Write a Letter to Santa in Cursive

Each PDF is drawn with the same cursive engine as the rest of Cursive Atlas, so the letter shapes match what is taught on the alphabet pages.

Print at 100% on US Letter or A4, on plain paper. Use a pencil for the gray tracing words, a pen for the final letter. The sheets are free for home and classroom use.

There is no required format, but a letter with the same five parts is easy for a child to plan and easy for a reader to follow. The hero picture above shows them in order.

1. Greeting. Dear Santa, with a capital D and a comma. Capital letters are usually written on their own, so lift the pen after the D.
2. Thanks. Start with a thank-you for something real: a gift from last year, a visit, a kind thing someone did. It keeps the letter from being only a list.
3. Wishes. Say what you would like. Be specific, and list the wishes in order of preference. The official USPS page asks for this too, because a clear letter is easier to read.
4. Good news. One or two sentences about how the year has gone: something learned, someone helped, a kindness. Write only what is true.
5. Closing. Love, or Your friend, followed by the name. Lift the pen after the capital L or Y, as with other capitals.

For a younger child, one sentence per part is a complete letter. For an older child, each part can become a short paragraph, which makes this a fair handwriting task as well as a seasonal one.

• Thank you for (the toys, the visit, the cookies you left).
• This year I (learned to ride a bike, read my first chapter book, made a new friend).
• I have been kind to (my little sister, my neighbor, the new student).
• Please say hello to (the reindeer, Mrs. Claus, a name of your choice).
• I hope you (have a warm sleigh ride, enjoy the cookies, get some rest).
• Merry Christmas, Santa! (a good closing line before the Love).

The three most useful starters for handwriting are the first three. Each begins with a capital letter, runs for a short phrase, and ends with a period or a comma, so the writer practices a whole sentence in under a minute.

• Rule the page first. If you are not using the PDF, put a ruled sheet under plain paper, or use our cursive lined paper.
• Slow down on the wishes. The list is the part most likely to be read closely, and the part where hurried writing is hardest to read.
• Keep the slant the same. If the slant changes between lines, rewrite the line, not the whole page.
• Make the capitals count. Dear, Santa, Love and the names of people all start with a capital, and these are good practice. The shapes are on the uppercase page.
• Do the finishing touches last. Dot every i and cross every t at the end of the line, which keeps the writing flowing.
• Want to rehearse first? Practice Dear Santa and Merry Christmas on the Christmas practice sheets.

For left-handed children, our left-handed cursive guide explains paper angle and grip, which matter more on a full page than on a single word.

• Let the child choose the words. The letter should be theirs. Your job is to help with spelling and spacing after the first draft, not to write it for them.
• Aim for one good copy. Draft on scrap paper, check together, then write the final on the template. Do not turn it into a test.
• Decide about the address yourself. Both mailing programs need a return address, but you choose what goes on the envelope and the letter. Please read the privacy notes on the official pages below first.
• Be honest about replies. Neither program promises a reply or a gift. Say so up front, so a child is not left waiting on a promise that nobody made.
• Make it a class activity. A class can write one letter each on the blank-lines sheet, then mail them in one batch. Canada Post asks that letters from one family go in the same envelope.

If a child finds cursive hard, our teach kids cursive guide covers what to practice first.

Both national postal services run a Santa program, and they work differently. The details below were taken from the official pages on November 3, 2026, and they change every year, so please check the page before you mail.

The two programs are not the same thing. In the US program, letters are read and posted online, with personal details removed, so that members of the public can choose to answer them with a gift. According to the official FAQ, not every letter is posted and not every posted letter is adopted. In the Canadian program, the post office itself replies. If you are outside both countries, check the official page of your own postal service.

This page cannot send your letter or promise a reply. Cursive Atlas is a handwriting site, and we do not run a mailing program or have any link to either postal service. We have only taken the rules from the official pages and we have linked to them, so you can check them. Dates and addresses can change, and the official page always wins over this one.