North Pole Radio News: Recent Episodes
SantaUpdate.com
The Reindeer Games Committee announces that the Reindeer Games for this year will hold Opening Ceremonies on October 13th.
So many reindeer are now at the North Pole that organizers are anticipating greater reindeer participation that ever. Complicating factors include the more than 5000 rookie reindeer that are either being recruited or in training right now. Their possible inclusion in the games is not yet certain.
Santa’s Reindeer – popularly known as Santa’s A-Team – is almost always favored to win the games. Blitzen won last year. But thousands of other reindeer are going to participate and occasionally one of them surprises. So you never know what is going to happen.
The Annual Reindeer Games are a very popular event at the North Pole. They run nearly around the clock for several days and are viewable via North Pole TV. Elves are known to keep coverage on non-stop at their workplaces.
Santa and Mrs. Claus are expected to return from Thanksgiving in Canada in early October in order to attend the games this year, which is kind of a rare event.
For more information about the Reindeer Games, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa’s Workshop is reporting far ahead of their targets so far this year, according to Chief Auditor Elf Nick Winters in the Accounting Office at the North Pole.
North Pole Accounting Office
“Operation Merry Christmas has a lot of moving parts but Santa’s Workshop is one of the biggest parts, as we learned last year,” Elf Nick said. “Last year at this time they were months behind. And that affected Operation Merry Christmas in a big way, as we all saw. This year, Santa’s workshop has turned it around completely. They simply could not be doing any better.”
Santa’s Workshop is so far ahead they are pushing other North Pole Departments to power forward as well.
Elf Nick says the Wrapping Department and North Pole Flight Command are all stepping up efforts to keep up with Santa’s Workshop and it is showing in the early reports those departments are submitting, too.
“I know there’s a lot of focus on Santa’s sleigh and the concerns are there for how that is all going to pan out,” Elf Nick said. “But the stuff that needs to happen behind all those sleighs on Christmas Eve are coming together nicely. If they can get the sleigh thing figured out, this is going to be an epic Christmas.”
For more information about the current status of Operation Merry Christmas, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
It is early August and it looks like early October in the Reindeer Operations Department.
The stables are full, the pens are full and the Kringle Reindeer Center is overwhelmed with the number of reindeer on hand.
Reindeer Assignment Desk
Elf Charlie Muscle, who works the Reindeer Assignment Desk to find work for all the reindeer, says they have more reindeer than jobs for them to do.
Recruiting efforts to find an additional 5000 reindeer, as reported weeks ago, have been wildly successful.
Those reindeer, the ones added to the test flight teams, and those coming in early because of the reindeer wedding planned for August 29th have created plenty of work for reindeer handlers at the North Pole.
Today training began for 400 of the new reindeer recruits.
Their mission is clear: Santa ordered 3500 new sleighs to aid with Operation Airlift, the support effort of sleighs who work to transport presents and elves when Santa flies on Christmas Eve.
The new recruits do not have to be as fast or as experienced as those reindeer on Santa’s A-team. They just need to work hard, be safe and follow direction.
Still, it’s no small thing to teach a reindeer to fly. To get 5000 new reindeer up to flight standards by December 23rd could be something to see. It has never been done before.
For more information about the reindeer and plans for them this season, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa spent time last week test flying the latest model of Santa’s sleigh, code-named Daisy.
Santa was the first to test fly Daisy. She is now on the regular test flight schedule.
Santa flew from the North Pole to Belgium and then on the Taiwan. While in these locations Santa toured the new Regional Tracking Centers in Sint-Niklaas and Taipei.
“The regional tracking centers in Sectors 2 and 3 couldn’t be in more diverse locations,” Santa said. “The facilities are impressive and I think the teams there are really ready to contribute to strong flights between now and the end of the year.”
While Santa was effusive in his praise for the regional tracking centers he was pretty reserved in his commentary evaluating the new sleigh.
“Elf Roger and I both got a chance to fly her,” Santa said. “I learned a lot and it won’t be my last time taking her up before Christmas.”
Santa had no comment to share about how the sleigh actually performed.
It is a very rare thing for Santa to test fly a sleigh. That is work he customarily leaves to teams from North Pole Flight Command.
The Sleigh Design team, the Engineering team, and the Flight team out of North Pole Flight Command are usually very territorial about managing the test flights and the sleigh development process.
Elf Roger Star explained: “We want to hand Santa a perfect sleigh on December 23rd. One that is thoroughly tested. To get to that point we work half the year in a process of test flights, evaluations, and sleigh adjustments. Santa this year is in the middle of that process with us – and we’re all a little uncomfortable with that.”
Santa explained why it is necessary that he participate in the test flights this year. “Its not about the sleigh for me,” Santa said. “It’s about me. This new sleigh is so radically different it will change the work I do at Christmas. I’ve got to learn it, even if the Sleigh Department doesn’t have that sleigh just right yet.”
North Pole Flight Command says they don’t know when Santa will be taking the sleigh out for more test flights. We expect to get that news sometime soon.
We will keep you posted. For more information about the test flights, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
As mentioned last month, the North Pole is taking steps to address Visiting Elves, or, as some commonly call them, the Elf on the Shelf.
We want to help believers of all ages to have a better elf experience in their homes. Therefore, Santa has authorized the Department of Elf Resources to establish a Visiting Elf Registry.
Through this new office you can:
- Register your elf2. Inquire after the status of your elf3. Request a search for a missing elf
These services are free for all registered users of Santa Update. Additional Visiting Elf Services will be announced soon and will be made available in the North Pole Club.
We will be working through the North Pole News Department to share additional information and news relative to Visiting Elves.
These are just the start of our efforts to lower believer frustration with their elves and to improve the celebration of the season in the home.
Elf Sandy Claus, director of the Department of Elf Resources, has announced the following staff additions to the Elf Registry office:
Elf Buddy McFudge is the new Director of Visiting Elves, overseeing the program, it’s policies and elf staff.
Elf Rosalie Pickins will continue in her work in the Elf Registrar, adding Visiting Elves to her already considerable workload. She is responsible for maintaining records as they pertain to Visiting Elves.
Elf Nico Figgypop will chair the new Visiting Elf Assignment Desk. His job and that of his staff is to assign, monitor, and evaluate elf performance in the Visiting Elf role.
Elf Butch Winky will oversee Elf Locator efforts with a team of investors and elf professionals formerly of the North Pole Security Department.
In addition, Elf Fluffy Fuzzyfeet, who has served for years in Elf Code enforcement, will have added staff to ensure all registered Visiting Elves are routinely certified in the Elf Code and have taken the Elf Oath.
We encourage you to review the new information posted by the North Pole about Visiting Elves. More will be coming in the weeks and months ahead.
We remind you that our efforts here are not for wayward Visiting Elves alone. If you have a dedicated and loyal Visiting Elf please register them with the North Pole. The bigger the registry to more Santa is able to help influence their activities for good to ensure a merrier Christmas for everyone.
Finally, Santa has directed that the Elf Project at ElfHQ.com remain active and that we continue to survey believers about their elf experience.
In addition, we will be providing on-site feedback forms as well as sending occasional evaluations (likely after Christmas) to those who register their elves.
For more information about the Visiting Elf Program at the North Pole there will be soon a new episode of the North Pole Podcast to address your current questions.
You can hear today’s North Pole Radio News report in the player above for additional insights.
Santa Claus is investing more time in to the newly designed sleigh he is hoping to use come Christmas.
Yesterday, during North Pole Chat, Santa let it slip that he’s recalling Rudolph to active duty with the test flights, joining Donner and Blitzen who are already there. Today he added more to the roster with Prancer, Comet and Vixen joining the group.
North Pole Flight Command announced over the weekend that Santa authorized 32 new units of Version #4 (code named Daisy) of the sleigh to be ordered, and one of them is to be rushed. Santa wants to fly that himself – this week.
Last week he visited the just-opened Regional Tracking Center in Sector 5 in Mexico and in Sector 4 in Costa Rica. It appears that the new Regional Tracking Center for Belgium is due to be opened any day now and Santa wants to take one of the Daisy sleighs as his ride.
His visits last week were in the company of Elf Crash Murphy. We are hearing that for this trip to Belgium Santa will be taking Elf Roger Star with him. Roger is the director of North Pole Flight Command, an accomplished Sleigh Pilot and a former sleigh designer.
For more information about Santa’s test flight, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
North Pole Flight Command today marked 150 days until Santa’s launch from the North Pole with notes of both anxiety and optimism.
The anxiety was expressed over the announced next-new-version of Santa’s sleigh (the 4th in just two months of test flights).
The optimism was viewed via the news that the regional tracking center for Sector 3 opened finally.
That leaves just one regional tracking center – in Sector 2 – left to open. The rumor at Flight Command is that could be coming at any moment. The project there was thrown off of it’s timeline due to a major typhoon that passed Taiwan a few weeks ago.
The 150 day marker is usually not met with much attention. For anyone watching a countdown clock at North Pole Flight Command there is still plenty of time left on the clock.
However, the consensus among elves in-the-know is that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are falling behind due to issues with slow sleigh speed.
For more information about these and other events happening at the North Pole, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
An internal report issued on the 24th of each month about the status of Operation Merry Christmas indicates that North Pole productivity has soared.
The month of June is the last official month of the elf vacation period, so a bump is usually expect. But this July is more than a bump – it is an incredible increase of more than 40 percent.
That means that every North Pole department, from Santa’s workshop to the Wrapping Department, is working very hard and putting out a high level of work.
This is a very good sign for the season ahead.
Elf Wally, of the Logistics and Distribution Department and who oversees operations at the North Pole in specific regard to Operation Merry Christmas, says the cancellation of some Christmas in July events and Santa’s focus on the new sleigh design are like why things are moving along so quickly.
Elf Wally agrees with Elf Angelina Seer of the North Pole Predictions department, which is looking forward to August perform. Elf Seer expects good numbers in August but nowhere near as dramatic as it has been in July. “We normally see a strong month of August,” Elf Wally said. “That’s usually what happens after Christmas in July, elves come back to work energized and enthused, which is why we hold Christmas in July. We just set things forward a little bit with the way Christmas in July has panned out this year and we are seeing our bump early.”
It’s a good bump and many North Pole Departments are struggling to understand how it might affect the months ahead.
For more information, please listen to the North Pole Radio news report in the player above.
Santa Claus is leaving the North Pole today for a quick trip to central America. His goal is to visit the newly opened Regional Tracking Centers in Mexico and Costa Rica. He will be accompanied by Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers.
The purpose of Santa’s visits to these regional tracking centers is not entirely known. It has been a long, long time since Santa has visited one of these facilities.
Regional Tracking Centers are placed in each sector – so there are five of them.
Sector 5’s tracking center in Barra de Navidad, Mexico has been opened just hours, according the a late night post from North Pole Flight Command.
The tracking center in Belen, Costa Rica has been open for about a week for Sector 4 while the Regional Tracking Center for Sector 1 in Kiribati has been open for most of the month. Just centers in Sector 2, in Taiwan, and Sector 3, in Belgium are yet to open.
To learn more about this quick trip for Santa to the Regional Tracking Centers please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
North Pole Flight Command is home to the Tracking Department – and the most number of elves of any department at the North Pole.
Flight Command is in charge of everything that flies at the North Pole. It is a huge job that requires lots of elves. Santa’s sleigh is not the only sleigh in the skies on Christmas Eve.
Santa’s recent order of 3500 new sleighs, to be delivered just before Christmas, are a good example of the elf power it takes to get Santa and everything he brings for Christmas out to believers around the world.
Recent announcements at Flight Command show that job is getting bigger. Postings were added for new sleigh pilots, for more flying reindeer and, just today, a call for more Professional Tracker elves.
In fact, there are more job postings in every North Pole department right now than any other time in history.
