Children have been writing letters to Santa’s post offices in Germany for decades - but they’re not the only ones with Christmas wishes! For one Christmas post office in Saarland, a call for letters from “kids” of all ages has led to a bumper crop of wish lists in 2021. 

Saint Nicholas’ post office in Saarland receives 30.000 letters

Saint Nicholas had his hands full this year, receiving more letters than ever before at his post office in the town of St. Nikolaus (Großrosseln) in Saarland. According to volunteers, kids and adults from all over the world posted more than 30.000 letters this year. During the holidays in 2020, they responded to 29.845 letters from children from a total of 45 countries. 

Proving that you don’t have to be a child to get involved in the Christmas spirit, this year the post office received a lot of letters from “older children”. They announced at the end of November that there was no age limit on sending a letter to Saint Nicholas - anyone who wanted a dose of festive magic could write and expect a reply. 

Christmas wish lists from “kids” of all ages

“Straight away, we received a lot of letters,” said Sabine Gerecke, head of the children’s letter campaign in the town. Children sent enquiries on behalf of their grandparents, asking if Saint Nicholas would please write to them. Groups of senior citizens also sent greetings or poems - and received a letter of reply from Saint Nick. “We are pleased that our idea was accepted in this way,” said Gerecke. 

According to Deutsche Post, children have been writing “An den Nikolaus” in the small town near the French border for more than 50 years, making this location the oldest Christmas post office in Germany. Across Germany, there are seven Christmas post offices where children can send their letters to Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas or the Christkind.