Dear Boys and Girls,

Yes! That was me at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City yesterday! Did you see me on your TV? Do you think I'm losing a little weight? 
I was able to take a few hours off from my picnic at Plymouth Rock to make a special appearance and now I'm back in Massachusetts. I want to thank Shayla for sending me my first Christmas card for 2008--that just arrived by email on my laptop computer! It's nice to send cards at Christmas because then people will know you care about them, especially aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Right now I'm jogging with DeDe along the Charles River in Boston. I have on my red sweats and DeDe has on her elfette cap and green sweats. I have to wear off the calories from my Thanksgiving Day feast yesterday, which included a second helping of that delicious Indian Pudding. Please don't tell Mrs. Claus. 
Did you know the first Thanksgiving lasted 3 straight days? Can you imagine how much Indian Pudding the Pilgrims must have eaten in 72 hours?

"Come on, Santa," says DeDe, "first one to that maple tree over yonder wins a big helping of Indian Pudding!"

Oh, Oh. DeDe wants to race. Well, I think I'll give her a run for that pudding.

Love to you all,

Santa

Happy Thanksgiving Boys and Girls!

Don't worry about the reindeer getting loose in New York City--Park Ranger Ralph helped me track them down in Central Park. A wonderful group of children had discovered them and patted and hugged every single reindeer. It was hard to leave the City but I had to hitch up my reindeer again to my sled. Before I knew it, DeDe and I were flying north for Plymouth Rock.

Now I'm having a wonderful picnic Thanksgiving next to the actual rock that the Pilgrims landed on way back in 1620. The Curley family is hosting this picnic and they are direct descendants of the first Pilgrims who sailed over on the Mayflower. Plymouth Rock isn't such a big rock but it has great significance in American history. The Pilgrims celebrated their first Thanksgiving the year after they arrived because it was their way of thanking God for a wonderful first harvest. And they invited a tribe of Native Americans known as the WAMPANOAG to join their celebration. The Wampanoag brought Indian Pudding to the party and boy, oh boy, did the Pilgrims enjoy that!

Speaking of Indian Pudding, DeDe is having some right now with a nice boy and girl named Lance and Debbie.

"Will you save some of that Indian Pudding for me?" I ask DeDe.
"I thought you were giving up sweets, Santa?" DeDe asks back.
"I am," I tell DeDe, "but Thanksgiving is the one day of the year I don't worry about calories."

More tomorrow from Massachusetts,

Love,

Santa

Hi there Boys & Girls,

Greetings from Times Square in New York City! It sure is a busy morning here the morning before Thanksgiving. The day is cool and clear and lots of yellow taxis are heading up and down the street. I took a nice jog around Central Park at the crack of dawn with some brave New York City firemen and then DeDe and I had a hearty breakfast of eggs and hash browns over at the Fire Station. The reindeer are fine--they're staying in Central Park under the supervision of Park Ranger Ralph. Park Ranger Ralph brought them buckets of sweet wheatberry grass and they had quite a feast. I need my reindeer to have lots of energy for our trip north tomorrow to the state of Massachusetts.

People are doing lots of shopping at Times Square today and taking loads of pictures. I'm fairly sure nobody recognizes me in my red parka, red gloves, and white scarf wrapped around my neck. Do you think you would recognize me wearing these clothes? The Firemen say I should stay an extra day and be in the New York City Thanksgiving Day Parade tomorrow.

DeDe is munching a pretzel and doing an elfette jig dance to stay warm.
Then I hear CLIP CLOP, CLIP CLOP. I look north and see Park Ranger Ralph galloping toward me on a horse. "Santa," he says, "the reindeer are loose!"

Sorry children, I must say goodbye for now,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

Can you guess what city I'm in today, children? Well, here are some hints: it is the second largest city on the east coast and it is known as THE CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE. It's also in the state of Pennsylvania. There's a football team here called the Eagles and everyone here is very proud of them. Do you know what city it is? YES! It's Philadelphia. I heard they keep a big bell here called The Liberty Bell and I hope I have enough time to go visit it. I'll have to ask the Mayor to ring that bell on Christmas Eve to help lead me to the city so I won't forget delivering any presents to the nice boys and girls of Philadelphia.

