Ind. releases famous stamp

In the town of Santa Claus, Ind., down Kringle Place Boulevard, the official Santa Claus Post Office can be found.

It is here that the holiday picture postmark, a special commemorative stamp available only during the month of December, awaits eager collectors everywhere.

The town has offered this special holiday picture postmark every December since 1983. Because this postmark is the only official Santa Claus postmark, the town attracts many new customers during the holiday season.

“People drive from all over the United States to get this postmark,” said Marian Balbach, postmaster of the town of Santa Claus.

The design for the holiday postmark is chosen as part of an annual contest. Balbach said the Heritage Hills High School senior class is asked to create two- by four-inch designs for the postmark and submit them in the beginning of the new year. The winning design is usually picked by September.

Heritage Hills senior Abby Wilmes created this year’s winning design. Wilmes’ design shows Santa near a lamppost, and the date acts as the light atop the post. This new postmark has attracted the attention of many potential collectors.

“This year’s winner is a really cute one. We’ve had a lot of good comments about it,” Balbach said.

Submissions for the holiday picture postmark contest are open exclusively to seniors of Heritage Hills High School. Heritage Hills art instructor Kim Brown explained that this contest is an opportunity for the students to be acknowledged nationally and internationally for their work.

“Giving the kids this opportunity is a good way for them to be recognized,” Brown said. “We have many talented kids.”

Mail is sent to the town of Santa Claus from all over the world. People from New York, California, Philadelphia, Japan, Germany, France and a variety of other places have requested the postmark, Balbach said.

Sue Hurst, curator of the Santa Claus Museum, also deals with the incredible amount of mail that comes to the town every year. The museum is in charge of answering all of the letters sent to Santa by children nationwide. Last year alone the museum answered 35,600 letters, Hurst said.

Since thousands of letters are sent to the post office during the Christmas season, the holiday postmark is requested often because it is a unique collector’s piece.

“We are the only town of Santa Claus in the United States and I think, the world,” Hurst said. “That postmark goes on thousands and thousands of pieces of mail. It’s an honor for the person who wins the contest.”

As children rush to the mailbox to read their replies from Santa, Hurst said she hopes the postmark stamped on the envelopes will be a special piece of Santa Claus, Ind., that families can cherish forever.

“Just seeing the kids’ faces light up is my favorite part of this time of year,” she said.