Local Shop Owners Restore Letters to Santa Tradition in Jacksonville

Published Nov. 14, 2025. A group of downtown Jacksonville shop owners has revived the Letters to Santa tradition by installing and maintaining a community Santa mailbox, giving families a way to send holiday letters and get responses in time for Christmas. The initiative was spearheaded by Jess Lynn, owner of The Peachy Nest, with organizer Julie Rowe of 37 South Boutique and Makery and partners including Illinois College mailroom head Morrie Smith. The project began as part of the Central Park Holiday Market in 2024 and has been continued into 2025 even though the market itself is on hiatus this season.

The mailbox sits at a local storefront and is being cared for by the participating businesses and college partners. Families can pick up custom stationery at The Peachy Nest or use their own paper to write, then deposit letters in the mailbox. Organizers set a deadline of Dec. 20 to return letters to ensure children receive replies before Christmas. The effort is intended to become an annual, community backed tradition that keeps a familiar holiday ritual alive in Jacksonville.

Beyond the seasonal cheer, the project illustrates how private sector actors and local institutions can preserve civic traditions and foster neighborhood vitality. The involvement of Illinois College through its mailroom head provides a logistical backbone that can help ensure replies are processed and delivered, demonstrating a practical public private partnership between small businesses and an educational institution. For downtown merchants, the mailbox brings families into local shops and can provide an economic boost at a time of year when foot traffic matters to small retailers.

The initiative also carries broader implications for civic engagement in Morgan County. Grassroots cultural projects like the Santa mailbox create volunteer opportunities, encourage residents to use downtown public space, and reinforce community networks outside formal political channels. Such efforts can complement municipal programming and illustrate demand for small scale public offerings that support quality of life. Organizers say the goal is to keep the project community backed and sustainable, which may prompt future discussions about shared funding or formal support from local civic organizations.

For parents and caregivers, the mailbox provides a practical, low cost way to involve children in a local tradition and to connect them with the community. With a clear Dec. 20 deadline and access to custom stationery locally, the program is set up to be accessible to families who want the tangible experience of mailing a letter and receiving a reply timed for the holiday. As Jacksonville approaches the season, the revived Letters to Santa project offers a local example of how civic spirit and small business leadership can preserve traditions and engage residents in meaningful ways.