Right now I'm in downtown Philly with DeDe. The leaves on the trees have turned beautiful shades of red, orange, and yellow. Some of the children have the day off from school and they're helping their parents shop for Thanksgiving. The air is crisp and the sky is a beautiful shade of blue. There's a street vendor near us selling brownies and DeDe wanders over and asks how much they are.

"Is the big guy Santa?" the vendor asks.
"Yes," whispers DeDe, "but let's keep it a secret."
"Butterscotch blondie brownies on the house," the vendor says, "compliments of Philadelphia Phil."

Philadelphia Phil gives DeDe a big bag of brownies and we both thank him and we each try one of the butterscotch blondies. Oh, my Gosh. YUMBO. Now this was worth coming to Philadelphia for!

More tomorrow,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

Last night I had a wonderful dinner at Gadsby's Tavern in Old Town Alexandria, in the state of Virginia. I topped the dinner off with fudge pie and whipped cream and DeDe my Elfette had Scottish Apple Gingerbread with Cinnamon Icing. YUM. Please don't tell Mrs. Claus I had dessert. That is really my only treat in a week and I've been jogging every morning so I'll be in shape to deliver you your presents on my Big Night.

This morning after my jog I flew the sled with my magical reindeer over the Pax River in the state of Maryland. Was that you I saw waving Chelsey? I'll bet it was! I looped back from the Pax River and landed at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. Right now I'm having an early lunch with DeDe at Crabby Carl's. Can you guess what we're having? It's something Baltimore is famous for. YES! Crab cakes. DeDe is munching away on a cake right now.

"These are totally far out delicious!" says DeDe.
"Are you sure you wouldn't rather eat a shoe?" I ask her.
"Hardy har har," DeDe replies.

More later,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

This email just came in on my laptop--Chelsey of Maryland wants me to fly over the Pax River! Let's see, according to my map, that's just a hop and a skip away. Chelsey, I may be heading your direction on Tuesday because I need to head up the east coast on my trek to Boston. If you want me to visit your city, let me know and I'll try to make it, especially if your on the east coast right now.

Right now, I'm in a park next to Old Town, in Alexandria, Virginia. DeDe my Elfette is tossing a green tennis ball to Gertie the Pug Dog. Gertie is a small squat little dog with a pug nose and a cute bark. I think Mrs. Claus might like a little dog like this. Gertie belongs to two wonderful children named Melissa and Ben. Melissa wants a Wii for Christmas and Ben wants an iPod. I just checked my Nice List on my laptop and it looks like both Melissa and Ben made the Nice List. You can make my Nice List too if you are especially nice to your parents today and, if you have brothers and sisters, if you're nice to them too.

"Look, Santa!" DeDe says and she tosses Gertie the old shoe she caught in Tennessee River. Gertie snaps the shoe out of mid-air and runs proudly with it in her mouth. Well, I guess that old shoe had a purpose after all.

More tomorrow from Virginia,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys & Girls,

Happy Saturday! Are you watching cartoons today? Well, I watch them too when I'm back at the North Pole. I really enjoy RECESS and some of the others.

You'll be glad to know DeDe refused to eat the shoe she caught even though I offered to fry it up for her in butter and serve it to her with eggs. We didn't catch any fish and I'm glad about that because I wouldn't want to hurt any of them with a hook before throwing them back in the water. DeDe told me she would have put her fish in a bowl and taken them back to Santa's Village where she'd put them in her Sponge Bob aquarium to make sure they were safe.

Right now we're flying in the sled in a northeasterly direction and the children in a 
park below are waving at me and calling my name. "Ho, Ho, Ho!" I call down. Can you guess what state I'm flying over now? Go to a map or a globe and check it out. Remember, I started in Tennessee and I'm heading northeast. YES! I'm over the state of Virginia. Sandy the reindeer is leading my team and I'm thinking about hitching her up to my sled on Christmas Eve. Do you think Rudolf would mind?

