Fit As A Fiddle

I am very happy to report that I passed my annual physical with flying colors. Santa Claus has been officially cleared for the Christmas Eve journey by the North Pole medical staff! Every year Mrs. Claus is after me to lose weight but every year the doctors declare me unbelievably fit. There was a new doctor this year (you know they are new when they take their stethoscope outside with them during the break... hey, McFly... its the NORTH POLE. Let me tell you... that's not a pleasant experience to be the first patient back after she/he steps out for lunch.. brrrrr). Anyway, I digress... I love it when the new guy looks at me and assumes I'll last about 30 seconds on the treadmill then I run a 6:40 pace before my heart rate starts to rise. Guess you can't judge a book by the cover, eh?

It was a very busy day today, especially with the physical cutting into my schedule. As it will be virtually every day between now and Christmas, the alarm went off at 3:30a. The primary discussion topic at the daily production meeting was around setting the production cut-off date. This date is very important because we have to balance how late we can receive and respond to letters & requests with how long it will take to sort the inventory and get it loaded and distributed to the various replenishment points around the globe that Santa will use on Christmas Eve. Of course, the marketing folks are pushing for December 23rd. The production and logistics team think they are nuts. If they had their way, it would be cut-off in mid-December. I eventually had to cut-off the conversation and ask Jingle to follow-up. He will make the decision later this week and then we'll begin the process of notifying the public.

After the production meeting, I had a brief meeting with the legal team. Apparently they feel I need to be careful about naming specific indiviudals or products in my blog without written permission. They're all a little skittish after last year's attempt by a couple of "politically correct" organizations threatening legal action if we didn't sanitize "Christmas" from our traditions and communications. Bah, humbug. Did the folks at these organizations not read Dicken's Christmas? Did they not see what happened to Scrooge? I don't know if any ghosts - past, present, future, or otherwise - visited them but I do know I made a special trip last Christmas Eve with a sleigh full of coal and little "so sue me" notes. And I think Blitzen may have left some personal gifts on their roof. But I digress again....

Then it was off to a variety of mall appearances. I had an appearence in Seattle so I took advantage of being in the Emerald City and met a certain software company founder (initials BG) for lunch to discuss the possiblity for acquiring additional video gaming consoles to cover our unexpected demand. After lunch, it was off to more mall appearances.

On the flight back, I had a conference call with a gentleman who founded a personal computer company named after a fruit that now specializes in mp3 players and digital music. He committed to try and find the additional inventory for us but it is doubtful that we will be able to fulfill all the demand. A few folks may have to settle for another brand or something else all together. We don't like to do that but when we do, we try to keep it fair by using a random drawing. If you ever get something different or fail to get something you wished for, this is probably the situation.... you were just unlucky. It had nothing to do with your naughty or nice standing.

Back home, I had a working dinner with my staff followed by an inspection tour of the warehouse. Finally, I wrapped up the night at the Flight Operations Center, in the weather tracking room, for a de-brief on the long range forecast for Christmas Eve and the resulting routing options. This was an fyi only meeting that I'll have once a week up until the last week when we'll start to have these nightly.

I then returned to my office at home to answer emails, write this blog, and read all the wonderful comments you have sent me. Thank you so much.

The next couple of days are going to be extremely busy as I am going to make a number of appearances across South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Africa on Wednesday and Thursday. While I will still make appearances in Asia, Europe, and North America, this focus on the southern hemisphere (dubbed "Operation Southern Cross") will result in me working out of a base at an undisclosed location south of the equator. So my blog may go until Friday without an update.... we'll see what kind of time I have. I'm expecting only about 2 hours of available sleep time each night and little, if any, break or free time in the schedule.

Time to call it a day. See you soon, friends.

Monday Blues

3:30am alarm clock. A cup of coffee. A morning workout - I workout Monday through Friday every week (except holidays). My schedule & the physical demands of the job require I remain fit. In fact, I have my annual physical tomorrow. I usually get it on the first Monday after Thanksgiving but Doc was travelling home today from a visit with family in Alaska so we moved it to Tuesday.

