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emailSanta.com is a
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
-themed
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
website run by Alan Kerr which simulates emailing
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
. It also provides various other Christmas-themed simulations. Users compose their letter by filling out a blank form, then the website responds with a computer-generated letter which claims to be from Santa Claus. The site also includes a simulated
video call Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) system ...
for users to "see Santa live", where a pre-recorded video of an actor would be shown prior to the reply letter. From the website's inception, letters which contain pleas for help were directed to a special page, which lists online resources for assistance and counselling helplines. In extreme circumstances, the police have also been contacted.


History

When a 1997
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
workers strike prevented their volunteers from responding to his niece and nephews letters to Santa Claus, Kerr created emailSanta.com as an online alternative. During the first two weeks of the site's existence, emailSanta.com received over 1,000 emails. In 2011, the website was incorporated in Alberta, Canada as emailSanta.com Inc. In a 2021 letter to the ''Search Engine Journal'', Kerr noted the declining traffic of his website. However, Kerr reported that traffic increased by 35% following another Canada Post strike in 2024.


Reception

emailSanta.com has received mixed reviews from a variety of sources. Both Kerr and the website have received compliments and praise from ''
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'' and '' Mamamia''. It has also been noted for teaching children about the importance of online safety. In 2002, ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' reported that Mummert Consulting, a German market-research company, had been evaluating Santa websites and that "the top site on the list was EmailSanta.com" for two years, specifically citing the personalization that kids receive in response.


Criticism

On
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
in 2013, Nicholas Tufnell from ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' stated that " e design leaves a lot to be desired (it's very late 1990s), but it's perfectly functional". He sent an email through the website and noted that " e response rom Santais pleasant enough, if a little vague. It may excite children, but we're not convinced." He also remarked that the email came across as "
obsequious In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens, where it had a d ...
", while the website's practice of having Santa type out "*wink*" was "unsettling".


References


External links

* {{official website Santa Claus Children's websites Internet properties established in 1997