By Nutmeg Jollysocks
North Pole Correspondent
With Santa’s annual trip around the world so close at hand, the North Pole is a flutter of activity right now as final preparations are being made to deliver Christmas toys and Christmas joy to children and families everywhere.
Games have been set aside as Santa’s team of elite reindeer are focused on their speed and agility training to ensure they make the trip in time and to help them stick those tricky rooftop landings.
Over the past few weeks, Dasher has had his fellow teammates practicing in all sorts of weather to make sure they are ready for whatever they encounter on Christmas Eve.
While the forecast for Northeast Tennessee calls for warmer temperatures, there is a chance for some rain on Christmas Eve which could affect visibility, Dasher said adding other areas of the world could see a variety of weather such as snow, ice, heavy fog or dense cloud cover.
“While we practice for all sorts of weather, we don’t want to alarm anyone or make them worry that we won’t be able to arrive, because as everyone knows, we do have a special guide to help us through the tricky patches,” Dasher said.
That special guide is none other than Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who is world famous for his shining, glowing nose that helped lead Santa through the biggest ice storm in history.
“I’m always ready to help Santa with his trip,” Rudolph said. “I love being a part of the reindeer team and helping to deliver joy around the world to all the boys and girls, including the misfits like me.”
The elves in Santa’s Toy Shop are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the presents and rushing to finish up orders for the last minute letters that have been arriving.
“Many of the letters we have received this year from children have requested a Hatchimal for Christmas,” said Yule Sugarsnaps, the Chief Order Fulfillment Elf for the Toy Shop. “We’ve had a lot of Hatchimal eggs arrive in the shop but we have not received enough to fulfill all the orders.”
“Laying eggs takes some time, especially for such special eggs as Hatchimals,” Sugarsnaps continued. “We are patiently awaiting the arrival of more eggs, but some of them may not come until January. Please be patient with the egg laying process. We will deliver more eggs as they arrive.”
Santa himself has been busy making his list and checking it twice to ensure that all the world’s children are in the proper category of “Naughty” or “Nice” before the flight takes off on Christmas Eve.
“Ho. Ho. Ho. I always enjoy checking up on the boys and girls from Carter County, Tennessee,” Santa said. “Those little dears are always so sweet and kind. Sometimes they might make a move to the Naughty List but it is usually only temporary and before long they are back on the right path.”
This year in particular, Santa said he has been touched by how much the children in Carter County care for others, as they recently demonstrated when they worked hard to collect things for their neighbors in Sevier County who suffered a terrible tragedy.
“That charitable spirit is what Christmas is all about,” Santa said. “While it is nice to receive presents and toys for ourselves, it is a bigger blessing to give to others.”
As the children and families all around the world prepare for the joy and excitement of presents and spending time with each other for Christmas, Santa said he hopes everyone will stop and take a moment to remember the real reason for Christmas.
“I bring joy to others by giving toys and trinkets, but the greatest gift of all was born many years ago in a manger in Bethlehem,” Santa said. “God gave the world the gift of salvation when he sent his own son Jesus to this world to die for our sins.”