Christmas is Joe Lebert’s favorite holiday, but decorating for it isn’t much fun at his rural home in Fawn, where few will see it.

His mom’s house on Rankin Street in Arnold, across from H.D. Berkey Elementary School, was a better place. For a while, he put a Christmas tree on the front porch roof. The schoolkids loved it. But it became not such a good idea after the roof got new shingles.

Lebert went looking for something new.

And that’s when something unexpected — some say magical — happened.

To replace the tree, Lebert, 42, bought a “Letters to Santa” mailbox and, for the first time in 2019, sat it out front next to the sidewalk.

After work one day, Lebert saw what looked like white papers under the mailbox. He said he thought someone dropped garbage in it.

But the papers were actually letters to Santa from the 19 students in teacher Mick Dombroski’s first grade class at Berkey.

Dombroski said he saw the mailbox, had his students write their letters and walked the class over to drop the letters in — only to realize afterward that the mailbox was just a decoration.

But soon after, responses to each and every letter appeared at school.

Santa is pretty busy this close to Christmas, so while he had time to answer the letters, he wasn’t able to deliver them directly to the kids himself.

Like any good elf, Lebert took the responses over to the school.

“The kids were so excited. It was better than seeing Santa, seeing these letters personalized to them,” Dombroski said. “They just started yelling out, ‘It’s from Santa! Look at this!’ and sharing with each other. So much joy comes out of them. It’s the most excitement they have all year. These letters are very special to them.

“It’s a magical mailbox.”

Lebert might not have known it at the time, but in delivering that first batch of letters, he was signing up for a commitment.

More letters to Santa were dropped off last year and answered. Lebert personally delivered them to nearly 50 children.

“The small part that I play makes the holiday season that much more special for me,” Lebert said.

Santa’s personalized responses include cards from the “Elf Executive Office” certifying that its recipient is on the official “Nice List,” with encouragement to keep up the good work.

In an accompanying letter, which is of course checked twice and signed by the head elf himself, Santa promises that he and his team will do their best to get the children what they asked for.

The mailbox is out early this year. Lebert said letters to Santa are due no later than Dec. 19, when the mailbox will be taken down.

Unless going to Berkey, letters need to have return home addresses so Lebert knows where to take responses.

The first letters from Santa are expected to arrive beginning Dec. 1. Berkey students will get theirs at school.

With word spreading about his mailbox’s magic, Lebert is ready for another increase in letters.

“I’ve had people offer to help me this year,” he said. “It’s pretty amazing what this has become.”

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