News

300 days remain until Santa’s launch from the North Pole for Christmas 2023. It is a Sunday and the countdown clocks everywhere here at the North Pole mark the snowy milestone.

Here is where we stand on Operation Merry Christmas so far:

– The Sleigh Committee is meeting daily in Flight Command to explore new designs and to approve a development schedule for this year’s sleigh. Santa will not be participating in this process this year.

– Elves from the Locations Committee are at work traveling in each sector to develop a list of finalists for Regional Tracking center locations to be used this year.

– Santa has met with all department heads, and all department heads and supervisors are meeting individually with elves to discuss goals for the new year.

– Santa’s Workshop has preliminary production data for toys to be made this year. Elves are hard at work at this time making “classics” – which are toys that have passed the test of time and are made each year – while other elves are still working on obtaining supplies and materials for new projects anticipated for later in the year.

Other elements of the season, such as eggnog, candy canes, stockings, tree stars and Santa tracker maps are all in the planning and development stages.

Also, Elf Training is in full swing at this time.

With 300 days to go, it appears all is on track for Operation Merry Christmas.

Committees are forming to advance the work of Santa Claus and Operation Merry Christmas 2023.

The committees are charged with brainstorming basic operations and overseeing implementation plans.

The first committee formed in North Pole Flight Command is the Tracking Center Committee. This team of hand-selected elves will explore where the regional locations for each tracking center in each sector will be located.

This is considered a great assignment for an elf. This team will travel the world, explore locations and make reports on good sites they might recommend.

Another committee starting work this week is the Sleigh Committee. They work to entertain new sleigh design ideas, to put together build teams, and to schedule the calendar around the creation of Santa’s new sleigh.

Santa this year is not participating in any of these committees. In fact, especially given his involvement in the drama of last year’s sleigh, he’s staying quiet about the whole thing so that these elf committees can do their work.

We will keep you posted on their progress.

Santa’s reindeer are starting to begin their annual migration away from the North Pole. After completing their mission with Santa every Christmas they stay for a brief period at the North Pole for evaluations. Once that period is over, they head back to their homelands.

There are thousands of reindeer who work for Santa, including his starting nine reindeer that the world is so familiar with – Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. They are called the A-Team. But there are many, many more who work hard for Santa during Operation Merry Christmas.

All reindeer, no matter their assignment, both come to and leave the North Pole every year. The North Pole is a harsh environment and the reindeer do well when they are there. But Santa feels is it not healthy for them to be at the North Pole year round and he encourages them to “return home”, wherever that might be.

Santa has reindeer ranches all over the world. There are North Pole-run reindeer ranches in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Bolivia, Australia, Mongolia, and even in the high mountain ranges of India.

But the reindeer only visit these far and wide locations during the year when they need to or when special requests for their services come in from the North Pole. Most of the time they return to their natural habitat and locations where they were born.

They come back sometime between the middle of August and the middle of November every year. There is never a set time. Santa just trusts them to return when he needs them at the North Pole.

Much of how the reindeer operate, especially their abilities to fly, is a tightly controlled secret at the North Pole.

We are confident they will return in the autumn months of the year.

The first North Pole Chat of the new year has been scheduled for January 28th at 7pm EST at SantaUpdate.com.

Elf Crash Murphy, Santa’s eye-in-the-sky reporter who trails Santa’s sleigh every Christmas Eve, will present stories of Santa’s flight last month.

Santa had a dramatic launch in a 50-year old sleigh that experts said would never make it. He set a new all-time speed record in that sleigh and enjoyed a flawless flight.

That does not mean that things did not happen. Elf Crash will fill in the gaps and tell some stories not heard on SantaUpdate.com or other Official North Pole Websites.

If you cannot make the scheduled chat, please post your comments or questions for Elf Crash in the box below.

We hope to see you there!