Posted on October 31, 2023
The Santa Claus, Indiana, Post Office selected the special 2023 picture postmark for the upcoming holiday season. On Friday, December 1, the post office will begin offering the picture postmark to cancel the postage stamps on holiday mail again this year.
This famous small-town post office is the only one in the world with the Santa Claus name and receives over 400,000 pieces of mail in December – compared to only 13,000 pieces of mail per month the rest of the year. This special picture postmark has been offered every Christmas season since 1983.
Each year, the holiday postmark is designed by a local high school art student as part of an annual contest. This year’s artist is Allison Hoffman, daughter of Jeremy and Lee Ann Hoffman of Mariah Hill, Indiana. Allison is now a freshman at Indiana State University.
“Patrons from all over the world request the Santa Claus holiday postmark. Some drive into town to personally hand cancel their holiday mail with the famous picture postmark and others request the special postmark by mail,” says Postmaster Cheryl Bailey. “The famous Santa Claus postmark is a long-standing tradition for the town and it’s always fun to see the unique artwork each year.”
She asks anyone interested in getting the special cancellation on their holiday mail to follow these guidelines:
The town of Santa Claus will host a celebration of family fun during the first three weekends of December. Special events and activities include Christmas Dinner with Santa, Writing a Letter to Santa, the Santa Claus Christmas Parade, and more. Find details on all upcoming events at SantaClausInd.org/Events.
For information about Santa Claus Christmas Celebration holiday packages, call (888) 444-9252 or visit SantaClausInd.org/Packages.