Meet the ‘head elf’ running emailsanta.com for 3 decades

Alan Kerr has been operating emailsanta.com for nearly three decades as “Santa’s head elf.”

In that time, he’s received millions of letters from children (and adults) from across the world, all addressed to the jolly old man who lives at the North Pole.

Kerr says Santa receives 10 emails a second on Christmas Eve — some asking for the latest toys, a new sibling or, in one case, a girlfriend for his dad. (We’ve sprinkled some examples throughout this article.)

The quirky website, run out of Calgary, originated during the 1997 Canada Post strike as a way for children to send letters to Santa digitally, since they couldn’t send them by mail.

The very next year, Kerr received an email from a nine-year-old girl who said she was upset because she had lost three close family members over the course of the year.

“She was reaching out to Santa Claus just for a shoulder … to cry on or to feel some comfort there, ” he said.

“And that’s when it really hit me that kids say things to Santa that they will not say to anybody else.”

Children write about all kinds of things to Santa, Kerr said.

After filling out a form on the website and hitting the “Get a letter from Santa!” button, the sender gets a personalized letter back from him almost instantly — a part of the magic (and coding) of the site.

But for sensitive emails that are flagged in the system by certain keywords, Santa likes to “take extra care,” Kerr said, by sending another followup email with resources like helpline numbers.

Those more difficult letters range from topics like experiencing bullying or an abusive situation at home to ones that adults might think are more minor, Kerr said, like “my goldfish died.”

“With a million letters a year, you’re bound to get everything,” he said.

“From kids who are quite upset, you know, having nightmares about planes flying into buildings … [after] 9/11, or else during COVID, worried about their mum who’s a nurse … having to go to work and wearing a mask and working long hours.”

To children, he said, even seemingly smaller troubles weigh heavily on their hearts.

Santa Claus is a ‘safe person’ for kids

Child psychologist and associate professor at the University of Toronto Dr. Todd Cunningham says the iconic figure’s reputation as a “good, wholesome” individual, makes Santa a “safe person” for children to turn to.

“When you think about the whole concept of Santa, he’s like this trustworthy, loving individual who brings gifts to kids who are good,” he said.

“I could see how that would attract people to be able … to talk to him and reach out to him and be more open to him.”

Kerr said part of what makes the relationship between Santa and children so unique is the routine and reliability of it.

“They share their Christmas thoughts every year with him since they’ve been very, very little, right? So if it is a problem inside the family, he’s a person who’s outside that immediate circle that they feel comfortable with,” he said.

Kerr also pointed out that the origins of Santa Claus lie in the third-century monk St. Nicholas, who is the patron saint of children.

“Nowadays, I think it’s more that Santa is known for being a good, kind listener,” he said. “Kids believe he can do something to help them, so that is why they reach out to him.”

Helping others year-round

It’s not just kids who reach out to Santa for help.

In 2022, Kerr’s website received a letter from someone living in Afghanistan, seeking assistance. Kerr quickly sent an email back with resources, including the contact of a refugee organization in Ontario.

Managing emailsanta.com is a year-round responsibility for Kerr, who said the experience of sorting through Santa’s emails is an “emotional roller-coaster,” but one he considers a privilege.

Over nearly 30 years, he’s directed hundreds of children and adults to resources that may help them with their circumstances.

Kerr said he’s consulted with psychologists, police officers, teachers and other professionals to fine-tune the backend of the site, so that it can better respond to children in need.

There’s also a section of the website with helplines for organizations in countries around the world. On occasions when a child seems in immediate danger, Kerr has connected with local authorities in the sender’s city.

While Kerr doesn’t always get a message back, the responses he has received have stayed with him for years, like one young girl who emailed back about three weeks after he reached out.

“You could just feel the different vibe from the letter, and she was saying everything’s going to be fine.”

This year, Kerr compiled a collection of those special messages, as well as funny and heartwarming ones, in a book titled Dear Santa, Letters to emailSanta.com.

It’s a calling, Kerr said, and one he doesn’t intend to ever give up.