How TheMuseum in Kitchener plans to help kids get letters to Santa Claus in lieu of postal strike

As a strike by Canada Post employees continues, TheMuseum in Kitchener is taking steps to ensure children's wish lists make their way to Santa Claus in the North Pole.

TheMuseum has announced it will be accepting letters to Santa Claus until  Dec. 22.

"When I saw that Canada Post wasn't able to continue this 40-year tradition, it just occurred to me we need to do that," TheMuseum's CEO David Marskell told CBC News.

"So, [it's] just really wanting children to be able to share their wishes and dreams with Santa Claus."

Around 55,000 Canada Post workers have been on strike since Nov. 15, shutting down the Crown corporation just ahead of the busiest time of year for mail deliveries. Since then, negotiations with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) have continued.

Children bringing letters in person will receive free admission for a day, or a coupon for a future visit to TheMuseum, Marskell said.

Canada Post hopes operations can resume quickly

Canada Post says it helped Santa by delivering responses to 1.4 million letters from around the world last year and it hopes to do the same this year.

Phil Rogers, a spokesperson for the corporation, said Canada Post usually starts to receive letters for Santa in mid- to late November. 

"It is our hope that postal operations can resume as quickly as possible at this critical time for customers. When operations do resume, we will help Santa by delivering a response to every letter sent to him this year," Rogers wrote in an email to CBC News. 

Canada Post has been helping Santa with his mail for more than 40 years, handling between 1.2 million to 1.5 million letters each year. Rogers said it's a big effort and a great source of pride for everyone at Canada Post. 

For people dropping off letters at TheMuseum, stamps are not required within Canada and children should include their return address. All letters from one family should be in the same envelope, Marskell said.

He said a response by Santa before Christmas will depend on the length of the Canada Post strike but families are urged to bring letters before Dec. 8.