Hello Everybody! Wow, what an amazing Yule Feast we had! The whole event was a treat to behold -- the movies showing in the reindeer barn (I think "Elf" with Will Farrell was my favorite! Very accurate historical film!), Thessaly Tinselcom's huge snow slide, the great karaoke contest, and the food! As always, the food was off the hook. Mrs. Claus caught me in the kitchen last night enjoying one more helping of stuffing -- and I felt guilty until I realized she was having one more sliver of pie!

With everything cleaned up after the feast, it's time to take stock of how things went for Christmas 2007. We were lucky this year that so much that could have messed up Christmas (the malfunctioning Present Compressor, the whole Blitzen drama, the fact that the reindeer weren't sleeping for nearly a week) worked out so smoothly. We were lucky to have Bill, the penguin, here helping! He was a valuable asset to the team.

The elves, too, were spectacular this year. Snoop "Puppy" Dogg with his recycled wrapping paper, Thessaly's technologies, Candice and Canin from Candy Cane Ranch -- everybody did a great job! The elves are all on hiatus right now, enjoying a four-day nap. They worked hard and deserve a long luxurious break. (We'll wake them up for New Year's Eve.)

This moment every year -- Christmas over, New Year's about to happen, no real responsibilities -- is a special one for me. I figure I must be the luckiest guy in the universe, to have my job. I live in a beautiful place, have Mrs. Claus at my side, and am surrounded by well-intentioned, hard-working folks I love, with my only responsibility being to make millions of people happy once a year! It's a pretty sweet deal.

I was reading the other day about how top CEOs always expect astronomically high bonuses every year, and realized my bonus has always been a clear sense that I did a good job and made people smile. That, and a few thank-you cards, are all I need at the end of the year.

What are you doing New Year's Eve? Mrs. Claus and I are making plans to enjoy the Aurora Borealis -- the Northern Lights. I'll tell you about them soon!

Love,

Santa

Good Morning Everybody,

Well, it's Christmas morning, and I'm exhausted! But I'm in a great mood, tired but happy. Last night was crazy! We took off as scheduled, and flew around the whole world in one night! Even though I've done it for many years, I'm always amazed we can pull it off.

Everything went pretty smoothly, except in a couple of spots: Some time after midnight, high over China, I was feeling a little sleepy, and was rummaging around inside my magic bag for a dry pair of mittens when I accidentally dislodged a bowling ball! Aaaaggh!!Somehow, in the process of escaping from the bag and out of the sleigh, it automatically de-compressed (from the Present Compressor), and suddenly we had a fifteen-pound bowling ball plunging towards earth!

Like stunt pilots, the reindeer team immediately shot into action, swooping low and dropping quickly, aligning the Sled3000-GT with the falling ball to gently slip it effortlessly back into the bag. Whew! What a save! Needless to say I was WIDE AWAKE after that!

The only other incident was on a roof in Albany, California, where some folks had mounted SO many holiday inflatables (one was of me and the reindeer, plus a snowman, a tin soldier, a snow globe and a Christmas tree) where one of the reindeer (I think it was Dancer) accidentally popped the snowman with her hoof! POP! Luckily, I had an extra set in the bag, too, so we quickly inflated another snowman and tied him to the roof as best we could before taking off again.

Everything else went off without a hitch, though, and I got to bed just as the sun was coming up. But then, about an hour ago, Mrs. Claus woke me up with a plate of scrambled eggs and a cup of coffee, and I thought I'd write a quick post before going back to bed for a couple more hours. Ahhhhhh.... It feels good to have another Christmas delivered safe and sound.

Hope each one of you has a wonderful day, and dinner, and remember how much I love every one of you!

Ho, ho, ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............

Love,

Santa

Well hello there, boys and girls! This is Mrs. Claus again, "blogging" to you one more time on Christmas Eve. Mr. Claus and the reindeer have just taken off for their Flight Night deliveries, and I thought I'd take a few moments to give you the details of his send-off, and wish each one of you a wonderful, warm, Merry Christmas.

Their departure was very special. All the elves who were still awake, and all the animals who help us here at the North Pole, all gathered around to watch. Mr. Bonderaunt, Ms. Tinselcom, as well as our delightful little penguin friend from the South Pole, Bill, all watched as Mr. Instubble harnessed the reindeer to the sleigh, then festooned them with lovely bells and holly sprigs. Rudolph took his place at the front, where his very shiny nose shone like a crimson comet. Then Mr. Claus climbed inside, checked his instruments, and with a thumb's-up to Mr. Bonderaunt and a wink at me, he shouted his command, the same thing he calls out every year:

Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!