By 5:00am, I had finished my work-out, showered, and had a quick breakfast with Mrs. Claus. headed into HQ for the daily 6:00am production meeting. This was a big meeting as we had a first real results reported to the full team on the actual demand by toy based on the letters received to date. The top 5 toys were the same top 5 we have had for at least the past 6 decades (though the order does change slightly year to year, the same top 5 continue to hold true). All five are traditional - #1 Teddy Bear, #2 Train and/or Train Set, #3 Dolls and/or Doll accessories, #4 Bike/Tricycle, and #5 Building Blocks. Demand for the "non-traditional' gifts was significantly higher this year. That has been a steady trend since the mid-90s as the kids have become more technology-savvy. Showing higher than expected demand and entering the top 10 overall were iPods and the XBox 360. We procure rather than produce the "non-traditional" gifts. In fact, Jingle has had to schedule meetings for me later this week with Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to talk about increasing our allotment of iPods and 360s, respectively. For all of you who have requested XBox 360s and/or iPods, stay tuned as we may not be able to fulfill demand. The Production meeting was extended an extra 30 minutes since it was the first meeting; however, the meeting still ran an additional 30 minutes over above that. The excitement was a debate between Jolly and Bo over the new forecast. Jolly was taking the currently received real demand and assuming we only had about 40% of the total expected letters in. He was proposing adjusting the forecast baseline on an assumption that for every four items in real demand, there would be another 6 requests yet to arrive. Bo was adamant that Marketing is always over aggressive in their forecasts and that history would suggest closer to 50% (52.8% to be exact) of the letters were in, so the forecast baseline for production scheduling would be based on the assumption that for every 4 requests to arrive, there would be another 4 yet to arrive. As you can imagine, when creating the production schedules and ordering raw materials, the difference in the forecast is signficant... to say the least. Jingle finally put an end to it by asking for a 45% baseline assumption. At the conclusion of the meeting, the production and procurement managers quickly scrambled back to their offices to re-forcast the work.

As for me, I left the meeting and headed south for mall appearances through out the rest of the day. I did not arrive back here until after 10pm, at which time I attended a procurement meeting. Sprite, our head of Procurement, led the meeting. The big news there, besides the unexpected demand for iPods and XBoxs, was the emergence of requests for MP3 gift cards. Sprite left the meeting with assignments to set up calls later in the week with some of the major online retailers to cut a deal on gift cards for downloading MP3s and other files (such as ringtones).

By then, it was back to my office at home. I had some left over pizza (from Mrs. Claus' dinner that I had to miss tonight) while I reviewed the day's status reports. Most everything was on track. So I updated my blog. Now I am about to answer some emails and then retire to bed.

Oh yeah... I want to address all the emails I get about the North Pole being in Canada vs. Norway. North Pole Village is internationally recognized as a sovreign city-state. As such, I carry a passport issued by the North Pole... and not any other country. Now the ranch land Mrs. Claus and I own extends well south of the North Pole and across many borders including Alaska in the US, Canada, Norway, Russia, and others (Let me tell you, taxes are a bear). I have claimed Norway because I was born in the forests of Norway but the reality is that the ranch is part of many countries.

Well... keep spreading the Christmas cheer and telling people about my blog.

Merry Christmas, All... and to all a good night.

Deck The Halls

There were less parades, tree lightings, and mall appearances today than on Friday and Saturday, but it still consumed a large part of the day.

I started the day however a little slower than the first two days, where I had to rush out the door and head south for public appearances. Today started... after my morning cup of Starbucks Christmas Blend, of course... with a breakfast meeting. My dining companions were the members of the North Pole Decorating Committee. Today, the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, is the traditional day for decorating North Pole Village for Christmas. Shocked? You thought it looked like Christmas here year round? Well, it probably does look a little more Christmas-y than Miami just because it is the North Pole Village, but we only have our full decorations up for about 5 weeks each year. So we laid out the plan for the day, including a review of the resource assignments, and we reviewed all of the power requirements to confirm we have the "horsepower" for this year's display. Two years ago, we blew out the entire grid and set off a rolling blackout that covered all of Northern Europe and Northern Asia. I recieved some pretty nasty letters about that. Our marketing department was not too thrilled about it, either. Needless to say, we won't let that happen again.

After breakfast, I attended church in the village. There is only one church here but everyone... and I mean, everyone... is there on Sunday mornings. The whole North Pole shuts down for an hour and a half. When church let out, everyone scurried out in different directions. By the time I had gone home, changed into my flight suit, and headed across the village square to the Flight Operations Center, the Decorating Team was in full force. Garlands, lights, trees, banners... they were all going up.

