How to add a Christmas Postmark on Greeting Cards
Sending and receiving Christmas cards is much beloved tradition, and a wonderful part of the holiday season. How fun is it to add a fun Santa Claus holiday postmark as an extra special touch?When I was researching how to do this, I discovered that there are several U.S. towns that have holiday names, and they will stamp your Christmas cards with their postmark, and send them on to your family & friends. It’s so easy, and free to do!!
We have so many favorite Christmas activities at our house, and we love counting down to Christmas with different activities over the month of December. Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt, giving gifts to our neighbors (Holiday Stovetop Potpourri is amazing!), baking our beloved Christmas recipes, and sending Christmas cards are just a few on our list.
About 10 years ago or so, I discovered that I could send my cards to a post office with a festive name, and they’d mark them with a special holiday postmark. How fun is that? It’s an extra special holiday touch that’s actually very easy to do, and totally free! If you want to try it, I’ve gathered all the info below.
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Santa Claus Postmark – Santa Claus, IN
One in particular is Santa Claus, Indiana. They even have a competition to each year to design the holiday postmark!
The process is actually pretty easy, you just need to allow a little extra time. All you need to do is enclose all of your stamped and addressed cards in another envelope or box labeled “Christmas re-mailing”, and address it to the postmaster in any of these towns. Allow enough time for postmarking, re-mailing, and delivery.
“The Santa Claus holiday postmark has become the most popular in the nation over the past two decades,” said Postmaster Marian Balbach in 2020. “Postal patrons worldwide request the picture postmark each year and many customers traditionally drive hundreds of miles to personally obtain the famous cancellation on their holiday mail.”
2024 Postmaster Joshua Graham says, “The endearing Santa Claus postmark is a long-standing tradition for our town, and it contributes to the charm of the spirit each season…It is exciting and fun to see the unique artwork each year, and it is an honor for this office not only to select an artist’s contribution, but also to provide this service for the public.”
Anyone interested in getting the special cancellation on their holiday mail to follow these guidelines:
- Allow at least a 2-inch by 4-inch space in the stamp area for the picture postmark;
- Apply postage to cards or letters before bringing or mailing them to the post office;
- If you wish to mail Christmas cards to the post office, package them – with postage stamps already on them – in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to: Postmaster, P.O. Box 9998, Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998;
- The picture postmark is available on working days between December 2 and 24;
- The picture postmark must be requested by the postal customer;
- To ensure a good postmark imprint, do not enclose large or bulky items in your holiday mail (Ex: reindeer food, snowflakes, glitter, stickers, etc.);
- There is no charge for postmarking; however, there is a limit of 50 picture postmarks (hand cancellations) per person per day.
Here is the 2024 info from Santa Claus, IN post office with all the details:
USPS – Post Offices with Christmas Names & Postmarks
“Interested customers can write to the following Post Offices for postmarks to keep or to share with friends. Enclose a stamped, addressed card or letter in another envelope or box labeled “Christmas re-mailing” and address it to the postmaster of one of the towns listed below. Please allow enough time for postmarking, re-mailing, and delivery.”
- Angeles PR 00611
- Angels Camp CA 95222
- Antler ND 58711
- Antlers OK 74523
- Bell FL 32619
- Bethlehem CT 06751
- Bethlehem GA 30620
- Bethlehem KY 40007
- Bethlehem MD 21609
- Bethlehem NH 03574
- Bethlehem PA 18016
- Blessing TX 77419
- Chestnut IL 62518
- Christmas FL 32709
- Evergreen AL 36401
- Evergreen CO 80439
- Evergreen LA 71333
- Evergreen MT 59903 (CPU)
- Evergreen NC 28438
- Evergreen VA 23939
- Faith NC 28041
- Faith SD 57626
- Frost MN 56033
- Frost TX 76641
- Garland ME 04939
- Garland NE 68360
- Garland NC 28441
- Garland PA 16416
- Garland TX 75040
- Garland UT 84312
- Holly CO 81047
- Holly MI 48442
- Hope AK 99605
- Hope AR 71801
- Hope ID 83836
- Hope IN 47246
- Hope KS 67451
- Hope MI 48628
- Hope MN 56046
- Hope NJ 07844
- Hope NM 88250
- Hope ND 58046
- Hope RI 02831
- Joseph OR 97846
- Joseph City AZ 86032
- Joy IL 61260
- Nazareth KY 40048
- Nazareth MI 49074
- Nazareth PA 18064
- Nazareth TX 79063
- Noel MO 64854
- North Pole AK 99705 (branch)
- North Pole NY 12997 (CPU)
- Partridge KS 67566
- Partridge KY 40862
- Rudolph OH 43462
- Rudolph WI 54475
- Saint Joseph IL 61873
- Saint Joseph LA 71366
- Saint Joseph MI 49085
- Saint Joseph MN 56374
- Saint Joseph MO 64501
- Saint Joseph TN 38481
- Saint Mary KY 40063
- Saint Mary MO 63673
- Saint Marys AK 99658
- Saint Marys GA 31558
- Saint Marys IA 50241
- Saint Marys KS 66536
- Saint Marys OH 45885
- Saint Marys PA 15857
- Saint Marys WV 26170
- Santa ID 83866
- Santa Claus IN 47579
- Shepherd MI 48883
- Shepherd MT 59079
- Shepherd TX 77371
- Snow OK 74567
- Snowflake AZ 85937
- Snow Shoe PA 16874
- Snowville UT 84336
- Spruce MI 48762
- Star ID 83669
- Star MS 39167
- Star NC 27356
- Star TX 76880
- Wiseman AR 72587
More Christmas ideas
Homemade Cinnamon Ornaments | How to Write to Santa and Get a Reply | Rudolph Pancakes
Thanks so much for stopping by! Follow me on Facebook and Instagram for holiday ideas and more. I’d love to see you there!
*Originally posted in 2013. Updated in 2024
Dumb question, probably … do you pay postage to mail the package of cards to the Postmaster in one of these towns. Also is there a way to see what the postmark is before choosing a town?
No a dumb question at all! Yes, you have to have postage on the big package full of your cards (that are also stamped) to get it mailed to the post office of choice. I don’t know if you can see them postmarks ahead of time–you would have to go to that individual post office website and see if they have it posted. Santa Claus, Indiana usually has theirs up, if I remember correctly.
You can see current USPS pictorial postmarks here:https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2013/pb22377/html/info_009.htm
Thanks for this. I am getting ready to send out mines, just wondering which one to send it to too. I want to send a self address postcard to every city to see what they look like! It’ll be cool, especially if they change it up every year.
I know! I wish there was a way to see all of them before sending them somewhere! Let me know where you send it!!
So I send all my expensive photo cards to the city I choose and they stamp them with their logo and send them all on their way. How can they be trusted in doing this task when its the holiday season? What if they forget to send them on time or misplace my cards? How can I and others be guaranteed they will arrive on time to their final destination? It just me or am I being paranoid?
I totally understand, and if you decided to do it, it would be putting your faith in what they’re offering. Obviously I can’t guarantee whether they will or won’t do it, or forget, but these towns seem to take a lot of pride in this service. In all my research, I never came across negative feedback from people, and I took that as a very good sign.
You could always do a test one year, and send out just a couple of inexpensive cards to see if it worked! If you did it early enough in the season, you would probably have time to send your actual cards out if you were satisfied with the results.
Good luck!!
Do they still do this? I see the last post was from 2016. I was hoping to send a letter this year from my 8 year old son, but I don’t know if this still occurs.
Yes! I just updated the post with more info!!