Santa is waiting for your letter...

You can have apps, ipps, opps, and maybe even oops this Christmas but when it comes to getting Santa’s attention, there’s nothing like getting out the pen or pencil, writing a letter, licking a stamp, and sending it off to the North Pole.

Santa Claus will love it, according to An Post, which says that Santa’s elves are gearing up for the festive season.

“Please remind all the boys and girls to post their Christmas letters to me as soon as possible,” says Santa.

“All the elves are busy in the workshop, making and packing toys and gifts. Mrs Claus is checking lists of names on her computer and planning the route for my big journey on Christmas Eve.”

Santa says he loves reading the letters from children in Ireland, particularly when they have taken the time to write the letter themselves.

So all they need do is put their letter in an envelope, write their own name and address on the top left-hand corner of the front of the envelope, stick a 55c stamp on the top right-hand corner and post it to: Santa Claus, The North Pole.

Among Santa’s friends is Joanne O’Riordan who is this year’s special guest to help the city’s Lord Mayor, Cllr John Buttimer, light up St Patrick’s Street on Friday.

Thousands of lights will be turned on at 6.30pm. This will be preceded by on-stage performances of Cork Chamber Choir at 6.15pm, followed by performances from the Cork Youth Orchestra and the Cork Male Voice Choir.

There will be a special visit from Santa Claus as well as characters from Cork Opera House Christmas panto Alice in Wonderland and The Everyman Theatre panto, Little Red Riding Hood.

The lord mayor said: “I am delighted to welcome everyone to this symbolic event which sees the beginning of the Christmas season in Cork.”

Meanwhile, the ISPCC Childline service has teamed up with Santa Claus to offer supporters a personalised message from the man himself. In exchange for a donation of €10, Santa will send out an individual letter on festive paper. He has also agreed to donate all proceeds from the letters to Childline.

* For your personalised letter, contact the ISPCC on 1850 50 40 50 or email Eimear on [e-mail]. www.ispcc.ie/santa