On Comet! On Cupid! On Donder and Blitzen!

From the top of the world to the kids large and small,

Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

And with that the ten of them lifted slowly up and into the gathering night. It was truly lovely. It always brings tears to my eyes to see my beloved Mr. Claus doing the single thing in the world that makes him the happiest. I'm so proud of him, and filled with delight every Christmas that he can make so many people, young and old, so happy.

It's been such a special year for us, with so many adventures. I heard from Cupid before they departed that she placed the tiny alpaca hat I knitted for the mysterious Mr. Mipps in the secret place by the barn, and that when she looked again later, it had been received. This is wonderful, since it means the little mouse won't have cold ears on Christmas Day.

I'm going to finish my cocoa and head off to bed now, while Mr. Claus is at work. But I'll be thinking of each one of you, and hoping your Christmas is as special as each one of you are. Mr. Claus and I love you all so dearly!

Merry, merry Christmas.

Love and Kisses,

Mrs. Claus

Hello, Everybody!! It's here! Christmas Eve is finally here! I can't believe it! Every year I always wonder if I'll get this excited again, and every year I always do! The sleigh-loading is complete, the Present Compressor put away, the reindeer rested up, and we're ready to roll!

In a word, the Sled3000-GT looks awesome. It's completely maxed out, with my bag taking up every available inch of space. Rob Ronderbaunt is so proud -- he's been tinkering and tightening and tuning it up for weeks now!

I got some last-minute letters from a couple of you, worried that with the crazy snowy weather happening in certain parts of the world right now, we might not be able to fly. Well, I appreciate your concerns, and I've been monitoring the skies from our own station here at the Pole, and I can tell you, I've flown in weather much, much worse than this! I've flown in blizzards so blinding I could barely see the reindeer butts in front of my face! So don't worry!

o<|;^D

For the parts of the world that aren't snowy, I'm overjoyed to be flying with a moon that's one day past full! It'll make navigation and landing on rooftops much easier.

Here at the Pole, now that all the toy-making and wrapping and loading is done, the elves are exhausted! Right now they're lying around like slugs, curled up by the fire or sleeping on benches and tables in the workshop. You remember elves can sleep for weeks, right? So we may have to gently wake them up for the Yule Feast, which happens the day after Christmas and goes on for three days. It's like Thanksgiving, only bigger, and we get the chance to exchange presents with each other, the reindeer can eat whatever they want, and everyone has fun!

But that's in a couple of days. Right now I gotta get a move on -- I have a job to do. A BIG job.

Since I won't see you all tonight in person (you'll be sleeping!), let me be the first to wish you a very Merry Christmas! Tonight is what I live for! I'm so excited! Let's get this snowy show on the road!!

HO HO HO!! Meeeerrrrrryy Chriiiiisssssssstmas!!

Love,

Santa

Hi Everyone, Just popping in after a busy day to say hello and let you know the Inspection of the Presents went great! Spooky got a chance to get his voice back in shape by testing karaoke machines; Sally Ann looked over thousands of dolls, and only discovered one or two that had been packed with the wrong clothes and another tagged for the wrong little girl.

(Today her haircut was at 4:31 p.m.)

Right now we're loading the sleigh! Thessaly helped us roll her Present Compressor over to the garage, and region by region we're starting to compress every single gift and stuff it into my magic bag! The reindeer and I fly from east to west, so it's important to get the order right! I had Bill, our exchange penguin, helping us, but he got a few details mixed up -- he thought South Korea was next to South Dakota, and that "Florence" sounded a lot like "Florida."

He was also very excited that there is a place called "Turkey."

The reindeer are back from Finland, all refreshed and thoroughly excited to fly tomorrow night. They get to take tomorrow day off, for obvious reasons!

You're probably wondering what I've decided to do about Blitzen, our varsity leader who (as you recall) didn't 'fess up to hoarding candy in his stall during the deers' strict nutritional training a few weeks ago, and took a shortcut on the running course last week. Coach Bryan and I had a long talk about it and I've decided to put him (as Coach, a longtime hockey player) puts it, "in the penalty box" this year.

He'll still fly with us, of course, but I've also decided that because Cupid has worked so hard and shown such improvement at each level of reindeer training, that I'm going to promote her temporarily to Varsity Team Leader! It's unprecedented (usually a junior reindeer would never qualify for such a position) but she has such a great attitude, -- plus the fact that she single-hoofedly handled the whole situation with Rudolph's nose-cozy -- made her a shoo-in for the role.

I'll announce this tomorrow.

