SANTA CLAUS, Ind. (WISH) — One of Indiana’s most beloved holiday traditions is back and ready for your letters. Santa Claus – the town, not the jolly old elf – is stamping mail with this year’s version of its annual Christmas postmark.

The postmark program dates back four decades, starting in 1983. Each year, students at Heritage Hills High School are given the opportunity to leave their mark on the town’s history.

“It’s a special art project that juniors and seniors choose to do,” Spencer County Visitors Bureau Executive Director Melissa Arnold explained. “They submit their artwork with certain parameters that the post office has set for that assignment, and then the postmaster gets to select the design that represents the town of Santa Claus as the special holiday postmark every year.”

This year’s winner is Allison Hoffman. Organizers say she has now graduated and is a student at Indiana State University. Her design features a miniature sleigh, three reindeer, and a smiling Santa, alongside the phrase “Santa Claus Station.”

There are two ways to have your cards and letters stamped with Hoffman’s art:

• Bring your mail to the Santa Claus post office at 45 North Kringle Place. There, you can get the postmark in person.
• Put stamps on all of your cards and letters, write a note requesting the postmark, then place all of them in a sturdy envelope or box addressed to: Postmaster P.O. Box 9998, Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998

There is no extra charge for the postmark, but only mail with proper postage will get the mark. The post office also recommends that you not include bulky items in your mail, because it can make the postmark difficult to apply.

The postmark is not the only thing that keeps the Santa Claus team hopping during the holidays. Tens of thousands of children also send letters to Santa in care of the town. Each year, hundreds of volunteers work to answer those letters through Santa’s Elves Inc. and the Santa Claus Museum.

The town also has a series of holiday events over the next several weeks. They include a Candlelight Evening on the Farm, a Christmas Parade, the Land of Lights, and Breakfast with Santa.