We take a leap of faith each year when we mail off our letters to Santa Claus. That’s a long way for our little envelopes to travel. Mail gets lost. Stamps fall off. Addresses become illegible. If only there were an express mail route to the North Pole, . . . . There is! Chris and Elisa Cirri came up with the perfect solution: Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox.
Chris had an idea of how they could start their own Christmas tradition—a magic mailbox. Elisa’s stepfather, Dave, made a decorated mailbox of wood and cardboard, and toddler Dominic Cirri would make drawings for Santa and put them in the box. Then when he wasn’t looking, Chris or Elisa would remove the drawing. Dominic was delighted when he saw the envelope gone and on its way to Santa.
Later, Dave created a 3-D printed prototype that played a tune and made the envelope disappear like magic. Elisa’s brother, Steve, got involved, and Chris, Dave and Steve formed C.S.S. Innovations; had the name, “Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox,” trademarked; purchased a website, and obtained a patent.
They first sold the mailboxes on their website—300 in the first 30 minutes! They then signed a deal with the toy company, Mr. Christmas, and the Enchanted Mailbox can be found on Amazon and the Home Shopping Network and in Home Depot, Lowe’s, Cracker Barrel, Michael’s, and Wayfair. More recently, they made a deal with Walmart to make exclusive mailboxes (smaller and less expensive) to be sold in 2,000 of their stores.
What was once a tradition for the Cirri family is now a tradition for thousands of homes around the world. And the mailbox is a festive addition to your Christmas décor.
Using Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox
- Write the letter (special “Dear Santa” stationery is available but not required).
- Place it in the self-addressed envelope. Place envelope in the mailbox.
- Close the door and raise the “mail ready for Santa” flag.
- Listen for the magical tune and chime, then open the mailbox.
- It’s empty! The letter, that fast, was whisked off to the North Pole.
Kids can send Santa their letters or drawings every day. Maybe they want to report when they’ve been extra nice. Chris and Elisa made another tradition: Every Thursday, each of their three sons writes down one thing he is grateful for and sends that off to Santa.
Also, there is no reason that adults can’t use the mailbox. Maybe a special “Santa” needs some prompting about buying the right Christmas gifts.
With every mailbox sold, there is a free illustrated e-book to download, Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox. It’s an original story co-written by Dave and set in Wallingford, Connecticut, where the whole Enchanted Mailbox crew live. Its theme is being grateful for what we have.
santasenchantedmailbox.comBuy on Amazon
