19th Street Magazine December 2019

Hopeful Children Flock to The Station with North Pole Wish Lists by Chelsey Kraft

Santa will be making a special stop at The Station Recreation Center in Moore to pick up letters from children this holiday season.

Until Dec. 20 at 5 p.m., Santa’s Mailbox will be accepting wish lists in The Station’s lobby at 700 S Broadway Ave. Children in fourth grade and younger are welcome to drop off their letters to receive a handwritten reply from Santa. Letter drop-off also makes for great holiday photo opportunities amid a backdrop of decorations that include Santa’s sleigh, said Lisa Hinkle, recreation center supervisor.

The letters should include the child’s first and last names, ages, mailing addresses and holiday wishlists, and Hinkle added that Santa especially enjoys seeing hand-drawn holiday pictures. All letters must have a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a return address, so Santa can send a reply.

This is the third year Santa has placed a mailbox at The Station, and Hinkle said the recreation center’s staff want the box to be another family-friendly holiday attraction in addition to Breakfast with Santa and the Christmas Spectacular fireworks event. The first year, the mailbox received about 150 letters, and last year’s total was 178. Hinkle expects that number to grow in 2019 as more families have heard about the program.

Feedback about Santa’s mailbox has been positive, and it provides the employees at The Station a way to give back and interact with local children directly, whether they realize it or not, Hinkle said. The staff also enjoys reading the letters from the kids, adding to the holiday spirit for them as well. Many of the letters include funny comments, and Hinkle said it’s also humbling to read some ofthe letters. It’s clear the children are grateful for what they have.

“It’s very rewarding to see some of the pictures that we get back from some of the parents of kids holding their letters and them telling us how excited they were to get a letter from Santa,” Hinkle said.

“We try and add a little bit of magic to it, so we give that kid a positive experience at Christmas… We try to add a personal touch in the letter, so the parents always love that. I’m not sure how much they love the glitter bombs that we put in there, but the kids always love that a lot. The parents always tell us that it makes it a little bit more real for the kids and kind of keeps that magic alive.”

For more information about Santa’s Mailbox, contact Hinkle at (405) 793-5090. –19SM