Elf Sandy Claus, head elf of the Department of Elf Resources, told us the reason so much hiring is going on is because Santa is growing in popularity around the world.
The more they believe in Santa, the more elves Santa needs.
For more information about the hiring going on at the North Pole, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Right after Christmas every year, when Santa has returned to the North Pole and Operation Merry Christmas has been declared a success, Santa will address the elves encouraging them to take time off and to “play hard”.
Playing hard is as important as working hard, Santa says.
But Santa has warned elves that we do not approach our playtime with the same kind of energy and organization as our work. Santa advocates for scheduling play time, have play time goals, and making sure play “gets done”.
Elves, like most people, will expend all their energy working hard and then have nothing left to play with. Santa says we cannot, as elves, do our hard work without our hard play.
It’s rare for Santa to remind us of play time. Customarily during Christmas in July we play a great deal.
But things are extraordinarily busy at the North Pole right now. Every department is already working like it’s October. Many Christmas in July events have been cancelled because senior elves have felt the demands of Operation Merry Christmas are more important than the events of Christmas in July.
Santa on Friday did something he rarely ever does: he sent a memo to all working departments. He reminded teams of his “play hard” policy and ordered all elves to take this weekend off.
For more information about Santa’s memo, the play hard policy, and how elves at the North Pole are reacting to Santa’s direction, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Christmas in July has seen some events happen at the North Pole even though most elves and even Santa himself have been engaged in a very busy conference at North Pole Flight Command for some time this month.
Over the weekend, Santa dismissed the Conference and asked the elves to support the North Pole Village Summer Fair, held in part at the North Pole Events Center and Kringle Park.
Mrs. Claus and her team coordinated that great event that featured a sleigh show, carnival rides, plenty of food and displays from the North Pole Toy Museum. Proceeds from the event went to support Santa’s Sleigh.
Part of the festivities was the annual dunking booth where Santa and key elves from many parts of Operation Merry Christmas participated. Santa showed up in his famous “long-john” style striped swimming suit and a part of googles. He “got splashed” 16 times.
On his last time falling into the water Santa dove down deep into the tank and came up sporting two super soaker blasters and began squirting everyone within just a few feet of him.
His target was Mrs. Claus and she was surprised for sure. “Stay away from the hair!” she squealed.
Mrs. Claus may have been tipped off that Santa had a surprise up her sleeve. Despite the fact that the Annual Christmas in July water balloon fight had been cancelled she had prepared and hidden away under a table an entire cooler full of water balloons and even though Santa was already in the water his super soaker blast was answered in short order by Mrs. Claus and the ladies of her staff, who pelted Santa with dozens of water balloons.
It was a great time, as elves everywhere here had a good laugh.
For more information about Christmas in July and other events that are happening, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
More Christmas in July events have been canceled. Several days ago it was announced that some events were no longer going to be held but now Christmas in July has been scaled back even further.
The Karaoke Marathon (72 straight hours!), the Eggnog Chugging Contest and the Reindeer Fun Run events have all been put off for this year.
Organizers of these events specifically tie the cancelations to the Logistics Conference at North Pole Flight Command.
That conference – originally scheduled for three days – has been expanded now to more than a full week. Attendees to the conference have swelled to five times it’s original projection with more and more elves being pulled in for instruction about Santa’s Christmas Eve distribution plan.
The original announcements of cancellations of North Pole Christmas in July events was met with a great deal of public complaint. But these new cancellations have hardly raised a response from the community.
“I think elves at the North Pole are starting to grasp the idea that Santa’s new sleigh is a community effort and it’s a big one,” said Elf Roger Star, director of North Pole Flight Command. “We are clearly going to be exceptionally busy between now and when Santa launches.”
For more information about Christmas in July please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
With all the attention on Santa’s radical new sleigh the North Pole has been besieged with requests to see photos or videos of it.
It is against policy at North Pole Flight Command to share images of any Official North Pole sleighs, new or old.
Elf Agent X, head elf of North Pole Security, says that it is unwise to make photos available. Despite billions of believers there are forces out there who want to do harm. By not sharing photos or videos it keeps Santa and the reindeer safe.
This question has been asked several times already to Elf Crash Murphy, who as Santa’s International Director of Santa Trackers who follows Santa every Christmas Eve, knows more about what Santa’s sleigh looks like than anyone.
Elf Frank Myrrh asked Elf Crash about the no photos or videos policy on North Pole Radio News. You can hear that report in the player above.
We remind you that you can send in a question for Elf Crash to answer on the radio via this link.
The sudden large new sleigh order placed with the Sleigh Department has unleashed a flurry of activity in several North Pole departments.
The Department of Elf Resources has put out an urgent call for experienced sleigh pilots.
After conferring with Santa, the Distribution Department, Elf Roger Star at North Pole Flight Command and officials from the local sleigh pilot union, job postings went up and hiring is now active.
They are looking for up to 1000 additional sleigh pilots who could be pressed into service as part of Operation Airlift on Christmas Eve.
The Reindeer Operations Department put out notices yesterday, too.
Last year nearly 70,000 reindeer were used as part of Operation Merry Christmas – a record that nobody expected to ever be broken.
That record could fall this year.
Elf Victor reports that he’s targeting 100,000 reindeer total to help support the potential extra flight duty that 3500 new sleighs would require.
A crew of 40 reindeer specialists have been sent to Santa’s reindeer ranches around the world to see where more reindeer could be found.
Meanwhile, at Flight Command, Santa is hosting a Logistics conference with head elves of various North Pole Department to discuss changes to flight routines and to Operation Airlift anticipated for this year.
For more information please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
The North Pole has taken the unusual step of cancelling some planned Christmas in July events.
Weekday events planned for later this month – the Water Balloon Battle, the annual North Pole Square Dance and the Paddle Board Races at Gingerbread Hill Resort have all been cancelled for this year.
These are all popular events that are always well attended.
No official reason has been given for the cancellations.
Rumors of big demands on elf time for projects at North Pole Flight Command are widespread. The test flights of Santa’s sleigh are on track and are soon to leave the North Pole.
But earlier today North Pole Flight Command announced a very, very large order for new sleighs Santa has approved. The sleighs are not for Santa but for the Distribution Department, which oversees Operation Airlift on Christmas Eve.
Some are suggesting that the order represents a lot of work that will require the Department of Elf resources to hire more elves. The demand is so great that some departments have already cancelled any elf vacation plans and time-off requests effective immediately and through the end of the year.
The North Pole News department is investigating just how many elf teams at the North Pole might be affected.
For more information, please listen to the North Pole Radio news report elves Frank Myrrh and Crash Murphy put out today on Kringle Radio at the North Pole.
On the first busy weekend of Christmas we have a tradition of talking about the importance of the Christmas tree, tips for it from Santa in the home and ways you can keep it an important part of your Christmas.
This annual reminder comes directly from Santa. I spoke to him early this morning and he reminded me that we need to make this post today. This Santa Update, I guess you could say, comes from Santa himself.
Why?
Because the Christmas tree is more than a decoration.
Here at the North Pole we have Christmas trees everywhere. They are not in just every home. They are in every office, in every store and shop, and in public places everywhere. They are always festively decorated and lit.
In fact, even the shape of a Christmas tree is everywhere here at the North Pole. All of our traffic signs are Christmas tree shaped. Kringle Park in the middle of North Pole Village is full of Christmas trees and is shaped like a Christmas tree.
The Christmas tree is a symbol. It has meaning.
First of all, it is a tree – a living thing in reality that has roots that go deep. This is symbolic of remembering, honoring and cherishing Christmas past.
It reaches high for the sky, symbolizing Christmas yet to come. It means keeping traditions of Christmas alive, of being grateful, and of looking to the skies for Santa.
The tree itself is green in color first. Yes, other colors of the tree and in the tree are okay, but the essential and meaningful color is a deep green, which symbolizes hope and eternity.
Santa says your Christmas tree can inspire you and others all season long. We bring it into our homes and give our trees a prominent spot. In front of it we gather together to play, sing, laugh and do things together.
It becomes a member of the family. Therefore, it deserves a name. What do you name your Christmas tree?
For Santa, he told me this morning that one of the best things of his job is that when he flies on Christmas Eve he gets to see everyone’s Christmas tree and place gifts beneath it.
He loves doing that. Each tree, he tells me, is as individual as each of us. All of them are beautiful. All of them teach of giving and of love.
Santa, when he has time, likes to take pictures of Christmas trees when he flies around the world. And we, as elves, love to see pictures of them.
Would you like to share your tree with us this year? Tell us all about it below. Maybe we will put together a collection of pictures we receive and share them with everyone!
To learn more about what is happening at the North Pole today please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
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- Sector 4 - Greenland and South America
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Santa Claus and thousands of elves in Santa’s workshop gathered briefly in the atrium to hold a ceremony to open the delivery phase of Operation Merry Christmas.
From now until Santa’s launch time a large countdown clock slowly descends day by day until it stops at about eye level on the day that Santa is scheduled to take off. The time you see to launch on Official North Pole websites is linked to this one clock.
The countdown is synchronized with clocks at North Pole Flight Command, at the North Pole Post Office, the Wrapping Department, the Reindeer Operations Department and the Sleigh Department.
Literally everyone at the North Pole and involved in any way in Operation Merry Christmas knows what time it is.
This day – the day after Thanksgiving – is the biggest marker on the calendar of the year for any elf.
It means everything needs to be done.
And we’re really watching it this year, with the crisis in Santa’s workshop going on.
To learn more about this great event, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
While Thanksgiving is festive with many traditional activities at the North Pole it remains a working holiday this year for many elves.
Santa’s workshop remains operational today as thousands of elves continue to work around the clock to overcome the crisis in Santa’s workshop. Their shifts are shorter so they can have time to be with their families but elves keep showing up.
As you hear in the North Pole Radio News report above they are having some fun – with chickens – in Santa’s workshop today.
At North Pole Flight Command sleigh traffic controllers are keeping the Sleigh Port open for elves on active duty in remote locations who first come home for Thanksgiving and then soon return to work in various places around the world.
North Pole Flight Command’s Weather Center is an active place as well with elves staying on to forecast the weather on sleigh transport routes.
For more information about elves working this Thanksgiving, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
As predicted the weather at the Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade was quite snowy.
But with the redirection plans made by the Parade Committee to specifically deal with weather challenges things did not exactly go to plan.
Heavy snow last night meant crews were out early trying to clear the parade route. Organizers cleverly embedded a “legion” of elves pushing snowblowers into the parade to help keep things clear.
What they didn’t count on was that going downhill in snowy conditions proved more difficult than going uphill.
Traditionally the parade has been routed uphill as doing so gave the parade a kind of competitive quality that the elves enjoyed.
But the Parade Committee changed it to downhill this year to make it easier.
The parade route changes also had the parade ending at North Pole High School, which was great for the North Pole High School Marching Band, but not for many others, who had to find their way back in the snow and uphill to the North Pole Events Center for the planned luncheon.
For more from the Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade, please listen to the live radio news report as it happened earlier today the North Pole.
The Workshop Crisis Management Task Force reports today that Santa’s workshop is 44 days behind with 26 days remaining until Santa’s launch.
This is the 2nd productive week in which a staggering 14 days was made against the deficit. Elves in the workshop cheered when they heard the news.
“We don’t like being in this position,” Elf Bernard said. “We are not only behind but I think we could be making some mistakes. Working this fast comes with some risks. But in my conversation with Santa today he reminded me that we don’t have to be perfect in everything we do. It’s Christmas not brain surgery. If we make mistakes, we’ll fix them”.
Thanksgiving Day has a little different feel this year with so many elves alternating between work in Santa’s workshop and celebratory Thanksgiving events with home, family and community. But most seem to agree, it feels like Christmas.
