Oh my goodness, we are less than 10 days away from the big day. Santa and I have visited northern Nevada several times in the past week and will continue to check in several times before Christmas. This e-mail address keeps me quite busy. We have been receiving e-mails from all over the country! There have been some interesting questions such as:
Eight-year-old Blake Cochrane writes: Could you please send me a picture of the elves? I was wondering if they really have pointy ears. Does Rudolph really have a red nose? Do you really live in the North Pole?
After receiving your letter, I went over to the workshop to ask for pictures of our elf workers. The head elf of manufacturing explained that they are working overtime to get all the toys ready for Christmas and he did not have a really good picture of the elves in the workshop and with it being "crunch time," the elves were working so fast that any picture would come out blurry. He felt really awful about not being able to grant your wish, so after a good deal of thought he absolutely lit up. He remembered that there was a way to see a picture of the elves! He remembered that Hollywood had borrowed some of our elves for the making of the movie "ELF" and though the movie was not a real story, some of the elves that were used as extras in the movie were really some of our elves. The elves got a real kick out of being "movie stars" and there was a lot of teasing going on in the workshop as our "stars" were asked for autographs for months after the movie was released!
Yes, the elves really do have "pointy ears." It is funny that you ask because elves' children are fascinated with your "rounded ears." I am not sure that I understand this fascination, but I can tell you that I believe that our creator made all of you just perfect the way that you are - "pointy eared" or "rounded eared"!
Rudolph's nose is truly a glowing red. We have never had another reindeer born with a glowing nose - red or otherwise - before or after. Rudolph certainly is special and Santa really counts on him when the weather is bad.
Yes, our address is indeed in the North Pole. Not having been here, I know it is hard to imagine living in a place that is so cold, but we love our home. Santa and I enjoy our family of reindeer and elves and the beauty that the North Pole has. Our location gives our workshop a good deal of privacy, which is very important to the elves who cannot be disturbed as they work. Many children write and ask if they can visit the workshop. We joke as the elf head of manufacturing can sometimes be a little cranky. When he hears requests for workshop tours he throws up his hands and mutters, "If they want a want a factory tour, they should go see the people at Jelly Belly!" (By the way, I highly recommend the Jelly Belly tour. It is amazing how those little candies taste just like the food for which they are flavored).
In fairness to our elves, they do have to do a very important job and to give all the children in the world their Christmas dreams, they must concentrate on their work. Elves love children and if children were allowed to visit the workshop at the North Pole, the elves would stop everything to talk to them and never get their work done. This would make for a very disappointing Christmas for so many people!
So Blake, if you would still be wanting a picture of one of the elves after Christmas, please let me know and I will see what I can do. In the meantime, please continue to be good - as Santa tells me you have been. Know that we often look in on you and you are a very nice young man! You definitely make the world a better place!
Seven-year-old Gianni Giordano writes in his second letter: I was wondering if Santa ever takes elves with him Christmas Eve to help navigate? If so, which ones, how does he decide? Thanks Mrs. Claus!
I will let you in on a little secret about the elves. They really dislike flying on the sleigh and would rather rely on Christmas Magic to transport them when they make visits. This is not to say that the elves are not involved in every step of the sleigh's journey. They inspect to make sure that the sleigh is flight worthy, oversee the packing of the sleigh, check all the reindeer tack and plot Santa's route house by house. We have come into the technological age and the sleigh has a navigation system installed that has many technical aspects that I could never understand (fortunately we have elves that do). Elves also make sure that the reindeer are healthy and in good form for their Christmas Eve flight. Like humans, each elf has their own job according to their interest. Unlike humans who tend to go to college for their professions, the elves all apprentice (train under elves that currently are experts in their positions) until they are fully trained - though I have heard many elves call their many years of training, "Elf University."
So you see, if an elf does have to fly with Santa, it is not Santa's decision. The decision is simply that the most expert elf must go. For example, if there is a problem with Santa's pack, the elf that has the most expertise in this area will ride with Santa to make sure that the proper toys emerge from the pack at the right house, if the navigation system is on the blink, one of the elves who has expertise in navigation technology will ride along to make sure that the sleigh arrives at each destination. Should one of the reindeer have a sore hoof, the elf that is expert in taking care of reindeer health issues will ride along to make sure that reindeer's hoof is not overstressed. As I said before, the elves really do not like to fly along, but they will fly when necessary.
I hope that I answered your question. Should there be anything that I did not cover or that you do not understand, please write back and ask me. You are a very special young man to Santa and me and we are always glad to hear from you!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Until next time, with many Christmas hugs,
Mrs. Claus
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