Salina ? Yes, Saralyn Reece Hardy and other Salina Postal Service customers, there is a Santa Claus.

Hardy knows, because Santa stopped by her home Saturday morning with a gift — a gift Hardy had been waiting for.

“Oh, my gosh, this is so great,” Hardy said as Sam Nunemaker, a postal carrier dressed in a full Santa suit, dropped a package off at her home.

Hardy didn’t think the present was going to make it. She was getting ready to print out a photo of it to put under the huge Christmas tree in her living room.

“There is a real Santa Claus,” Hardy said, “and he works for the Salina post office.”

And he made it just before her family was to begin opening gifts.

Winter weather hundreds of miles away from Salina caused some mail coming from a hub office in Memphis, Tenn., to not arrive here in time to be delivered Friday, said Salina Postmaster Richard Brake.

Post offices throughout the country were dealing with the same dilemma, and many brought in carriers to work Saturday.

In some places, Christmas-looking mail will be delivered Sunday, too.

Postal Service carrier Sam Nunemaker pushes a cart full of mail to his delivery truck Saturday at the U.S. Post Office in Salina. Nunemaker dressed as Santa Claus to deliver some mail on Christmas. He and a few other postal carriers volunteered to deliver mail that was delayed getting to Salina because of bad weather elsewhere in the country.

“About 95 percent of this should have come in yesterday,” Brake said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure it gets to where it should be.”

A few carriers volunteered to spend Christmas morning delivering all those packages that looked like they might contain a Christmas gift, a card, money or medication.

Salinans are fortunate their carriers are so professional about their jobs, Brake said.

In all, about 40 pieces of mail were delivered Saturday by two carriers in Salina.

Brake was heading to Clay Center to celebrate Christmas and took along a piece of mail that was heading the same direction.

Packages sent by Express Mail, a premium service, were first priority, Brake said, but since carriers were out anyway, some packages sent by Priority Mail also were delivered.

“They wouldn’t have been guaranteed by Christmas, but, well, we’re already here,” he said.

The post office doesn’t normally deliver on Christmas, Brake said.

And it’s the first time in his 25-plus years with the office that Nunemaker has worked on Christmas. He didn’t mind, though. Seeing people’s happy faces made it worthwhile, he said.

At each stop on his route, he greeted residents with a “Merry Christmas” and told them Santa was running a little late but had a special delivery for them.

Some people were more excited about seeing Santa on their porch than the mail they were receiving. That was the case with Teddy Starr.

He is glad the mail came, but more than anything, he wanted his children to see Santa.

“Do you mind if I go get them up?” Starr asked Nunemaker.

Justin DeMatos, 4, and Makayla DeMatos, 3, barely had their eyes open, but they knew who the white-haired, bearded man in the red suit was.

“It’s quite a surprise to have Santa standing on your porch on Christmas morning,” Starr said. “The kids have to see it.”

Each of the pajama-clad children stepped out the door to give Santa a hug before he continued on his route.

“This is our job,” Brake said. “This time of year is like our Super Bowl, and everyone is excited to be involved.”