The Flight Operations Center was all abuzz too. Peter and a couple of the other pilots were taking the back-up reindeer teams out on practice runs. It is important for them to stay sharp. You never know when one of the main team may pull a ligament or catch a cold. I took the main team out for my round of public appearances.

Upon my return, the Decorating Team was putting up the final preparations. I made a quick inspection round with team lead. Everything looked good and I signed off to let the official tree lighting go on as scheduled (ironic that we have our own tree lighting, eh?). But it is fun. Hot Chocalate, roasted chestnuts, hot apple cider, ginger bread cookies, Christmas carols... how much more fun can that be. And the best part is I can just be myself and enjoy the ceremony as a participant. Mrs. Claus gets the lighting honors at the North Pole.

But I had an hour or so before the lighting, so I met with Jingle, Candy, Bo, and Sprite to review the initial toy demand report. There were a few surprises we are going to have to deal with but that happens every year. More on that tomorrow after my daily (Mon-Fri) Production meeting.

Then it was off to the lighting. What a grand celebration! Of course, it only lasted a couple of hours and it was back to work for everyone. I retired to my office at the house (I have one there and at HQ) to make some phone calls, review the day's status reports, and finish up this blog. Now as I look at the clock, I'm thinking there is a ton to do but my alarm clock goes off in 3 hours. So I better get to bed.

See you soon.

Parades, Malls, and Tree Lightings

The day started early with a trip to Europe for a parade appearance. With major snow storms there, the turn out was low. From there, I hit parades across the US, moving east to west. The afternoon was full of mall appearances. I can not tell you how many babies spit up on me. That's why I carry at least five Santa suits with me in the sleigh (just in case you wondered why you might see me twice in one day and I have different outfits on... that's why. Of course, some one always wants to know why the suits are different. Seriously? Would you wear the exact same thing every day?). By the time I finished on the US west coast, I had to head back east to begin the east-to-west trek again for tree lightings.

I skipped dinner with Mrs. Claus to meet with Jingle and the staff to review production and procurement schedules. My senior staff includes Jingle (Chief of Staff), Melody (Internal Communications, Public Relations, Legal and Community Affairs), Jangle (Chief Financial Officer), Elmer (Chief Information Officer), Jolly (Chief Marketing Officer), and Candy (Chief Operations Officer). Candy's team is a part of the senior staff meetings. Her team includes Bo (Production), Sprite (Procurement), Star (Advanced RD&D), Ollie (Logistics), North (HR plus Elf & Reindeer Affairs) and Bob (Flight Operations).

After the staff meeting, I headed over to the mail center where we are just beginning to receive the first Christmas letters. Postal services all over the world hold our letters until this time of year. Despite new technology advancements like email, text messaging, etc. that allow for direct, real-time access to me, the number of letters are on track for another record year. I guess there is just something about putting crayon to paper that can't be replaced by a keyboard or thumbpad. By tomorrow, thanks to our high-speed sorting system and real-time information systems, I will have reports showing me the real demand by toy. It is these reports that are critical to our ability to deliver on our guarantee of 99.9% fulfillment of the qualifying* Christmas wishes.

The operation was as impressive as ever. After leaving the building housing the main hub, I dropped in on the Chrismas Card room at the mail center. There I found twenty-two elfs working hard to produce the 50 million Christmas Cards we will send out this year. Most of them go to employees of sponsoring or partner corporations. But I found a couple headed out to kids and had a chance to sign them. I won't spoil the surprise by announcing the names here but keep your eyes out just in case you might be one of the lucky ones.

Well, I have one more meeting to rush off to before I retire for the night.... so I will say good night for now. See you soon.

* Qualifying is defined as "under USD 10,000 in value and made by an individual with a confirmed status of 'nice' for 24 or more consecutive months".

Let The Countdown to Christmas Begin!

