Gino’s Deli has been collecting letters for Santa and make sure every child gets a response.
Author: Jeremy Baker
Published: 6:30 PM CST December 12, 2024
Updated: 6:30 PM CST December 12, 2024
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SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio Christmas tradition 10 years in the making. One deli on the city’s north side has been making Christmas special for tens of thousands of children across South Texas.
“They talked about it quite a bit and they really enjoyed it. It was a really cool experience,” said Bud Byrd, who has been bringing his children to the very festive Gino’s Deli Stop & Buy to write letters to Santa since they were tiny tikes.
“They couldn’t really write but they were really excited about it, did their scribble things and kind of played into the whole ‘Hey, Santa is going to get these letters. Tell him what you want for Christmas,'” Byrd said.
“We start in September collecting letters, then start answering in October. We started mailing in November and we take letters all the way from December 23,” said owner Aleem Chaudhry, who makes sure every kid gets a response from jolly old Saint Nick.
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s a lot of joy. And kids become so happy, and parents are very appreciative,” Chaudry said.
All kids have to do is fill out a form with their name, age, gender and return address, along with their Santa letter. Then drop it in the Santa letters mailbox and get a response every single time.
“We told them, hey, you wrote the letter, it came back. This is from the North Pole. Santa’s got them. They ran with it for a while,” Byrd said.
Chaudhry added, “I encourage adults to write too. The spirit of Christmas is for everyone.”
Last year Gino’s wrote back to more than 4,000 letters, this year, already 5,600! This year, it’s a little harder for Chaudhry to get around thanks to a broken ankle but he is still keeping this heartwarming tradition going.
“Keeps me humble, part of the community,” he said.
