The Clanton Post Office will accept letters to Santa Claus from children who wish to tell him what they want for Christmas.

The post office receives anywhere from 100 to 150 letters to Santa each year, Clanton Postmaster Ronnie Carmichael said.

“If you want to write a letter to Santa Claus, you can bring it to the post office,” he said. “It needs to be in an envelope with a postage stamp on it and a [return] address so it goes to the right location.”

All of the letters are forwarded to the Alabama District Post Office in Birmingham before they reach the North Pole. Personnel at the district office see that each letter is answered personally by Santa himself.

Even though the letters must go to Birmingham, no mailing address other than “Santa Claus: North Pole” is required, Carmichael said.

The Clanton Post Office typically receives several of the letters each day up until about a week before Christmas.

These letters account for a small percentage of the 19 billion pieces of cards and packages that are delivered by the U.S. Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year.

“We have plenty of Christmas stamps available for anyone who needs them,” Carmichael reminds the public.