The first day of full-blown Christmas preparations is always a jolt to the system. My alarm clock went off at 3:30am so I could be out the door by 4:00am. I have to tell you though... I don't know what I would do without Mrs. Claus. She had a cup of fresh, steaming coffee ready for me when the clock went off. After drinking the coffee as fast as I could, I was in and out of the shower and ready to go with enough time to spare that I was able to glance at the newpaper before leaving. It must be my imagination but it sure seemed colder this morning than it did yesterday as I walked across the village square and towards the hangar. By 4:15am I was airborne, on the mobile phone with Jingle, discussing our negotiations for airspace over China (they make us renew our agreement every year), reading the most recent "naughty & nice" executive summary that was downloaded to my blackberry, and checking the most recent long-range weather forecast for Christmas week on the sleigh's on-board computer. I was back in the groove and starting to feel that Christmas spirit. Don't worry, I wasn't flying the sleigh. I get a lot more work done when Iet one of the elf pilots doing the flying and its a lot safer. I learned that right after I got my first cell phone and almost had a mid-air collision with a British Airways Airbus while talking to the bank about an overcharge. Peter was flying today.

The good news is that the "nice" kids are up 6.7% from the report earlier in the week. It is the traditional "Thanksgiving" bump... we see it every year as kids start thinking about Christmas.

Anyway, it was off to New York for appearances on a couple of the morning shows, then on to appearances at 10 different local parades, followed by post-lunch appearances at 12 different malls,and finally, 6 different tree lightings. I finished the 'figure-head' portion of the job with a cameo appearance on one of the late night shows. By the time I arrived back at the North Pole, I had hit 29 different cities. Mild by Christmas Eve standards but a good start for day 1.

Peter, Comet, and Cupid retired for the evening. I hustled back over to the house just in time to enjoy dinner with Mrs. Claus. After dinner, I put on my jacket and headed toward the workshop. As I strolled through the village, on my way to the workshop, I could feel the rise in the energy level from just the day before. By now, many people would be home enjoying their meal or getting their kids to bed... but tonight, as it will be every night between now and Christmas Eve, elves and reindeer were scurrying about carrrying out their assignments. From this day forward, we are in 24x7 operational mode. We run three eight hour shifts but the reality is that most everyone puts in 12 to 16 hour days right up through Christmas Eve. There is a certain, unexplainable energy that not only keeps you from getting fatigued but actually drives you. I never feel more alive than I do during the Christmas Countdown, other than maybe on Christmas Eve itself when the sleigh rises above the North Pole and the magical journey begins.

At the workshop, Jingle met me and gave me a run-down on the production schedule. Everything is on track right now but Jingle is a little worried that some of the raw materials scheduled to arrive late next week may be delayed in customs. We'll keep an eye on it but don't expect it to be too much of an issue. Meanwhile, the workshop was humming with activity as reindeer hauled in supplies and the elves worked feveriously to churn out toys. As the toys piled up, other reindeer hauled them to the warehouse a few blocks away where the inventory is updated and the toys will be stored until December 23rd.

From there Jingle and I walked back to my office at headquarrters. Jingle went to check his email and I followed up on a couple of the items from the earlier "naughty & nice" list before leaving for home.

What a day it was! I am feeling the Christmas Spirit now! Despite 11 months of
relative downtime, I'm right back in the groove. It's a good thing, since it is going to be virtually non-stop for the next few weeks. Despite the energy, I know I need to get a couple of hours sleep tonight before I do this all over again tomorrow.

Good night, friends.

Turkey Day Aftermath

Whew. What a great day!

I got up early. Really early. I do every Thanksgiving. I like to take my first official cup of Starbucks Christmas blend coffee of the Season and go for a walk in the cold, late fall air before everyone else begins to stir. It is a great chance to say thanks for the unbelievable blessings that have been bestowed on Mrs. Claus and me.

After the walk, I sneak back into bed... Mrs. Claus rarely even notices I'm gone... and catch a few winks before breakfast. Mrs. Claus and I then enjoy a breakfast together. Just the two of us. And like every other year, we had pancakes together this morning.

After breakfast, Donder and Comet fly me down to New York for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Even on "vacation", there is still work to be done. But the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade doesn't feel like work. It is fun. I love seeing the kids. This year's crowd was fantastic.

After the parade, it is time for football. This year we barely made it back in time for the kick-off to the Detroit game. I usually end up napping in my recliner through the Detroit game. I did again today. But the Cowboys game is usually a good one and I am wide awake for it. What a game! Too bad the Cowboys lost though. I still have hope this might be the Cowboys' year to return to the Super Bowl. Good defenses win championships, you know. I told Vince Lombardi that years ago.

