CARRYING THE MAIL
Exeter family a go-between for Santa letters
It was an idea that Ryan and Amy Parsons loved immediately, one they jumped into full-throttle and with little forethought.
“That’s the way most best plans go,” Ryan explained.
And after all, when someone with the stature of Santa asks for help with his annual cheerspreading escapades, saying “no” isn’t really an option, especially given the often gloomy year the COVID-19 pandemic has produced.
“Everything has been so limited, it’s really put a bummer on things,” Ryan said.
So when a little over a week ago, the Exeter Township couple got a message from the big man up north, they dived right in.
Through a post they came across on Facebook, they realized St. Nick was in need of some elves to help with the mountains of letters he receives from kids across the world this time of year. The post featured one such elf who had put up a mailbox for letters to Santa at their home.
At first glance, Ryan and Amy thought it would be fun to have their three children — Max, Parke and Sadie — write letters and drop them off in the decorative box.
“Within half an hour she was buying a mailbox and I was putting up a post in the front yard,” Ryan said. “We saw that there was one mailbox left at Target
and within half an hour she was there. It spun out of control in about 25 minutes.”
“That’s how most things happen in this house,” Amy added with a laugh.
And just like that, the family became part of Team Santa. They couldn’t be more thrilled to lend a helping holiday hand.
“This year, more than ever, everybody needs a little extra spirit, a little extra joy,” Amy said. “And we’re big on teaching our kids to do things for others, to help the community. There’s always things to give, there’s always ways to help people.”
In this case, the Parsons family is giving a small patch of grass in their front lawn and a little bit of time each day.
Ryan said the kids rush out each morning to collect the letters that fill the mailbox, bringing them inside in a special Santa sack. The kids are ecstatic to be part of the process.
“It’s exciting for my kids,” Ryan said. “They’re 8, 6 and 4, so this is prime Christmas time for them.”
In their first week as Santa’s helpers, after posting about the mailbox on social media and spreading the news through word of mouth, the family got 50 letters or so.
Most have come from nearby neighbors, Ryan said, but some have shown up from as far away as Mohnton and Morgantown.
The family has also started leaving gift cards attached to the mailbox, there for anyone who needs a helping hand. Some families dropping off letters have left gift cards as well.
Each night, Ryan and Amy process the letters, looking them over before sending the family’s Elf on a Shelf to deliver them to the jolly white-haired man who lives at the North Pole. Santa sends back responses by morning.
Ryan said the work doesn’t actually feel much like work. “It’s just an hour a night where we’re not watching Netflix,” he said. “We sit and listen to Christmas music while we do it. It’s fun. Honestly, it’s been a lot of fun.”
In her role as honorary elf, Amy gets a chance to peruse kids’ letters before they’re sent to Santa. She said she’s been touched by what she’s seen.
“I’ve actually been surprised,” she said. “I fully anticipated some fully exorbitant gifts. A few have asked for things like gaming systems, but a lot are for things for their mom or for their brother or sister.”
Others’ lists include smaller items. Lots of kids are asking for Lego sets, and a couple even want pajamas.
One little girl in particular stood out for Amy. The tyke told Santa that she had been good this year because she had helped two of her friends stop fighting with each other.
The family said they aren’t sure if Santa will reach out to them again next year for help. If he does, they said, they’d jump at the chance to be elves and play their part in the magic of the season again.
But if he chooses someone else, Ryan said, they’ll be welcome to borrow the mailbox.
“We would do it again next year, I think so,” Ryan said. “But I also wouldn’t mind if it went to someone else’s house, if it was a traveling mailbox.”
Her request, Amy said, was for Santa to bring one of them a punching bag.
The Parsonses said they’ve been pleased with the popularity of their North Pole Post Office satellite office. When they began, Ryan said, they didn’t know whether the mailbox would sit empty or if it would be constantly overflowing.
“I thought if it was popular, and more than our team of elves could handle, we know enough other elves to help get the job done,” he said.