hello. i am mipps. i have what i believe is good news.

mipps

*Hi*! It's Cupid again!

The Thanksgiving Feast is still going on, and it's wonderful! I wish you could see it!

Thanksgiving here at the Pole is amazing! It lasts for two whole days, and there are all kinds of different things that go on during the celebration. There's of course the heaps and heaps of delicious food (the pear and reindeer-moss cobbler is my favorite!). And huge, long banquet tables are set up in the Village Square so everyone and their families and friends can all sit together. There's always a Table of Honor -- that's where Mr. and Mrs. Claus sit, along with Rudolph, and the Pole's senior staff members (that includes Coach!), right beside any visiting animal or elf delegations. But there's one more really, really super-cool thing about the Table of Honor ...

... Okay, so Flight Training always ends on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. And every year, the reindeer who has the best overall Flight performance, and the shortest time on the final course gets to sit at the Table of Honor with Rudolph, Coach, and Santa!!! For real!!! And guess who's sitting at the honor table this year?!?! ... Me*! (For *real! I'm not joking!) I still can't even believe it! (I was so happy when Coach and Santa told me on Wednesday night that I burst into tears! Dancer said it was okay, though. She was really really proud of me.)

My parents are really really proud of me, too! (They came all the way from Sami Land!) And every time I'd pass food over to my mom and dad, my mom would smile this big reindeer smile; and one time, I think my dad had tears in his eyes. Wow. (Donder took tons of pictures with his HooFFone! It was totally embarrassing!) So all of that has made this the best Thanksgiving ever!

And get this, tonight's going to be the best night of the whole feast! Every year, the elves build a main stage off the back of the Toy Factory, and host a closing-feast talent show! It's always super funny, with hysterical skits (they poke fun at Santa sometimes!), and musical performances, and storytelling. I can't wait to see what they're going to do this year!

And then, tomorrow, ... Swim Training starts!!!

Coach says he's got a surprise, and some new drills for us -- drills that will really increase our stamina. (That means the drills are going to be hard.) But I'm ready for it. I've been working really hard, and staying really focused. And I'm just so* proud of the Junior Varsity Team! Donder, Prancer, and Comet are all doing really really well. (Even *Santa said I'm doing a great job with the JV Team!)

Blitzen, however, is not being so cool. Sssshhhh ... Between you and me? His performance has been way down -- lots worse than it was last year. And Dancer confided in me that things aren't so great on the Varsity Team. ... Oh! And I asked Dancer what she thought about ... you know -- that situation I told you about? And she said that I should wait to see what happens before I say anything.

Well, I'm totally not sure what happened, but I saw Santa having a really serious conversation with Coach the other day. Then Coach called Blitzen off the Flight field. And then, Blitzen wasn't being all loud anymore. And then that night, I saw Mr. Instubble turning over the straw and otherwise making a mess of Blitzen's stall! (?!?!) Blitzen's been rreeeeaaalllly quiet ever since Coach talked to him, and he didn't say anything to anyone when he lay down for the night. So I have *no* idea what happened! And I'm not sure what's going to happen next. But I'll definitely keep you posted!

Oh -- Rudolph just announced over the PA system that the Talent Show is about to start! So I'd better get back to my mom and dad so we can get great seats!

Have a super weekend, and I'll write again soon!

Love, Cupid

HI you guys! It's me, Comet!

The Team's on a super-quick break, so I just had to say HI!

I should be focused on Flight Training right now -- especially today and tomorrow, 'cuz they're our last two days of Flight Training for the whole year. Which also means these are our toughest days on the course! We've been building up to it, but it's still kind of intimidating. The flight course is really complicated now -- the hardest we've flown yet. And the Team is really feeling the push. (Vixen broke down in tears yesterday.) But I'm so excited about THANKSGIVING that all of those crazy, floating red balloons (y' know, the buoys on our flight-training course) aren't even scaring me right now.

Thanksgiving at the North Pole is a pretty big deal. First of all, it's a two day FEAST! Two whole days of yummy food, and music, and laughter, and shows, and tons and TONS of guests! It's so cool it's super-cold!

As you guys know, all of us reindeer on Santa's Sleigh Team are on a totally strict Training diet right now. We're not allowed to have any sweets, or candy, or donut holes, or anything like that during the Season. Instead, we're crunching down exotic grasses, and cashew- and almond-butter, and sprouted grains, and high-protein lichen shakes, and energy paste (don't even ask), and stuff like that. Coach Bear Bryan gets stuff shipped in from all over the world -- just for us!

