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There will be a large celebration in the center of the city just before I leave to fly around the world and deliver presents to those who truly believe. We will sing Christmas carols that night and the reindeer will be hitched to the sleigh and the jingle bells will be put on the reindeer. Then with the excitement building, we will take off on our trip.

The reindeer have been taking some test flights over the past few days and are in tip-top shape for the big trip. I want you all to know that the elves in the Naughty and Nice department are watching everyone very closely these last few days, so please be on your best behavior, be sure to say "please" and "thank you" and remember to be kind to others and help other people when you have a chance. Not only will you wind up on the Nice List, but you might just make a new friend or make someone smile and fill their heart with the Christmas Spirit.

 I have been reading a lot of letters from you lately and have been doing my best to update my blog when I have a moment, but the most important thing is getting everything ready for Christmas Eve.

Well, I have to go for now, but I will write more soon.

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THE NORTH POLE (Dec. 12, 2006) --  Whew! Everything is going full steam ahead at the North Pole as we get ready for Christmas Eve. While the elves are working hard, I have also been checking the naughty and nice list very closely and have even visited some homes and malls personally, but of course you don't know if it is really Santa Claus, or one of my helpers, so you should always be on your best behavior, just in case!

A lot of you want to know how many elves we have at the North Pole, well, we have 3,252 right now. And they are all working hard to help make your Christmas merry and bright.

The elves are very unique. They work long hours every day and work very hard, but they never mind. They enjoy working more than they enjoy relaxing or going on vacation. They are always eager to get back to work.

We always have a little celebration on Christmas Day after all the gifts have been delivered to those who believe all over the world and I return home. We celebrate a successful Christmas Eve Mission, have some cookies and hot chocolate and later we all enjoy a nice dinner together...can you imagine all of the elves in one very large room having a dinner with me and Mrs. Claus? It is quite a sight.

After we have rested and shared a few laughs and many memories from all the Christmases long ago, we start planning for next Christmas. Can you believe that? We waste no time in getting right back to work and making next Christmas the best ever.

Many people think that we work only one night a year up here, but in truth, it takes a full year to plan everything, make the gifts, train the reindeer, load the sleigh and deliver everything all over the world. So, it is most definitely a full-time job -- but it is also the best job in the entire world.

Well, I must get back to work. Keep those letters and e-mails coming!

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THE NORTH POLE (Dec. 6, 2006) -- Well, hello everyone! I hope you are all having a good day and all have the Christmas spirit. We certainly have it in full force here at the North Pole. it is very busy with just 18 days to go until Christmas. Where does the time go?

The workshop is going full force right now and the reindeer are in tip-top shape and ready for their Christmas Eve mission. We have to be careful to not overwork them so they will be fresh, but still strong enough, to make the around-the-world journey on Christmas Eve.

The sleigh is all ready to go with the elves in the service department having gone over every inch of the sleigh to make sure it is ready for the trip as well.

Mrs. Claus has made me a new suit for this year, one that has gold embroidered snowflakes on the coat. It is beautiful and I am very excited to wear it on Christmas Eve. Her suits are so well-made that I may not need a new one for 100 years or so.

Well now, it's getting late and there is still much to do. I have a list to check -- twice. So, it's back to work for me and I hope that you all have a great day. We will talk again soon.

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 28, 2006) -- Greetings everyone...we are having a real blizzard today at the North Pole. But I love the snow, which is a good thing since we are surrounded by it all year.

For those of you who live in areas of the world where you get snow during the winter, you are very fortunate. Many people have never seen snow or experienced really cold weather.

But here at the North Pole we take snow, ice and cold temperatures to the extreme. Here are a few facts that you might find interesting.

The north terrestrial pole is the fixed point that, along with the South Terrestrial Pole, forms the axis on which the Earth spins. All meridians of longitude—imaginary lines that stretch from the North Pole to the South Pole -- begin at this pole.

The north magnetic pole, to which compass needles point from all over the Earth, moves day by day. The magnetic pole shifts, on average, some 6 to 25 miles (10 to 40 kilometers) each year as Earth's magnetic field is affected by underground molten metals and charged particles from the sun. The magnetic pole is currently about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the terrestrial pole.

Some scientists believe the Earth's magnetic field is reversing, and that some day compasses may point south instead of north.

