For the third year running, a Conshohocken couple is making the holiday season brighter for local kids by providing a mailbox for children to drop off Santa letters. Kevin Tierney posted the story at More Than the Curve.

Dottie Mandarano, a Plymouth Township native, and her husband, Gene, first placed the “Santa Letters” mailbox in their yard in 2020.

“My husband, Gene, and I started doing this … because with the pandemic and COVID, the kids couldn’t just go to the mall and sit on Santa’s lap and tell him or one of his helpers what they were hoping for,” said Mandarano in a 2021 interview. “We just felt so bad for the kids, and we wanted to do something to help make it a normal Christmas for them.”

They decided to put up a mailbox to provide the youth with a way to get in touch with him.

The couple especially enjoys watching all the kids get excited over dropping off their reports of good behavior and wish-list secrets.

For 2022, the Mandaranos have upped the ante on their North Pole connection. Santa letters with return addresses will receive a mailed reply from Kris Kringle — busy though he may be in the post-Thanksgiving rush.

“It’s been great,” said Mandarano. “I love Christmas, and to me, this makes it even more special.”

Read more about the Conshohocken lawn with a method guaranteed to get local Santa letters where they belong in More Than the Curve.