More tomorrow from Virginia,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

You know there's a lot to be said for fishing because it's very relaxing sitting here in the town of Chattanooga along the banks of the Tennessee River watching all the riverboats go by. It's a nice clear day and the sky is bright blue. There are some smaller boats too and the children are waving at me right now from a boat with a tiny engine. "You Rock, Santa!" the boy on board says and I wave back. Why, is that little Holden? Sure enough, I'd recognize Holden's smile anywhere. He sure has grown since I've seen him last.

I have a confession to make. I don't really want to catch any fish today. I mean, what if I catch one like that cute goldfish in THE CAT IN THE HAT? I guess if I do catch something I could just throw it back in the water. Okay, then that's what I'll do if I catch something. I hope DeDe tosses her fish back in to if she catches one. WOOP! Uh, oh, just now, DeDe's fishing pole is bending and she runs closer to the water to see what it is at the end of her line.

"Caught one!" DeDe says as she pulls and pulls and pulls.
"Will you throw the poor thing back?" I ask.
"No, no," says DeDe, "I'm going to fry it right up!"

DeDe keeps pulling and something's surfacing! And it seems to have a tongue and many many eyes. What is this strange creature from Chattanooga? It looks like...oh, my gosh. It's really...someone's old shoe!

"I'll find a pan so you can fry that right up," I tell DeDe.

More tomorrow,

xox

Santa

Hello there Boys & Girls,

I'm in the town of Chattanooga today and I'm fishing along the banks of the Tennessee River. A nice brother and sister named David and Kelly Joe gave me and DeDe fishing poles and we're all fishing and talking about how soon Christmas will be here. David and Kelly Joe just love stocking stuffers so I'll have to think of some fun things to put in their stockings on Christmas Eve. Do you like stocking stuffers too?

We haven't caught anything yet but it's a beautiful day out and the reindeer are grazing in a nearby meadow. I think I may be losing a little weight because I have cut way back on sweets and those football players at the University of Tennessee gave me quite a workout yesterday in their weight room. But I must admit, I did sneak a power bar or two when DeDe wasn't looking.

TOOT, TOOT, TOOT!

"What's that noise?" asks DeDe.

I look out into the middle of the river and see the Southern Belle Riverboat going by. What a beautiful boat. Why, if I'm not mistaken, that looks like that magical Menehune from Hawaii waving from the top deck! Do you think it's really him?

More tomorrow,

Love,

Santa

Hello Boys and Girls,

I just finished my morning jog around the track at the University of Tennessee and now I'm heading over to the Weight Room with DeDe to do a little strength training. I'll be working out with some of the football players. I know my bag of Christmas presents will be extra heavy this year, so I'd better get in shape now so I can deliver everything on time. It's okay to leave me milk and cookies on my Big Night, that will give me the energy to visit the homes of nice girls and boys like you.

Yesterday I visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's a beautiful park and the reindeer had lots of fun playing hide-and-go-seek in the forest. DeDe and I met some wonderful children named Melissa, Tara, and Kyle--they showed us this spot called LOOK ROCK where we could see for miles and miles.

Right now it's starting to sprinkle as we make our way through campus and DeDe pops opens a giant red umbrella.

"What would I do without you?" I ask her.
"I don't know, Santa," DeDe answers, "I really don't know."

More from Tennessee tomorrow,

Love,

Santa

Hello Boys and Girls,

Last night I headed east from Little Rock and crossed the border into the state of Tennessee. Right at this very moment I'm wearing my red sweats and red Nikes and I'm jogging around the track at the University of Tennessee, in the city of Knoxville. I've got to get in better shape for Christmas and I'm sweating up a storm.