One more thing before I go: Last night's Solstice Parade was really beautiful. There were about 500 animals, each one of holding beautiful candles, or light orbs, or bells, moving in slow, elegant procession across the snowy landscape. For an hour or so everybody just stopped, and watched, and relaxed. It was super special and gave everybody a nice chance to breathe deeply before the Christmas craziness started back up again.

I'll blog again tomorrow before we take off!

Congratulations, Cupid!

Love,

Santa

Hi Everybody,

Santa here again. You know, I've been thinking about something for a few days now, while the Present Inspection is underway and things are craziest here at the Pole. I haven't talked about it since I began this blog, back in October, but here goes.

Everybody knows I'm famous for bringing presents to people, and that's fine with me! I'm good at it -- got the best technology and top-notch elf and reindeer teams helping me. I'm happy to be known for that.

But I want to gently remind everyone that presents are only a small part of what Christmas is really about. Christmas (and Hanukkah, and Ramadan, and Kwanzaa, and all the other holidays folks celebrate this time of year) is also about taking a moment (or a few days, actually!) to notice the good things about our lives: our families and friends, our health, the mystery and beauty of nature, and of just being alive.

Everybody loves presents, but if you think about it, the "things" you have -- things bought in a store or online -- are really only a small part of what makes you happy. (Remember how the Grinch noticed how "...Christmas doesn't come from a store..."?)

Many, many years ago, the world's first people noticed how the days this time of year were getting shorter, and they did the same thing: stopped what they were doing and got together to acknowledge how incredible it was that they were alive and that the Earth was moving through its cycles. Noticing that -- just that -- was the only present they needed. (All this stuff has a basis in astronomy. The Earth's shift, when days in the Northern Hemisphere start getting longer again, is called Winter Solstice.)

What got me thinking about all this was a letter I got the other day from a little girl who said she didn't want any presents this year. She had enough things, she said, so instead, she asked me to give any presents I had picked out for her to other kids who didn't have as much. How cool is that? That's the other side of all this -- many people discover that giving things to others actually makes them feel better than getting things themselves!

Tonight, in honor of Winter Solstice, the Arctic foxes lead a magical, candle-lit parade of all the animals, an event filled with beautiful singing and music. It doesn't cost anyone anything to take part, and its sole purpose is to acknowledge the beauty of community and the mystery of nature this time of year. It's a gift from the animals, and it's one of my favorite events.

Don't get me wrong -- presents are wonderful. But on a night like this, I'm reminded that there are other things to be thankful for. And, like the little girl who wrote, I'm reminded too that sometimes giving something to others is the best gift of all.

Love,

Santa

Well hello there!

Yes, this is Mrs. Claus writing to you on this cozy, wintry, snowy day. I thought it was time I took advantage of this "blog" technology that my beloved husband has been talking so much about. So I'm settling down here at Mr. Claus's computer, with a hot cup of tea, and a very happy cat in my lap. Oh! And look ... now Hexagon has also come upstairs to join us. (After all, Hexagon and Snowflake get along quite well together.)

Mr. Claus has told me so much about each and every one of you. And yes, I keep track of you, too, in my own special way, just as I lovingly kept track of your parents when they were children. Mr. Claus and I love you all so dearly.

Oh yes, ... and I wanted to respond especially to the beautiful young girl who's posted a Christmas video asking Santa what his favorite cookie is: it's gingerbread! Mr. Claus loves gingerbread men.

I know you're all counting the days until Christmas as closely as we are here in Santa's Village! And we have only a few days to go until the big night! It is always so very exciting. We never tire of the hustle and bustle this time of year. Each year it's a delight. The elves are practically bouncing with joy, the Factory is overflowing with goodies, and everyone's bustling around making sure that all's ready for Christmas Eve.

Today has been a lovely day indeed! I spent most of the day baking many, many batches of cookies: double chocolate-chip, oatmeal toffee, snickerdoodles, butter rocks, shortbread -- all the elves' favorites. I do this every year as a hearty "thank you" to the elves, from both Santa and myself. The elves work so hard for us, and we appreciate them greatly. Which is why, on December 23rd every year, Santa and I personally deliver to the Factory platters upon platters of home-baked cookies.

I also spent a good deal of time with my knitting today. I'm finishing up a very special project indeed.

I believe Mr. Claus has told you about our heroine Cupid, and her solving of the mystery of Rudolph's missing nose-cozy? Actually, I think Cupid herself may have blogged about it. (She very well may have saved Christmas single-handedly this year.) Well, it appears we have another hero here at the Pole: one Mr. Mipps the House Mouse. And it also appears that the poor dear is without a beanie in this icy winter weather.