Well, that might sound exotic -- y' know, getting food from all over the world. But it's hard, 'cuz it gets kind of boring eating the same healthy things all the time. So Thanksgiving is, like, EXCELLENT, because Coach and Santa let us eat anything we want (well, anything that's on the table) for the whole two days of the feast! YESSS!

Usually Blitzen is bragging about how much stuffing and gravy and potatoes and pie and ice cream he's gonna eat (last year, he even took bets from the elves!). But this year he's been really quiet about it. Actually, it's kinda weird. I tried to joke around with him about it the other day, but he told me to mind my own business. (Which kind of hurt my feelings.) So I don't know what's going on. I guess he's just taking his training really seriously this year.

The BEST part about Thanksgiving, though, is that MY MOM AND DAD ARE COMING!!! Actually, lots of parents are coming -- reindeer parents, and elf parents -- and brothers and sisters, and friends ... all kinds of people come to the feast from all over the world!

I grew up in Greenland, on the northern ice plateau. My home herd lives almost 600 miles from the North Pole! But my parents are still coming for the feast. That's because Thessaly Tinselcom, in The Lab, has developed special travel machines that can easily transport visitors to Santa's Village for special occasions. My parents are scheduled to arrive tomorrow!!! Which is SO cool! ... Well, it's cool, but it's also kind of a bummer. 'Cuz it means that I'm gonna have to clean my stall. ::sigh:: (And I hate cleaning my stall!)

Rufus Instubble (he's our animal keeper) has already warned us that he's going to be making inspections tomorrow to make sure The Barn and all of our stalls are "shipshape" for our guests. (What - EVER!) ... But, at least after that's all over, I'll get to feast, and see my mom and dad, and watch the elves' Talent Show, and, well, it's gonna be ICE COLD!

Whoops -- there's Coach's whistle. I'd better log-off. Wish me luck (I hope you guys don't have to clean your stalls)! And I'll talk to you after the feast!

Be cool! ...

-- Comet

HI!! It's Cupid -- how are you?

Wow, all of a sudden it feels like time is flying -- and so are we reindeer, because it's Training Season! This is my absolute favorite time of year, because all the best holidays are all mashed up against one another -- Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day -- plus Training Season's happening! ... It's like a rollercoaster of fun!

Speaking of rollercoasters ... We've been flying our training courses now for two weeks!

I like flight training -- it's really fun. Even though swimming is MY favorite. Swim training comes right after flight training, and right before track training (which is when we run). So I don't have very long to wait for my favorite sport! (Yay!) And, right after track training is Flight Night! (Double-yay!) "Flight Night" is the reindeer phrase for Christmas Eve.

Flight training is probably the hardest part of our training. At least that's what I think. We work on a "training field" that's actually up in mid-air, like a Quidditch pitch! It's set up over the treetops of the Pole Forest. (The Forest is a big, magical stand of ancient Douglas Fir and Birch trees that's not far from the Village Square and The Barn. The Forest is also invisible to anyone who doesn't live in Santa's Village.)

The course is marked off by huge floating red balloons that form a sort of three-dimensional snake pattern -- kind of like a rollercoaster. Each balloon has a big number painted on it, and our job is to fly the course -- rounding every balloon; in numerical order -- as quickly and accurately as we can.

The really hard part is that we don't fly just one course. Every four days, Coach Bryan instructs the course-elves to set-up a brand new course that's longer, more elaborate, and more complicated than the last one. (For real!) So the courses just get harder and harder. But we have to keep on our toes. That's what Coach says.

Oh -- our Coach! I haven't told you about him yet, have I? Bear Bryan is our coach. He's a polar bear, and he's coached the Team for probably 500 years or so. He and Santa have known each other forever.

Coach Bryan's tough, because he wants us to be strong and capable so we can do our very best on Flight Night, but he really cares about us. And after all, training IS pretty fun.

And oh, before I forget, speaking of fun, Halloween was SO fun I can't even tell you! My Hermione costume turned out really well! Everyone recognized me and knew who I was. And Dancer was SO beautiful! (She went as a glittery Ice-Faerie Queen!) I hope someday I'm as beautiful and grown-up as Dancer is. That would be really great.

