He’s Got Mail: Kids find that e-mailing Santa is more fun than using snail mail

Kirk Baird

Monday, Dec. 13, 2004 | 8:22 a.m.

Where to write

No worries. Santa Claus has stayed up with the times and can be reached via e- mail -- even on Christmas Eve.

Here are some Web site suggestions where you can e-mail Jolly Ol' St. Nick:

Forget waiting in hourlong lines at the mall just to chat with him for 60 seconds. And no more worrying about your Christmas letter arriving to the North Pole in time for Santa's perusal.

With a few clicks of the mouse, anyone can instantly e-mail his or her Christmas wish list to St. Nick himself.

Jonesing for a new bike or sweater? Tell it directly to the Man in Red. Hoping for a hot new video game all your friends have? Let the original Gloved One know. Or perhaps you've had a particularly naughty year and want to plead your case? Lay out your defense in an e-mail.

While children's letters to Santa have been a tradition for generations, e-mail has emerged as a quick and easy alternative to communicating with the North Pole.

"A few years ago I though it was becoming a new tradition," said Alan Kerr, a Calgary, Alberta, Internet consultant who doubles as "Head Elf" at www.emailsanta.com.

"Then I started getting e-mail from parents saying they've been doing this for years now.

"(Families) sit down and write the e-mail together, which gives the parents and the child a chance to discuss the presents before they go off to Santa."

Kerr first had the idea of creating a Santa-centric Web site in '97, when a Canadian Postal strike prevented his niece and nephew from mailing their Christmas wish list letters to Santa.

"They were so excited (about the site), they told everybody," he said.

Two weeks after creating the site Kerr had received more than 1,000 e-mails.

The site has become even more popular than it was originally.

This year Kerr has received 400,000 e-mails from all over the world, as news of his Web site has spread through the media and by word-of-mouth. As Christmas draws closer, he expects to receive up to 50,000 e-mails daily.

And through some clever programming, all e-mails get a response from St. Nick, Kerr said.

"Of course you know that Santa wouldn't let any kids down," he said.

In addition to the e-mail service, the Web site includes other North Pole-themed activities, such as Rudolph's Christmas trivia, elf jokes and a "naughty or nice" list.

Included on the "naughty" list are all those who spam Santa. Apparently, Santa isn't immune to spam, either, and receives as much junk e-mail as he does letters from children.

"I tell ya, there are coal miners who are working overtime," Kerr joked.

While Kerr does take donations for emailsanta.com, he has yet to break even on the cost to maintain the site. He does it simply "for the love of it."

"Some people are fortunate enough in life to find something where they feel they found their calling," he said. "And some days I really feel this is it."

Barb Morrison, general manager of www.northpole.com, which also offers e-mails to Santa, said she especially enjoys the letters from parents, brothers and sisters, and even teachers thanking her for the Web site.

"It's the fact that there are so many people out there who visit our site and then take the time to say, 'Thank you,' " she said from her office in Marietta, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. "That's what we appreciate more than anything."

Morrison helped create northpole.com nine years ago "to learn how things work on the Internet and to learn Web design."

The Web site is actually owned by a software development company that writes programs for restaurant chains.

But, just as with emailsanta- .com, the site doesn't turn a profit.

"It would be nice to get some large company to partner up with us," she said. "But at this point, if we don't find someone, that's OK. We bring a lot of (Christmas spirit) to millions of people. For that, it's a real treat."

The site -- which also offers Christmas stories, karaoke, games, puzzles and recipes -- is open year-round and, by Morrison's estimation, should receive 10 million visitors by year's end.

She also expects about 500,000 e-mails to Santa, which is similar to the number of letters to the North Pole the United States Postal Service handles annually. And an e-mail is quicker than snail mail, often taking one or two days for a response instead of weeks.

Still, Morrison says e-mail won't necessarily supplant the traditional methods of communicating with St. Nick.

"Kids aren't stupid," she said. "When Mom's at work, they'll send an e-mail to Santa. And when she comes home, they'll beg her to take them to the mall."