S.F. elves answer cards and give gifts as Operation Santa goes virtual
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This image released by IFC Films shows a scene from the documentary “Dear Santa.” (IFC Films via AP)
Santa works hard, but his elves work harder. Just ask Kyle Tobener, a San Francisco cybersecurity expert who woke up at dawn earlier this month to answer children’s letters to the North Pole.
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Tobener and four Salesforce colleagues participated in Operation Santa, a U.S. Postal Service program that matches letter-writers with elves all around the country. The pandemic limited the five colleagues’ usual philanthropic activities, Tobener said, so instead they decided to reply to Santa’s admirers as a safe way to give back.
But claiming a few of Santa’s letters was no easy task.
“I would wake up at 6 a.m. to log in and it would say, ‘All the letters are taken today,’” he said.
This year, for the first time in its 108-year history, Operation Santa went fully digital nationwide, meaning anyone could claim one of the nearly 24,000 letters the Postal Service uploaded to a special website portal. In previous years, participants hand-picked letters from nearby children at local post offices.
The Postal Service reported a surge in handmade letters to Santa this holiday season, as many families faced increased economic hardship. But the elves came out in full force too, leaving no card unanswered, said Augie Ruiz, spokesman for the Bay Area postal district. Californians answered the most letters of any state.
“As a result of Santa going digital, six times as many letters were adopted from 2018 to 2020,” Ruiz said. “Americans showed their generosity at a time when things looked the bleakest for children.”
After several early morning attempts, Tobener eventually claimed two letters — from Isaiah and Henry — and set to work fulfilling their requests. Henry asked Santa for a pet wolf. Isaiah’s request of a drone and some Legos seemed much more reasonable by comparison.
Tobener purchased a kid-friendly toy drone along with other gifts, and organized a Zoom wrapping party with his colleagues — complete with candles and Christmas music — before they each shipped off their wrapped gifts.
That’s where the Postal Service stepped in. While elves pay for shipping, postal workers keep secret the children’s full names and addresses to protect their privacy, Ruiz said. Each letter is assigned a code used for delivery.
In addition to connecting with his colleagues, Tobener used the experience to show his 3-year old daughter the true meaning of Christmas.
“I was teaching her it’s good to give back and it’s not all about getting things for yourself,” he said.
Nora Mishanec is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nora.mishanec@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NMishanec