MASON — For decades, a giant Santa statue and mailbox have appeared downtown on the lawn of the historic Ingham County courthouse during the holiday season. Children who drop their letters inside the mailbox get a letter back from Saint Nicholas himself.
But answering the thousands of letters from children worldwide is a monumental task, even for Santa. In Mason, a group of his helpers help him respond before Christmas morning.
Every Wednesday, those helpers meet at Bestsellers Books & Coffee Co. in the 300 block of South Jefferson Street, across from the courthouse, to respond to letters dropped in the mailbox the previous week.
Donning elf hats and headbands, they pore through the letters, noting the requests and formalizing answers.
Volunteers gather in Mason’s Bestsellers Books & Coffee Co. to respond to the letters dropped in Santa’s Mailbox near Mason’s courthouse, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
Jaime Robinson, owner of the bookstore, said more Santa’s helpers showed up this holiday season than any before. On Wednesday, one week before Christmas, 14 women pulled tables together in the bookstore to answer hundreds of letters.
“Someone asked for a March Madness win for (Michigan State University),” helper Beata Gailitis, 72, said. “We told him we’d let Tom Izzo know.”
The current group of helpers are relatively new to the job, replacing another group three years ago when they retired from their North Pole responsibilities.
A box of letters from Santa’s Mailbox waiting to be responded to by Santa’s helpers on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at Bestsellers Books and Coffee Co. on South Jefferson Street in Mason.
Robinson signed up to help Kris Kringle when she learned the previous group wouldn’t be able to do it anymore. Worried about Santa’s workload, and that a local tradition could end, she gathered some of her friends, members of the Mason Kiwanis Club, and other local service organizations to take up the mantle, which they were happy to do.
“Most of our kids wrote letters to put in the mailbox in front of the courthouse decades ago,” Gailitis said. “I think it’s important to keep the magic of Christmas alive for the kids now.”
The women said they have some rules they follow — no promising pets — but they like to be creative in how they respond.
Organizer Beata Gailitis talks to other volunteers while responding to letters to Santa dropped in Santa’s Mailbox in Mason, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at Bestsellers Books and Coffee Co. on South Jefferson Street in Mason.
“One asked Santa who his favorite reindeer was,” helper Sherry Coss, 76, said. “I responded with how all the reindeers are my favorite and they’re all helpful in their own way… I try to have fun with it.”
The women said the letters they read are “precious” and sometimes they can’t help but chuckle at the requests — like the child who pleaded with Santa to bring a pigeon on Christmas Day.
Most of the children writing want to make sure Santa knows they’ve been good. One child wrote this week that “I try my best and I want for Chatmis (sic) is a new drone.”
A letter to Santa dropped in Mason’s Santa Mailbox, asking Santa for a drone for Christmas, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
One boy, Henry, wrote, “I think I’ve been good at school this year. Can you help me be better at home?”
Ben wrote that the nicest thing he did this year was “helping peopl (sic) up.”
The letters keep the group of Santa’s helpers busy.
“Over the last three years, I know we’ve responded to over 1,000 letters,” Robinson said.
A drawing of Santa Claus and Rudolph included in a child’s letter to Santa, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at Bestsellers Books and Coffee Co. on South Jefferson Street in Mason.
The most surprising thing, Robinson said, is how many letters come from outside of the city’s limits.
“We’ve sent some back to addresses in Texas, in Arizona, in Florida,” she said. “It’s really surprising how many people are coming to drop their letters here.”
Santa’s helpers said the work they do is immensely rewarding and knowing they’re giving a child a lifetime memory is so fulfilling.
Volunteer Mary Stringer, 66, writes a letter back to a child, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024, at Bestsellers Books and Coffee Co. on South Jefferson Street in Mason.
“When I was young, we didn’t write letters to Santa,” said helper Mary Stringer, 66. “Instead, he called us on the phone… I remember being so terrified to talk to him. But yes, I still have that memory with me, and it’s feels good to give these kids a little magic in their lives.”
Contact Sarah Atwood at satwood@lsj.com, or follow her on X @sarahmatwood.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: In one small town, Santa’s helpers make sure a holiday tradition endures