DeDe the Elfette is dressed up as a cheerleader and she's waving poms poms. "Faster, Santa, faster!" she says as I circle the track. Then the entire University of Tennessee cheerleading squad shows up and starts cheering as I run around the far side of the track. I must admit, all that cheerleading does make me go faster. My red Nikes are kicking up dust as I head down the home stretch.

DeDe drops her pom poms and picks up a blow horn. "Give me an S-A-N-T-A!" she shouts through the blow horn and then, "What does it spell?"
"SANTA!" says the entire cheerleading squad.
"Give me a D-E-D-E!" DeDe demands and then, "What does it spell?"
"DEDE?" asks the cheerleading squad.

Guess they don't know much about DeDe down here in Knoxville.

More Later,

xox

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

You would have been proud of me last night because when Harry the waiter at Anne's Kitchen came around and asked everyone what they wanted for dessert, I said I was full and that I didn't want any. Of course I could have had a dab of vanilla mousse or a small slice of huckleberry pie. And naturally DeDe the Elfette ordered not one but two pieces of creme de brulee cheesecake and kept talking about winning that Hootenanny Holler in Texas.

Right now I'm at Clinton's Cafe with DeDe. We're in the River Market district and I'm watching buses go by full of children heading off to school. I just polished off a huge hunk of Pullman coffee cake. Uh, oh, please don't tell Mrs. Claus I ate that, she wants me to lose some weight.

"You're not fat, Santa," DeDe tells me.
"Why thank you, DeDe," I say.
"You're just totally way out of shape," she decides.

Sometimes I think I should have left that elfette back at the North Pole.

More later,

xox

Santa

Greetings Boys and Girls,

Today I'm in Little Rock, Arkansas and my legs are tired from all that dancing at the Texas Hootenanny. Don't worry about me being too fat to deliver presents on Christmas Eve, I always start dieting the day after Thanksgiving. Mrs. Claus has been worried about me gobbling up too many treats but I usually plump up a bit in November because you don't want a skinny Santa now, do you?

It's foggy in Little Rock and I'm strolling along the banks of the Arkansas River. DeDe is running on ahead of me showing off the gold trophy she won in Texas to all the joggers. "I'm the champ!" DeDe says as she holds the trophy over her head and then shouts, "BOOM BOOM HUCKA HUCKA JAM!" Wow, that Elfette has quite a voice. I think DeDe's a bit of a show off, don't you think? A squirrel named Rupert gazes down from a tree and says, "Quit making a ruckus, DeDe!"

The city of Little Rock is built right along the river's banks and there's this fun River Market district chock full of shops and restaurants. DeDe and I have been invited to dine at Anne's Kitchen restaurant by the parents of two nice children we met downtown--Bill and Hillary. Oh, by the way, the reindeer are safe and sound--they're grazing on the grass in Little Rock Park and a nice boy named Mark is bringing them a bale of hay.

More tomorrow from Little Rock,

Love,

Santa

Hi Boys and Girls,

It's time for the Hootenanny Hollering contest at Sandusky Barn in New Boston, Texas. Now this is a contest where you do a big whoop to show how excited you are that the holidays are finally here. It's not really a scream. Or even a yell. It's more like a happy shout. They're giving away a big gold trophy to the winner today! Do you think Santa has a chance?!

Aunt Mae waves her hand and Uncle Joe tells her to go ahead. "Yahoo-ey!" goes Aunt Mae. Everyone claps. Then all the people take turns hollering and shouting with happy voices. When it's my turn, I do a happy "Ho, Ho, Ho!" and Uncle Joe tells me I'm the winner! But just before he awards me the trophy, DeDe finishes eating her pecan pie and waves her hand.

"We have one more contestant," says Uncle Joe and then nods at DeDe. 
DeDe takes a deep breath and shouts, "BOOM BOOM HUCKA HUCKA JAM!"

Everyone at Sandusky Barn drops their jaws because they have never heard such a big voice on such a little person before. "We have a winner!" Uncle Joe announces. He grabs the gold trophy, hops off the stage, and hands it to DeDe.

Well, at least I got second place.

Love,

Santa