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Many children asking Santa for bare essentials »
If you want to contact Santa, you have to write a letter, an ancient practice involving paper, pencil and a stamp. Thousands of Bay Area children have done just that - but this holiday season, the tone of letters bound for the North Pole is a little more somber than usual. U.S. Postal Service officials in Oakland and San Francisco said they've seen a sharp increase this year in kids asking Santa not for Xboxes or PlayStations, but food, warm coats and jobs for their parents. Jacqueline in Oakland, with immaculate handwriting, asked for an iPad so she can do her homework, explaining that her parents can't afford a computer and in fact Santa did not come at all last year. The latter group receives letters from Santa in return, thanking them for believing and wishing them a happy holiday. The Postal Service deletes the children's last names and addresses, and puts the letters in the main post office lobby for the public to peruse. Volunteers can pick a few letters, buy whatever the child is requesting - or gift cards, money orders or anything else that seems appropriate - wrap it up and give it to the Postal Service to send to the child. Volunteers pitch inSometimes companies or schools take stacks of letters. There's still time Volunteer elves can stop by the Oakland main post office through 3 p.m. Thursday to respond to a child's letter from Santa. Source Main page (current trends)
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