For more information about the status of Santa’s workshop, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa Claus has returned home tonight from his travels so that he can enjoy Thanksgiving with Mrs. Claus and all the elves at the North Pole.
Just a day ago we reported on a special mission that sent Rudolph, Dancer, Donner and Blitzen to Santa. Nobody knew then why they were being called into service. Now we do know.
The snowy and stormy conditions at the North Pole was the reason Santa asked for them. Santa already had a team of six reindeer with him and he could have likely returned to the North Pole with just them. But for the safety of everyone involved, Santa called for his best “storm reindeer” to bring him home.
Donner and Blitzen, as you know, anchor Santa’s A-team of reindeer as they are the biggest and the strongest on the team. Rudolph’s talents are likewise well know and his bright red nose is great in stormy weather.
But Dancer was a surprise to some people.
She should not have been a surprise. If you read about Santa’s reindeer you know Dancer is excellent in snow and mud.
For more information about Santa’s trip home, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Hi everyone! Just 4 weeks now until Christmas and there’s so much happening today I cannot even tell you.
Thanksgiving, of course, is tomorrow. The Sleigh Port has been pretty busy the last two days as elves working remotely return home here to the North Pole. There are many happy families here right now.
The weather, as we have been hearing this past week, is pretty frightful. That has some concerned and many excited for the Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade tomorrow.
What’s a parade without a marching band? The Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade is the biggest parade of the year for the North Pole High School Marching Band. They train for this all year.
Part of their training is how to march in the snow while playing their instruments. That takes a lot of dedication.
We have a forecast that is made for that training to pay off. The band is actually excited to perform in the parade. They know it will be snowing. They know they will be on North Pole TV. And they know everyone will be watching how well they will do.
As for the parade itself, well, the floats are all ready. I was over at the North Pole Events Center to check them out. There’s the North Pole Royalty Float, which features the King and Queen of homecoming for North Pole High.
Then there’s the float from the Sleigh Department, which this year promised to march an exact replica of Santa’s actual sleigh and it will be pulled by real reindeer. They are going to show the sleigh in an exhibit after the parade so that people can sit in it and see what the view is like from Santa’s seat.
All the bikes, trikes, skateboards and scooter that will be in the parade are at the events center too. They have to be inspected before they are allowed to be in the parade.
We hope you considering being a part of the parade.
If you want to know more about it, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
Santa Claus late today asked the Reindeer Operations Department to get certain reindeer ready to fulfill a special mission.
Rudolph, Dancer, Donner and Blitzen have been alerted that they will be leaving in the morning to meet up with Santa in an undisclosed location.
What makes this request unusual is that Santa already has other reindeer with him. But he is asking for these four reindeer specifically.
Over a North Pole Flight Command there is no record of a flight booked for Santa. They don’t know anything about why Santa is making this request.
For more information on this breaking story, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
As we were forewarned last week by the Weather Department at North Pole Flight Command a heavy winter storm has hit the North Pole with snow and high winds, creating blizzard conditions.
The storm has made the active arrival of sleighs at the North Pole Sleigh Port something of a treacherous venture.
Elves from around the world returning to the North Pole for Thanksgiving report rough landings that some deem “too exciting”.
Gratefully, all arriving during the storm so far have done so safely.
“A storm of this magnitude is not unusual for late November,” said head weather elf, Elf Seymour Snow. “While it sounds bad and maybe is too exciting for some elves we have dealt with this kind of storm before and it we could not land sleighs safely we wouldn’t even try it.”
With Thanksgiving just two days away there is a growing anticipation for Operation Merry Christmas at the North Pole and some elves are feeling a bit worried about Santa’s departure now in less than a month.
For more information about Thanksgiving festivities and what Santa is advising elves and believers a like to do at this time, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
After a week of rumor and suggestion to cancel Thanksgiving activities at the North Pole due to a bad weather forecast and the crisis in Santa’s workshop, the Office of Mrs. Claus has issued a statement on behalf of Santa Claus.
“Thanksgiving plans at the North Pole scheduled for next week will continued as planned,” the press release stated. “The Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade will, as always, be held regardless of the weather. So too will the Turkey Bowl. And the annual luncheon will be held, as expected, at the North Pole Events Center.”
Santa’s office also issued some comments from Santa about the importance of Thanksgiving.
“Thanksgiving, no matter when celebrated or where by tradition, is an important element of the celebration of Christmas. Gratitude is not only important but essential. Thanksgiving is Santa’s favorite holiday not because he loves the food but because he loves the purpose of Thanksgiving – which is, to be grateful.
Santa believes is it important to “count our blessings” as the very first part of having a Merry Christmas.”
As a result of this decision, North Pole Flight Command has issued a recall notice of all reindeer and elf personnel to return to the North Pole for Thanksgiving no later than Wednesday, November 26th. Test flights of Santa’s sleigh will resume on Saturday, November 29th.
Like anywhere, the North Pole has working departments that serve 365 days a year to provide essential services. Elves working in medical, police, and fire departments will still be scheduled on Thanksgiving Day.
Other departments, such as the North Pole Post Office, work with a minimal level of staffing so they can remain open while giving as many of their elves as possible the day off.
It is not yet known what will happen in Santa’s workshop. We expect to have an announcement soon from Elf Bernard.
To learn more about the Thanksgiving week schedule, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa wants more tracker elves.
According to Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, Santa has expressed concerns about his coming up flight on Christmas Eve. He wants more tracker elves to track Santa for Santa.
Tracking Santa for Santa is different than just merely tracking Santa. It means becoming an elf by taking the Elf Oath and learning and living the Elf Code. As a tracker elf you are expected to send information from your local area that will help Santa as he travels on Christmas Eve.
A tracker might report on the weather, the Christmas spirit of locals in your area, possible obstacles or other impediments to Santa’s Christmas journey. As a tracker elf you are Santa’s eyes on the ground.
Santa is expecting “an active flight” on the Christmas Eve this year and he wants more trackers to help him. For more information please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa recently met with Elf Victor, head elf of Reindeer Operations, and with Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, at Kringle Reindeer Ranch of the Great White North in Canada. Santa left his family celebration of Thanksgiving with family in Canada to hold the impromptu meeting.
In the meeting Santa directed Elf Victor to recruit more reindeer for service at the North Pole this season. He’s looking for reindeer volunteers from more than 17 reindeer ranches located around the world.
Santa told Victor that he would like them at the North Pole by the first week of December to get them ready for Christmas Eve duty.
Santa and Elf Victor did not indicate what these reindeer will be used for.
For more information about this special meeting at the Reindeer Ranch and the need for more reindeer, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the payer above.
Elves in Santa’s Workshop are working overtime in an effort to clear the backlog generated by a tough year of getting supplies to the North Pole.
Most elves I talked to in the Workshop today are happy to have all the extra work.
Elf Ruben, a lathe operator in the Woodworking Department, tells me that the supply of wood has been so short for most of the year he has had to put in hours doing things that he normally does not do. He’s happy to be working with wood again.
Ruben and others typically start their workday around 6am and take a half hour lunch around 11am. They worked until about 3pm and then head home for a couple of hours to see their family. Ruben then comes back after 5pm and works at least four more hours.
Thousands of other elves are doing the same.
This is just one way Santa’s workshop is making up the shortfall in production.
For more information about the Crisis in Santa’s Workshop, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
The Workshop Crisis Management Task Force reports today that Santa’s workshop is 116 days behind with 75 days remaining until Santa’s launch.
Some elves at the North Pole fear that is not a fast enough pace. But since they started estimating how many days behind the Workshop is they have made up more than a month already and that has the senior elves feeling optimistic.
In even better news, supplies are now getting to the North Pole and the workshop is working around the clock. That means things are moving even faster.
We believe we will be getting even more good news in the days ahead.
Santa has been very involved in making all this happen. Even though he is out of town celebrating Thanksgiving with Mrs. Claus’ family in Canada he is being kept up to date on the progress being made to get the Workshop caught up.
For more information about the status of Santa’s workshop, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
North Pole Flight Command has informed us that they are now testing version 4 of Santa’s sleigh and that a fleet of 12 sleighs of this version have been ordered for test flights later this month.
This new version will be equipped with a new AI-enhanced device known as the Believer Information System.
Elf Buck Sanchez, flight director at the North Pole Sleigh Port, said the new device will coordinate information about any believer and their home that Santa may be approaching as he flies on Christmas Eve.
“When Santa gets to your neighborhood the screen on his dash will give Santa a lot of information,” Elf Buck explained. “Not only will he see a map which is GPS synchronized to the area but he will see your picture, as well as pictures of other believers in your home. On the heads up display Santa will have access to all the data tracker elves have compiled in advance of Santa’s flight, including roof and chimney information. Wish lists and even scanned letters to Santa will be available at the touch of a button or even a command of Santa’s voice.”
For more information about Santa’s new sleigh, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
There has been a baby boom at the North Pole. There are more baby reindeer than anyone expected this year.
They were expecting so many that a special circus-like tent was put up between the Reindeer Barn and the Sleigh Barn. That tent is full to over flowing.
They have now taken over the Staging Barn at the North Pole Sleigh Port to handle more of the baby reindeer. The Staging Barn is where the reindeer wait on Christmas Eve before they are hitched to the sleigh. It was built to protect them from the weather and it is big enough to handle thousands of adult sized reindeer.
The challenge with the baby reindeer comes from organizing their feeding times. They are not like adult reindeer, who can wait between meals for a fairly long time. If a baby reindeer isn’t fed on demand, they will cry.
So having food and water accessible to them all the time is really important.
The young babies – those under 3 months old – are really just learning to run. They can’t even jump yet.
But the reindeer older than 3 months can jump and many actually try to fly.
Having these mixed together is kind of chaotic. Baby reindeer, like young children, tend to fall down a lot as they learn to walk and to fly.
Baby reindeer do not exactly sleep on a regular schedule, either. Many are up at night and sleep during the day. As you can imagine the areas where these babies are kept can be noisy and very busy.
For more information about the North Pole Reindeer Baby Boom, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa and Mrs. Claus left the North Pole to travel to Canada for celebration of Thanksgiving, which is held there around this time every year.
This is a tradition because Mrs. Claus has family there. Because things are so busy for Santa and Mrs. Claus during November and December they like to take this break every year to see family.
Some elves were speculating that Santa could not possibly leave due to the crisis in Santa’s workshop. But he didn’t want to let Mrs. Claus down and he has great confidence in the elves he is leaving in charge in his absence.
For more information about this break for Santa and Mrs. Claus, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
North Pole Flight Command compared records with the Distribution Department and discovered today that two separate teams of reindeer have set unexpected records in the recent delivery of materials to the North Pole.
The Brute Squad, a team of reindeer temporarily anchored by Donner and Blitzen, delivered a load of wood from Brazil in just 3 days. The massive shipment was delivered in such quantity that the Receiving Department at the North Pole had to scramble for warehouse space to store it all.
Elf Wally, the head elf of Distribution at the North Pole, said that one speedy delivery of much needed wood would keep the workshop in action for at least four weeks. He predicts a lot of the deficit still showing for the days behind that the workshop shows will be made up in the weeks ahead.
Another team, nicknamed the Flaming Squirrels and anchored by Dasher and Dancer, set a record by bringing a super sleigh full of cotton balls from India in just a day. That shipment, while not as critical as the load of wood brought by the Brute Squad, will not only be used in Santa’s workshop but it will also help supply the North Pole Medical Center.
For more information about how the supply chain is improving the activity at the North Pole, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
The North Pole Post Office has kicked off a new effort of their own to aid in the Crisis in Santa’s Workshop. They are calling it Operation Toy Shop.
Elf Hugo, postmaster at the North Pole Post Office, is concerned that believers are holding back in sending wish lists to Santa this year. He says this is hurting the effort to catch up in Santa’s workshop and he fears a last minute rush of wish lists that can’t be fulfilled because they come in too late.
