North Pole Postmark & Other Postmarks
May 2, 2009 by xmastips
Filed under Christmas, Christmas Cards, Printable Santa Letters
You can add an extra holiday touch to your Christmas letters and Santa letters by getting a special holiday postmark/cancellation on your envelopes. One of the most popular holiday cancellations is the North Pole postmark from North Pole, Alaska, but there are nearly 100 towns and cities in the United States with names related to the holidays, and a number of these offer special holiday postmarks.
To get a North Pole postmark on your envelope(s), simply address and stamp your envelope(s) as you normally would. Then put them all in a bigger envelope and send them to:
North Pole Christmas Cancellation
Postmaster
5400 Mail Trail
Fairbanks, AK 99709-9999
To ensure delivery by Christmas, envelopes should be received at the North Pole post office no later than December 15.
You can also take advantage of this free service offered by other holiday-themed post offices by sending your sealed, stamped and addressed envelopes in a larger envelope to the attention of Christmas Re-Mailing at the appropriate post office noted below.
The United States Post Office published this list in 2008 of post offices with Christmas names. Some of these post offices offer a regular cancellation with the city name, while others have special graphic for the holidays. Cities in red with an asterisk are those that have offered special images in previous years. Images change from year to year, so be sure to check with the appropriate post office before mailing.
- Advent WV 25231
- Angeles PR 00611
- Angels Camp CA 95222
- Antler ND 58711
- Antlers OK 74523
- Bell CA 90201
- Bell FL 32619
- Bethlehem CT 06751
- Bethlehem GA 30620
- Bethlehem IN 47104
- Bethlehem KY 40007
- Bethlehem MD 21609
- Bethlehem NH 03574
- Bethlehem PA 18016
- Blessing TX 77419
- Chestnut IL 62518
- Christmas FL 32709
- Christmas MI 49862
- Evergreen AL 36401
- Evergreen CO 80439
- Evergreen LA 71333
- Evergreen MT 59901 (branch of Kalilspell Post Office)
- Evergreen NC 28438
- Evergreen VA 23939
- Faith NC 28041
- Faith SD 57626
- *Frost MN 56033
- Frost TX 76641
- Garland ME 04939
- Garland NE 68360
- Garland NC 28441
- Garland PA 16416
- Garland TX 75040
- Garland UT 84312
- *Holly CO 81047
- *Holly MI 48442
- Hope AK 99605
- Hope AR 71801
- *Hope ID 83836
- Hope IN 47246
- *Hope KS 67451
- Hope KY 40334
- Hope MI 48628
- *Hope MN 56046
- Hope NJ 07844
- Hope NM 88250
- Hope ND 58046
- Hope RI 02831
- Joseph OR 97846
- Joseph City AZ 86032
- Joy IL 61260
- Mistletoe KY 41351
- Nazareth KY 40048
- Nazareth MI 49074
- *Nazareth PA 18064
- Nazareth TX 79063
- *Noel MO 64854
- *North Pole NY 12997
- Partridge KS 67566
- Partridge KY 40862
- Rudolph OH 43462
- Rudolph WI 54475
- Saint Joseph IL 61873
- Saint Joseph LA 71366
- Saint Joseph MI 49085
- Saint Joseph MN 56374
- Saint Joseph MO 64501
- Saint Joseph TN 38481
- Saint Mary KY 40063
- Saint Mary MO 63673
- Saint Mary MT 59417 (community Post Office of Browning)
- Saint Marys AK 99658
- Saint Marys GA 31558
- Saint Marys IN 46556 (branch of Notre Dame Post Office)
- Saint Marys IA 50241
- Saint Marys KS 66536
- Saint Marys OH 45885
- Saint Marys PA 15857
- Saint Marys WV 26170
- *Santa ID 83866
- *Santa Claus IN 47579
- Shepherd MI 48883
- Shepherd MT 59079
- Shepherd TX 77371
- Snow OK 74567
- Snowflake AZ 85937
- Snow Shoe PA 16874
- Spruce MI 48762
- *Star ID 83669
- *Star MS 39167
- *Star NC 27356
- Star TX 76880
- *Starlight PA 18461
- Surprise NY 12176
- Wiseman AR 72587
You can find lists of all upcoming pictorial postmarks and instructions for obtaining them in the “Philately” section of the Postal Bulletin.
