Rick Cowie spent 30 years with Canada Post but it鈥檚 his first year as a postal elf, part of a special squad charged with the care of seasonal treasures 鈥� children鈥檚 letters to Santa.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of fun,鈥� said Cowie, who worked for Canada Post in the Cloverdale area.
Helping out is a glimpse into what鈥檚 on the minds of modern kids and what they want for Christmas.
Now that he鈥檚 had his first Christmas season as a postal elf, what does the future hold?
鈥淚鈥檒l come back,鈥� Cowie insisted.
Santa鈥檚 postal elves sort through the huge volume of letters addressed to the jolly ol鈥� elf at the special postal code HOH OHO.
A group in 91原创, who are retired Canada Post employees, plus the occasional current employee, handle up to 4,000 letters each holiday season.
There are other groups of elves throughout Canada, that assist Santa, too. Together they will deal with 1.6 million letters this year.
Most elves have been doing this each Christmas for many years, and they鈥檝e noticed a few trends through that time as they read the letters on Santa鈥檚 behalf.
鈥淢ost of the toys now are electronics. But still, the girls will ask for dolls and the boys will ask for cars and trucks,鈥� Steve Pasacreta said.
鈥淟ots of plushies,鈥� added Sharon Svensrud. 鈥淎nd Squishimals, whatever they are.鈥�
鈥淟OLs and Hatchimals are big this year,鈥� Pasacreta added.
Svensrud noted that one Christmas, the elves handled one child鈥檚 letter that had requests for more than 200 items.
But certain letters touch the seasonal helpers.
鈥淭he ones that stand out are the ones where they want a gift for themselves but they want world peace or they don鈥檛 want anything,鈥� said Bruce Mavis, who has been a postal elf for about 25 years.
鈥淲e had one today, [they said] give the gift to someone who may need it.鈥�
Svensrud adding: 鈥淭hey want gifts for all the kids that don鈥檛 get them.鈥�
After Anita Folk pops in the CD of Christmas music, she settles in and continues to work through the growing pile of letters.
鈥淔or the most part, it鈥檚 amazing. It puts us in the Christmas spirit,鈥� said Folk. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always surprised by the kids鈥� artistry鈥� and when they say Christmas is for love and giving. Some of the letters are really touching. Some of them are only 鈥楧ear Santa,鈥� and what they want.鈥�
She had one letter this year from a four-year-old who said he鈥檚 awaiting a baby brother to arrive in January. The Santa reply letter included a suggestion to be very kind to mommy this holiday season.
The letters that come to the 91原创 elves include an assortment of ages and origins, including many from Japan and Taiwan.
Several of these postal elves have been with the program for many Christmases and have noticed how the ability to write to Santa with only the HOH OHO has grown exponentially 鈥� particularly from addresses outside of Canada.
The elves say a key factor in that is Canadians teaching English abroad and having their classes write to Santa as a way to improve their English skills.
Many of those letter writers are teens or young adults, and the elves are astonished with the artwork they include, such as manga-style drawings and figures. Some have even sent homemade pop-up cards.
And sometimes the letters to Santa arrive with treats.
鈥淭hey send treats, the odd candy cane in a letter,鈥� Pasacreta said. 鈥淚t must be fun for the parents to sit down with the kids doing it and then they get an answer.鈥�
[Story continues below video]
Whether the letter is written in crayon, pencil, felt, or paint, the elves read them over and try to assist with personalized responses. School class submissions receive a poster. The local squad of elves will send out a couple hundred posters each Christmas season.
While the elves want to ensure all the children and letter writers receive a reply, it鈥檚 not always possible. The postal elves have some advice for the parents.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 one thing I would say to the parents is make sure the return address is on it so Santa can answer the kids,鈥� Pasacreta noted.
The elves will ready Santa鈥檚 replies to the children from early December up until Christmas. But their work efforts don鈥檛 end there. They continue into January, providing kids with postcards explaining that Santa is taking a bit of a vacation. That鈥檚 for the letters that didn鈥檛 make the Dec. 12 deadline.
[Story continues below Tweet]
Don鈥檛 forget to mail your letters to Santa by December 12 so he can get them back to you in time for Christmas!
鈥� Canada Post (@canadapostcorp)
So among the letters that elicit chuckles and 鈥榓wwws鈥�, there鈥檚 also the poignant missives that have the elves tearing up. Mavis noted that letters that give the elves pause for concern are sent to Vancouver to be dealt with by people with more expertise in sensitive matters.
Recently the 91原创 elves received a letter from a senior citizen, asking for help, and overwhelmed by the emotional and financial toll of caring for a spouse with dementia.
Also sent to Vancouver are letters that are in languages the local postal elves do not know. The postal elf program has the ability to provide replies in up to 30 languages as well as Braille.
鈥淭hey come from all over the world. Back east, they鈥檒l also get letters from Europe. We get from the Orient,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 increased each year.鈥�
The elves sort and file the letters from abroad, which require postage, saving the stamps for charity.
Mavis added that other countries have their own letters to Santa programs. But Canada鈥檚 program is free for children mailing to Santa from within the country and as everyone knows, Santa鈥檚 home, the North Pole, is geographically situated in the Great White North.