Operation Toy Shop is an all-out effort to get people to send in their wish lists to Santa as early as possible.
It includes an invitation for believers to shop in stores, look online and to talk to parents as soon as possible about Christmas and to build those wish lists to send it to Santa.
The North Pole Post Office is encouraging any means possible to getting your wish lists in to Santa. You can fill it out online right here at SantaUpdate.com or write it out and send it in the regular mail. Elf Hugo says you can even text Santa to get it in. Just get it in!
For more information about Operation Toy Shop, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
The Workshop Crisis Management Task Force reports today that Santa’s workshop is 128 days behind with 82 days remaining until Santa’s launch.
Elf Bernard, head elf of Santa’s Workshop, admits those remain daunting numbers but he sees progress since the task force was formed a week ago.
In that time Santa’s reindeer have been taken off their usual training routines to aid in the efforts and the Sleigh Department is constructing a fleet of “super sleighs” with expanded capacities designed to handle greater cargo loads.
Elf Wally is soon to update Santa on the improved and increased amounts of materials inbound to the North Pole, although recent reports indicate that flows are already starting to improve with more wood, metals and plastics arriving every day at the North Pole.
Elf Bernard says the workshop is operating at about 80% capacity now, which is a huge improvement after being totally suspended of productivity at the end of August.
For more information about the status of Santa’s workshop, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Early this morning Vixen showed up at the flagship of the North Pole Navy in the Atlantic and, according to the ship’s commander, she “reported for duty”.
If you recall, Vixen recently left the North Pole to train in Norway in advance of the Reindeer Games, separating herself from all the other reindeer in training. Many have wondered why she did this.
But clearly Vixen and her trainer and handlers have been following the news. Out of concern for Santa’s sleigh, Elf Hazel (Vixen’s trainer) says that Vixen wanted to help so she reported for duty.
Elf Victor, head elf of Reindeer Operations, says that while sometimes the test flights can be rigorous there is nothing inherently dangerous for Vixen or any of the other reindeer working on that team.
Elf Roger Star, Director of North Pole Flight Command, said Vixen or any other reindeer are free to volunteer for duty on the test flight team. “These reindeer are elves,” Elf Roger said. “They love to serve Santa first and if Vixen thinks this is going to help nobody is going to stop her.”
The Annual Reindeer Games are just a few weeks away and nobody knows for certain whether or not Vixen will participate. She missed last year due to an injury.
For more about this story, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
Yesterday’s countdown update from Elf Trixie about “big problems” with the test flights of Santa’s Sleigh has led to a full investigation by North Pole Flight Command.
The unexpected report has taken the North Pole by storm. Reaction away from the North Pole has been strong as well. Elf Hugo, Postmaster at the North Pole Post Office, said mail coming in from every official North Pole website is “off the charts” for early October.
North Pole Flight Command is refusing to comment at this time on the story. Unofficial word from elves working at Flight Command is that officials there are shocked to hear this news and are actively looking for the source.
Elf Trixie stands by her story and refuses to say who gave her the information.
Officials in the Sleigh Department who coordinate the test flights say they “strongly disagree with the substance of the news report” According to them, Santa’s sleigh is performing exceptionally well and is on track for an on-time departure for Santa.
For more information about this story, please listed to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Just three months to go, friends! Just three months until Christmas!
Can you believe we’re here already? The year has just flown by. For those of you just joining us for the year it has been a busy but quiet year so far. A few little things have happened but on the whole, as we approach the 90-day mark, things with Operation Merry Christmas are well under control.
As I reported last month, Santa’s workshop is on target, the North Pole Post Office is running at top speed, the Wrapping Department is all caught up and the reindeer are preparing for the Reindeer Games next month.
North Pole Flight Command is still conducting tests of Santa’s sleigh and those test flights are going very well. The Tracking Department, including all those great tracker elves around the world who track Santa for Santa, is already sending in reports to help Santa get around the world safely.
We have a number of upcoming events we’re planning for. First of all, this weekend in North Pole Chat will be all about sending mail to Santa. Elf Hugo of the North Pole Post Office will be here followed by Elf Bernard of Santa’s Workshop. They will speak to how mail is sent to Santa and how to write a wish list. If you have questions, it would be a good idea to attend the chat.
But that’s not all. October is a big month between the Reindeer Games and the North Pole Halloween Party.
And the planning committee is meeting this week to discuss the annual Thanksgiving Day elf parade. In fact, a North Pole Radio News Report about that event is available to listen to in the player above.
So much is going on and it’s getting exciting. We hope you enjoy all of these pre-season activities with us!
An article from the sports pages at the North Pole Gazette today predicts Blitzen will dominate at this year’s reindeer games. Blitzen appears to be in the best shape of his life and he’s dominating the competition in the pre-games training.
According to Elf Wendell Tyrell, a trainer at Santa’s Stables, Blitzen came back to the North Pole with about an added 80 pounds on his already considerable frame. “It’s all muscle,” Elf Wendell said. “I don’t know what he was doing on vacation this year, running straight up mountains or something, but Blitzen is bigger, faster and stronger than when he left. He’s the reindeer to beat”.
Rumors have surfaced that Blitzen wants revenge after losing to Rudolph last year. That was a big upset and one that Rudolph is anxious to prove was no fluke.
This year’s reindeer games are shaping up to be very competitive.
For more information about Blitzen and the Reindeer Games, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
In an usual turn of events Vixen has left the North Pole to train for the upcoming Reindeer Games in Norway. She left today in the company of her trainer, Elf Hazel, of the staff at the Reindeer Operations Department.
The Reindeer Games are scheduled for an early run this year, to be held in mid-October.
This change was made at the suggestion of Santa, who felt the reindeer needed a bit more recovery time from the games before their Christmas Eve flight.
If you recall, Vixen had a rough season last year and had to withdraw from the games due to a significant injury that led to surgery. Her status was in question until the very last minute. She did fly on Christmas Eve, but it was only after Santa intervened.
It is believed that Vixen has been restored to full health. Her recent work-outs were very good and some were even predicting that Vixen could challenge again in many events at the games.
But she left very early in the morning and it was noticed by many of the reindeer and elves over at the Reindeer Barn.
Her trainer this year, Elf Hazel, stated quickly that Vixen remains in good health and that nothing is wrong. Where she is training in Norway is not exactly known, although Santa does maintain a high elevation reindeer ranch there that operates year round. Norway is Vixen’s native home.
It is expected that she will remain away from the North Pole until the games begin. For more information on this story, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
A minor uproar occurred at the North Pole this week over the hacking of computers in the Wrapping Department. During the course of that story it was reported that Elf Harriet Bow, head elf in the Wrapping Department, was missing.
Elf Harriet insists she is not missing and never was missing.
She was immediately called in for the investigation with North Pole Security and met with them for more than 10 hours. During that period of time her staff could not reach her and others looking for her could not find her.
“The North Pole News Department made it sound like I skipped out of something,” Elf Harriet said. “I was there the whole time trying to figure out what happened and how we could get my department back to work!”
Elf Harriet is not happy that a follow-up report was not made about the event. She wants an apology from the North Pole News Department.
We reached out to Elf Ed Zachary, director of North Pole News for comment but so far he hasn’t said anything.
For more on this story, please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
The Reindeer Operations Department has announced that this year’s Reindeer Games will be held at the earliest date in history.
Thanks to the early season return of the reindeer the games are now scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 15th and will close on Saturday, October 19th.
“This was Santa’s idea,” said Elf Roger Star, head of North Pole Flight Command. “In recalling the events of last Christmas when Vixen was still recovering from an injury, Santa feels that an early run of the games will give any of the reindeer who might suffer an injury in the games a better chance to recover before Christmas. This is a precautionary and prudent plan, one that allows for full recovery from the games before flight time.”
The Reindeer Games have been held usually the first week of December.
For more information about the games, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa’s reindeer have been back at the North Pole for a few days now and according to personnel in the Reindeer Operations Department they are doing well. After taking a couple of days to rest most of the reindeer have started their annual training.
I spoke with Elf Denny Haskins, a reindeer specialist in Reindeer Operations, and he revealed that due to their early return the reindeer are enjoying some food they normally do not get at the North Pole.
“We were able to fly in a number of seasonal berries from different places,” Elf Denny said. “Things like blackberries and choke cherries and even a few blueberries. The reindeer just love them and they are good for them, too.”
It is a little surprising to hear that the reindeer have started their training. This is usually a fast-paced and somewhat strict dietary program designed to get them in top shape before Santa’s flight.
We’re told that Vixen especially is training hard and is very focused and disciplined in her efforts this year.
For more information about the reindeer and their activities, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Hi ho! Just 16 weeks to go until Christmas.
Wow, what a weird news time at the North Pole. The calendar flipped from August to September and we’ve had North Pole Radio News to share here everyday since the reindeer came back.
And there is another radio news report they have attached to my humble little countdown update here, too. That’s never happened before.
The news, of course, you likely already know. Sector 5 has a regional tracking center now and I’m happy to hear that because I’m from Sector 5 and my family all still lives there.
Like many others, this has been a little weird story for all of us Sector 5-ians to follow. I even had some in my family, including my Dad, who as you know wasn’t even a Santa believer until I came to the North Pole to go to college at Southern North Pole University, was starting to send me notes, telling me to get Santa to do something about it.
Well, he did!
I wonder if Dad called him.
Anyways, that’s not even what I wanted to talk about today. What I wanted to talk about is eggnog.
I’m becoming hooked.
I was never much of an eggnog fan until I got to the North Pole and now, after being here and seeing it served on tap at most North Pole food establishments, having it as a breakfast drink, a mid-day refresher and an evening beverage I can tell you I honestly put away gallons of the stuff.
Here’s the thing. It not only refreshes, it keeps me feeling warm and positive. I never noticed it until when I got a little cold and my sinuses were giving me such a bad attitude that I couldn’t be around people that day. I didn’t even want eggnog but it was all I had to drink besides water so I drank some. It didn’t clear my head but it sure as heckfire cleared up my attitude and that got me thinking.
I talked to Elf Carrie Watkins, who is a professor of nutrition at Southern North Pole University and she told me that yes, there was no surprise about the affect of eggnog on the disposition of an individual under duress. That was her fancy way of saying my theory about it helping my attitude was correct. Carrie also told me that North Pole eggnog in particular is good for keeping up the Christmas spirit.
So….I’ve not only stocked up on the stuff but I’ve been talking to Mrs. Claus about putting together an eggnog recipe workshop of some sort that we can publish to the masses. If eggnog can help me, it can help everyone and I think we should do it. This has become my pet project for this Christmas season.
Look for more details on this to come out soon.
Until then, drink whatever eggnog you can get your hands on!
Ta-ta!
The mystery of the Wrapping Department shut down yesterday has been at least partially resolved. It was shut down unexpectedly by the North Pole Security Department, who suspects that computers in that department have been hacked.
As a security measure, Elf Harriet sent the elves home until North Pole Security had time to thoroughly examine and restore computer service in the Wrapping Department.
Elf Agent X, head of North Pole Security, is refusing to meet with North Pole media to discuss the situation since it is still an active investigation.
Meanwhile, elves at Santa’s Workshop are expressing concerns because “things are stacking up over here”, according to one elf who shuttles products from the Workshop to the Wrapping Department on a daily basis.
For more information on this situation please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
Elves in the Wrapping Department have been given a day off today as the doors to the Wrapping Department shut down suddenly without explanation.
All other departments at the North Pole remain open at this time and are operating normally.
We are attempting to reach out to Elf Harriet Bow, head elf over the Wrapping Department, but her office staff says she is unavailable at this time.
This is a breaking story and we will update you as more details become known. In the meantime, the latest news can be heard in the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
Santa Claus was famously missing from the return of Santa’s reindeer yesterday because he was in Canada trying to negotiate with government officials there for a location for Sector 5’s Regional Tracking Center.
