Press releases

Swiss Post gives Santa Claus a helping hand

“Dear Santa Claus...” – each year that is how thousands of letters begin from children who have a special wish for Christmas and hope it comes true. As is the case every year, Santa can rely on strong support from Swiss Post. Up to the end of the year, an experienced Swiss Post team will do all they can to reply to every child with a present and a story. Last year, Santa Claus received around 17,000 letters from children from all over Switzerland and abroad.

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The festive season is getting nearer, and children are already full of anticipation. This year Swiss Post is again helping to ensure that their wishes come true. It is forwarding all letters addressed to Santa Claus to the five Swiss Post employees at the Christmas branch in Chiasso. This is how children’s letters with the most imaginative addresses – “Gesù Bambino, Via delle stelle, Paradiso“, “Liebes Christkind im Himmel“ or “Père Noël, pôle Nord” – get to the Swiss branch of the main Santa Claus post office in Finland’s Rovaniemi. For more than 60 years, such letters, which are considered to be “undeliverable” in postal terms, have been forwarded to Santa's team after being sorted by language, rather than being returned stating “recipient unknown”. Every sender receives a reply and a small present – as long as they have provided their address.

Swiss Post's Christmas team replies to nearly all letters

Last year, Santa's helpers received 17,149 children’s letters and drawings with wishes for presents or greetings to Santa Claus. Most of them came from the French-speaking part of Switzerland, followed by letters from Ticino, German-speaking Switzerland and the Rhaeto-Romanic-speaking region.

Swiss Post's Christmas team does all it can to reply to every letter. Unfortunately, it's not always possible: sometimes the sender’s address is missing or the other details in the letter are insufficient to establish who the sender is. But the team still managed to reply to 16,434 children in 2012. This corresponds to about 96% of the letters received. For the other letters, Santa's team was unfortunately not able to find the sender.

The team in Chiasso carries out its work tirelessly and with commitment. Reading the letters is a particular source of joy, and they often come with drawings, handicrafts or toys. The replies to the children’s letters are written in one of the four national languages or in English and their envelopes are decorated with a special Christmas stamp. Like every year, the postmark comes from the Berne-Bethlehem post office.

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