Santa Writes Letter Back to Local Kids

A group of Lincoln Elementary School students recently took the time to write letters to Santa. Beyond letting him know what they want for Christmas, the students had all sorts of questions about Santa's operation in the North Pole.

Patch sent the letters to Santa, and this is his reponse:

To all the great kids in Port Washington and Saukville,

Ho ho ho and thank you very much for writing to me! I am glad to hear you are all doing well and happy to report many of you have been very good this year!

I am doing just fine, the elves are busy and Mrs. Claus is, too — busy baking lots of Christmas treats for every one up here in the North Pole!

Yes, Mrs. Claus does cook for all the elves, she makes wonderful meals and in really big batches. My favorite is lasagna and garlic bread — she makes it just right, ho ho ho.

The reindeer are doing very well and send their regards. They love listening to the letters you kids send as I sometimes read them out loud. Rudolph is, in fact, real and his red nose is brighter than ever! His nose does still blink, but he’s trained himself to use it only as a turn signal when we are driving — excuse me — flying the sleigh.

The sleigh is about as big as a minivan — I have lots of presents I have to fit inside. We fly and deliver presents to families all across the world, and we do it all during the nighttime because the reindeer can’t wear sunglasses and the sun is much too bright to fly into during the day. Flying by moonlight is a wonderful trip.

Right now we have about 300 elves busy, busy building toys and ordering parts and everything else to make sure you all get what you want for Christmas. It’s really hard for the elves to get bored, because they get to play with the toys after making them — someone has to test them out to make sure they work, after all!

A few of the elves do get sick, and a couple people have had the flu — but Mrs. Claus’ homemade chicken noodle soup and a glass of orange juice does just the trick to have them back up and running in no time! The elves come in all shapes and sizes, some as short as many of you kids while others are as tall as your moms and dads! They work really fast, and sometimes it looks like they are playing on fast forward.

Some of you may have elves in your own home that look like statues, and, yes, they do come alive when Santa visits to help unload all your presents so that we can get to all the houses in one night! Plus, I need those elves to help keep a watchful eye and make sure all you kids are behaving.

When it’s not holiday season, the elves do like to watch TV — but their favorite shows and movies tend to be anything related to Christmas!

Sometimes the elves, Mrs. Claus the reindeer and I all go on vacation — but it’s hard to find places that have enough room for such a big group. I have been to Hawaii and love to dance the luau, but let’s you and I keep that a secret. I like to go to white, sandy beaches because the sand reminds me of snow — but it’s not cold! It’s nice to warm up now and then.

I’m somewhere under 6 feet tall and too old to tell you my age. I don’t have a baby of my own, as Mrs. Claus and I have lots of elves to take care of. But, you may have met some of my Santa helpers at malls and other places where you can get your picture taken — some of those Santas do have children and perhaps one of those is Charlie from the Santa movie.

All of my elves and reindeer are my best friends, but if I had to pick one best friend it would be Mrs. Claus. We are sure a good team, and she loves to go on sleigh rides with me when it’s not Christmas season. Look up at the starry night sky some summer evening and perhaps you’ll see us flying by. In fact, Mrs. Claus and I took several such trips this summer, as well as a few camping trips and other fun summer nights — it was a good summer!

The only address I have ever had is to tell you that I live in the "north pole." Where exactly? I cannot say. Santa’s workshop must be kept a secret so that we can continue surprising all the boys and girls of the world every holiday season. I don’t have a phone number or a Facebook page for you to contact me with — but if you keep writing these letters someone will make sure they get to me.

Well, it sounds like the elves need some help testing a few toys. I better get back to work so I can make sure we get everything ready for you kids. Stay good, because I’m checking my list twice!

Ho, ho, ho … Merry Christmas!

Santa

P.S. I wouldn't mind if you left me a few extra cookies this year, they always make the night go faster! Ho, ho, ho!

Editor's note: Santa also plans to make a live appearance on Patch at 5 p.m. Thursday ... so make sure you log on and ask all the questions you want to know answers to! Register for an e-mail reminder and learn more here.