“The Saga of Sector Five”, as they call it now at North Pole Flight Command, has dragged on since last spring when the question of regional tracking centers was resolved.
Every year each delivery sector gets a new regional tracking center that is staffed by elves who work with remote working tracker elves to track Santa for Santa on Christmas Eve. It is customary that by the time Christmas in July is celebrated that each sector has a regional center up and operational.
That happened in every sector this year except for Sector 5, which covers Central and North America.
It’s a highly visible blip on the otherwise flawless execution of Operation Merry Christmas so far this year and tracker elves working for Sector 5 are starting to get nervous.
Meanwhile, Elf Pinky Yates, the Elf Supervisor of Sector 5, is working with her team at North Pole Flight Command on a temporary basis until this issue can get resolved.
For more information about the Saga of Sector 5 and their tracking center, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
As rumored for weeks here at the North Pole and as predicted by Santa himself, the reindeer returned home to the North Pole in the dark of night.
This marks one of the earliest returns of reindeer ever to the North Pole.
Usually the reindeer return in late October or early November. Some years it is early, other years it might be later. To have them return during the month of August is extremely rare.
Nobody is complaining they are here. We are not suggesting that. But nobody really knows why they have returned home to the North Pole at this time.
For those that do not know, Santa sends the reindeer home to their native lands every winter. They spend time where they come from until it is Christmas again because Santa feels that is what is most healthy for them.
“The reindeer come from all over the world, just like people,” Elf Valerie Nichols, an assistant to Elf Victor in the Reindeer Operations Department said. “Gathering them isn’t the easiest thing to do. We don’t know why they are here so early. We are just glad they are here and they are safe.”
There is a much more “full” feeling to the North Pole with tens of thousands of reindeer now present.
Their arrival has cheered the North Pole population and elves here are quite excited.
For more insight about the return of the reindeer, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Hi ho, everyone, only 4 months to go!
I wanted to wait until the chats today were over before posting our update. I figured Santa might say something that would be worthy of talking about. And boy, did he!
Santa himself confirmed that the reindeer are coming back to the North Pole early – maybe as soon as next week.
Rodney was right!
In the chat that Santa held with the elves at SantaTrackers.net he mentioned the reindeer coming home early when he was asked about it. It was a very casual thing.
What he did not mention was when “early” might be or what the reindeer will be doing. He did say it was a mission of love, so we have to wonder what Santa is up to.
A lot of people are asking me all about it and, honestly friends, Santa has not confided in me on this one. I don’t know what’s up with the reindeer or why Santa is doing this.
But you can bet on one thing: it’s for a good reason. We have the News Department working on this story so keep an eye on SantaUpdate.com in the coming days for more information.
I did ask Elves Frank and Crash to report on this today, and you can hear that in the player above – the first time ever we’ve had breaking radio news as part of my monthly update.
All that being said, it’s clear that things are running full steam at the North Pole with just four months left to go.
With the reindeer coming back it’s going to feel completely different. Every year we go through this. The reindeer leave in late January when Christmas is over and do not return until the fall in the run up to Christmas. When they return, there’s a fresh new energy at the North Pole.
It’s a feeling that things are coming together. It’s a happy feeling and I’m glad to be experiencing it a bit early this year.
In looking at our mail, a lot of you are experiencing a new feeling too. School is back in session. That makes some people happy, other people sad – but nearly everyone says it’s a new day when it happens.
Looks like we’ll be experiencing that together this year at the same time.
Until next month, friends!
Rumors have been swirling for weeks about the early return of Santa’s reindeer. Despite declarations to the contrary by Elf Victor of the Reindeer Operations Department many elves working at Santa’s Stables insist the reindeer will be returning soon.
“We never have the amount of feed on hand that we do right now,” said Elf Homer Frump, who works on supply feed for the thousands of reindeer expected to show up sometime this fall. “I don’t know who’s ordering all this stuff but we’re starting to run out of room. We either need reindeer here to come eat it or we need to find a new place to store all these oats and bales of hay”.
It is tradition that Santa’s reindeer return on their own before Thanksgiving each year. Sometimes they come weeks before and other times they come literally days before Thanksgiving. Nobody really knows if they have a schedule and there’s no real way of knowing the exact time of their arrival.
I checked with the North Pole Records Department to see if they knew the earliest the reindeer have ever arrived. They could not give me a direct answer but they did say the reindeer have showed up as early as mid-September in some years.
There is no particular reason for the reindeer to be at the North Pole at this time.
The reindeer usually arrive in very healthy condition and within a few weeks under the care of the experts at the Reindeer Operations Department they are ready to compete in the Reindeer Games, which have traditionally been held around the first week of December every year.
For more on these rumors of an early return, listen to the North Pole Radio news report in the player above with Elf Frank Myrrh and Elf Crash Murphy.
In a meeting of Santa’s Council at the North Pole today concerns were raised by the North Pole Post Office about Sector 5.
Elf Hugo, North Pole Postmaster, reports that many concerned tracker elves and fans of Santa are writing in from Sector 5. They are worried about that sector not yet having a Regional Tracking Center.
All the other sectors have announced their 2024 locations for Regional Tracking Centers and those centers are now active. But the announcement for Sector 5 has been stalled now by more than a month.
The concern is whether or not Sector 5 will be ready to track Santa come flight time.
Sector 5, as most people already know, is the largest of all sectors. There are more believers of Santa, and more tracker elves, in Sector 5 than all other sectors combined.
Many of those writing in with concerns are worried that Santa will not be able to complete his mission in Sector 5 as he usually does.
Santa himself quickly put the issue to rest, declaring that for hundreds of years they operated without Regional Tracking Centers anywhere in the world and that the resources of the North Pole today will “make up for any deficiencies” in any sector.
Elf Crash Murphy, who appears with Elf Frank Myrrh in a North Pole Radio News report that you can hear above, also reported that progress is being made to secure a location for Sector 5 and that news would be released soon.
For more information, click on the player above.
Santa Claus is meeting with elf groups to deliver a powerful message ahead of the Christmas season. We have been hearing all year that Santa has a “special message” and it appears that Santa is delivering that message now.
He met over the weekend with elves at the North Pole Post Office.
The message seems to be one of concern for the world. Santa told the elves that this Christmas would be about three things:
- Express love.2. Have faith.3. Give hope.
Santa started with the elves of the North Pole Post Office because they see the messages coming into the North Pole. If anyone understand what people of the world are experiencing, it should be the elves who see their messages.
Santa later met with his elves at Santa’s Workshop and he delivered the same message.
Santa will be meeting with other groups of elves at the North Pole in the coming days and weeks.
One of those groups he will be meeting with are elves who are NOT at the North Pole. Santa plans to hold these meetings to spread this message to all those who work and support Operation Merry Christmas.
What does this message mean? What does Santa know about the state of the world that we do not? Why would he be sending this message to elves now?
These are all questions we are hoping to ask him soon.
Each of the five sectors on the Santa Tracking Map is led by an Elf Supervisor, who is responsible for all North Pole activity within a sector when Santa flies.
The Elf Supervisors are at the North Pole this week, meeting with Elf Crash Murphy, Santa’s International Director of Santa Trackers; Elf Roger Star, Director of North Pole Flight Command, and with Santa. They are receiving instruction for the tracking season ahead.
The Elf Supervisors are headquartered in a Regional Tracking Center, usually staffed by hundreds of elves.
The location of the Regional Tracking Center is different every year. Usually a large committee of elves from various North Pole Departments go through an exhaustive process to scout, investigate, nominate and ultimately suggest to Santa where the Regional Tracking Centers are located.
The full announcements of these locations usually are made during Christmas in July and the first of these announcements is expected at any time from North Pole Flight Command.
For more about the Regional Tracking Centers and the Elf Supervisors meeting please listen to the North Pole Radio news report in the player above.
The test flights of Santa’s real sleigh have been underway for more than a month in the skies of the North Pole. They take that show on the road now that Christmas in July is upon us.
According to North Pole Flight Command the test flights will be traveling from west to east, conducting speed trials just north of the equator.
Elf Buck Sanchez, director of Flight Operations at North Pole Flight Command, says they will be tracking these flights from the North Pole and from ships of the North Pole Navy, which are presently positioned in strategic locations in the Pacific and the Atlantic.
These flights will feature empty sleighs, trying to go as fast as they can in favorable weather conditions.
Recent weather activity in the mid-Atlantic may see the flights veer either north in to Europe or south in to Africa once they reach the Atlantic. Weather over the next couple of days will be closely monitored.
Meanwhile, Christmas in July is now underway at the North Pole and with news of that event please click the news above to hear it from North Pole Radio News.
We are receiving word from multiple witnesses of some sort of “incident” at the Leon Day Parade of Fools.
The parade is a new tradition this year and features parade participants, floats, marching bands and other exhibitionists parading backwards, in the tradition of Leon Day activities at the North Pole.
Leon is Noel spelled backwards. Leon Day has long been a day of doing things backwards.
It doesn’t sound like the parade has gone well. Please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report for more information.
News Bulletin: Santa has safely returned home to the North Pole and is the proud holder of a new all-time speed record.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Heading north!– Reindeer: Ready to party– Santa’s Workshop: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Post Office: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: All those elves working away from the North Pole for Santa’s flight are rushing to get back for the big Christmas party.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Heading north!– Reindeer: Ready to party– Santa’s Workshop: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Post Office: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Santa is not slowing down to smell the pineapples. Hawaii is having a Merry Christmas.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Heading north!– Reindeer: Ready to party– Santa’s Workshop: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Post Office: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Santa remembers everyone – even the elves of the North Pole Navy
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Heading north!– Reindeer: Ready to party– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Tahiti can finally celebrate Santa’s arrival and a Merry Christmas.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Heading north!– Reindeer: Ready to party– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: There’s a party going on at the North Pole. And Santa is barreling towards it at record speed.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Sector 5– Reindeer: Going even faster– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party.– North Pole Security: Some are starting to wander to the party
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Santa is all over the Great State of Alaska now.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – Merry ChristmasUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Sector 5– Reindeer: Going even faster– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party – mostly– North Pole Security: Some are starting to wander to the party
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Area 51 is known for unidentified flying objects. But they had no problem identifying Santa.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – ActiveUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Sector 5– Reindeer: Fantastic!– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party – mostly– North Pole Security: Some are starting to wander to the party
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: Mrs. Claus traditionally meets Santa in Hawaii each Christmas Eve. She’s leaving the North Pole a little early.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – ActiveUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Sector 5– Reindeer: Fantastic!– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party – mostly– North Pole Security: Some are starting to wander to the party
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
News Bulletin: If there’s snow, Santa will be there. And there is snow at a resort in Colorado.
Santa Tracker Map – Click here to see the latest location of Santa’s sleigh
Santa Tracking Status –North Pole Flight CommandSector 1 – Merry Christmas!Sector 2 – Merry ChristmasSector 3 – Merry ChristmasSector 4 – Merry ChristmasSector 5 – ActiveUnderstanding Sectors
Status of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Ho-ho-happy– Sleigh: Sector 5– Reindeer: Fantastic!– Santa’s Workshop: Done. Elves now at the North Pole Christmas Party– North Pole Post Office: Stocking Mail activated– Wrapping Department: Now at the North Pole Christmas Party – mostly– North Pole Security: Some are starting to wander to the party
Listen to Kringle Radio | Bedtime Advisories | Santa Tracker Map
Elf Petey LaCroix, famed professional tracker of Santa who customarily reports on North Pole Radio News each Christmas Eve, has been dispatched from the North Pole to a secret location somewhere in Sector 1.
Days ago it was reported that Santa will be joining Elf Petey in a mission to scout the test flights of Santa’s sleigh, which is presently somewhere near Japan.
