Letters to Santa Claus

By The Elves, Pat Koch and Emily Weisner Thompson

A “poignant” collection of real letters sent to Santa Claus—a town in Indiana—from the 1930s to the twenty-first century, from both children and adults (The New York Times).

For countless Christmases, children—and sometimes adults—have stuffed their dreams, wishes, and promises into envelopes. Over many decades, millions of these letters have poured into Santa Claus, Indiana.

Arriving from all corners of the globe, the letters ask for toys, family reunions, snow, and help for the needy—sometimes the needy being the writers themselves. They are candid, heartfelt, and often blunt. Many children wonder how Santa gets into their chimneyless homes. One child reminds Santa that she has not hit her brothers over 1,350 times that year, and another respectfully requests two million dollars in “cold cash.” One child hopes to make his life better with a time machine, an adult woman asks for a man, and one miscreant actually threatens Santa’s reindeer!

Containing more than 250 actual letters and envelopes from the naughty and nice reaching back to the 1930s, this moving book will touch hearts and bring back memories of a time in our lives when the man with a white beard and a red suit held out the hope that our wishes might come true.

“Often very affecting . . . also offers an unusual window into American history.” —Library Journal

“The letters . . . are alternately silly and somber, hilarious and heartfelt.” —The Weekly Standard

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9780253017949

Book preview

Letters to

Santa Claus

Letters to

Santa Claus

The ELVES

Foreword by Pat Koch, Head Elf

Afterword by Emily Weisner Thompson

This book is a publication of

Indiana University Press

Office of Scholarly Publishing

Herman B Wells Library 350

1320 East 10th Street

Bloomington, Indiana 47405 USA

iupress.indiana.edu

© 2015 by Indiana University Press

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48–1992.

Manufactured in China

Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN 978-0-253-01793-2 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-253-01794-9 (ebook)

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To all of Santa’s Elves:

Without you,

there would be no magic.

Contents

Foreword by Pat Koch

Acknowledgments

The Letters

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Afterword by Emily Weisner Thompson

Pat Yellig Koch and her brother, Ray Yellig Jr., at the 1935 Santa Statue (circa 1941).

Photo courtesy Santa Claus Museum & Village.