of nine reindeer in line. Thanks to over 11,000 retired and current Canada Post employees working around the clock, Santa is able to get Christmas wishes to every little boy and girl who takes the time to write to him.

“Santa gets all types of letters in all types of languages, even braille,” said Teresa Williams, spokesperson for Canada Post. “In fact, he writes back in any language that the children use.”

Not only does Santa send back a letter to eager boys and girls, he sends a personalized letter, answering any and every question he’s been asked.

“Sometimes letters require certain sensitivity because there might be divorce or death in the family, or a pet has died and the child is worried,” Williams said. “Santa answers those in a very special way to make sure the the responses are appropriate for the child.”

Canada Post teamed up with the jolly old elf more than 25 years ago to start a formal letter program and in his time working with volunteers, he’s been able to answer over 15 million letters.

“We recommend that children get their letters in as soon as possible because Santa is pretty busy this time of year,” Williams said, adding that it’s very important for schools to get their letters in as soon as possible, so the replies can be received before Christmas break.

Although children are urged to get their letters in early, Williams said that a letter to Santa is better late than never. Saint Nick will even reply to letters he receives after Christmas. In fact, she added, Santa is such a popular pen-pal, he gets letters all year round, even in the summer and some from different countries.

“Other countries don’t have a formal program like we have, and that’s the reason we’ve made it into the Guinness Book of World Records,” Williams said, adding that Santa will reply to any letter from any country, and that it’s a good learning experience for all children.

“In many cases a letter to Santa is the first letter they’ve ever written in their life, so there is a lot to be learned,” she said. “They’re so proud of their letter when they get it back and read them to siblings and at school.”

Is Santa proud of making the record books? While Williams said that he’d keep on writing to his friends either way, it goes to show how committed he and his helpful volunteers are.

“It’s really quite an achievement, and quite a notable one,” she said. “We love children and we want to grant them this one little wish – that wish is that they receive a reply back from Santa Claus.”

By Victoria Handysides
Sun Media
Friday November 23, 2007

“Letters, we get letters, we get stacks and stacks of letters,” crooner Perry Como used to sing.

Read more…