Santa wants to work with Elf Petey to evaluate new tracking equipment that is engineered specifically to see Santa’s sleigh in flight at Christmastime. This is the first time Santa has ever involved himself with a member of the professional tracking services team.
North Pole Security would should like to know where Elf Petey is headed. They are still conducting their ongoing search for Santa, as they were charged to do last spring when Santa left the North Pole on walkabout.
The competing missions are still active, and as of this writing, if North Pole Security finds Elf Petey they will likely find Santa, too. It could mean a big bonus for those elves engaged in the search.
But Elf Petey slipped out the back door, so to speak, before North Pole Security could interview him. Now there’s an all points bulletin with Elf Petey’s picture on it that has been distributed around the world.
Elf Frank Myrrh and Elf Crash Murphy touched briefly on the mission of Santa scouting with Elf Petey in today’s North Pole Radio News report. You can hear that by clicking on the player above.
Several weeks ago North Pole Flight Command announced the addition of the Reindeer Tracking Office. That office opened today.Unfortunately, there are no reindeer yet at the North Pole to track.However, those reindeer now working the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are also piloting this new program, which tracks the movement and condition of the reindeer and reports it back to the North Pole in real time.“It is pretty amazing technology and we cannot want to get it going for all of Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve,” said Elf Buck Sanchez, director of flight operations at North Pole Flight Command.Traditionally, the date of September 1st is the marker watched indicating that Santa’s reindeer will be back at the North Pole. That date has come and gone and they have not yet come back.Elf Victor, head of Reindeer Operations at the North Pole, said not to worry about it yet. It is common for them to wait as late as Thanksgiving to return to the North Pole. This appears to be one of those years.For more information about the new Reindeer Tracking Office, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa’s new sleigh – which is still on Version 2 – has set a new speed record in the past few days.
Test flights of Santa’s sleigh have wandered north from Central America to the southern United States. Recently, on an extended flight from Georgia to Texas, the sleigh set the speed record in a flight held late at night.
Observers from 3 states said the sleigh was visible as a “comet-like” streak of light from east to west.
North Pole Flight Command received several images similar to the one above from trackers and night observers in East Texas.
The images match the flight data captured by North Pole Flight Command on standard sleigh equipment.
Speed is one of the most controversial features of Santa’s sleigh. Santa, of course, loves improving technology that can make the sleigh move faster. Mrs. Claus is not a fan. North Pole Flight Command is charged with always walking the fine line between improving performance and keeping Santa’s sleigh safe.
For more information about this latest event in the test flights of Santa’s sleigh, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
He did it again. Santa escaped the near-certain capture we reported earlier this week from the state of Michigan in Sector 5.
As we reported then, Santa was spotted in a restaurant in Portland, Michigan and the elves of North Pole Security gave chase, tracking Santa down as far west down I-96 to Coopersville.
We regret to report that Santa has eluded capture yet again after ditching his rental car in Grand Rapids and hopping a shuttle for Dunshore Boating on the waters edge of Lake Michigan. Santa hired a fishing guide and took to the lake, where trackers from NPS lost him.
We do know for sure it was Santa. Early this morning Santa sent an email to Elf Agent X, congratulating him on the near-capture. He also left this cryptic poem:
Roses are red, violets are blue. Hilary’s all wet and so are you, too The rains in the Rockies Are steady and cool It’s a good time for me To get time by the pool The reindeer are ready, The sleigh’s doing great The workshop is hummin’, So I might be late For the carving of pumpkins, And costumes so fun For apples and donuts Til the fall stuff is done Mrs. Claus, my sweet honey Could miss me some more As I wander to and fro Seeking believers on shore The ocean’s so big, The mountains so high I’ll visit them all, As I charge through the sky Where’s Rudolph and Donner? Where’s Vixen and the others? I know where they are But I won’t tell their mothers. If over the horizon, I fly and I soar Undetected, undeterred While you search for me more It’s okay, elves and friends It’s good to get away I will come home again, In a month and a day. Did I really say when? What a silly boy I am Don’t believe all you read I’m making some of this up Because I really can’t rhyme. Ho-ho-ho. Gotta go-go-go.
Analysts are pouring over this strange poem from Santa, searching for clues of his next destination and trying to figure out when he plans a return to the North Pole.
For more information, please click on the North Pole Radio News report above.
A burger restaurant in Portland, Michigan is the scene of the latest sighting of Santa Claus.
A tipster, thought to be a tracker elf from Sector 5, reported he thought Santa might be in Michigan after seeing Santa chowing down on a cheeseburger with a local business owner.
That business owner – thought to be a plastics manufacturing facility – did speak to us but refused to give us his name. He did confirm meeting with Santa to discuss making some items Santa is interested in.
Based on these tips, interviews and an autograph Santa left at Fabiano’s, popular local restaurant, has sent a team scrambling from the North Pole to see if Santa could be found.
More information can be heard in the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
This is a developing story.
Santa Claus has been spotted in the Norwegian village of Dombas in recent days. It is believed there is a reindeer ranch not far from that small town.
North Pole Flight Command reports several villagers have contacted the North Pole to say Santa was sighted at a local farmers market, buying large quantities of locally produced vegetables.
The man, who locals say matches the description of Santa, was dressed in denim overalls, had a full white beard and wore a broad-brimmed straw-hat and sunglasses. He spoke little but was interested specifically in large quantities of carrots, potatoes and apples, which are just now coming into to season.
North Pole Security also has indicated that recent communications from Santa to the head elves in the Wrapping Department and the North Pole Post Office appear to have come from that general area.
This information – which is fair play in the search for Santa – has resulted in the dispatch of an investigative team of elves to Norway to see if Santa can indeed be located.
For more information, please click on the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above. We will keep you posted.
Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, is in Iceland this week to conduct training for Elf Supervisors.
The Elf Supervisors are there to plan the months ahead for tracker elves in the employ of tracking Santa for Santa this year.
Their weeklong activities will include training related to reporting, weather tracking, and even flight training. The North Pole has five regional tracking centers. Each center has headed by an Elf Supervisor who leads a team of elf specialists who work each sector to plan and track Santa’s activities on Christmas Eve.
The Elf Supervisors also have charge of volunteer tracker elves who live in each sector and dedicate their time to sending information to North Pole Flight Command for months in advance of Santa’s flight. Tracker elves have their own website and elf community at SantaTrackers.net.
For more information about this training session for Elf Supervisors please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report in the player above.
Santa Claus has managed to connect with the North Pole in recent days to check in on the progress of various departments.
He has been following along via radio transmission with the test flights of Santa’s Sleigh. The new sleigh, which is still on Version 2, has in recent weeks been over Sector 5 in North America. Reports from the Sleigh Department is that Santa has been in contact with Elf Quinton Q. Quigley about future test flight plans.
Santa has also reportedly had contact with Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers. Elf Crash said he received a brief surprise phone call from Santa to discuss Elf Supervisor training scheduled for next month.
By special arrangement, Santa will be participating in North Pole Chat as part of Christmas in July on July 29th.
All of this activity is happening as Santa remains away from the North Pole on Walkabout. Despite all the contact with the North Pole, Santa has so far not shared any news about his location or activities. It is hoped that he might share some of that news in the scheduled chat.
For more information about Santa, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
The claims of Santa being found in Sector 5 have turned out to be false. An embarrassed Elf Agent X and an angry Elf Harriet have returned to the North Pole after failing to validate the claim that Santa had been found.
“He just wasn’t Santa,” Elf Agent X reported to North Pole Flight Command. “I know Santa. He’s my boss. He’s my friend. And this man was not Santa. Our elf there who thought he was Santa has apologized to the man we detained. This won’t happen again.”
Santa has been on walkabout since March. Since that time a worldwide search for Santa has been engaged as a training exercise for elves. Santa is doing his best to elude capture while elves of all kinds from the North Pole and around the world have been encouraged to find him.
Late this week a report came in from an elf-in-the-field claiming that he had found Santa. Elf Agent X, head of North Pole Security, and Elf Harriet, the supervisor of the elf who made the report, left the North Pole to validate the claim. They were unable to do so.
For more information about this event we refer you to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
It has been several weeks since Elf Harriet told North Pole Radio News that the elves from the Wrapping Department would find Santa. Today they are claiming they have found him.
Details are sparse at this time but we understand one of those elves has found Santa somewhere in Sector 5.
Elf Harriet cannot be reached for comment. She, accompanied by Elf Agent X, has left the North Pole to the secret location where Santa has allegedly been found.
This is a developing story, we will keep you posted. In the meantime, there are more details shared in the North Pole Radio News report above.
Christmas in July has been a very active period for chats with North Pole elves. Here on SantaUpdate.com, we have chatted already with Elf Ernest and Elf Max.
As posted on the Christmas-in-July page we have scheduled some chats with Elf Roger Star, head elf at North Pole Flight Command, with Elf Victor who is the head elf of Reindeer Operations, and later this month with Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers.
Additional chats exclusive to tracker elves who track Santa for Santa are also being held at SantaTrackers.net.
We are pleased to announce that two very special chats will be held on Saturday, July 29th – at 10am and 11am EST. Mrs. Claus will chat first and then we will be joined by Santa, at 11am here on SantaUpdate.com at North Pole Chat.
For more information about these new chats, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report filed today by Elves Frank and Crash. You can hear that in the player above.
We hope you can join us.
Santa Claus was last in Bolivia, according to information shared last week here on SantaUpdate.com. At that time, we shared speculation from North Pole Security that Santa was headed to Sector 3.
Today North Pole Flight Command issued a correction, saying it really was not known where Santa is headed next.
“He has not been to Sector 3 much since he left the North Pole,” Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, said. “But that speculation was based on a comment he made to one of the reindeer handlers at the ranch, who said Santa commented on how much the high mountains in Bolivia reminded him of the Swiss Alps.” Crash said that was a “mighty long leap” in assuming Sector 3 was Santa’s next destination.
“We believe he is in a boat,” Elf Crash said. “They took him to a harbor. That would suggest a sea faring vessel, if we’re assuming correctly. But he could be in the Atlantic or the Pacific or the southern oceans for months to come. We just don’t know until we get some more clues. Until then, it’s just guess work.”
Crash’s frustration seems to mirror that of a lot of elves at the North Pole in the search for Santa.
Perhaps that is why Mrs. Claus issued a rare written memorandum encouraging North Pole Department heads of using activities in the coming weeks associated with the celebration of Christmas in July as “team building opportunities” that will aid those elf groups looking for Santa.
Meanwhile, other departments not traditionally associated with the support functions behind Santa, are asking to participate in the search for Santa at this time.
Notably, as featured on North Pole Radio News today on Kringle Radio, the Wrapping Department and the new head elf there, Elf Harriet Bow, are asking to participate in the search for Santa. (Click on the radio player above to hear her interview with Elf Frank Myrrh)
Mrs. Claus says she has a lot to share about Santa’s present activities and why he goes on a worldwide walkabout every three to five years. Perhaps we will get a podcast interview or maybe a chat with Mrs. Claus later in July.
We will keep you posted on this developing story.
Santa Claus is in South America, North Pole Flight Command confirmed today. He dropped in to visit one of his many reindeer ranches, this one located in Bolivia.
The reason Santa stopped by the ranch was to see a particular reindeer who is living there. Elf Crash Murphy spoke with personnel at the ranch today and got the story. You can hear what he learned by playing the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
After his very brief visit, Santa asked to be taken by sleigh to another destination. He asked elves to keep his drop-off point confidential.
But we have learned that Santa went to a port city, where officials in North Pole Flight Command believe he boarded a vessel. They are investigating Santa’s possible next destination to possibly be in Sector 3, in Africa.
As we learn more details we will let you know.
Santa Claus was recognized in a fire crew working the wild fires raging in Canada.