Regarding Noel, Missouri, and just to clarify, what you will receive if you send items through the mail, is a “cachet”, and probably NOT a postmark. This is a decorative rubber stamp. It is not a postmark. When I went down there last year, there were volunteers who were applying the cachet with a die-type rubber stamp (the heavy duty metal variety), and as far as I know all of the items were sent to the Springfield sectional center for application of a Springfield overspray, and NOT a Noel postmark. I think what has happened is that due to volume of mail, the post office has decided that people would prefer a “cachet” and that the postmark is of lesser importance. When you send items for a postmark, what you are getting is a “cachet”, which is totally different. For us postmark collectors, of course, we want the actual postmark. I requested a handstamped postmark and handed it to the clerk. What I got back through the mail was a very very faint machine cancel and the Noel wording was barely readable, and then it was completely covered up by the Springfield overspray. Probably the only way we will see readable postmarks from there in the future is if someone obtains a Mailer’s Postmark Permit and begins doing that as a service to other collectors. For more information on Mailer’s Postmark Permits see http://www.mppcclub.org
Last year I sent my Christmas cards to North Pole Alaska and was very disappointed to find that the cancellation was nothing other than the regular machine cancellation.
Hi Jodi – Did you make sure to send your envelopes to “North Pole Christmas cancellation” and get them there be December 15? The image at the top of this page shows what the North Pole cancellation looks like.
Is there a limit to the number of letters these folks will/can handle? Do prior arrangements (written requests) need to be made?
There’s no limit I’m aware of at this time. The USPS usually puts out a press release each holiday season about this service, and I’ve never seen any mention of limits on how many letters you can send. These are regular U.S. post offices, so they operate just like any other post office and can handle large volumes. However, I suppose this could change, especially given the difficulties the USPS is facing.
@Jamie – update to your question. I found a press release from last year that indicated there IS a limit to the hand-stamped “picture postmarks” offered in Santa Claus, Indiana. According to the press release, “There is no charge for postmarking—however there is a limit of 50 picture postmarks (hand cancellations) per person per day.”
The press release for the North Pole postmark didn’t mention any limit. From what I’ve seen, it appears to be a machine cancellation (as shown in image above) and not a hand stamp, so they presumably can handle larger quantities.
when my kids were little i sent there letters to the north pole, then i made sure there santa letters were sent back with the north pole stamp. they showed all there friends that they really got a letter from santa at the real north pole i am hoping they do this there own kids. im telling all my friends to do this for kids or grandkids.
I have used many holiday postmarks over the years. The following all have very nice, special postmarks.
Rudolph, Ohio
Noel, Missouri
Christmas, Florida
Rudolph, Wisconsin
Christmas VAlley, Oregon
Santa Claus, Indiana
Santa, Idaho
This year I am trying North Poel, New York 12997 after viewing their stamp online at:
http://www.northpoleny.com/page.cfm?page=Post%20Office
It’s great fun and most important of all – DON’T FORGET TO SEND A CARD TO YOURSELF SO YOU’LL HAVE ONE TO KEEP!!
Do I have to send you a stamp for you to mail back the letter to my house?
Hi A. Lynch,
If you want to get any of the postmarks mentioned above, you will need to put a stamp on the envelope you want sent back to you or to someone else AND the envelope you send to the North Pole (or any of the other cities mentioned) for cancellation. Just as with any mail, the US Postal Service will not deliver it without postage.
Hi Debbie – Thanks for the feedback on which postmarks you’ve enjoyed and especially for the link to the North Pole, NY info. It’s always nice to be able to see an example of the postmark you’ll be getting. Happy holidays!
I sent my letters via Priority Mail to Christmas Florida post office last week to:
Christmas Re-Mailing
Post Master
23580 E Colonial Dr
Christmas, FL 32709
I just found out they were post marked Orlando? Does anyone know why this would happen? Was it because I sent it Priority?
Can I send a package (box) to the north pole address and get it stamped as well ?
I send cards every year to get the Christmas North Pole greeting on it. I send about 100.
In addition, I send two or three boxes of Trader Joe’s Peppermint Joe Joe’s to all the postal workers with my cards. That way they get a little bright spot to their day during a very hard season. I *ALWAYS* receive a thank you card from them. It is lovely.
I sent my 4-year old boy’s card to North Pole, NY for Christmas cancellation. We mailed it December 14th, 2009 and it arrived after Christmas with a postmarked stamp that didn’t imprint well enough to even make out the teddy bear picture or the city name “North Pole”. Big Bummer!