Canada Post may be on strike but letters to the North Pole are still finding their way to Santa Claus.
That's thanks to the work of local postmasters like Simone Livolsi of the Lac La Hache post office and Lorie Bachmier of the Lone Butte post office. While their regular carriers may not be working, the two have their own special ways to make sure letters addressed to Santa get to where they need to go.
"Every year Santa writes back to the kids who bring their Santa letters into the post office here," Bachmier said. "We have a special Santa mailbox they can deliver their letters to and he writes back personally to every child who writes. They just need their name, address and phone number."
Bachmier said that all children or their parents have to do is bring their letters into the Lone Butte Post Office anytime between Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. She requests that the letters have Santa Claus' name on the envelope along with North Pole and his postal code HOH OHO.
Livolsi meanwhile has three separate drop-off boxes set up for the letters to Santa. Letters can be dropped off at her post office or by dropping letters off into the red post boxes in Lac La Hache or at the 108 Mile Supermarket. The Lac La Hache post office is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
"They'll make their way to the North Pole via dog sled and then they will be ready for pick up at the same place people dropped them off," Livolsi said.
Santa Claus tends to respond to letters within two to three days, Bachmier said, which will be available to pick up at the Lone Butte Post Office.
Both Bachmier and Livolsi tend to get around 30 letters to Santa a year, though Bachmier expects due to the strike she'll be receiving a lot more this year. She said that all letters to Santa should be sent by Dec. 18 at the latest, to give him time to respond before Christmas.
"Santa and his helpers are up for the challenge," Bachmier said. "Santa loves to receive every child's letter, loves every boy and girl and wants to hear from them and answer their letters."
Livolsi noted that due to the strike, she's seen a decrease in people submitting letters to Santa so far this year. She'd like to encourage parents to mail their children's letters to Santa and keep the magic of Christmas alive.
"Mail trucks aren't going to the North Pole but the dog sleds will make it," Livolsi said. "(Let's) keep the magic of Christmas alive even through the postal strike and get those fun responses from Santa and see the joy on your kids' faces. Even with the postal strike, we're still able to do fun things like this."
