Southampton Town's holiday season for kids starts today. Santa's mailbox is open in Hampton Bays, Flanders and Bridgehampton from November 9 through December 10, 2026, and every child who mails a letter with a return envelope gets a written reply from the North Pole before Christmas, according to Southampton Town Parks and Recreation. A month later, the Town's Youth Bureau turns the lights off for a glow-in-the-dark night of sports for middle and high school students.

Letters to Santa: how it works

Parks and Recreation asks children to write to Santa with their name, their wish list, and the details Santa likes to know: brothers and sisters, pets, hobbies and anything special about their year. The one requirement is a self-addressed, stamped envelope tucked inside, so the reply has somewhere to go. Letters are accepted through December 10, which leaves time for an answer to arrive before December 25.

Letters can be dropped off at four Town locations, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.:

After 3:30 p.m., there is a North Pole drop box by the front door of the Parks and Recreation Office on Newtown Road, so a letter written after school or on the weekend does not have to wait. The Town lists no fee for the program.

Lights Out! Glow Night, December 11

For older kids, the Southampton Youth Bureau is hosting Lights Out! Glow Night on Friday, December 11, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Southampton Youth Services, 1370A Majors Path in Southampton. It is open to students in grades 6 through 12.

New this year is a glow-in-the-dark soccer tournament played under UV black lights. The night also has glow-in-the-dark basketball and volleyball, glow-in-the-dark T-shirt decorating and other glow-themed art. Students are encouraged to wear white or neon clothing, which lights up under the black lights.

Admission is $10 per person. The Youth Bureau runs bus service from select locations, but riders must pre-register and seats are limited. Register at southamptontown.recdesk.com or by calling 631-702-2425.

More from Town Parks this winter

Parks and Recreation is also signing up teenagers who want a summer job on the water: non-surf lifeguard training for ages 15 and older runs in winter and spring sessions ahead of Memorial Day Weekend 2027. Program listings are posted at southamptontownny.gov/parks.

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