It’s A Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Santa Claus
Kris Kringle Flies Into College Park Amid ‘Letters To Santa’ And The 100th Anniversary of U.S. Airmail
Santa will be arriving at the historic College Park Airport on Saturday, December 1 at approximately 12:30 pm in his special “sleigh!” The Santa Fly-In program runs from 12 Noon – 4 pm at the College Park Aviation Museum located at 1985 Corporal Frank Scott Drive in College Park, MD. This year the U.S. Postal Service is joining the fun to help celebrate the season and the 100th Anniversary of airmail. Upon arrival, Santa will stroll into the museum’s main gallery where visitors may have their picture taken with him. Holiday arts and crafts will be available for adults and children through the museum, including a card making station.
Children of all ages can add a festive seasonal flair to their holiday cards or letters with a special postmark to commemorate the Santa Fly-in event and the 100th anniversary of Airmail. USPS will offer an assortment of holiday and Air Mail stamps. Any letters postmarked during Santa Fly-in must be received by the USPS at the museum.
For any parent looking for a reply from Santa to their child’s letter – complete with a North Pole postmark—our postal elves have got you covered. Just follow these steps:
Have your child write a letter to Santa and place it in an envelope addressed to: Santa Claus, North Pole.
Later, when alone, open the envelope and write a personalized response.
Insert the response letter into an envelope and address it to the child.
Add the return address: SANTA, NORTH POLE, to the envelope.
Affix a First-Class Mail stamp to the envelope.
Place the complete envelope into a larger envelope—preferably a Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope—with appropriate postage and address it to: North Pole Postmark, Postmaster 4141 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998
“Letters from Santa” must be received by the Anchorage, AK postmaster no later than Dec. 16. Santa’s helpers at the Postal Service will take care of the rest. Postal personnel at the Santa Fly-In event will be available to help complete and mail letters from Santa.
The Special postmark celebrates the communication milestone of mail traveling in an airplane, which led to the birth of America’s commercial airlines. The Post Office Department initiated regular U.S. Air Mail service from College Park Airfield in Maryland to New York City on Aug. 12, 1918. This 218-mile route was the first step in establishing a transcontinental route by air.
For more information including plane landing viewing, ticket purchase, please call the museum at 301-864-6029 or email: AviationMuseum@pgparks.com or see www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com