Thessaly Tinselcom set up this incredible sound system in the Village Square for the big party. (Thessaly is the elf who runs Santa's Research and Development Lab. She maintains all the North Pole's scientific gizmos and time machines and stuff. And she develops new technologies, and, well, she's just a really smart, really cool person.) Anyway, she set up this super great sound system, and Rudolf and Snoop Puppy Dogg took turns DJ-ing. And I danced so much that my hooves were sore the next day!

And the candy -- there was so much candy this year it was incredible. Sweet Tarts are my absolute favorite -- Sweet Tarts and gummy bears. And I ate so many of them Halloween night that I got a stomach ache. But that's still not as bad as Donder! He ate so many black licorice ropes and marshmallows that he threw up! For real! (EEeeewwwwww ... boys are so gross.)

We can't eat candy anymore, though. Not until Christmas Day. (We are allowed to have Thanksgiving dinner. Thank stars! That's our only official exception during Training Season.)

But get this ... I know that Blitzen stockpiled a bunch of candy in secret. And I swear, I think he's sneaking candy at night when he's in his stall! For real! I don't know what to do about it, either ... Should I report him? Should I pretend I didn't see? I don't want to be a scamper-tale, but we're all in this together -- after all, the Team's only as strong as its weakest reindeer. So maybe I should say something to Coach? I mean, we can't let Santa down!!! Not on Flight Night!!! ... Oh I don't know ... I should ask Dancer for advice. She's smart -- she'll know what to do.

Well, I'd better log-off and get to bed. We have a really big day on the course tomorrow! And I'm so excited about Thanksgiving that I barely sleep as it is!

Wish us luck! And I'll write soon! ...

Love, Cupid

hello.

mipps

Hi you guys! It's me, Comet!

Wow -- there's SO much to tell you about I don't even know where to start!

First of all, Training Season's in full swing now! So things are really busy and stuff. And Thanksgiving is coming -- NEXT WEEK! So everyone's SUPER psyched about that! Plus everyone's still talking about everything that happened at Halloween.

I'm only on a quick lunch-break from Training right now, but okay okay -- I have to tell you about Halloween before I tell you about anything else!

If I had to use one word to describe it, I'd say it was AWESOME! Totally! Even Mr. Instubble (Rufus Instubble, he's the animal keeper here at Santa's Village. To be honest, he kinda scares me sometimes, cuz he can be kinda "gruff" -- that's the word Dancer uses. But she says he's nice underneath his hide.) ... Anyway, even Mr. Instubble said that the Haunted Mansion we created in The Barn this year was the best EVER! (Or like, the best in ten years or something -- which is practically forever if you ask me.)

I was in charge of cobwebs, remember? For the cobweb committee? Well, our decorations were COLD AS ICE! Plus, there were spiders, and ghosts, ... and whale, elf, and reindeer skeletons, ... it was GREAT! Everything was SO spooky that I think we accidentally scared Donder. (Rudolph went as Dracula this year, and there was this one part, in The Haunted Mansion, where we activated a loud thundercrash and lights for lightning, JUST as Rudolph -- I mean Dracula -- popped out of a coffin! Donder kinda seriously jumped. I felt bad. But it was still cool!)

And the costumes! The costumes were WAY cool! Cupid came as Hermione, y' know, from Harry Potter. And Donder came as a frozen, un-dead zombie. Vixen came as the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia. (She tied one of Mr. C's elves for "Best Costume" in the costume competition!!! [The elf who won came dressed as James P. "Sulley" Sullivan -- y' know, the big blue monster from Monsters, Inc.]) And I dressed up as Spiderman (dark Spiderman, that is)! ... Blitzen bragged to everyone that he'd be coming as a blizzard this year, but I didn't see him anywhere while we were trick-or-treating, and I didn't even see him afterward at the big party out in the Village Square. It was weird. I was bummed, cuz I totally wanted to see his costume! Oh well ...

Whoops -- I'd better finish my high-protein reindeer-moss shake. Bear Bryan just blew the end-of-lunch whistle! Which means I'd better log off, cuz our afternoon session is about to start! (Bear Bryan is our Training Coach. I can tell you more about him next time.)

Hope you guys are all doing well, and hope you all had great Halloween holidays! I'll write soon with more news from the North Pole!

Be cool! ... Gotta fly!

-- Comet