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Here's how you and your children can send a letter to Santa Claus. Getty Images

Santa Claus is comin' to town -- but he won't know what to bring along unless you write him a letter. Sending Christmas mail to Saint Nick requires more than a generic "North Pole" address, so make sure to have a plan before slipping your wish list in the mailbox. If you're a parent, read on to learn how you and your kids can communicate with Santa Claus via snail mail and email. You may even get a letter back.

One option is to send a physical letter to the big man through the United States Postal Service. Have your child write a note and place it in an envelope addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole. Pen a response from Santa and put it in another envelope with the North Pole return address, your own address and a stamp. Then send everything in an even bigger envelope to North Pole Postmark Postmaster, 4141 Postmark Drive, Anchorage, AK 99530-9998. Get it there by Dec. 15, and keep an eye on the mailbox.

Santa's elves will also write back to people who send letters to his other home in Indiana. Mail a note to Santa Claus, P.O. Box 1, Santa Claus, IN 47579 by Dec. 21 to get a written response from the big man by Christmas.

If your kids are impatient, have them type an instant message to Santa using aletter4santa.com. Help them write a letter to Santa that includes whether they've been "good," "very, very good" or "a teeny, tiny bit not so good" and three desired toys. Once you hit enter, Santa will send you a response immediately complete with clip art. After you're done, check to see whether you made Santa's list.

You can listen to audio from Kris Kringle himself at elfontheshelf.com, or send a call from the North Pole for free on ChristmasDialer.com. Use sendacallfromsanta.com to share an MP3 file of Santa chatting with a special recipient.

Looking for something more? On emailsanta.com, users can watch Santa read their letter on camera. Make sure to choose a stamp and fill in all the blanks, including your top three wishes. Or get an email back from Father Christmas by using saintnick.org. The Santa Claus House offers packages that will reach your home by Christmas if you order before Dec. 10.