This is a legitimate, confirmed sighting of Santa that has reignited the search for Santa by the North Pole.
After weeks of having no clue of Santa’s whereabouts scouts from North Pole Flight Command and North Pole Security feel they have several hot new leads.
Thanks to a tracker elf from New Mexico, who works as a volunteer fire fighter in a unit deployed to Canada, Santa was recognized and reported via SantaTrackers.net late last week.
The fires in the forests of Canada have gained worldwide attention. Many areas of North America and several countries have been affected by damaging air conditions caused by the fires. Fire crews from many areas have been sent to Canada to work fighting those fires.
Evidently Santa was part of one of those crews. Elf Crash Murphy in the North Pole Radio News report heard above details how Santa joined the effort and was identified.
We will keep you posted on this developing story.
Mrs. Claus has relayed a request from Santa just as the test flights for Santa’s new sleigh are about to begin.
She has asked North Pole Flight Command to prepare a special radio unit that will allow Santa to listen in on flight communications between test pilots and North Pole Flight Command.
Santa wants to monitor progress of the test flights and, if necessary, ask questions and provide feedback to Flight Command.
It is interesting that Santa is involving himself in this project. Before he left the North Pole to go on walkabout he said he was leaving things “in the hands of Mrs. Claus and the elves”. During his time away Santa did not want to be distracted with the usual business of Operation Merry Christmas.
Now it appears he wants an exception to this.
It is not known at this time what North Pole Flight Command will do to honor Santa’s request. Engineers in Research and Development are working on it right now.
Elf Frank Myrrh discussed this news with Elf Crash Murphy on North Pole Radio News today. You can hear that report by clicking the player above.
Stand by for further developments on this breaking story.
Operation Merry Christmas is ending its fifth month in the countdown to Christmas this year. Elf Ernest gave a little bit of an update on the 24th of what Santa’s Workshop, the Wrapping Department and the North Pole Post Office are up to. But questions have come in about other efforts at the North Pole.Elf Frank Myrrh with North Pole Radio News checked in with Elf Crash Murphy at Flight Command and filed the lates radio news report, which you can hear in the player above. They talked about Santa’s new sleigh, the reindeer needed for the test flights and growing plans for Christmas in July.In other news, many are asking about the reindeer. As you may know, Santa’s reindeer and, indeed, most reindeer used in flight support of Santa, migrate from the North Pole back to their native lands right after Christmas. They usually do not return until later in September or October.The reindeer ranches that Santa has in operation around the world all report that the reindeer are doing well. Things remain on track for their return in the fall.In all, Operation Merry Christmas seems to be progressing well. I did stop by Mrs. Claus’ office to chat and she indicated that if Santa was here he would be very pleased.We will keep you posted.
Santa Claus made a surprise appearance today in North Pole Chat, which was originally scheduled as a feature with Elf Crash Murphy. Santa is the subject of a worldwide search as a training exercise for several North Pole Departments. He has so far eluded all elves out looking for him.Elf Crash Murphy was interviewed by North Pole Radio news after the chat event and he again cast doubt on the ability of the North Pole to find Santa. You can hear that report by clicking on the player above.You can also read the chat transcript so you can judge for yourself what Santa had to say.North Pole Security, which declined to be interviewed for this article, said they were able to trace Santa’s Internet connection during the chat to a remote part of Sector 5 known as Oasis, Nevada. They are certain Santa is NOT in that location, however.Santa did say he would be serving as a camp counselor “in a few weeks”, which would indicate that he plans to remain away from the North Pole for quite a while longer.We will keep you updated on the search for Santa.
Santa Claus was seen, and talked to, by a genuine North Pole Elf away on business in the country of South Africa.Elf Petey LaCroix, a well-known professional tracker elf who is sometimes heard on Christmas Eve on the Tracking Santa Around the World Radio show, saw Santa in a store in Seafield, South Africa just a day ago. Petey reports that Santa appears healthy.Unfortunately for Petey he did NOT know there was a worldwide search under way for Santa.“How in blazes was I supposed to know that?” Elf Petey asked. “Nobody calls or texts nothing around here. I’m out here trying to find the perfect location for this year’s regional tracking center for Sector 3 and does anyone think to call me to say Santa was missing?”Santa’s not actually missing. And he is not exactly hiding. In the North Pole Radio News report above you can hear all about Petey’s encounter with Santa and what they talked about.Elf Petey just casually mentioned to his contact in North Pole Flight Command that he “bumped into Santa” and the next thing he knew he was on the phone with the Search Committee and was drilled for hours by Elf Agent X about Santa’s possible location.Elf Agent X says that the search for Santa continues and that “teams of investigators” are already in South Africa to see if they can pick up on Santa’s trail.We will keep you posted.
There is a possibility that Santa never went to Mexico and is actually somewhere still in Asia or round about. Elf Crash Murphy gives a full explanation in the North Pole Radio News Report available in the player above.The search for Santa has been predictably frustrating this past week.North Pole Security focused effort on Mexico with an intense elfhunt centered on an Internet Café in Mexico City after a logged in to Santa’s account at SantaTrackers.net was traced there.But no other signs of Santa being in Mexico was discovered.Meanwhile, a sound recording was sent to Mrs. Claus’ email via a cloaked email address immediately suggested that Santa could be in Malaysia.Elf Agent X of North Pole Security says that investigative teams have been “strategically repositioned” to follow up on new leads that have cropped up in other parts of Asia in the past week.If you see Santa or even suspect he is close by we encourage you to report what you see via SantaTrackers.net.
Santa logged in this week at SantaTrackers.net and awarded several elves there with points in a generous show of appreciation and an audacious taunt to those pursuing him on the Find Santa Task Force at North Pole Flight Command.Santa said “Merry Christmas!”, awarded a few points and then logged off.That brief activity immediately triggered an alert in Flight Command where elves quickly shifted resources to the country of Mexico in order to find Santa. Working with local authorities they were able to trace the login to an Internet Café in Mexico City where some reports of Santa at a Major League Baseball game were cited.Since Sunday a massive effort to locate Santa in that country has been underway, as you can hear in the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.Santa has not yet been found.Check back for more updates when you can.
New information about Santa’s location has been shared at the North Pole. In a meeting today with key elves Mrs. Claus shared that she has received her first message from Santa since he left on walkabout.Santa is well. He reports that he has met many interesting people and has “learned a lot about a new language”.North Pole Security head Elf Agent X briefed the Search Committee today about gathered intelligence related to Santa’s possible location. This is what he shared:• Santa left the North Pole on foot on March 25th.• He was last seen in Wainwright, Alaska boarding a fishing vessel named Bait and Switch on April 4th.• The Bait and Switch traveled the North Pacific, ending up at Princeville, Hawaii on the Island of Kauai around April 12th.• Agents of North Pole Security interviewed several witnesses in Kauai who report Santa boarded a private vessel of unknown name that headed west from Kauai on April 13th.• North Pole Security has requested access to launch records in Kauai of all recently recorded vessels in hopes of narrowing down Santa’s next destination.• North Pole Security is following up on sighting reports of Santa in Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.A North Pole Radio News report, available in the player above, also notes other efforts to find Santa in various departments.
The North Pole is mobilizing the search for Santa after a surprise announcement by Mrs. Claus.North Pole Radio News featured an interview with new International Director of SantaTrackers, Elf Crash Murphy. He said departments are meeting this weekend to coordinate efforts. You can hear that interview in the player above.It must be emphasized that this is NOT an emergency effort. This is training exercise and a contest. Santa is not lost and is in no danger. This search for Santa is expected to take several months and will involve millions of elves and fans of Santa from around the world.This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
The North Pole is excited to welcome Santa home after yet another successful ride. This year Santa rode a 50-year-old vintage sleigh around the world in near-record time. He returns to blizzard conditions and a very big welcoming Christmas party at the Claus residence. We thank you for joining us in our 31st year of tracking Santa online. We appreciate all our site visitors, believers, fans and trackers who join with us in following Santa year round. We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
Santa is very close to an all-time speed record. It all depends on how much time he takes in Alaska to finish things up. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -28 F- Forecast: Blowing snowStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Happy to be heading home– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
The Alaskan city of Anchorage is excited to have Santa there. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -28 F- Forecast: Blowing snowStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Happy to be heading home– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Hawaii is welcoming Santa and Mrs. Claus right now. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Looking forward to seeing Mrs. Claus– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Santa is back in the Pacific but on the other side of the International Dateline in Tahiti. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Looking forward to seeing Mrs. Claus– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Santa is on the West Coast but frankly can't wait to get to Hawaii. He'll meet Mrs. Claus there. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Looking forward to seeing Mrs. Claus– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Juneau, Alaska is a special place, you know? The police there seem to always have an interest in Santa. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas Day– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Christmas morning– Sector 5 (Central and North America): To All a Good NightNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Looking forward to seeing Mrs. Claus– Sleigh: Ran like a champion tonight– Reindeer: Full of love and carrots– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Mission Accomplished– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Last ones to the Christmas partySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Santa has pushed his way west to Vancouver. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas morning– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Buenos noches– Sector 5 (Central and North America): Should be sawing logsNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Picking up speed– Sleigh: Perfect– Reindeer: Not even close to being tired– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Still working– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Watching Sector 5 CloselySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
The Rocky Mountains of Canada and the USA are where Santa is presently visiting. The Rockies are among Santa's favorite places. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas morning– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Buenos noches– Sector 5 (Central and North America): Should be sawing logsNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Picking up speed– Sleigh: Perfect– Reindeer: Not even close to being tired– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Still working– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Watching Sector 5 CloselySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
Montana is the latest location to welcome Santa. Santa says it is quite chilly there. Worldwide Status Update– North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational– Sector 1 (Oceania): Christmas Day– Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Christmas Day– Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Christmas morning– Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): Buenos noches– Sector 5 (Central and North America): Should be sawing logsNorth Pole Weather- Temperature: -24 F- Forecast: Still snowing like crazyStatus of Operation Merry Christmas– Santa: Picking up speed– Sleigh: Perfect– Reindeer: Not even close to being tired– Santa's Workshop: Mission accomplished– North Pole Post Office: Still working– Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished– North Pole Security: Watching Sector 5 CloselySee the Santa Tracker MapClick here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle RadioClick here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa's sleigh
The North Pole Halloween Party last night was a smashing success but notably absent were many elves from North Pole Flight Command.
Details are still sketchy at this time but we have it on anonymous authority that several elves associated with the design, construction and test flights of Santa's sleigh chose to stay at work on Halloween.
Honestly, Santa can't be happy about this. But we haven't been able to find him to ask him about it either.
In the radio news report above Elf Crash tried to visit Flight Command this morning and was quickly escorted out.
That's a really weird thing because Elf Crash is not only our Eye in the Sky reporter but he's kind of a big shot in the Tracker Elf program at the North Pole. If anyone has access to Flight Command, it should be Elf Crash.
North Pole Flight Command publishes the news about Santa's sleigh. You can read about it over at their website.
We have not covered it much here at SantaUpdate.com because it is still a long time until Christmas. It doesn't become a story here until it's a story. Especially if North Pole Flight Command is keeping things hush-hush.
Elf Crash is on the story. He's not happy. So I think he is determined to find out what this is really all about.
Halloween is always a big event at the North Pole and for Santa's elves designing and appearing in costume is a major event.
You see, a contest is held annually for the best Halloween costume. Elves go all out for it. Winning the contest is very important for an elf. It allows him or her to showcase growing creative skills. The costume contest is an event ideally suited for showing how creative an elf can be.
In the radio news report above Elf Crash Murphy explains what elves are doing right now in these days before Halloween. Most go into hiding, trying to create and keep secret a costume they will not reveal until it is Halloween party time.
The Halloween party is a huge event and nearly every elf comes to it. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also come, in costume, although they do not participate in the costume contest. They are the hosts of the party.
