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John Carney

Every child who writes a letter to Santa Claus is certain of getting a reply, thanks to the spirit of Christmas at Hongkong Post.
Every year, employees from the organisation give poor, overworked Father Christmas a hand and pen a response to all the letters they receive. 
Hongkong Post collected more than 6,000 letters to Santa last year and 4,000 letters have been sent so far this year.  
'We started this system back in the mid-1980s and it has always been an important practice for us,' said Mary Chung, Hongkong Post's senior manager for public relations. 
'Our team started sending replies back in late November and will continue doing it into next month. 
'It's something that brings both the children and our employees a lot of happiness.'
Carris Lee Lai-fun has been writing letters on behalf of Santa for the past three years. Lee said she enjoyed doing the job as she could imagine how happy the children were when they received Santa's reply. 
'You also get a better understanding of how children think by reading their letters,' Lee said. 
'The expressions the children use are so genuine and each and every letter carries its unique sentimental meaning. When I open the letter, I always wonder what the message will be inside. At times like this it reminds me of my own childhood.'
Chung felt getting a response from Santa made a difference to children in other ways, too.
In today's modern world, children spend a lot of time on the internet and playing electronic games. 
But writing top Santa encourages them to use another important way of communicating.
'Today children seldom communicate with others through letters,' Chung said. 'We find this project meaningful as it not only supports our mission of 'Linking People, Delivering Business', but also encourages children to write. It certainly makes a difference when they get a response from Santa.'
Chung said the style of most of the letters had remained the same over the years, but the presents that children asked for were always different. 
'From the letters, you will soon find out what are the most popular items that children want to get for Christmas that year,' Chung said. 
The other common factor is that children are always curious to know whether Santa is a real person.
She added that they always try to send their best wishes to their friends or someone they love in their letter.
6,000
The number of children's letters to Father Christmas received by Hongkong Post last year. It  has so far received 4,000 this year



Santa gets some help from the post office