• There is no land beneath the ice of the North Pole. The Arctic ice cap is a shifting pack of sea ice some 6.5 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) thick -- floating above the 13,000-foot-deep (4,000-meter-deep) Arctic Ocean. During the winter the Arctic ice pack grows to the size of the United States. In the summer half of the ice disappears.

• Polar sea ice is melting. While Arctic ice is always dynamic -- increasing during winter and shrinking during summer -- during recent decades the ice cap has been shrinking in both area and thickness.

• July is the North Pole's warmest month, when the temperature rises to a freezing 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). In frigid February, the average plummets to -31 degrees Fahrenheit (-35 degrees Celsius). Wind chills make these temperatures even worse and create one of the planet's most harsh environments., unless you are elves, reindeer or Santa Claus.

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 24, 2006) -- Well, I hope everyone had a very, happy Thanksgiving and got to spend time with family and friends. It was a busy day for Santa Claus. I was in New York for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, then I flew back to the North Pole for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Mrs. Claus and the elves.

We had a great dinner -- Mrs. Claus is a wonderful cook -- then we played games, watched a little football and rested.

Today, it was back to work, with only a month to go before Christmas. It's a very busy time for all of us, and of course for families around the world. Sometimes, we don't know if we are going to be able to get everything ready by Christmas Eve, but in all the years we have been delivering gifts around the globe, we have yet to disappoint.

The workshop will be going around the clock from now up until Christmas Eve as we get everything ready to go. So, be sure you get your letters written and sent it, or you can always send an e-mail to me.  It's never too late to get your list in, so I'll bet waiting for it.

Now, it's time to get back to work. I'll be back in touch soon!

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 22, 2006) -- Hello everyone and happy Thanksgiving Eve! This becomes a very busy time here at the North Pole for all of us, but for old Santa Claus, it means flying to New York City to appear in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on Wednesday.

It will all start later today when I fly to Kansas City, Missouri, to appear at the annual Christmas in the Sky celebration. This will be Santa's first appearance at the event and we will be handing out some special gifts and watching, what I am told, is a wonderful fireworks display. It should be a very special evening. Then I will be flying on to New York where I will ride in Wednesday's parade just as I have done for many, many years, then return to the North Pole for a late Thanksgiving dinner with Mrs. Claus and the elves.

Just like many of you, we will have a turkey and all the trimmings to go with it. Then after we eat and eat, we will be taking a nap, along with laughing and sharing stories with each other.  It's always a fun day and allows us to get a little rest before we go back to work on Friday. We will be working around the clock to get everything ready for our Christmas Eve mission. So, Thanksgiving is our last chance to get a little rest until after Christmas.

My, how times flies. It seems that no matter how much planning we do each year, the holidays get here so very quickly.

But this is such a joyous time, when people seem to be happier, more generous and helpful. Now, if we could only carry that spirit all year, we would all be much better for it.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and get to spend it with family and friends.

And take a moment to remember how much fun you are having on this day and try to remember the faces of your family and friends. Make a lifetime memory and enjoy the feast! Happy Thanksgiving.

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 21, 2006) -- Time is winding down as Thanksgiving in the United States is almost here! Of course Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year, but it's important that we celebrate Thanksgiving as well. Many times this holiday gets overlooked, especially in stores, who seem to go straight from Halloween to Christmas.

In 1621, after a difficult first year in the New World, the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter.

The Pilgrims had survived, building homes in the wilderness. They raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, and they were at peace with their Native American neighbors. Their Governor, William Bradford, proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving that was to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native American Indians.

The custom of an annual Thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years. During the American Revolution in the late 1770's, a day of national Thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.

In 1817, New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving Day.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of Thanksgiving. Since then, each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.

Now, enjoy the holiday and then get ready for the Christmas rush!

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 17, 2006) -- Greetings everyone from the North Pole. I have been so busy lately that I just haven't gotten the chance to update the blog, as my good friend Alexandra pointed out to me in an e-mail on Thursday.

The good news is, the sleigh is all ready for our Christmas Eve mission. The elves have checked the runners and made repairs and it also has a fresh coat of paint and is all polished and shiny.

