It’s official, Santa’s secretariat has been open since Tuesday. Established for sixty-one years at the Libourne mail customer service (the only one in France where postal workers have the right to open letters), the secretariat which responds to all children’s letters has undergone a serious facelift this year.
“We wanted to modernize this service which is working better and better, first by changing the place” explains David Resse, director of the site. Completed, the austere, very “operational” room which until now served as the secretariat, gives way to the magic of Christmas with trees, lanterns, and Santa’s office, in a chalet atmosphere like in Lapland.
Michel Bussi, 61 years after Françoise Dolto
The service started on Tuesday with 17 elves, and will increase on Tuesday to 60 elves, who will read the children’s letters until the beginning of January. “We even respond to latecomers,” assures David Resse, “but you have to send your letter before December 20 if you want a response before Christmas. » The success of this secretariat continues year after year. After 1.2 million letters received last year, the elves expect 1.3 million letters this year, “in a global context where mail is decreasing”, recalls the director of the site.
Second novelty this year, the successful writer Michel Bussi was called upon to help Santa Claus write the letter which will be sent to all the children who have posted their letter in a yellow La Poste mailbox . “We wanted to modernize the content of the mail, by using a pen, which had not happened since Françoise Dolto in 1962,” explains David Resse. The famous psychoanalyst is, in fact, at the origin of the Santa Claus secretariat: “she found the initiative of two Norman postwomen very intelligent who, seeing children’s letters passing to Santa Claus, had decided to open them and to answer it. »
The mailed letter is more than 90% preferred over the electronic version
If the tradition of mailing Santa Claus is now well established, the fact remains that the famous character knows how to keep up with the times. For the first time this year, Santa Claus is taking over social networks (Facebook, Instagram), with content posted every day, such as stories, secrets, advent calendars, etc. Children will also be able to choose to send a letter in electronic version on the site pere-noel.laposte.fr, by choosing “Write to Santa”. But, “more than 90% of them prefer the letter sent by post,” specifies David Resse. As a reminder, children simply have to write “Santa Claus” on their letter, without forgetting to write their address on the back in order to receive the response. The letter to Santa does not need a stamp.
The official website of the Santa Claus secretariat also gives children the opportunity to leave drawings or words which will then be sent to hospitalized children, through the Hospital Foundation, which La Poste supports through the operation of Yellow pieces.