As the Pasadena Jaycees’ longest running project, Operation Santa has touched the lives of thousands of children since 1934. And it all starts with a letter.

Children in Pasadena send letters to Santa, toys are purchased and donated, and hundreds of volunteers, dressed for the occasion as Santa, Mrs. Claus, and elves deliver thousands of toys to children’s homes on Christmas Eve.

While Operation Santa was originally rooted in the Christmas holiday, children from all backgrounds and religions are encouraged to write letters to celebrate the season.

Toys are geared toward children in 8th grade and under. Letter submission will be open for 2023 soon! If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the interest form, and stay tuned for more detailed information soon!

Quick Links

Write a Letter to Santa!

Send your letter and get a gift delivered by Santa and his elves on December 24.

Write a letter yourself or on behalf of a child in need in the Pasadena area. Make sure you will be home on the evening of December 24, so that Santa, Mrs. Claus and his elves can deliver your toys. Children from all backgrounds and religions are encouraged to write letters to celebrate the season.

PLEASE NOTE: We will make every effort to have Santa and his elves deliver toys on December 24, but we cannot guarantee it. There is a small chance we will miss you due to circumstances beyond our control. Pay close attention to entering your address, gate code or other access details and phone number, and it will help us reach out to you if we’re having trouble with delivery.

Volunteer!

Get involved by joining a Santa team or helping sort toys.

To deliver gifts to over a thousand children, we need hundreds of volunteers. Santa teams (Santa, Mrs. Clause, and elves) spend December 24 hand-delivering toys to the children who sent in letters. You can sign up as a full team or join others to help deliver toys. You can also volunteer to help sort toys on December 22 and 23.

Please fill out this interest form if you are interested in volunteering. More detailed info will follow soon!

Help us reach our goal of delivering a toy and a STEAM gift to over 1000 children in the Pasadena area.

There are a number of ways to donate to Operation Santa:

*Please note that we do not accept toy guns or other toy weapons.

Spread the Word!

Want to help us get out the word about Operation Santa?

Please share our Operation Santa informational flyer wherever you can!