What happens now is the large bag we use to hold the gifts is put into the sleigh and the elves begin filling it with presents right after Thanksgiving and they keep doing that right up until Christmas Eve, when we have our festive ceremony here at the North Pole before we begin delivering gifts around the world.

The reindeer training will slow down after Thanksgiving so they have plenty of rest before the big night. They have been training hard and are in the best shape of the year right now. We have to be careful not to over-train them and wear them out. We can't have anyone get tired on Christmas Eve, or that would be a big problem, so it is very important to know when to train them hard and when to rest them. It's something that has taken hundreds of years to perfect.

Elf Connie is our reindeer trainer and has been doing that for almost 300 years, so she has plenty of experience, but then again, so does just about everyone here at the North Pole.

Well, I am getting a call from the workshop, so I have to get back to work. But I will try to do a better job of updating the blog -- I promise!

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 9, 2006) -- Well, it's been a few days since I have talked to you.  It's a very busy time here at the North Pole. We have a lot of work to do in just 45 days. Not everything always goes smoothly in Santa's Workshop. We have machines break down and have to repair them and we have all sorts of problems to deal with, just like everyone else.

But you know what? In all the centuries we have been doing this, we have never missed a Christmas Eve.  Oh of course we've had our problems like blizzards and all sorts of weather. We've had the sleigh break, reindeer twist an ankle, that sort of thing, but we've always completed our mission, and that's exactly what we plan to do again this year.

If we have a problem on Christmas Eve, we have ELF -- that's Elf Lifeline Force -- that can come to wherever we are in the world and help fix whatever problem we may be having.

They can take care of any problem that we might have. They can travel by sleigh or we also have a flying backpack that will help them fly to wherever we are located.

So, you see, despite any problems that we might have, we can always get the problems fixed and the gifts delivered.

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THE NORTH POLE (Nov. 1, 2006) --  I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween. I am sure you got plenty of candy, but hopefully you didn't get a stomach ache to go along with it! We had a fine Halloween here at the North Pole. What? You didn't know we had Halloween here? Of course! We celebrated with sharing candy with the elves and their families and we played games and bobbed for candy canes.

We played pin the tail on the abominable snowman, ring around the Christmas tree and of course we enjoyed plenty of treats.

The best part of Halloween for me is that I know we have just 53 days now left until Christmas. The time now will really fly, so we all know that we have to shift gears and work hard to make sure we have everything ready to go for our Christmas Eve mission.

And besides making toys, wrapping presents, training the reindeer and shining up the sleigh, we also will be reading millions of letters from around the world and checking the Naughty and Nice List at least twice.

This is what we work for all year long -- this very special time of year. A time when hearts fill with love and goodwill and selfish tendencies are put aside and people help each other.

It's my hope that someday, everyday will truly be like Christmas for everyone in the world.

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THE NORTH POLE (Oct. 26, 2006) -- The Spirit of Christmas is all about helping others when they are in need of help.  For instance, yesterday, Mrs. Claus' stove broke down, which of course meant no chocolate chip cookies could be baked! Here at the North Pole, that is considered a serious problem.

But you know what? Everyone stopped what they were doing and pitched in to help fix her stove.  Working together, we got her stove fixed and soon Mrs. C was back in the cookie-baking business.

So you see, when others are in trouble or need help, we should all be willing to stop what we are doing and lend a helping hand. We always get so busy with our own lives and what we have to do that most of the time we forget, or don't think we have time to stop and help.

We should always be willing to make a sacrifice to help someone else in need, regardless of whether any chocolate chip cookies are involved!

My point is, if you stop and help other people -- that includes friends, relatives and strangers -- that help will come back to you in return.

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THE NORTH POLE (Oct. 24, 2006) -- Hello again everyone. I hope you all are well. Our work continues here at the North Pole with only 61 days left until Christmas! My, how the time flies, especially when there is so much work still to be done. And of course, most of you haven't even sent in your letter yet, have you? That's just fine, though. We are used to getting letters after Thanksgiving -- most of them, actually -- and then we are still able to get all the gifts ready to go by Christmas Eve.

It's always fun to look at catalogs or "wish books" as they used to be called. And of course now, you can look at toys and gifts online and many go to the mall and look at things they wish to have for Christmas.

