Deadline for “Letters to Santa Claus” is December 15 in special Red Mailbox at Yours Conveniently

Toni Holley, Riley Nichols, and Rianna Lynn are poised for the last-minute rush.

For two years, the friendly staff at Yours Conveniently have collected letters to Santa Claus as a service to both Aurora families and the Jolly Old Elf.

Last Christmas, the intrepid baristas stepped into the void caused by a disruptive national postal strike.

Their stellar performance in 2024 was rewarded when they got word from the North Pole that their service was needed again this year. 

Toni Holley, the congenial co-owner of Yours Conveniently who serves the best London Fog in Christendom, acknowledged the call to action on behalf of the kids in Aurora.

“Santa asked us to collect letters for kids on his behalf.  We did such a good job last year that he asked us to collect letters again from the neighborhood children.  We're getting phone calls from parents and we're reminding everyone that the deadline for getting letters to Santa into our red mailbox at Yours Conveniently is Monday, December 15.  Santa's responses will be available for pickup at the store from December 17 to December 24.”

Holley cherishes the annual project.

“We love being involved because we don't want to let the community down.  We're happy to take on the role again this year and help Santa.”

The business owner is not alone in the task of collecting letters for Santa.  The reception crew on Tuesday afternoon included Rianna —who has been working at the specialty coffee and tea shop for six months—and Riley who has been an employee for over two years at the community hub located at McLeod Drive and Aurora Heights Drive.

Toni noted, “They're going to help out even more this year with our special letters collection. We're all being Santa's little helpers.”  

All three agreed that the most satisfying element to collecting letters for Santa is “seeing the joy on the kids' faces—and on the parents' faces, too—especially when we deliver the letters back to the kids.  They're so excited,” Holley added on behalf of the team.

For the fifth year in a row, Yours Conveniently is also collecting unwrapped, new toys in partnership with the Salvation Army and the Central York Firefighters.

The deadline for donating a new toy is Monday, December 15.

There's a special kind of satisfaction for the store staff that is derived from these kinds of Yuletide activities.

Holley elaborated: “We love giving back to the community through our Toy Drive. We also like collecting letters because it's a bit different. Seeing the reactions of the kids at Christmas time makes it all worth it. We've been doing the Toy Drive since we opened. It's our fifth year. We feel it's important for all children to unwrap a present on Christmas morning.”  

Yours Conveniently is located at 69 McLeod Drive in northwest Aurora.

By Jim Stewart