So I've been knitting a small hat for our mysterious, small friend -- and I'm just about finished. I'm using my size-zero circular needles -- almost the smallest I own; and I'm using a delightfully fluffy, soft yarn known as alpaca. Alpaca wool is a special fiber that comes from llama-type animals (Alpacas) who live in the Andes mountains. Alpaca wool is incredibly soft, light weight, and incredibly warm: perfect for our tiny little friend! I've chosen a very fine-gauge skein (that's a ball of delicate, thin yarn) that has been dyed a rich shade of garnet. (Garnet is a deep red-burgundy, the color of pomegranate juice, which I also love fondly.)

It is indeed the season of gift-giving. And nothing could make us happier! Giving gifts to those we love, as gestures of affection and gratitude -- no matter what the gift -- is one of the many ways to spread joy and happiness in the world. It is a practice we can adopt any time of the year, whether it's Christmas time or summer time.

Well it has been lovely to speak with you like this! I've finished my tea, Snowflake is purring, and Hexagon has fallen asleep at my feet. Tonight, I'll finish Mr. Mipps's hat, and then I'll have to ask Cupid how to deliver it to him as soon as she and the rest of the Team arrive home from Finland. (Mr. Claus tells me that Coach Bryan reports things are going quite well indeed! We couldn't be happier.)

Have a merry evening! And perhaps I'll post again sometime soon.

Love and Kisses,

Mrs. Claus

Cheers, Everybody!

Ho, ho, ho! I'm in a great mood today!

Rudolph's nose-cozy has turned up! It's a complicated story -- evidently Cupid met a snow-rabbit who had indeed seen a mouse (a mouse!) here at the Pole wearing it as a hat! I heard this through Rufus, who heard it from Dancer, who heard it from Cupid herself. Normally I'd treat that like gossip, but sure enough, last night Rudolph's nose was covered up and the reindeer team slept like Yule logs. Today I saw them doing their final running run-through before heading to Finland, and they looked 100 percent better. Amazing what a full night's sleep can do for you!

I have to say, I'm really impressed with Cupid: Not only has she been the hardest-working deer on the team (and shown the most improved times), she has proven to be the most responsible, by taking the initiative to solve this whole nose-cozy problem. She may have single-hoofedly saved Christmas! She's young but definitely a leader among the reindeer!

I wish I could say the same for Blitzen.

And I have to weigh in about this mouse, the one they call Mr. Mipps. For a long time I didn't believe in him, despite the proof (disappearance of pumpkin and other seeds, and the absence of crumbs around the table in the morning) and despite elves and others at the pole who seemed to believe in him. But it sounds as though he really exists, and has a real impact on what happens around here.

You'd think that ME -- Santa Claus, of all people -- would believe in something I saw clear evidence of, even though I hadn't actually seen with my own eyes!

I've asked Mrs. Claus to knit Mr. Mipps his very own tiny cap, one to replace Rudolph's cozy. We obviously know what the right size would be (we can measure it on Rudoph's nose!), and even though I haven't seen or met this Mr. Mipps, I can imagine he would appreciate such a gift to keep his tiny mouse-ears warm. Mrs. Claus said she was happy to knit one -- it'll only take her an afternoon if she uses regular yarn!

Okay, back to work. While the reindeer are in Finland, we'll be doing a final Inspection of the Presents...I'll tell you about that tomorrow!

Love,

Santa

Hello Everybody,

Santa here. We've begun the final countdown to Christmas, with less than a week left! Crates of beautifully-wrapped toys and presents are spilling out of the warehouse, and the Sled3000-GT is all waxed and ready to fly!

Rudolph's nose-cozy remains missing, and the poor reindeer are still suffering from lack of sleep. Rufus Instubble tried to cover Rudolph's nose with a sock last night, but Rudolph couldn't breathe, plus the light was still leaking out. We need that cozy back!

Speaking of reindeer, Coach Bryan has arranged for the team to spend a two-day intensive training in the snow tunnel in Vuokatti, Finland! It's really quite an honor -- it's where the Olympic athletes train -- and hopefully it will spark the team back into prime condition.

One more thing happened, this morning during run training, that has me unhappy with one of the reindeer. Blitzen (whom you remember hadn't kept to his training diet by stashing candy in his stall) took a shortcut on the training course yesterday!

One of the elves, Spooky, who had gone into the forest to gather mistletoe, saw the whole thing. Coach Bryan had the reindeer all start from a clearing in the woods, running a long looped trail up a ridge, down and up another, and then back down again. It's called the M trail, because it's shaped like an M.

Now you remember Spooky is the shy elf who never says anything to anyone (even though he's very friendly and has a great smile). But when he saw what Blitzen had done on the M trail, he knew he HAD to tell someone, so when he came out of the woods with his arms loaded with mistletoe, the first person he saw was ME! I was heading towards the R&D lab when Spooky dropped his crop and came running.

