The “Letters to Santa” mailbox outside Stephanie and Mark Sabourin’s Bridgewater home is probably not the first decoration most people notice when they visit her dazzling outdoor Christmas display.
Fans of the Christmas classic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” probably spot the dummy Clark Griswold hanging off the side of her house, which is complete with a fallen ladder and string of Christmas lights.
But while the Sabourins’ other decorations may be flashier, the “North Pole Post Express” mailbox stands out for a different reason — it’s making a difference in the Bridgewater community.
The Sabourins have a massive outdoor Christmas decoration display at their home in Bridgewater.Courtesy of Stephanie Sabourin
It all started last year when Stephanie Sabourin stumbled upon the mailbox at Lowe’s and decided it would be a nice addition to her decoration display.
“It started out as ‘Oh, it’s just like a cute little Christmas decoration. We’ll pop it on the lawn with the rest,’” she said. “But we found that people started using it.”
Children from all around the Bridgewater area started using the mailbox to send their letters to the North Pole. The Sabourins delighted in reading the letters, which soon sparked an idea — what if they took on the role of Santa for local families in need?
The couple discussed how they might pull this off, and eventually decided that, instead of buying presents for their six adult children that year, they would use the mailbox to take requests for a few local children whose parents were struggling to afford Christmas gifts, Stephanie Sabourin said.
“We’ve had good times and bad times over the years. Sometimes the hardest hit are the people that fall somewhere in the middle. They may not qualify for services elsewhere,” she said.
Bridgewater residents Stephanie and Mark Sabourin use their “Letters to Santa” decoration mailbox to provide gifts to local families in need.Courtesy of Stephanie Sabourin
So Stephanie Sabourin posted on social media about the mailbox, explaining that families who need help affording Christmas gifts can request it by leaving a letter in the mailbox. They needn’t explain or identify themselves or their situation, they would just include their address, their child’s first name and a list of desired gifts, she said.
“If we can help to ease the burden of just a couple of presents, sometimes what isn’t that big of a lift for us can make a big difference — we hope — for some of these other people,” she said.
The Sabourins received a tremendous response to their offer and ended up providing gifts to 37 families — many of which had more than one child, Stephanie Sabourin said. The couple bought three presents per child, so all in all, they gifted over 110 presents.
“As the letters rolled in, we were like ‘Man, there’s clearly a need,’” she said.
Gifting all these presents was extremely time consuming, Stephanie Sabourin said. They had to run out to several different stores, make sure Amazon delivered the gifts on time, wrap each one and then deliver them to 37 homes. The Sabourins also didn’t want to ruin the illusion of Santa for the children, so Stephanie Sabourin’s sister ended up writing a story to explain why the gifts weren’t being delivered the “traditional” way.
The Sabourins use their “Letters to Santa” mailbox decoration to take requests for gifts for children in need in the Bridgewater community.Courtesy of Stephanie Sabourin
The story detailed how the Grinch stole the gifts from the North Pole, but had been caught by Santa’s “elf rangers,” who caused him to have a change of heart, Stephanie Sabourin said. As a result, the Grinch decided to make things right by delivering the gifts himself.
The story was left at each home as a note from the Grinch along with the presents, Stephanie Sabourin said.
To sell the story, Mark Sabourin dressed up as the Grinch to deliver the gifts, Stephanie Sabourin said. Most families did not answer the door over the course of the two delivery days, but Mark Sabourin met with the families that were home and performed his role for many doorbell cameras.
“It became how we spent our entire month of December last year, and we loved every minute of it,” his wife said.
The Sabourins use their “Letters to Santa” mailbox decoration to take requests for gifts for children in need in the Bridgewater community. Mark Sabourin delivers the presents as the Grinch.Courtesy of Stephanie Sabourin
After having such a great a great experience last year, the Sabourins are playing Santa again this year. They’re not sure exactly how much help they’ll be able to provide, but Stephanie Sabourin said they’ll provide as gifts for as many families as possible.
Families in the Bridgewater area who need help buying Christmas gifts for their children can visit the “Letters to Santa” mailbox outside 752 Plymouth St. in Bridgewater to request help. Letters should include your child’s first name, the address at which the gifts should be delivered and a list of requested gifts. The Sabourins do not provide cash gifts or gifts for adults.
