US postal service failing to deliver on the Christmas spirit

Updated November 20, 2009 12:55:52

The global financial crisis and privacy concerns have claimed another victim - Santa Claus.

Last year children sent 800,000 letters to Santa at his home in North Pole, Alaska, where the residents volunteer to send the replies. But the US Postal Service is being called the Grinch after saying it can't afford to deal with the letters anymore.

Presenter: Lisa Millar
Speakers: Doug Isaacson is the mayor of North Pole; Sue Brennan from the US Postal Service headquarters

(excerpt of Christmas carol)

LISA MILLAR: Every year children around the world send letters to the North Pole hoping Santa will grant their wishes.

DOUG ISAACSON: In 2007 they'd received over 750,000 and throughout the year, and then last year it was over 800,000.

LISA MILLER: Doug Isaacson is the mayor of North Pole, 200 kilometres south of the Arctic circle, where locals live on streets called Santa Claus Lane and every year they volunteer to reply to Santa's letters, a tradition started by Mike Miller's parents in 1954.

MIKE MILLER: In some cases, you know, it may be the best part of Christmas that they have because there may not have been much of a Christmas on the 25th.

LISA MILLAR: But Sue Brennan from the US Postal Service headquarters in Washington DC said the post is feeling the pinch.

SUE BRENNAN: Because the economy has been so bad and it's hit the postal service as hard as it's hit anybody, that a number of our offices have opted out of the program.

LISA MILLAR: And fears about sex predators have sparked new rules to protect children's identities, making the program even hard to run.

Doug Isaacson says his town is devastated.

DOUG ISAACSON: Don't just come with a high handed Grinch-like method and say Christmas is gone and your identity is now being stolen and letters to Santa are not going to be answered, that's tragic.

LISA MILLAR: What happens to those letters now, the 800,000 letters to Santa, where are they going to end up?

DOUG ISAACSON: Somebody told the reporter, well, we're just going to destroy 'em.

LISA MILLAR: Sue Brennan puts it differently.

SUE BRENNAN: We'll probably... probably end up being recycled.

LISA MILLAR: Mike Miller runs the Christmas shop his parents started. He says if letters are addressed directly to Santa Claus House, Santa will get them. And the post office says it will still run programs in major cities to deal with Santa's letters but just not those addressed to the North Pole.