Is the art of sending Santa snail mail being lost to email?
The head of Children's Literacy Charity, based in England, warns that fewer children than ever before are writing letters to Santa Claus.
Matthew Hickey adds that the centuries-old custom is "paramount to a child's development."
He adds, "It is about developing children who are multifaceted, who can do everything to prepare them for the future. Not just being able to be prepared for the digital age, but actually being prepared to put pen to paper and use those multiple skills."
He expressed fears that technology was “taking over” as time-pressed parents find it easier to help their offspring type an email rather than put pen to paper before taking a trip to the local post box.
The tradition of writing letters to Father Christmas can be traced back to the 1200s, when a girl wrote a letter to the real Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived in Myra, now Turkey.