And that's perfectly fine, but I would ask you this Christmas season to also remember that the spirit of the season is about "giving" as well as "receiving."  Getting gifts is always fun and exciting, but when you give a gift, there is no greater feeling in the world. That's probably why I like my job so much.

I enjoy giving gifts -- and I always have. You can also give gifts to your mother and father, your grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles -- and you don't have go buy them. You can draw a picture, make a special Christmas card, send them an e-mail, or call them on the phone. If you are lucky enough to get to see them in person, you can give them a hug and a kiss. There is no greater gift than love, so be sure you give that gift to those close to you this season -- and all year long.

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THE NORTH POLE (Oct. 20, 2006) -- I just got back from a two-day meeting of the Legendary Figures. It's a meeting we have every year to talk about problems, share some stories and just have a good time. In case you were wondering, the Legendary Figures include Mother Nature, The Sandman, Tooth Fairy, Cupid, Father Time and me.

We always have a good time and enjoy sharing stories. Everyone is always interested in stories I have from the workshop or from my Christmas Eve trip around the globe.  I told them the story of when I slipped on icy an roof in Roseau, Minnesota, one Christmas Eve about 50 years ago. Well, I would have fallen off of that roof for sure, but as I started falling off the roof, suddenly I found myself floating in the air! I couldn't believe it, I thought for a moment that maybe I could fly. But that's not the case. What happened was I had hooked my coat on the TV antenna on the roof of the house. You see, 40-50 years ago there was no cable TV. Most people could only get three or four channels, and many people had a large antenna on top of their roof so they would get a better picture.

Well, I found myself hanging by my coat on the TV antenna. I was able to swing myself around on the antenna so I was back on the roof, then I was able to pull myself off the antenna. Whew! That was scary, but I was OK and able to deliver all my gifts without anymore trouble.

My good friends got a good laugh at my expense from that story. Do you have any favorite Christmas stories you'd like to share? Just click on "Leave a comment" below and send them to me. I would enjoy reading them and I might just share them in my blog.

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THE NORTH POLE (Oct. 17, 2006)  -- Of course you probably already know that Santa's sleigh flies on Christmas spirit. But we always have to make repairs to the sleigh and get it ready to fly every Christmas Eve. And we are always using the latest technology on the sleigh to help make the annual trip around the globe as smooth as possible.

Well, the elves have been quite busy getting the sleigh ready to fly once again this year and make sure all of the important instruments work like they are supposed to. The new GPS is ready to go with the latest information, the CD (cookie dispenser) is all set and a special container in the sleigh keeps the hot chocolate hot, even when we are traveling in the coldest weather on earth.

We normally have to replace the sleigh's runners each year because of all the landing on rooftops and in rough places, but that is taken care of right after Christmas. And the sleigh has a fresh, new, bright red paint  job. The last remaining thing will be tuning and polishing the sleigh bells which are added after the reindeer are hitched to the sleigh during our Christmas Eve ceremony. I am getting excited just writing about it.

All in all, the sleigh is in fine shape and just about ready to go for this year's Christmas Eve Mission.

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THE NORTH POLE (Oct. 16 , 2006)  -- Welcome everyone to my blog! Thank you for stopping by and for everyone who has e-mailed me with their comments, requests and of course Christmas lists.

We have less than 70 days until Christmas and that's not very much time. I know it might seem like a long time to many of you, but it will go by very quickly, especially for all us here at the North Pole.

Everyone is working hard here at the North Pole in order to get ready for the "big day" on Dec. 24. You see, Christmas Eve is the biggest day here at the North Pole because that's the day the sleigh is loaded, the reindeer are hitched to the sleigh and we take off, delivering presents around the world to boys and girls.

We have a big ceremony at the North Pole before I take off in my sleigh. Have you ever seen the movie The Polar Express? Well, the ceremony is a lot like that. The elf band plays, everyone gathers in the center of Christmastown and we light the very large tree we have right in the middle of our village and we sing Christmas carols, drink hot chocolate and eat fresh chocolate chip cookies.

It's all very exciting, and although I've seen it thousands of times, it still gives me goose bumps....in fact I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

Well, I am off to watch reindeer flight training, but I'll be back soon with more stories and information for you direct from the North Pole. And remember, I'm making a list and checking it twice!

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