Santa is gearing up to send more letters in te Reo Māori than ever before – Ka pai!

For the fifth consecutive year, we're delighted to offer the opportunity for kiwi kids to correspond with Santa in both te Reo Māori and English. Writing to Santa has been a longstanding tradition, and we’ve been helping to make these connections for 25 years now.

Heremia Nikora, a founding member of NZ Post's Te Kai a te Rangatira, shares, "We love being part of the Christmas magic and enriching the experience of tamariki in writing to Hana Kōkō.

"In recent years, we've sent out hundreds of responses in te Reo Māori, and in 2022, we sent a record number of replies on behalf of Hana Kōkō.”

Recently NZ Post asked for customers of all ages to share their memories of Writing to Santa from 25 years ago on Facebook – with a number of people sharing their wish lists from childhood. 

“The comments were great, says Heremia. “From a Barney sleeping bag to purple Spice Girl pump shoes, motorbikes, to love, peace and happiness, it’s awesome to think that we’ve touched so many peoples’ lives over the years.”

Last year, Hana Kōkō received over 40,000 letters. This year, we’re excited to assist Hana Kōkō again, and help to spread the Christmas magic to even more tamariki throughout Aotearoa.

We encourage tamariki to visit our website where they can send Hana Kōkō a special Christmas letter.

How to write to Hana Kōkō

Writing to Hana Kōkō is super easy. Simply visit nzpost.co.nz/writetosanta to create a special Christmas letter. If you’d like to receive a response in te Reo Māori, you can select te Reo Māori in the dropdown box when you see the Language option

While the deadline to receive a physical postcard from Hana Kōkō has now passed, he is still accepting Christmas letters right up until 21 December, and you can expect an email response within approximately 24 hours.

NZ Post has been delivering Christmas to New Zealanders for almost 180 years, and we're thrilled to continue this tradition.

About Te Kai a te Rangatira

Graduates of NZ Post’s Māori Leadership programme – Te Hononga, know that some of our whānau don’t have the tools or confidence to pronounce te Reo Māori correctly, and they are committed to empowering people to step up and support each other in learning and growing te Reo Māori with their rōpū, Te Kai a te Rangatira – Food of the Chiefs.