November 3, 2005 - It happens every year, right around the beginning of November. Children from all around the world get ready to write their annual letter to Santa. It's time to catch up with Jolly St. Nick and share tales of school adventures, family fun and, of course, this year's wish list. Santa's local post office and Canada Post's special elves are ready to help Santa with the more than one million letters he will receive in the next few months.

Children from around the world are encouraged to send their holiday letters to Santa at his North Pole home:

SANTA CLAUS
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
CANADA

Santa reminds all his young friends that it is very important to include a complete return address, so that Canada Post can deliver his reply. "Though my postal elves are very good at tracking down some addresses that aren't included with the letter, it makes our job much easier if children remember to include their return address," Santa said.

Children will also want to check out Santa's special web page at www.canadapost.ca/holiday where they can play holiday-themed games and discover easy holiday recipes and crafts. They can also send Santa an e-mail from this special Canada Post site.

Last year, Santa received more than 1 million letters (for the fourth year in a row!), in 27 languages, from his pen pals around the world. Thanks to more than 11,000 volunteer Canada Post employees (current and retired) - Santa's dedicated postal elves - each child received an answer from the North Pole! Santa also received more than 30,000 e-mails from children who wrote to Santa via Canada Post's website.

Since the first Canada Post employees began helping Santa answer his holiday mail more than 30 years ago, Santa has enjoyed more than 13 million wonderful letters, all delivered by Canada Post. This is the 23rd year of the national Canada Post effort to help Santa answer his holiday mail.