It turns out his voice is absolutely incredible -- deep and sonorous, like a professional opera singer's! He has a beautiful voice, and he's been too shy to use it around us!

But the bad news was the information Spooky gave me about Blitzen. I'm so disappointed in him -- our varsity leader! Maybe the sleeplessness has gotten to him, or maybe he just wants to look good in comparison to all the other reindeer. In any case, I need to confer with Coach Bryan and make a change in the order of our reindeer lineup.

I'll let you know what happens.

Love,

Santa

Hi Everybody,

So much to report this morning! First of all, yesterday's test ride was... How can I put it? ...Unsatisfactory. Okay, the truth was that it went pretty badly, with almost every one of the reindeer lagging, tired, or performing at a fraction of their usual ability. Mechanically, the sled ran just fine, but there were a couple of times when the team abruptly lost altitude, nearly crash-landed, and once, near the end of the test, we couldn't even get off the ground! This with only a half-loaded sleigh! And specially-trained reindeer!

I was flummoxed.

But then, later, after dinner, Rufus Instubble, the animal keeper, came to me with information that explains a lot, if not everything about the reindeers' performance. Turns out that Cupid had just come to him and explained that the poor things haven't slept for nearly a week -- since the 12th, in fact, the night of the elves' birthday party, when Rudolph accidentally lost the little knitted cap that covers his nose! His nose, just like the song says, is SO bright, it's been keeping the other reindeer awake at night!

Now, you'd think it would be easy to find something to cover his nose with, but because of the particular light frequency of the color his nose emits, not just any old strip of duct tape will do! Years ago, Mrs. Claus knitted him a special nose-cozy (you know, like a tea cozy) using extremely rare, magical fibers we could only find in a special yarn store in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Somehow that yarn was the only yarn that could block Rudolph's nose light without disintegrating! But we bought all the store had, and it's closed now, and it'll take months -- i.e., much longer than the time left before Christmas -- to find more. I know, because ever since Rufus told me, I've been frantically searching for it online.

Even if we could find the yarn, the thread is so fine (it requires size 00000000 knitting needles) that Mrs. Claus couldn't possibly knit a new one in time for Flight Night. (And she's a fast knitter.)

I feel bad for the poor reindeer, yet I'm worried that somehow we won't figure out a solution before Christmas. We have to find that cozy!

I'll keep you posted what happens.

Love,

Santa

Hi Everyone,

The sleigh test ride is tomorrow, and I'm genuinely worried about the reindeer! Something is keeping them from performing up to their abilities. Donder is back, and says he's feeling better, but in general they're clumsy and grumpy and tripping over themselves.

This could prove to be a problem, since the test ride is just that -- only a test; for the real thing they have to pull much more weight and keep the pace up all night. There's no rest, and any weak members of the team mean more work for the others!

For my present-delivery navigation system, the Sled3000-GT comes equipped with a state-of-the-art GPS programmed with location information for every child in the world. (Google Maps would love to license our software!) In the driver's seat, I'll also have a device that quickly matches a particular request for a certain present with folks whose house we're landing on -- like a UPC scanner, basically. All the presents will have been minimized by the Present Compressor, which will de-activate immediately after I slide down the chimney. I'll only be in each house for a few seconds -- just enough time to leave the presents and grab a quick snack -- and then back up the flue to the next stop.

But all that can't happen if the reindeer aren't ready to leap back into action the second I'm back in the sleigh, to dash and dance and prance and blitz from house to house to house. What's happening?! They're just not themselves, and as we zoom towards the test ride and Flight Night, I'm getting very concerned.

Mrs. Claus tried to cheer me up at breakfast today by telling me a joke: Why did the elf push his bed into the fireplace?

I told her I didn't know.

He wanted to sleep like a log!

It was a great joke, but the only problem was that it reminded me about how sleepy the reindeer are acting.

Hope we can figure this out soon.

Love,

Santa

Helloooooo Everybody!

Eleven days 'til Christmas, and a quick check of the departments around the Pole: Rob Ronderbaunt says the sleigh is ready for its test drive, with only a slight shimmy at light-speed that he's working to correct. The toy factory is running at full tilt, with elves working time-and-a-half shifts to accommodate all the necessary manufacturing! Over at the wrapping department, Snoop "Puppy" Dogg has his team working at 200% capacity. (I don't know how he does it! Elf math!)

