This year’s Christmas is gonna be a little different, and it’s not just because people will be getting fewer and less expensive presents. Two big traditions are going out the door! The first is kind of a big deal, and could mean extra work for parents: this year letters to Santa will go unanswered. The Grinch, I mean United States Postal Service has canceled their annual Christmas cheer program that forwarded all letters to Santa to North Pole, Alaska, where they were answered by busy elves, raindeer, and other Santa helpers!
Each letter returned with a magical North Pole postmark. The crackdown came after a Maryland Operation Santa volunteer was recognized as a sex offender! If you’re a parent, don’t fear, Operation Santa is still a national program, but it’s a bit more complicated now to protect the child’s privacy. The Postal Service now hides the return address, and puts a code on the letters that only the computer systems now so Santa’s helpers won’t know where the children live. Unfortunately no more letters will be sent from North Pole, Alaska.
Not only is Santa’s letter answering service a bit slowed down this year, but kids can no longer ramp up their Christmas anticipation by browsing the JC Penny Big Book. The original Big Book from Sears disappeared in 1993 after a whopping 106 years of exciting children (and wiping bums). JC Penney held on for a few more years, but now it’s time to say goodbye in favor of online and social media opportunities.
Although it was probably the right business decision, it’s still very sad to think that no more children (or adults) will get the guilty pleasure of browsing through the slick pages of grainy photographs to covet the newest toys. It’s so much more fun to browse through a book you can hold while sipping a cup of cocoa and stroking a cat than getting a migraine from scrolling through items on a computer screen.
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