How to participate in USPS's Operation Santa this year

This holiday season may look different than any other before, but one thing remains certain: Christmas is coming. And just because the pandemic is still raging throughout the U.S. doesn't mean that children don't want Santa to deliver toys. Thankfully, Santa is immune to the coronavirus, and USPS is helping him out with another round of Operation Santa to boot.

For over a century, Operation Santa has helped children and their families receive gifts and necessities they might not otherwise receive, according to the New York Times. But the postal service is handling it differently this year. In previous years, volunteers would go to their post office and read local letters to Santa. They'd then pick one or more letters and buy respective gifts for the children who wrote them, buy and wrap the gifts, then ship them.

This year, children will still write letters to Santa; for the first time ever, though, Operation Santa is completely virtual and nationwide. Their letters will be uploaded to USPS's Operation Santa website.

The program takes on added urgency during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Covid-19 has caused undue hardships, both financial and emotional, to so many Americans this year," Kimberly Frum, a spokeswoman for the Postal Service, told the New York Times. "The program provides kids and families with an opportunity to receive gifts during the holidays from anonymous, generous postal customers."

How to write a letter to Santa:

Per the USPS's website, letters can just be addressed to Santa Claus, but they prefer his special mailing address:

SANTA CLAUS 123 ELF ROAD NORTH POLE 88888

As with any other letter, participants must include a return address and stamp. Clothing and shoe requests should include sizes and colors, and toy requests should be specific. Letters received before Dec. 15 will be uploaded to the Operation Santa website.

How to adopt a letter to Santa:

If you can and want to help a child this year, you can adopt a letter beginning Dec. 4. The process is partially the same as other years: Adopters read and pick which letters and respective gifts to buy and ship. Due to the pandemic, however, they'll be no in-person adoptions this year. Simply wrap the gift according to USPS's guidelines, sign it with Santa's name, and bring it to a participating Post Office.

According to the Operation Santa FAQ, the program has helped countless of children. The USPS won't let a pandemic stop that.