Volunteers Must Sign Santa Clause

Volunteers who answer letters to Santa Claus through the US Postal Service will have to sign a waiver, reports USA Today. The Postal Service has operated a Christmas letter-answering campaign for almost a century, with donated gifts and aid often going to needy children. “We were giving out information about these kids to people we didn't know,” says a spokesperson.

No trouble has ever arisen, but the new rules should help protect children and “the integrity of the program and the Postal Service,” the spokesperson added. In Newark, the Star-Ledger reports, the backlash has already begun: "I am not recommending participating unless the Grinch's heart grows seven times larger and he reconsiders," said one donation-drive coordinator. (More Santa Claus stories.)