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The 2017 special picture postmark has been selected by the Santa Claus Post Office for the upcoming holiday season

The post office will begin offering the picture postmark Friday December 1st to cancel the postage stamps on holiday mail this year.

The famous small-town post office is the only one in the world with the Santa Claus name and receives over 400,000 pieces of mail in December – compared to only 13,000 pieces of mail per month the rest of the year. This special picture postmark has been offered every Christmas season since 1983.

Each year, the holiday postmark is designed by a local high school art student as part of an annual contest.

Audrey Vaal, the daughter of Rodney and Agnes Vaal of St. Meinrad is this year’s artist.

A graduate of Heritage Hills High School, Audrey was involved in art, choir, Beta Club, National Honor Society, dance, and Spencer County 4-H. She is in her freshman year at the University of Southern Indiana studying elementary education, with an emphasis in social studies.

Postmaster Marian Balbach says the Santa Claus holiday postmark has become the most popular in the nation over the past two decades.

She notes that postal patrons worldwide request the picture postmark each year and many customers traditionally drive hundreds of miles to personally obtain the famous cancellation on their holiday mail.

Balbach asks anyone interested in getting the special cancellation on their holiday mail to:

Allow at least a 2-inch by 4-inch space in the stamp area for the picture postmark;

Apply postage to cards or letters before bringing or mailing them to the post office;

And if you wish to mail Christmas cards to the post office, package them – with postage stamps already on them – in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to: Postmaster, Santa Claus Station, Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998;

The picture postmark is available on working days between December 1 and 23 and must be requested by the postal customer.

To ensure a good postmark imprint, do not enclose large or bulky items in your holiday mail.

There is no charge for postmarking; however, there is a limit of 50 picture postmarks (or hand cancellations) per person per day.

Santa Claus will host a celebration of family fun on the first three weekends of December.

Santa Claus Christmas Celebration events include Chestnut Roasting, Christmas Dinner with Santa, Writing a Letter to Santa, and more each weekend.

In addition, special events include Dancer’s Dash 5K on December 2, Santa Claus Arts & Crafts Show and Santa Claus Parade on December 9, and the Christmas Lake Village Festival of Lights on December 9 and 16.

Find details about all upcoming events at SantaClausInd.org/Events.

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