You may recall that great scene in the 1947 holiday film classic Miracle on 34th Street in which postal workers deliver sacks of letters to Santa Claus in a courtroom where he is being tried for, well, being Santa Claus. The film painted an indelible portrait of a federal institution ensuring Santa Claus got those letters — allowing him to respond and, eventually, make Christmas a little brighter for kids.

The U.S. Postal Service is still doing its part through its online Operation Santa program.

It’s simple. Kids of all ages can send an old-fashioned snail mail letter in a stamped envelope to Santa — 123 Elf Road, North Pole, 88888.

The Postal Service then posts those letters online at www.uspsoperationsanta.com/letters — redacting personal information like last names, streets addresses, cities, etc.

Anyone reading those letters online can play Santa’s helper, and sign up — with Santa’s blessing of course — to “adopt” a letter and send gifts for people who just need to know someone out there cares for them.

“The program is not just for kids, but for children of all ages,” said Rod Spurgeon, a communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service. “If you are a family struggling this holiday season, and you need a little help, write that letter.”

And people do, Spurgeon said: Typically the program gets 25,000 to 30,000 letters a year. Two requests have remained constant over the years, he said — clothes and toys.

He said since people who sign up to be Santa’s helpers and adopt specific letters remain anonymous, he did not have specifics of how many generous elves take part every year. You can tell a letter has been adopted when it disappears from the Operation Santa website.

The program has been been successful enough to warrant a century-plus run, though in olden days people just sent or dropped off their “Letters to Santa” at their local post office, he said.

It’s tougher to do it that way today, he said. That’s why the program created a specific address at the North Pole and began posting the letters online in 2017, he said. Among other benefits, he said, “This gives us the opportunity to know how many people want to be adopted.”

Anyone wanting to help can search the Operation Santa webpage and sort through letters from children all over the country. Kids writing letters need to know the gifts they want have to be something that can be shipped in the mail. So, no, don’t ask for a real house, a live animal or a refrigerator.

An online filter system allows Santa’s helpers who want to adopt a letter to home in on a particular state, such as New Mexico. Spurgeon said nearly 190 letters had come from the Land of Enchantment as of Wednesday.

A sampling of those New Mexico letters posted online shows many boys and girls of all ages believe Santa Claus can make their spirits bright.

Some children tell Santa they’ve been good all year, though one girl explains she has not been on her best behavior, “and I’m really sorry.”

Others wish Santa a safe journey come Christmas Eve, with some weighing in on their favorite reindeer (who would have thought Comet would be so popular?) and one adding a postscript question: “Do you prefer milk or eggnog with your cookies?”

“Tell all the reindeer good job,” one child instructs Santa. Many of the desired toys revolve around electronic gadgetry and computers, and clothing or play items associated with some well-known fictional characters like Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.

Other letters hint at more serious challenges for the letter writer, with one child saying he is doing well in therapy and others identifying themselves as special-needs children.

One boy prioritizes a football on his wish list but also asks for twin mattresses and twin beds, suggesting a shortage of sleeping accommodations in the home.

An adult wrote she has had a “tuff year” because of medical challenges and being out of work. Her wish, she wrote, “is to be able to open gifts with my family on Christmas.”

She ends the letter with a “God bless you!” for Santa Claus.

But there may be times when Santa and all the helper elves in the world can’t deliver what is needed.

Spurgeon said over the years he has seen letters in which it is obvious “relationships are struggling, where parents aren’t doing as well, maybe the father went to jail and the little girl wants her father back.

“You can send a letter of well wishing to that person, but there are certain things you can’t do for people. You can’t bring relationships back together. You can’t bring back somebody who is not with us anymore.”

He said the program started as a way to get those letters directly to Santa but has morphed into “more about helping people who need help.”

Why go through the U.S. Postal Service rather than mail Santa directly at the North Pole? Well, just as in Miracle on 34th Street, the post office “connects the nation with special messages every day, all day long,” Spurgeon said.

Of course, the Operation Santa program gets a lot of special helpers, including those who adopt letters, he said.

“We have a network of elves,” he said. “Every letter is delivered to Santa’s workshop, and the elves make sure they are uploaded to the website.”

But even elves have deadlines. Letter writers have until Monday to get their wish lists into Santa into the mailbox. Anyone wishing to adopt a letter and help make a dream come true has until Dec. 18.