In search of Father Christmas

Simon Calder follows the sound of sleigh bells to find out where Santa might live

Implausible: Eurostar trains

Even though some carriages say "North Pole" on the side, Santa Claus is not thought to reside on Channel Tunnel trains from London to Paris and Brussels. "North Pole" is a railway depot in west London, near Wormwood Scrubs.

Improbable: SAN TA1, a postcode that leads to Belfast

Send a dispatch to Santa Claus, c/o Reindeerland, SAN TA1 – as Consignia would like you to do, before 15 December – and it will turn up in a sorting office in Northern Ireland's largest city. If you include an address, Royal Mail promises to reply. The organisation formerly known as the Post Office denies a rumour that it plans to change Santa's name to Santignia.

Improbable: Norway, Sweden, Finland and Greenland

Santa has more abodes than the Royals; any one-reindeer town north of Newcastle boasts a residence. Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland makes a claim to be the first Noël choice for St Nicholas, as do towns in Sweden and Norway. Denmark's post office redirects some letters addressed to Santa c/o Greenland to a sorting office in Odense.

Possible: North America

Anyone who thinks that Santa's grotto is decked with maple leaves will find that his Canadian helpers work for a post office in Winnipeg, Alberta – which is further from the North Pole than is Cornwall.

The Canadians win the prize for the funniest postal address, though: Santa Claus, North Pole, Canada H0 H0 H0.

American kids' letters to Santa disappear up the figurative chimney to North Pole, Alaska 99705, population 1,500. This turns out to be a suburb south-east of the city of Fairbanks. It boasts names such as St Nicholas Road and Rudolf Street. Father Christmas can grab last-minute shopping at North Pole Gallery & Gifts, located at 300 North Pole Lane.

It is even possible to get your Christmas cards postmarked "Season's Greetings, North Pole AK 99705". Bundle them up and send them to North Pole Cancellations, 5400 Mail Trail, Fairbanks AK 99709-9999, US, to arrive by 7 December – but they must be pre-stamped with the correct US Mail postage.

Getting warmer (or should that be colder?): Disneyland Paris

The Christmas Parade starts on 10 November, with live reindeer, elves – and what is promised to be the "real" Santa Claus, presiding over fireworks every evening until Christmas. Leisure Direction (020-8324 3030, www.leisuredirection.co.uk) has a deal of £236 for a family of four, including the ferry crossing and a night at the Hotel Santa Fe.

Probable: southern Turkey

On the coast road between the airports of Dalaman and Antalya, stands Patara – where St Nicholas was born around ad300. He later moved to the ancient city of Myra, near present-day Demre.

The Lycian rock-tombs were already centuries old when St Nicholas became bishop of Myra in the 4th century. The Blue Guide to Turkey says "The Church of St Nicholas is on the west side of Demre, about 150m from the main square". In a small garden to the left of the entrance, there is what is described as "a rather incongruous statue of the saint in the persona of Santa Claus complete with a sack of presents and a mob of children".