It’s Christmas time, and in the spirit of the season Telstra is offering Australian kids the chance to have a chat with Santa. Between Monday, December 5 and Saturday, December 24, kids can call Santa and his festive friends from one of Teltra’s 15,000 payphones nationwide.
Kids won’t just get the chance to chat with the Jolly Man in the Red Suit, they can call Mrs Claus and Santa’s right-hand elf. Just don’t expect either to reveal who’s on the Naughty and Nice list…
How to call Santa for free
Kids can call Santa’s Workshop from any Telstra payphone by dialling # HO HO HO (#46 46 46). You’ll be put in direct contact with Santa’s switchboard.
To talk to Santa, press 1. For Mrs Claus press 2 and to talk to Santa’s friendly Elf, press 3.
You can find your nearest Telstra payphone here.
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Why knowing how to use a payphone is important
Once upon a time the words ‘hang up’ had more meaning. Heck! When we were growing up, we even knew what switchboards were. But what about the younger generations?
“We want this to be a fun activity for kids,” Telstra says.
Calling Santa and his friends also teaches children how to locate and use a payphone, giving them the skills they need to contact a parent of caregiver at any time.
“There’s something a bit magical about picking up a payphone,” Telstra says. “Hearing the dial tone and punching the numbers into the keypad.”
The calls to Santa also allow you to teach children about how to dial ‘000’ in an emergency. It’s also a good opportunity to remind your children of your home address.
“More than 20 million calls were made from payphones around Australia in the past year,” Telstra says. “Roughly 250,000 of those were to critical service numbers such as 000 and Lifeline.”
In addition to free phone calls, Telstra offers free Wi-Fi at more than 3,000 locations. This Wi-Fi can be used to contact family and friends overseas for free!
Call Santa for a good cause
As a further boost to the Christmas spirit, Telstra reveals it will donate $1 from every call to Santa’s Workshop to the Salvation Army.
These donations help the Salvos connect with some of the most vulnerable members of the community during Christmas time.