Then it is time for the big Thanksgiving Day banquet. Every year for the past 100 years, it is the same thing. I swear I am going to wear my Christmas suit that Sir Henry's tailor made for me in 1640 It is beautiful. In fact, every Christmas suit and/or robe I have had since has been inspired by it. The problem is that back then I wore a size 36 waist. I haven't seen 40.... much less 36... since 1700. This year, just like last year, I was planning to exercise and watch my diet so I could wear that suit again. And today, just like every Thanksgiving since the first one, I ate way too much. Oh... it was great... But I won't be going south of 230 lbs this year. Not after that meal. Turkey. Ham. Gravy. Stuffing. Cranberry sauce. More turkey. Vegetable casseroles. Corn on the cob. Sweet potato casserole. Pumpkin pie. Apple pie. More turkey. It was all way too good to pass up. And now Mrs. Claus and the elves have already started with all the Christmas candy. Looks like another new suit this year.

Then I feel asleep again in the recliner. It is my last chance to nap and relax until December 26th. I woke up though in time for Mrs. Claus to serve a huge plate of left-overs from lunch. I am stuffed and happy.

Well... I'm off to bed now. I will dream of the good times I had today and enjoy one last good nights sleep before we shift into 24x7 operational mode tomorrow.

Merry Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Thanksgiving Eve

The Thanksgiving Day preparations are in full swing. Thanksgiving is second only to Christmas Day here at the North Pole. Maybe it is because it is the last chance we have to relax before the chaos of Christmas Eve preparations. Or maybe it is because of it is the unofficial start to the most wonderful time of the year. Or maybe it is because it is truly a time of reflection on how God has blessed us. Regardless, the Thanksgiving Eve preparations are exceeded in intensity only by the preparations on December 23rd and the early morning hours of the 24th.

Mrs. Claus is in the kitchen, which is where she will be all day, preparing the food that will be cooked tomorrow morning. She insists on preparing all the food herself, despite the many offers of help from family and friends. I learned a long, long time ago that I would never convince her to let me help but I still offer every year.

Most of the elves are buzzing in and out of the banquet hall. They are setting up the dining table and chairs, decorating the hall, putting up the buffet tables, and putting out the place settings. It is no small feat to host a few hundred elves (they eat a lot more than you would think, given their small stature) and a hundred or so reindeer.

A small team of reindeer are out picking up fresh turkeys, led by Blitzen and my chief of staff, Jingle. They are making a trip down to a turkey farm in Kentucky (United States of America) to pick up 30 turkeys. The North Pole weather tracking center tells me that they may encounter storms on the way back north and that they are currently advising the "Operation Gobbler" crew to delay their departure from the Lexington area. Mrs. Claus may have a very long night in the kitchen.

As for me, I seem to be off the hook for any work other than continuing to review the "naughty and nice" list that I received on Monday. I will spend about an hour perusing the list and make some notes on things to follow-up on after Thanksgiving, but after that, I am going to take a nap and enjoy these last few hours before this year's Christmas preparations begin in earnest. And tomorrow, we'll all relax and give thanks for His merciful and abundant blessings.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

2 Days To Thanksgiving

It was a little over 24 hours late but I finally recieved the naughty and nice list. It's not pretty. The naughty side of the register is up 10% this year over the same time last year. Almost 30% of the kids are going to recieve a "naughty" rating this year. Of course, ever since the Elf Workers Association lobbied for the new rating system in 2002, it's a lot more difficult to achieve a "nice" rating. Half the kids that are "naughty" would have been "nice" under the old rating system. The good news is that there is still time for the kids to move from naughty to nice. So if you are one of those naughty kids, make sure you are extra special good for your parents over the next few weeks between now and Christmas.

Let The Holidays Begin!

Hello, Kids! It is that time of year again. Things are just starting to pick up around here at the Norh Pole. We will not actually start to build toys until after Thanksgiving Day but the elves have begun to order all the materials and the reindeer have begun their annual conditioning program. I was supposed to get my first look at the naughty & nice list earlier today but the system was down. The elves down in the I.T. department are working getting the system back up and running but it will probably be tomorrow before they have it ready.

Well, Mrs. Claus is calling me to dinner so that's all I write for today, but keep your eyes out for new messages through out the holiday season. And remember, I know whether you been naughty or nice.... or at least I will once the system is back up. Of course, your parents can always text me on my cell phone, so don't get too comfortable with the system down.