Dear Readers,
Today I received a letter from two teachers who spent their growing up years on the nice list. It warmed our hearts when they became teachers, as there is so much love for children in their hearts! I am enclosing several questions from the students of Mrs. Norcutt's and Mr. Gilboy's 1st grade class at Grass Valley Elementary School in Winnemucca, Nevada:
Aiden...What kind of special food do you feed to the reindeer?
Reindeer have a very specific diet. They love treats like baby carrots and apples- which Santa and I give them all year round, but the reindeer usually find their own food. During winter months reindeer love to eat lichens, especially reindeer moss. Lichens are organisms where fungus and green algae or bacteria grow together. Reindeer also enjoy eating the leaves of willow trees and birch trees. They will sometimes feed on bird eggs, lemmings (small rodents related to the mouse) and arctic char (a type of fish). In late summer reindeer like to eat mushrooms.
Itati... How many elves do you and Santa have at the North Pole?
The last time we counted was almost 100 years ago and many new elves have been born since then. I guess I do not know an exact number, but I can tell you that there are many many elves here at the North Pole. I started counting in my head and was at over a thousand elves, when we had a cookie emergency that I had to tend to. It seems that Kelsey, one of the creative elves that is in charge of cookie development, managed to mix baking soda and vinegar on one of the trial recipes. Wow, we had quite the cookie dough volcano going!
Back to your question, Santa and I know each elf by name and maybe it would be a good thing if we wrote down how many elves, reindeer and animals were here. I will ask Santa about this after Christmas. Thank you, Itati!
Justice...Are you helping to fatten up Santa with cookies? What is
Santa's favorite cookie to eat?
It is my job to make sure that Santa eats healthy and I balance Santa's diet with fruits, vegetables and protein (along with whole grains that I put in the cookies I bake). As a result of all the broccoli and asparagus, poor Santa got just a little bit too thin. Santa's favorite food is cookies, so the elves are baking lots and are working on getting Santa a bit plumper. Santa is very happy about this! Santa's favorite cookies are chocolate chip and peanut butter. He also really likes sugar cookies, but he believes that sugar cookies should only have enough frosting to decorate them because he really likes to taste the cookies!
Gabe...What kind of things do you do when it's not Christmastime?
Santa finishes his rounds on Christmas Eve and comes home for Breakfast. We fill the workshop with tables and have a huge breakfast that morning for all the elves and exchange gifts with everyone. The elves go home to their families, the reindeer snooze and Santa and I take a short nap. That evening there is a big meeting of Santa and all the head elves and they begin plans for next Christmas. The very next day we begin to get ready, start making toys and continue until the next Christmas arrives. We really do have Christmas all year round!
Drew....Does Santa drink a lot of milk?
Yes he does! Santa says that cookies (which are his favorite food) are not nearly so tasty without milk. Most of the time Santa drinks plain milk, but sometimes (depending on the cookie) Santa flavors his milk with chocolate, strawberry, banana or vanilla. Santa is also a big fan of hot cocoa (I often add a crushed candy cane to Santa's cocoa- it gives cocoa a lovely peppermint flavor) or hot milk with vanilla and a sprinkle of colored sugar crystals.
We hope that you have enjoyed our correspondence as much as we have. Santa and I certainly enjoy our trips to your communities. The people of Northern Nevada have been so kind to us that we have grown to love you even more! We had a wonderful visit with so many children at the Festival of Trees in Winnemucca. I even had the opportunity to dance with Emily, Chloe, Brylie and Rainier!
Until next week, please keep healthy, happy and hold the spirit of Christmas in your heart!
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