Santa Claus Indiana elves answer over 22,000 letters this year; celebrate book success

It was a very Merry Christmas for Santa’s Elves and the Santa Claus Museum & Village this year.

It was a busy Christmas as well. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of approximately 200 volunteer Elves, over 22,000 letters to Santa Claus received a response this Christmas, including over 2,000 letters sent to children abroad. Donations helped fund the cost of postage, which exceeded $13,000.

The Elves also celebrated the release of their new book, Letters to Santa Claus. This beautiful book, featuring hundreds of letters sent to Santa Claus over the years and published by Indiana University Press, sold over 7,500 copies nationwide. It became the #1 best-seller in holiday books on Amazon, and reached a 7,000 ranking on Amazon overall, a truly remarkable performance.

Additionally, the book was featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, USA Today, the New York Post, the Daily Mail, the Indianapolis Star, Smithsonian and Midwest Living’s blogs, Parade Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Shelf Awareness, The Weekly Standard, Home & Away, Evansville Living, Fort Wayne Monthly, Bloom Magazine, Indianapolis Monthly, and on WTIU’s Weekly Special.

Authors Pat Koch and Emily Weisner Thompson attended numerous book signings throughout the Tri-State area and held a kick-off event at the Santa Claus Museum & Village with storytelling by Mrs. Claus. The site, also the headquarters for Santa’s Elves, hosted numerous special events in December and welcomed a record number of visitors. Pat Koch and the Elves were also honored to serve as the Grand Marshals of the Santa Claus Christmas parade.

Letters to Santa Claus is currently available for purchase on Amazon and at major book sellers nationwide. Autographed copies of the book will be available for purchase at the Santa Claus Museum when the site re-opens in May 2016. Those interested in serving as volunteer Elves are encouraged to contact the Santa Claus Museum anytime throughout the year—remember, there are only 341 days left until Christmas!

The Santa Claus Museum & Village is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Santa Claus, Indiana, and perpetuates the tradition of Santa’s Elves, Inc. by answering letters to Santa. For additional information, visit http://www.santaclausmuseum.org.