The four fields
Name, age, the gift they mentioned, and one personal detail. The detail field is the one that does the work: a pet's name, the school play they were in, a tooth that came out, the fact they have been getting themselves dressed. Children accept a lot when the letter knows something true.
There is also an optional line for something to encourage, phrased as a request rather than a criticism. Keeping up with reading practice lands better than being told to tidy a bedroom in a letter from Santa.
Three letter lengths
Short is four sentences, which suits a three or four year old and is read aloud in under a minute. Medium is eight and is the one most people choose. Long adds a paragraph about the workshop and the reindeer, which is enjoyable for a child of six or seven who will read it themselves.
Longer is not better. A child loses interest in a letter from Santa at about the same rate as in any other letter.
Nothing leaves your device
The letter is built in the browser and the PDF is generated on your own machine. No name, gift or detail is uploaded, stored or sent to a server, which matters more than usual given the fields involve a child's name and age.
Printing and the envelope
Print on 100gsm or heavier if you have it, since a letter from Santa on thin copier paper feels like a letter from a printer. There is a matching envelope template, and the pairing of heavier paper and a hand-addressed envelope does more for believability than any amount of wording.
Questions
- Is the Santa letter template editable?
- Yes. You type the child name, age, the gift they asked for and one personal detail, and the letter is composed around them in a handwriting-style face before you print.
- Is the child name sent anywhere?
- No. Everything stays in your browser and the PDF is generated on your own device. Nothing is uploaded, stored or logged.
- How long should the letter be?
- Four sentences for a three or four year old, eight for most children, and a longer version with a paragraph about the workshop for a six or seven year old who will read it alone.
- What paper should I print it on?
- 100gsm or heavier if your printer takes it. Thin copier paper is the detail children notice, more than the wording.