NORTH POLE, BY WAY OF WATERLOO - This time of year, Santa Claus' mailbox is stuffed to the brim.

Letters from children all over the world are sent to him. They address their letters simply, "Santa Claus, North Pole," and drop them in the mail. No postage necessary.

But because he's so busy getting his sleigh packed full of toys, Santa sometimes can't reply personally to every letter. Here in the Cedar Valley, however, a few children might be lucky enough to get a reply back from Santa's helpers.

Bev Degenhardt, the volunteer services coordinator at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, coordinates those helpers throughout December. The post office sends over a few thousand letters ever year from Northeast Iowa children, and Degenhardt enlists the help of "elves" to address the letters from Santa as well as add their own personal touches.

Thursday, Smiley the Elf answered a letter from one child wanting a hair streaker and another wanting a Tooth Tunes toothbrush. "I said, 'Keep up the good dental care,'" she said.

Smiley the Elf is actually Amy Costliow, a sophomore at the University of Northern Iowa and member of the Student Admissions Ambassadors. Several UNI students from SAA donned red hats and sipped hot cocoa in the North Pole Room at Covenant Thursday night, opening some of the 2,000 letters from children.

Panther Elf read from children wanting a Nintendo DS and stuffed animals, as well as a dirt bike and other pricier items.

"Whoa, a flat screen TV," said Panther Elf, aka Nick Hanson, a UNI junior. "That might be hard to fit down the chimney."

Taylor Schaa, a junior, and Erin Iossi, a senior, worked across from each other as Cindy the Elf and Snowflake the Elf, respectively. Children they replied to wanted a Nintendo Wii, a Hannah Montana game and Polly Pocket.

Degenhardt likes enlisting UNI groups and others around the area and provides plenty of cookies, candy canes and Christmas music to keep them in the spirit.

"You are the elves," she tells each group. "The purpose is to keep the magic of Christmas alive in children's hearts."

Covenant also collects the letters left at College Square, although the bulk of their letters come from schools. Degenhardt noted that they used to get a lot more letters coming to the North Pole Room - around 3,000 just 10 years ago - but that number has been decreasing. She thinks it's because parents don't want to put their child's return address on the envelope.

"It's still a remarkable amount of letters in a month's time," Degenhardt said.

Children may also be using more updated avenues to reach Santa. One Web site, www.emailsanta.com, allows children to write a letter to him electronically and have a reply within minutes.

But for those looking to get an old-fashioned reply, Degenhardt said children should send their letters by Dec. 17. Then, just watch the mail, and you may just get a reply from Santa, plus a local elf.

"I think they are Santa's helpers," Degenhardt said of the volunteers. "They truly are."

Contact Amie Steffen at (319) 291-1464 or amie.steffen@wcfcourier.com.