Warren children go to source, writing to Santa for presents

Art of letter writing lives on as kids tell Santa they’ve been good and want toys

By Ted Hayes
Posted 12/14/18

Lauren wants a manatee, a robot that can bake cakes and a purple ukelele. Addyson wants a new friend to play with. And Blake just wants Santa to know he’s been a good boy this year.

With …

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Warren children go to source, writing to Santa for presents

Art of letter writing lives on as kids tell Santa they’ve been good and want toys

Posted

Lauren wants a manatee, a robot that can bake cakes and a purple ukelele. Addyson wants a new friend to play with. And Blake just wants Santa to know he’s been a good boy this year.

With Christmas on the way, workers at the Warren branch of the United States Post Office have been collecting letters written to Santa by boys and girls across Warren. By last week they’d received about 60, all addressed to the North Pole, and planned to pass them all on to the jolly old elf before the big day.

For postmaster Todd Rekrut, the yearly arrival of Santa letters, most scrawled in big bold caps with pencil or magic marker, and maybe a drawing of a present or Christmas stocking attached, are a happy diversion during the postal service’s busiest, most stressful time of year. He looks forward to checking the red “Letters to Santa” mailbox in the front lobby and now that his own daughter is old enough to have given up writing her own letters to Santa, looks forward to them for a new reason:

“I’ll bring them home and go over them,” said Mr. Rekrut, who has been on the job for about five years.

“I have my memories from when (she was writing). Now we can make new memories.”

The letters are a happy bit of innocence for Mr. Rekrut and his co-workers. But for the kids, they’re serious business and an opportunity to schmooze the elf while there is still time:

“Hey Santa, I am sorry that I yeld at my dad and my mom. Now let’s begin,” wrote one little boy before listing off 11 items — a train kit, Legos, a scooter and other toys — he’d love to have.

Taking the same tack, another writer started her letter off with the following:

“I have been very good this year. And I have five things I want to ask you.”

Fortunately, Mr. Rekrut said, he has never received a heartbreaking letter from a child whose family is having financial or other problems. While most he's seen are transactional in nature, every once in a while a child just writes to say thanks, and Merry Christmas. That was the case this year with Abby, who sent Santa a Christmas card wishing that all of the magic and joy of the season fills his heart. And Blake had this to say:

“I have been a good boy this year. I help mom make … cake yesterday. I think my report card is gonna be good do you think so Santa. Love, Blake.”

While Santa is understandably too busy this month to send replies to all who write, Mr. Rekrut said he and his staff help him out, sending out Thank You letters on his behalf to children who have put their return address on envelopes.

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