LETTERS TO SANTA. Many post offices across the country have local Letters to Santa programs because kids love writing to Santa Claus. New York City is recognized as hosting the largest program in the country. The Letters to Santa program is a holiday tradition that the Postal Service has supported for a long time - at least 90 years. It was in 1912 when the U.S. Post Office Department first allowed individuals or institutions to use letters addressed to Santa Claus for philanthropic purposes.

Since then, the program has thrived as local and national groups have worked to fulfill children's Christmas wishes. Here are some tips to share with parents. Kids should include a return address on letters - it helps Santa's helpers when responding to the letters. The contents should be limited to letter-size paper only. Cookies, candy canes or other bulky items in letters could damage letter-sorting equipment.

EASIER BUSINESS. The introduction of PostalOne! to connect mailers' information with USPS systems has already begun, with dozens of current users, including many of the nation's largest business mailers. Nationwide deployment will continue over the next three years, but the basic electronic linkage is already developed and being used by mailers to automate and streamline many of the manual and hard-copy documentation processes used in the business-mail production cycle.

The new system links the customer's mailing information with the Postal Service's acceptance, verification and payment systems. The fundamental design provides customers a one-stop shopping experience for payment and other mailing information by offering them an electronic suite of services to enhance the mailing process. PostalOne! allows an exchange of information that benefits mailers and USPS.

"The basic principle of PostalOne! is simple," says Larry Goodman, manager of Business Customer Support Systems. "We want to make it easier for business mailers to do business with us." For more information, visit www.uspspostalone.com.

TURKEY MISCHIEF. It's no urban legend - a wild turkey bedeviled a letter carrier near Boston last year. A segment on the persistent fowl helps conclude the hour-long "Turkey Secrets" on the Animal Planet Channel this Thanksgiving season. Check it out Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. It repeats Friday, Nov. 28, at midnight, 4 and 10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, 1 and 5 a.m., and Sunday, Nov. 30, at 1 p.m.