Get your students into the holiday spirit this year by having them write out their Christmas wish list to Santa! This free Santa letter printable is cute enough to hang on the wall and is the perfect way for your students to write their own letter to Santa himself.
As teachers, it's so important to ride the wave of your students' interest. Towards the end of November, young children become focused and excited about the holiday season. Spread a little holiday cheer (and get them writing) with these free Letter to Santa templates!
Free Printable Santa Letter Template
Although I have several Dear Santa letters to share, this free printable letter is my favourite! It's meant to be used as a craftivity, so instead of just having your kids write out their letters, they also get to colour and decorate Santa's hat with cotton balls!
These letters are lots of fun! It's always so sweet to see all of their Christmas wishes in a simple letter. Alternatively, the kids could write to Santa and tell him why they'd make a great elf!
I like to put them on black construction paper as a backing, then hang them on the bulletin board to show off for a couple of weeks.
Then, I send them home for the parents to save for later.
What's included?
These Christmas printables have more than just a Santa letter! This set includes:
- Blank Santa letter template that reads "Dear Santa" on the hat
- "I would make a good elf because..." writing template
- Free printable Dear Santa letter template with Santa's face to use however you'd like
You can either print out a black-and-white version for the kids to colour in or skip that step and print them in full colour. They really become a fun holiday tradition, and they always look super cute!
More Free Santa Letter Templates
Not a fan of this option? There are also 3 more blank templates in my Elf on the Shelf Christmas printables!
This set includes over 30 days of Elf on the Shelf antics and printable shipping labels from a North Pole address.
Although these are normally used to ship your elf to your classroom, they would make a great mailbox for your Santa letters!
- A full page blank letter in black-and-white that reads "Dear Santa"
- Another lined page with a shorter writing section (perfect for young children)
- An unlined page with an image of Santa and his reindeer (perfect for older kids)
This special set has even more free printables, like an elf diary and several writing prompts to get your kids in the holiday spirit!
How to Send Dear Santa Letters
Did you know that you can actually post letters to Santa in several different countries? This is a great chance to teach your students how to fill out an envelope!
Australia: Use Australia Post to ship your whole class set of Santa letters to the North Pole! There are even more letter templates available on the Santa Mail site, and you can track the status of your package together.
New Zealand: Post those letters by November 27th to receive a reply. Santa even replies to your emails! Learn more about the program here. Teachers can submit class letters here.
United States of America: In the United States. have students label the envelope "Santa Claus, North Pole" and drop it off at a US Post Office. You do not need a stamp. Be sure to include their full name and return address to receive a reply! Learn more about USPS Operation Santa here.
United Kingdom: Letters must be posted to the Royal Mail by November 30th to receive a reply. Don't forget to add a stamp!
Canada: Mail each child's letter through Canada Post by December 7th to receive a return letter from the big guy himself. No stamps are required, but they do recommend sending all the letters from one family together. Learn about the Santa letter program here.
Tips for Using Dear Santa Letter Printables
It's a lot of fun seeing your students draft their Christmas list, but there are a few things to remember.
- Recognise differences. Christmas time is a keen moment when younger kids recognise that their lives are different from their classmates’ lives. Some students will receive so much more than others, and some may not receive any gifts at all. If we focus too much on the gifts, that can make it seem like that's the most important part!
- Make it optional. If your students are not comfortable writing a letter to Santa, use the "why I'd make a good elf" template or find an alternative activity.
- Keep it secular. Depending on where you teach, you may or may not be able to talk about celebrating Christmas or have your students write out these letters. Just keep this in mind and remember that not all families celebrate this religious holiday.
- Offer sentence stems and a word bank. Especially for younger children, it can be really helpful to set up some fill-in-the-blank phrases they can use to draft their letter. Brainstorm some key phrases you anticipate they’ll use and display them on a poster or the board.
- To draft or not. Since I like to display these Santa letters on a bulletin board, I do suggest that students use their best handwriting! It can help to have your students draft out their Christmas letter first on a separate piece of paper and make some revisions before publishing.
More Christmas Activities
- Build an Elf Christmas Printable
- Christmas Phonics Game for Kindergarten
- 40+ Christmas Season Phonics Activities
- Christmas Maths Activity for Kindergarten
- Check out our Virtual Elf on The Hive