Here's a cool thing I learned about Snoop and the wrappers: This year, they're using only recycled paper! You and I both know how holiday gifts require a HUGE amount of paper, which only gets used once. This year, at the request of many kids and parents, Snoop's team has made rolls and rolls of paper out of other paper! Snoop was showing me how plenty of paper is beautiful nowadays -- magazine pages, posters, old wrapping paper, even the comics section from your Sunday newspaper -- and so they decided to repurpose it. It looks awesome! So if you get a package wrapped in something weird and interesting this year, you'll know why. No sense in cutting down extra trees when there's plenty of paper to be found!

In other news, I noticed yesterday that the reindeer are blogging, too -- plus a couple of special guests! I love reading their perspectives on everything going on. (And no, I have never seen a mouse around here. I think it's too cold for mice!)

Finally, with swim training over and the reindeer on to running, we've moved Bill over to the mail room (which is overloaded right now), where he's sorting letters by region. Poor Bill -- being from the South Pole, he gets everything upside down: Patrick, the postmaster, asked him to alphabetize the cards and letters, but didn't tell him how. So Bill made a big pile that included IdahO, ColoradO, OhiO, OntariO, and New MexicO, and another with IllinoiS, MassachusettS, and Northwest TerritorieS! Patrick set him straight, and Bill was happy to realign his alphabetizing system.

More soon!

Love,

Santa

Cheers Everyone!

Santa here. Wow, the birthday party was amazing! The elves really out-did themselves this month. Everyone knocked off work about 4 p.m., and went over to the plaza where the elves had set up a huge winter picnic with outdoor seating, a stage, and twinkling lights wound around everything!

There was a huge snowman in the center, and after everyone had eaten dinner, Stella Berrybloom came out and sliced it up! It was a cake! Everyone got a piece in the shape of a slice of watermelon. It was delicious!

But that wasn't even the best part of the party. While reindeer and elves and animals and Mrs. Claus and I were all enjoying our cake, who should appear onstage but...Elfis Presley, the Elvis impersonator! He was awesome. He performed a whole set of classics -- "Blue Christmas," "Winter Wonderland," and "Silent Night," all Elvis- (or I guess I should say ELFis-) style. His pompadour and sideburns and diamond-studded white coat were all perfectly authentic...except elf-size! His voice was pretty good, too!

He dedicated a special medley to me: "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and an original, "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me." Everyone loved it and sang along and danced.

The elves' favorite was "Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear."

The only one missing from the party was Donder, who as you know was recuperating in Dr. Balmer's infirmary. Dasher and Dancer took him a tray of food and a piece of snowman cake, and his room was close enough to the plaza that he was certain to hear the music. He's doing much better; I saw him back with the other reindeer today.

Okay, I'm off to the garage to check on the Sled3000-GT. The test ride is in three days!

Don't forget to send me your current Christmas list...

Love,

Santa

Hi Everybody,

Santa here, feeling a little anxiety. Yesterday was the final day for the reindeers' swim training, and Donder had to be rescued! The poor guy -- he had just swum a record time but had trouble getting out of the pool, and Coach Bryant and Bill had to help him out! It was touch and go for a moment, but he seems to be doing okay. He's currently in the infirmary, under the care of Dr. Balmer, who seems to think he'll be ready to go in a couple of days. But I have to confess: I'm a little worried about my reindeer team this year.

You recall that Blitzen had been hiding his cache of candy in his stall, after the reindeer had been put on a strict training diet. Now this! It's less than a week away from the Sleigh Test Drive, which we do seven days before Christmas, and I'm concerned that the 'deer won't be up for the challenge.

Still, some of the other reindeer are doing great. I noticed that Cupid -- again! -- looked very strong during the swimming, and her performance during the run last week down to Candy Cane Ranch was also impressive. But I've never had a junior reindeer at the head of the team.

Tomorrow, they start their run training. We'll see what happens.

I also feel bad for Donder since it looks like he may miss the elves' birthday party tomorrow afternoon! They're baking a HUGE snowman cake, and putting up a million lights all around the plaza, and I heard they have invited a celebrity impersonator to entertain the crowd. That's right: Elfis Presley! I can't wait to see him!

In the meantime, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the progress of my nine trusty reindeer, whom I'm counting on to pull the sleigh on Christmas Eve. They've got to be ready!

I'll keep you posted.

Love,

Santa

Hello Everybody,

A quick post today, because we have a busy week ahead of us. The reindeer are completing their swim training, the elves are hosting the big monthly birthday party on Wednesday (the twELFth), and the factory is running at tip-top speed! With only two weeks before Christmas, we have no time to waste....

