“Dear Santa … how have you been? Did you have a nice summer? … I have been extra good this year so I have a long list of presents that I want …” So dictated Sally to her brother Charlie Brown in the beloved Christmas special.

Years ago, Boothbay Register reporters visited with third grade students at Boothbay Region Elementary School about presents and Santa. Not one of them was “Sally;” each child had one, maybe two toys they wanted for Christmas.

Christmas wishes were heard for many years here in Boothbay during the Harbor Lights Festival at various locations – the front steps of, and in the Great Room at, Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, on Commercial Street in the building that houses Tidepools, not the former grocery, but on the other end where an ice cream store was. “Lap time with Santa” was also held in Mama D’s when the business was where Life Is Good is now, Sherman’s Book Store and the Opera House.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 and its mutations have put these one-on-one visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus on hold. So, what’s a kid to do?

Write a letter, just like Sally did, by dictating it to an older family member or ... write it yourself.

Here in Boothbay Harbor, Santa and Mrs. Claus will come to the Harbor by boat as they used to during the Harbor Lights Festival, on Saturday, Dec. 4 to take socially distanced photos with kids in front of the buoy Christmas tree – close enough for brave kids with loud voices to tell Santa what they are wishing for on Christmas morning. But many kids tend to get a little shy and become soft-spoken around the North Pole’s Number One Elf! And all that red clothing, big white beard, and ho-ho-ho-ing can be overwhelming, especially for the little ones.

But the good news is the clerks at our local post offices are ready to receive letters to Santa from children in the region. Address those envelopes to: Santa Claus, North Pole. Bring the letters to the post office – if you live in East Boothbay, bring it to the East Boothbay office; live on Southport Island, bring it to that post office; and so on. Letters can be handed directly to the clerk behind the counter or dropped directly into the out-of-town mail slot! And don’t hold back on decorating the back and/or sides of the envelope – just be sure not to get too close to the address!