What else happens at the North Pole Halloween party?
Well, we report on it every year. There is a lot of music and dancing and games. We bob for apples, we make caramel apples and there are Halloween themed games galore. One favorite game is called Ghost Hide-and-Seek, a game where finding an invisible elf is the object.
The Research and Development Department at the North Pole long ago invented a paint that can make a person invisible. But they have never found a good use for the paint, at least as it relates to Santa and Christmas. But it is a very popular thing at the Halloween Party for this game. One lucky elf gets painted with this stuff and it makes it impossible to see him or her. So that elf gets to "hide" in plain sight while everyone else at the party tries to find him.
It's usually a hilarious thing. Water will take the paint off the elf so squirt guns are used by most to try to "expose" the invisible elf. Most of them elves end up getting each other wet in their pursuit of the invisible elf. It's great fun.
But honestly, there are two events that really make the North Pole Halloween Party special - the Costume Contest and the Annual Food Fight.
We'll tell you all about it next week.
Dasher and Prancer, two of Santa's fastest reindeer and members of Santa's famed A-team of reindeer, have just been assigned to serve on a temporary basis on the test flight team of Santa's sleigh.
North Pole Flight Command reported a short time ago that Dasher and Prancer will meet up with the team in Sector 2, somewhere in Asia at this time, where a new version of Santa's sleigh designed for this year's flight has been sent for testing.
As Flight Command notes, this is a very unusual arrangement, something that has not been done in decades. In the radio news report, as you can listen to it in the player above, Elf Crash Murphy mentions this can be "dangerous" for the reindeer.
In talking with Elf Victor about that he told me the concern is for injury to Dasher or Prancer while on this assignment. The Reindeer Operations Department is charged with getting Santa's team ready for Christmas Eve duty, which includes keeping them safe from injury. The reindeer train seriously but Victor says that safety is always top of mind in order to ensure Santa has his full team of his best reindeer for Christmas Eve.
Elf Victor says he is concerned for Dasher and Prancer but he is confident the test flight team and their handlers will do all they can to keep them safe and healthy. The test flights take the sleigh on round-the-clock missions to test the sleigh under all kinds of conditions. It is not an easy assignment to be a test flight reindeer.
Why Dasher and Prancer are needed has not been disclosed by Flight Command at this time.
We will keep you updated on this developing story.
As you can hear in the North Pole Radio News report in the player above, Santa's reindeer are beginning their return to the North Pole.
Only a few have come back so far, and none of the A-team of Santa's reindeer have yet to arrive. But those who are back usually signal the return of the others.
Over at the Reindeer Operations Department they have been preparing for weeks to see the reindeer come back. Hay, oats and other things needed for their care and feeding have been stock piled. All is ready for them to come back.
Some are speculating that the weather of recent days could be driving the reindeer to return. Elf Victor, head elf of Reindeer Operations, says that he doubts that is the case. While reindeer enjoy snow they seem to have a sense of when to return based on what they feel about Santa's mission. Some years they come back late - usually just before Thanksgiving - but other years, like this one, they come back in September.
Santa is thrilled to see this starting.
But no plans have been made yet for reindeer training or the annual reindeer games. Once Santa feels enough of them are back he will talk things over with Elf Victor in starting up all those activities.
We will keep you posted.
A major winter storm has arrived at the North Pole bringing snow and high winds. Please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above for more details.
An eye witness of the crash of a test flight of Santa's sleigh has come forward with video he was shooting that caught the crash. That video is proving to be quite valuable to investigators from North Pole Flight Command who want to know why the sleigh went down.
Elf Crash Murphy traveled with Santa today to the SS Mistletoe in the South Pacific. Crash, in his reporter role, was seeking news and learned about the eye witness. You can hear his interview with him in the radio player above.
Santa went to the South Pacific out of concern for the test pilot and the reindeer, who are all reported to have survived the crash without any injuries.
All test flights are grounded and we are awaiting further news from North Pole Flight Command about when they might resume.
(BREAKING NEWS - NORTH POLE FLIGHT COMMAND) - A crash of a test flight of Santa's sleigh has been reported by North Pole Flight Command.
The flight was underway in the South Pacific. The pilot and reindeer went down in the water and have been rescued by the crew of the SS Jingle Bell, which was participating in test flight operations at the time. All are safe.
This is a developing story. As soon as more information becomes available we will share it.
Please listen to the North Pole Radio News Report above for further details.
The Tracker Elf Press Conference is the largest media event of the year at the North Pole. Click on the player above to listen.
For the past five years this press conference has announced the annual recruiting goal for new tracker elves who will track Santa for Santa. We are told this year's press conference will be a little different due to improvements and changes to the program initiated by Santa. Elf Roger Star has been selected to make this year's announcement.
North Pole Radio New Coverage of the live press conference will include a pre-announcement introduction by Elf Crash Murphy. Then Elf Roger Star will make the announcement and take questions from the assembled media at the North Pole Events Center. Following his announcement Elf Frank Myrrh will host a special edition of the North Pole Podcast to discuss what was announced.
We expect follow-up news reports to be made later today or this week with additional details from North Pole Flight Command.
Conditions in North Pole Flight Command are so uptight right now that Elf Crash Murphy reports that he cannot even get inside. In the radio news report filed just a short time ago on Kringle Radio Elves Frank and Crash talk about Flight Command and what could be going on.
It turns out it may be nothing at all.
Christmas in July is the 2nd biggest news month of the year. In the North Pole Radio News report for today you can hear Elf Frank Myrrh discuss that with professor of North Pole History, Elf Dr. Grant Smedley.
Dr. Smedley said Christmas in July is a big news month because it is the time of year when things really accelerate at the North Pole. Elves should be back from vacation by that point and all major departments at the North Pole are in full production and remain that way until Santa launches.
It is also a big time of year to focus on Santa's sleigh, the reindeer, and the efforts to track Santa around the world. In particular, Elf Dr. Smedley says the announcement of regional tracking centers has become big news each July in just the past few years.
Those centers used to be an exclusive focus of North Pole Flight Command. But these days that news in each sector is important to tracker elves everywhere. As things change, new traditions of Christmas are born.
Please note that Elf Dr. Grant Smedley will be scheduled in North Pole Chat later this month around Leon Day to share more about North Pole History.
The debate over Santa's sleigh and when test flights for it will begin is over. Santa has engineered a compromise to begin test flights in July.
Santa's sleigh was scheduled to being test flights in September. But a special department at the North Pole charged with double checking details claimed that was not soon enough.
The debate soon raged between elves working in the Sleigh Department and the Department of Redundancy Department.
The Department of Redundancy Department was formed after a major problem was found on Christmas Eve in Santa's Workshop.
Due to an error in inventory management Santa nearly did not have enough toys to deliver. It was only after a super-human effort of many elves from several departments working late into the night on Christmas Eve that the error was fixed. The Department of Redundancy Department was formed to ensure that major mistakes like that never happen again.
The Department of Redundancy Department went to work establishing checks and re-checks on critical operational necessities at the North Pole - and the sleigh Santa's flies in is a pretty critical piece.
So when the Department of Redundancy Department says there is a problem, people tend to get upset.
In the North Pole Radio News Report above you can hear Elves Frank and Crash discuss the compromise for Santa's sleigh and why it is a good thing for the season ahead.
Mother's Day is approaching and the North Pole celebrates it faithfully.
In this latest report from North Pole Radio News elves Frank and Crash talk about North Pole plans to celebrate it this weekend and just what Santa does to remind the elves about their Mom's.
Crash also speculates about changes this month at the North Pole. It's vacation season and Crash thinks that means some things will be different than they have so far this year.
Santa declared Toyvember way back in February and it has been a record-breaking event in terms of how long it has gone on. Crash thinks that is soon to end.
Late last week North Pole Flight Command quietly broke the news of a warning over the plan for Santa's sleigh this year.
Since then a debate has erupted over the issue. The warning, given by the Department of Redundancy Department, claims that not enough is being done to prepare Santa's sleigh for flight this year. The report slams the plan to use last year's design and the schedule in place to test it.
Those critical of the warning say that the Department of Redundancy Department does not know what they are talking about. Other claim the warning is on target and that not enough is being done to prepare Santa's new sleigh for Operation Merry Christmas.
With Santa gone all week in Costa Rica for the Elf Supervisor Meeting there can be no resolution to this issue until he comes back.
For more information about this situation, please listen to the North Pole Radio News report in the player above.
Santa finally opened the Elf Supervisor Conference by telling those gathered that the tracker elf program is really only getting started this year. Big changes are in store.
That program has been a pilot program for the first five years but Santa has taken it over this year now that the tracker elf program is officially a part of North Pole operations.
Santa explained that the tracker elf program is having a profound influence on several North Pole departments but that the Elf Supervisors would be seeing the biggest changes.
With more than 200 million remote-working tracker elves stationed all over the world Santa explained that more needs to be done to recruit them, train them, manage them and to get better production from them. That begins, evidently, with the Elf Supervisors.
During the first five years of the program Elf Supervisors were mere charged with keeping elves working in their sectors informed of Santa’s flight and directed them towards needed support of the effort.
Santa told Elf Supervisors to forget everything they thought they knew about their jobs. He emphasized to them that their jobs are changing, starting right now.
The next few days will detail for these elf supervisors exactly how their jobs will change and what will be expected of them going forward.
From that we hope to learn just how tracking Santa for Santa will change. We hope to learn how the jobs of tracker elves will be changing.
Santa says the new website capabilities at SantaTrackers.net gives some clues to how things will be different. But he says it only scratches the surface – and that Elf Supervisors will be the ones who define the jobs of tracker elves going forward and set the pace for tracking Santa.
The Elf Supervisor meeting is underway in Costa Rica and our first report is simple: surf's up!
As you can hear in the radio report above things are off to a fun start at the meeting for Elf Supervisors. Santa is in the water and riding the waves - and trying to get everyone else to do so as well.
The Elf Supervisor Meeting is a first-time ever event. Never before have the Elf Supervisors of each sector gathered together.
This meeting was called by Santa and Elf Roger Star, International Director of Santa Trackers. The meeting comes on the heels of constant change over at SantaTrackers.net since last Christmas. As we have reported here on SantaUpdate.com, Santa has taken charge of the tracker elf program and has made many changes - which include this meeting.
What will be discussed? How will Santa tracking change?
We will report on that as we go along this week.
But so far, they are off to a slow start.
The big Easter egg roll event at the North Pole ended up a snowy mess as hundreds of families, elves and children in attendance had to battle the elements with their colorful Easter eggs. The Easter Egg Roll is a North Pole Easter tradition.
The egg roll is basically a race. Eggs are placed on a sloped track. They are released at one time and race towards a finish line.
There is a lot of science that goes into successfully rolling an egg down the track. Some stand the egg up and it rolls end-over-end, while others lay the egg on its side. Either way, getting completely down the track is never a guaranteed thing, much less doing it first. Doing all that in winter conditions just complicates things.
It is an event full of surprises and lots of giggles.
This year’s event was hampered by falling snow and strong winds, which made the weather the determining influence in the event.
It was won by 7-year-old Clancy Mills, of Snowfield Heights, a neighborhood of North Pole Village.
Clancy’s deep purple colored egg, which he named Sally Ann, plowed the distance of the track ahead of every other contestant. The egg survived 9 races to take the overall prize.
This year’s event featured lots of hot cocoa, which Mrs. Claus kept flowing with the help of a team of 40 elves who volunteered for duty.
Faces and hands were cold but spirits ran high during the event.
The much anticipate egg launch event failed to draw much of a crowd. It started a bit late in the afternoon after the winds picked up.
The first launches actually saw eggs drift south in the wind, far out of reach from those competing with their egg catchers. The general consensus of the event was “better luck next year”.