Yesterday we had a major screw-up in the baking department, however. I'd dropped by to taste-test a batch of sugar cookies (my job is rough, isn't it?) and when I popped one in my mouth, it tasted absolutely awful! I spit it out as gracefully as I could and took one from the batch over to the lab for testing.

Thessaly said that instead of being made with sugar, the cookies were made with salt! Can you imagine?! Luckily, we caught them before they went into packages. I had a talk with Stella and Harriet Berrybloom, the kitchen elves, who said they were pretty sure what happened: One of the young cooks, Deirdre, had evidently been VERY sleepy on the job earlier that day. As we suspected, she had inadvertently switched the salt and sugar, which were sitting right next to each other in big bags in the storeroom.

Things like this have happened in years past: Someone once mixed up a crate labeled "watches" with one labeled "matches" -- hard to light a Yule Log with a wristwatch! -- and a few years ago, one of the elves accidentally switched a box filled with Christmas stockings with one filled with women's stockings. We caught both of them before Christmas Eve, luckily! The stockings would have been a strange situation to explain....

Anyway, I gave Deirdre the rest of the week off to take a nap, and taste-tested some caramel popcorn instead. It was excellent!

More soon.

Love,

Santa

Cheers!

Several of you have been asking who my favorite elf is, which is difficult to answer since so many of them are so loveable in many ways. But let me tell you about a few who are special to me.

You already know about Snoop "Puppy" Dog, who runs the wrapping department, and Stan Levertink, whom we call Gizmo, who oversees the toy factory. I've told you about Thessaly Tinselcom, our chief researcher, who develops new toys. She's awesome!

But there's also Harriet and Stella Berrybloom, a sweet old pair of sisters who between the two of them keep the kitchens running, and Jack Snack, the world's fastest dishwasher. They are an amazing team!

Bluebeard is a crusty old elf, very tall and very skinny, who maintains all the buildings and machinery here at the Pole. He can squeeeeeeeeeeze into the tightest spaces -- I saw him the other day snaking his arm deep inside a wall to fix a leaky pipe!

Some elves are well-known for certain characteristics. I already mentioned Kevin, the tiny elf with a HUGE appetite; Sally Ann is famous because she has bright red hair that grows so fast she needs a haircut every single day; Ingmar and Katharina are twin elves with three extra fingers apiece, which makes them essential in the nuts-and-bolts-sorting department. They are also very funny.

Spooky is a very shy elf who, although he is kind and charming and has a great smile, has never said one word to anyone as long as I've known him.

Colette is an amazing greenhouse gardener who is also a great source for corny jokes. The other day she told me this one: If Santa rides around in a sleigh, what do elves ride around in?

I told her I gave up.

Mini-vans!

Ho, ho, ho! Man, those kind of jokes sleigh me!

o<|;^D

A couple things to know about elves. First, they live VERY long -- several generations of human lives -- and many at the North Pole have worked here nearly as long as I have.

Second, they live "lives of service," which doesn't mean slavery, but rather that their mission in life is to help others. (In that way, they're like teachers or firefighters -- anyone committed to helping other people.)

I can't say who my favorite is. It's impossible. All I know is there are hundreds of elves here, and without every single one of them, Christmas couldn't happen. I'd be stuck!

Okay, talk to you more soon!

Love,

Santa

Santa here again, with another quick note about another topic that's recently come up: my weight. A couple of well-meaning letter-writers have pointed out that someone of my size and comportment has no business requesting milk and cookies from every household the night of Christmas Eve. They say (more or less tactfully) that I'm too fat.

To which I say: Thank you for your concern. However...

My weight suits me perfectly, for several reasons. First, it is very cold here at the North Pole. Right now, the temperature is (hold on, let me look) minus 4 degrees -- and today is relatively balmy! I invite any of you worried about my weight to live in this climate for a few days, and then talk to me about insulation. Second, related to this, consider the polar bear: I daresay no one would feel it necessary to point out to a polar bear that he or she could lose a few. (Bear Bryan, our reindeer trainer, weighs in at just under 1,000 pounds! He thinks I'm downright skinny.)

Third, my snack request has been a long-standing one that began back in the days when "milk and cookies" meant milk from healthy cows who ate grass and cookies baked with natural, wholesome ingredients -- that is, long before pesticides, BGH, trans fats, additives, and all the other poisons began appearing in our foods. So it's true that too much of that stuff is unhealthy for me. (And you, for that matter.)

So maybe it's time to update my request. This year, for the first time, I'm asking for healthy milk and cookies -- or, better yet, some sort of nutritious snack you think I'd enjoy. (My suggestion is to ask your mom or dad what they like -- parents have a pretty good sense of what adults like to snack on late at night.) Thank you!

