“Please love me for Christmas! I have tried to be a good girl,” wrote a Hoboken girl named Molly, before presenting an itemized list of approximately 50 items she wanted for Christmas.
“Dear Santa, I love you because your beard is the biggest,” wrote another child.
Tuesday is the last day Hoboken children can mail letters to Santa Claus at the Hoboken’s Main Post Office, located at 89 River St. Already, the branch has received a few hundred letters from kids within the city and around Hudson County, according to Postal Service employee Brad Johnson.
A special red mailbox has been placed outside of the Main Post Office, and children are encouraged to drop off letters telling Santa what they wish for and where they stand on the naughty-nice spectrum. All letters received by Dec. 23 will be answered by Santa as long as they have a return address.
“The kids actually ask for apps nowadays. I don’t know how you wrap that up.”—Brad Johnson
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Johnson did not know if other Hudson County post offices are participating, but said the Hoboken branch had been accepting letters to Santa for at least 35 years.
Along with a response from Santa, each child who sends a letter to the Hoboken post office will receive a small toy. Johnson admitted that they were “goofy little things,” but said that “sometimes these are the best toys because they aren’t affiliated with anything,” allowing free rein for the imagination.
If the Post Office ascertains that a child writing to Santa is truly underprivileged, the letter carriers will sometimes chip in to buy bigger presents and deliver them personally. However, Supervisor Thomas Corrado said that happens less frequently as Hoboken appreciates in value, and has not occurred so far this year.
Passing fads and perennial faves
“I guess I’ve been a pretty good girl this year,” wrote one child named Natalie in her letter to Santa, before asking for a foot bath and the “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” board game.
Other children were much surer of their virtue.
“I have been a good boy this year!” wrote Dominic. “I’m cute and funny. I love to play, draw, read and run!” He went on to ask for a Transformer DinoBot.
If nothing else, the letters to Santa tradition is a revealing peek into the changing tastes of today’s children. In addition to perennial favorites like Legos and Barbie dolls, electronics like the Xbox One, iPad Mini, and Nintendo 3DS are much in demand this year.
“Mostly it’s all video games and iPads,” said Johnson. “The kids actually ask for apps nowadays. I don’t know how you wrap that up.”
For girls, this year’s wish list was all about Disney smash musical “Frozen,” and in particular, sister princesses Anna and Elsa in doll form.
It was also clear that the 2014 World Cup has pushed soccer even deeper into America’s consciousness — kids asked for Lionel Messi cleats, Andrea Pirlo jerseys, and official World Cup Brazuca balls from Santa.
Carlo Davis may be reached at cdavis@hudsonreporter.com.