Free calls to Santa

Kids can make free calls to Santa from Telstra payphones until Christmas Eve. (Supplied)

The stockings are hung, the lights are twinkling, and the countdown to Christmas is on with Santa and his elves once again ready to take your calls.

Until Christmas Eve, kids of all ages can call Santa for free from any of Telstra’s 14,000-plus payphones by dialling #HO HO HO (#46 46 46).

This year, Telstra has made it even more special for Australia’s littlest callers to connect with Santa by introducing the first-ever kid-sized Telstra payphone – made just for Aussie kids.

Specially designed for small callers who might find regular handsets hard to reach, these mini payphones will be set up in select Telstra Stores in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane until Christmas Eve, giving kids their very own special way to reach the North Pole.

Telstra’s free calls to Santa has become an increasingly popular festive tradition for Australian families. Last year alone, over half a million calls were made to Santa from payphones across Australia, spreading joy to families nationwide.

According to Telstra, calling Santa isn’t just festive fun – it’s also a great way for kids to learn how to find and use a payphone in case of an emergency, especially if they’ve never used a non-mobile phone before. Here are some handy tips:

– Use free calls to Santa to teach kids what a payphone is and how they work;

– With all standard national calls and texts free from Telstra payphones year-round, encourage kids to memorise at least one important phone number, which can be a lifeline for those unexpected moments; and

-Fun fact: Every payphone has a unique number you can dial from your mobile. It’s a great way to show kids what an old-fashioned phone sounds like.