Some other things to consider. One, it really isn't polite to point out to people your opinion about whether or not they're the right weight. And two, consider metabolism: different creatures burn food fuel at different rates, and if it works for them, that's all that matters. I myself have a high metabolism, especially on Christmas Eve. One of the elves, Kevin, is famous for eating two or three times his weight at every meal, and Kevin is no bigger than the average elf.

Oops! Speaking of food, gotta run! I'm meeting Mrs. Claus for lunch in the kitchen.

(I know what you're wondering...tomato soup!)

Love,

Santa

Hello Everybody,

I was looking over my Naughty/Nice lists this morning, reading a few letters, and I suddenly realized I'd completely forgotten to address an issue that seems to come up every year -- namely, if I am real or not. I always think I've covered that one, but evidently it's still kicking around.

Let me start by saying that even though I try to counter them by doing more and more and more every Christmas, a few folks remain in doubt of my existence. I don't know their reasons -- Cynical? Sad? Hopeless? -- and to tell the truth, it doesn't really matter, because to them, nothing I could do would prove it.

But to those of you who may not have made up your minds, let me start by asking you to imagine this: If I didn't exist, what would happen at Christmas? Sure, someone would string up some lights, or make a big dinner, even sing a few seasonal songs, or exchange a few presents. But (and I say this without trying to sound egotistic) where would the magic be? The love? The excitement and mystery?

Think about when you first learned about Santa. Remember? It was like you had a special friend, one whom you saw only once a year, even though you knew he was around because you saw his picture and heard people talking about him. And you knew that friend loved you unconditionally -- that he was always looking out for you, that he had your best interests at heart 100% of the time.

What did that feel like? Do you remember?

That feeling is what it feels like when something (or someone) is real. There are a lot of things we accept in life, even though we can't prove them: Love, for example, or certain kinds of ghosts, or even stories and beliefs that form the world's religions. Something doesn't have to sit at your kitchen table to exist. If we know it, deep down, it's real.

I'm not going to pretend that it's easy to explain how I do my job -- organize the lists, make the toys, load the sleigh, squeeze down every chimney of every house of every boy and girl in the world. (And let me tell you, building codes have allowed some pretty skinny chimneys lately!) Some things I have to accept without an explanation -- I can't really explain how the stock market works, say, nor how black holes work -- and I'm hoping you can, too.

The good part is that whether or not you believe in me, I believe in you, and believe you love Christmas as much as I do.

One more thing: Just because someone doesn't believe in me, doesn't automatically put them on the Naughty list. Sometimes they just need some reassurance. If you DO believe in me, though, you can be assured that I've got you listed under Nice.

Hope that helps clear everything up.

See you soon,

Santa

Cheers Everyone,

The Pole is a hubbub of activity right now -- the toy factory and wrapping facility running at full speed, the reindeer in the hardest part of their training, the R&D lab finalizing its prototypes...even Rob Ronderbaunt over at the garage is busy tightening and waxing and tuning up the sleigh. Most of my days are spent overseeing all this: checking in with Snoop and Rob and coach Bryan, calming the occasional over-excited elf, taking close tabs on the reindeer team to see who's ready and who's not.

Any spare moment I've got, I read Christmas lists, double-checking to make sure we've got the right items in stock. To tell the truth, I'm usually pretty preoccupied -- Mrs. Claus always jokes that from December 1st through Flight Night, she can only communicate with me if by writing me a note marked "Christmas List"!

But last night I finally had some time alone by the fireplace to relax, to take stock of everything that has to happen in the upcoming month.

It was after midnight, and everyone else had gone to bed (except for Snowflake, our black cat, who was purring and crowding me in my chair) and the fire had died down to just one layer of glowing embers. Outside, the snow was thick and silent; no wind, only a few flakes drifting down. As I sat there, warm and comfortable in my chair, really doing nothing for the first time all day, I realized the embers were making a sound.

It was a beautiful, icy tinkling, like winter rain against a window or a tiny mountain stream over stones. Fire that sounded like water: It reminded me how connected everything is -- how one thing can sound like another, how one holiday always seems to remind you of other holidays you've had.

And I realized (not for the first time) that those memories are exactly why I do this every year -- go through the craziness of orchestrating everything and managing everyone: because my memories of Christmas are precious to me, and every year I want to make them just as delightful for children (and their parents, and friends) all over the world. I have a big, Santa-sized part in that. It's my responsibility to make those connections.

Before I went to bed, I sat for a few more minutes, listening to the fire, amazed to notice more connections that, when I stop and acknowledge them, are always there between everything in my life.

Needless to say, when I got to bed, I slept like a rock!

Love,

Santa