Casper mailman answers little girl’s letter to Santa with a special gift

Where are you, Christmas? Why can’t we find you? Why have you gone away? The world is changing. We’re rearranging. Does that mean Christmas is too?

– “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”

CASPER, Wyo. —”Dear Jolly Old St. Nick (Santa),” she began. “I hope you are having a very nice December. I know I haven’t written to you for ages, all I want for Christmas this year are 5 things.”

That is how 11-year-old Rylee Segner began her letter to Santa Claus. Segner, daughter of Rob and Niki Segner, is right at that age where her belief in Santa may or may not be entering its final years. The magic is still there, but just barely. Like her letter said, it had been a while since last she wrote to Santa Claus, but this year, maybe for the last year, it was important that St. Nick got her message. She was asking for five things, just five things. And she trusted that Santa could make them happen.

All I want for Christmas this year are 5 things:

1. My Kinder-Buddy, Kaylee, to get what she wants for Christmas.
2. A Happy Birthday for me.
3. Art Sets.
4. Peace to this world.
5. A letter back from you.

Love,

Rylee A. Segner

Rylee folded the letter up, stuffed it into an envelope and, for just a moment, held it close to her heart, just to make sure that it gathered enough love and magic to make it to the North Pole.

She gave the letter to her mom, who did the rest of the work.

Adults know — or at least think they know — that Santa Claus is not a real person, at least these days. They know that Santa is more of a state of mind, or a state of heart and soul. Still, most adults try to preserve the magic and mystery of Santa Claus for their children, and children in general.

That’s exactly what Casper mailman Jake Werner did this Christmas season when he opened up the mailbox of the Segner family and saw the letter addressed to Santa.

The United States Postal Service is no stranger to letters to Santa. Every year, the USPS offers its Operation Santa program, where people can “adopt” letters from children from all over the country and donate gifts that the children have asked Santa for. It’s one of the best programs that the USPS offers and it’s something that results in thousands of children having something to open on Christmas morning.

However, in order for it to work the way it’s supposed to, there are deadlines involved and, unfortunately, due to life getting in the way for the Segner family, they missed the deadline. Dec. 9, 2024, was the last day for families to send their letters to Santa — but what is Christmas if not a time for miracles?

Rylee still wrote her letter, and her parents still put it in the mailbox. Then, Werner had three options. He could forward the letter to his superiors, after which who knows what would happen to it. He could give the letter back to the parents and explain that the deadline had passed. Or he could take matters into his own hands.

He chose the last option.

“It was just another day of work for me,” Werner shared. “I came up to the customer’s house and I saw an outgoing letter addressed to Santa. I know we were doing the Santa letters, but it was past the due date, so it was either return the letter to the family or I could volunteer to answer the letter myself.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Werner double-checked with his superiors to make sure it was OK, and when he got the approval, he opened the letter addressed to Santa at the North Pole and read what Rylee had asked for.

“What really caught me was that, before she asked for anything for herself, before she asked for a gift or even a letter back, she just wanted her friend to have a Merry Christmas,” Werner said. “And how can you not be touched by that?”

In her letter, Rylee only asked for three simple things for herself. She wanted a happy birthday (her birthday is Christmas Eve), a letter back from Santa and an art set.

Werner, speaking and acting on behalf of the Big Guy, obliged.

He went and purchased an art set, on his own accord, with his own money. And he did it for a very simple reason.

“The way I see it is, you only believe in Santa for a short period of time, if at all,” Werner said. “And I think that, on Christmas morning, everybody should have a gift from Santa under the tree. Everybody should get to have that magic with them, for just a little bit.”

So, he wrapped the art set and, to fulfill Rylee’s other request, he wrote her a letter back.

Dear Miss Rylee,

Thank you for your kind letter. Mrs. Clause and the elves are helping me finish on the last few touches before Christmas. I have checked on you and you have done a wonderful job this year. Thank you, it makes my job easier. Maybe you can create a beautiful picture of Rudolph and myself.

Hope to see you surprised with this special gift you requested.

Merry Christmas, Rylee

Love,

Santa.

Times are hard. People are struggling. For kids and adults alike, it’s often hard to still see magic and beauty in the world. But when things like this happen — when a regular guy, working as a regular mailman, sees a letter addressed to Santa and knows, just knows, that he could do something extraordinary — that’s the magic of Christmas. That’s the beauty of it.

Jake Werner has worked for the post office for the last five years. He says he enjoys his job because he enjoys his customers; even their dogs. And he especially enjoys when he’s afforded opportunities in which he can go above and beyond the call of duty. That’s what he did on this occasion and, in doing so, he made a little girl’s Christmas something special.

“Christmas Eve is Rylee’s birthday,” her mom, Niki, shared, “so we always leave Santa birthday cake instead of cookies. I made sure to leave him a piece of cake by our mailbox on the 26th, because he was definitely Santa this year! Rylee still believes in Santa; she writes him a letter every year. And just the thought and effort of what he did was so amazing. In these times, it was so unexpected. It blew me away.”

Werner didn’t intend for his story to be told. He wasn’t planning on receiving any recognition. He doesn’t even want it, not really. The one thing he’s asking for is that, maybe next year, even more people can adopt some Santa letters.

“What I hope is that maybe people will realize that there are a lot of these letters that don’t get picked up, every year,” he said. “For one reason or another, they just don’t. So I would hope that maybe one or two more people, if they hear about this, maybe they could decide to volunteer to play Santa, too.”

Rylee will not be reading this story, her mom assured. It’s probably better that way — at least for right now. Niki and Rob intend to maintain the illusion, and the magic, of Santa for as long as they can with their little girl. But maybe when Rylee grows up — when she gets older and realizes that Santa is an idea more than an actual, living person — maybe then they’ll tell her about the mailman who brought her a gift and wrote her a letter. And maybe, just maybe, that story will remind her that Christmas isn’t just about presents, or letters or birthday cake. Her parents hope that it will remind their baby girl that there is still beauty and magic in the world; it’s just up to us to offer it to each other. It’s up to us to find it.