Santa freebies 2024

Each year, Santa's elves at the Royal Mail can help you get a free letter from Santa, if you write to him by early December.

This year's deadline has passed – it was Monday 9 December. We've left the below for reference

Royal Mail says the deadline is Monday 9 December, but advised that sooner is better for a good chance of getting a reply.

Technically, it isn't 100% free as you'll need to post your letter to Santa with a stamp (£1.65 first-class, 85p second). Just remember to include full names and address, so Santa knows where to send his reply.

It's also worth remembering things can go wrong, such as when demand is very high, as we reported in 2013 in our Royal Mail fails to deliver MSE News story. Royal Mail says it can't guarantee a reply, even if you've sent your letter nice and early. 

So while a nice festive freebie, it's a good idea to prep kids for disappointment (just in case) by reminding them Santa's very busy – so may not write back to everyone. If this is the case, or you can't wait for Santa's reply, you can download a letter for free, too. 

Where to send your letters

Pop it in the post with a stamp on (remember the deadline for them to receive it is Monday 9 December), and address it to: Santa/Father Christmas, Santa's Grotto, Reindeerland, XM4 5HQ.

Or in Welsh: Sion Corn, Ogof Sion Corn, Gwlad Y Ceirw, XM4 5HQ.

For a suggested £3 donation to the NSPCC, you can personalise a letter from Santa for a loved one. There are eight themes to choose from, including ‘Baby’s first Christmas’ and ‘The Christmas Express’.

The deadline for ordering your letter via post has passed – it was Sunday 15 December

Donations support children in need by providing services such as Childline. The letter, available in English or Welsh, will arrive in the post in time for Christmas.

Each year, Santa has some elves at the Royal Institute of Blind People (RNIB), who help him respond to children who are blind or partially-sighted. The 2024 deadline has now passed to fill in the free application form online to receive a Braille or large print letter, or audio CD from Santa.

The deadline for Braille, audio CD and large print letters was Sunday 1 December

Read more at the RNIB. Some of previous years' letters gave Martin leaky eyes. See them in his 2012 blog: Read letters from blind children to Santa.

Each year, a website called Portable North Pole lets you create a free personalised video message from Santa. We've heard reports of this not working for some users who've created one before, but that they tried again a few weeks later and it worked.

This year's free video is now available, so click the link above to tailor yours

IMPORTANT: The link above takes you to a range of videos on Portable North Pole, and some cost money. So make sure you're looking at the free option if you don't want to pay – if at any point you're asked to enter payment info, go back and try again.

It only takes a few minutes to set up. Here's a still from one we made for Martin a few years ago:

Each year, free website NORAD Tracks Santa opens its doors to let families track Santa's progress as he visits homes around the world on Christmas Eve and in to the day itself. 

There's even a free mobile app (iOS or Android) so you can check Santa's whereabouts if you're on the move yourself.

You can only track Santa from Christmas Eve itself (his location's top secret till then).