Free Dear Santa Letter Template and Christmas Letter Writing Pack
A Dear Santa Letter Template That Teaches Real Letter Writing
Every December, this little letter template page comes back to life. Teachers have been downloading it for years, and I can see why. Writing to Santa is one of the few writing tasks that students rush to start. They know exactly who their audience is, they know exactly what they want, and they’re desperate to get it right.
Planning letter writing lessons from scratch takes time. If you’d rather start with something ready, our Letter Writing Bundle has formal and informal letter units with templates ($17.00 on TpT).
That makes it a brilliant chance to teach letter writing properly, and not just colour in some festive paper. So I’ve rebuilt the original freebie into a complete Christmas letter writing pack.
Here’s how I’d use it in a classroom:
- Plan first. Before anything goes on the fancy paper, older students use the paragraph planner to jot down what they’ll include: a friendly greeting, something about themselves and their year, what they’re hoping for (and why), a question for Santa, and a warm sign-off. Even a Santa letter has a structure.
- Teach the layout. Use the checklist to cover the parts of a letter: the address, date, greeting, body paragraphs and closing. These are the same parts students will need for every letter they write, festive or not.
- Push past the wish list. The best Santa letters aren’t just lists of toys. Encourage students to explain why they deserve something, describe a kind thing they did this year, or ask Santa a curious question about the North Pole. It’s sneaky persuasive and descriptive writing practice.
- Write the good copy. Now the festive templates come out. Students write their final letter neatly, and you have a beautiful display or a lovely piece to send home.
Older students who are past writing to Santa can apply for a job instead. In “Elf for Hire”, they answer a North Pole job advert with a persuasive letter to the Head Elf. The pack includes a planner, a funny model letter labelled with every persuasive move, and a blank letter template. It’s also a good alternative for any student who would rather not write to Santa.
Download the Christmas letter writing pack
FREE: Christmas Letter Writing Pack. Two Dear Santa templates (a festive-border page for younger writers and a paragraph planner for older ones), a letter checklist, and “Elf for Hire”: a persuasive job application planner, a funny model letter and a blank letter template. 7 print-ready pages for ages 8 to 14. Pop in your email and the download link appears straight away.
Want the full unit? Take letter writing beyond December with my Formal Letter Writing Unit: layout, tone and purpose taught step by step, with models and lessons ready to go.
For a deeper look at teaching letters any time of year, see my guide on how to write a great letter.
