Thanksgiving may still be on the horizon, but the wheels in little minds are turning as they anticipate the arrival of everyone’s favorite giver of gifts.

And if your kids are planning on writing a letter to Santa this year, the U.S. Postal Service wants to make sure their letters make it to the North Pole on time and get a proper response.

Letters to Santa should be addressed to:

North Pole Postmark
Postmaster
4141 Postmark Drive
Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

The deadline for letters is no later than Dec. 13.

The Postal Service advises that children and their parents follow these tips to ensure they get a reply from Santa, who is notoriously detail-oriented.

– Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.

– Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response. To save paper, write the response on the back of the original letter.

– Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child.

– Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE to the envelope.

– Affix a First-Class Mail stamp … to the envelope. Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope with appropriate postage and address it to the above address.

The Postal Service also offered the following tips for writing Santa’s reply letter:

– When responding as Santa, make the response as personal as possible by highlighting your child’s accomplishments over the past year, for example, helping around the house, receiving good grades in a particular subject at school or participating in community service activities.

– This is a great activity to do at Thanksgiving that the whole family can enjoy, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and other caregivers.

“Sending a letter to Santa is easy if you know how,” the Postal Service says. “The Postal Service is here to help with guides and tips to help kids write and send the best letter ever. All the information you need to write a letter, address an envelope, put on a stamp and send it on its way can be found in the Postal Service’s Holiday Newsroom.”

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