Whew

I hope it was a wonderful Christmas for all of you. It was certainly one of my best. With everything happening in this world, the Christmas holiday was exactly what the doctor ordered. If you've read the blog, you know we had a few little "hiccups" along the way last night but nothing we couldn't overcome. As Christmas Eve operations go, it was fairly smooth. The only thing I was really disappointed in was the battery inventory.... we ran out of batteries again this year. Every year we seem to underestimate the demand for batteries. 9v and AAA batteries are the worst. If you were one of those households this year where we fell short on batteries, I truly apologize. We'll definitely be re-visiting the calculations we use to determine our optimal inventory levels for batteries.

My Christmas day started about four hours after we landed back at the North Pole. Mrs Claus and I had to wrap up the Operations before we headed home for our traditional Christmas breakfast. For some reason, having a nice, leisurely-paced breakfast with Mrs. Claus after the long night and even longer Christmas Eve preparations seems like a luxury. I really start to relax. After breakfast we grab a quick nap before my senior staff come over for a Christmas day celebration. Its an intimate little gathering... just 20 or so of us (including guests), good food & drink, and a Holiday-season's worth of stories to tell on each other. I broke out of the party to give a couple of phone interviews... it seems a lot of folks want to hear how the Christmas Eve travels went.... but was able to enjoy most of the afternoon party with Mrs. Claus & the team.

After everyone left, I fell asleep on the recliner, next to a roaring fire, watching football... I had TiVo'd some of the EPL games that I didn't have a chance to watch during my Christmas Eve preparations (Of course, I'll be watching a lot of American football this next week with all of the bowl games scheduled).

Mrs. Claus woke me up in the early evening hours so I wouldn't sleep the night away. We went for a walk, hand-in-hand, around the Village to enjoy the lights and the lightly falling snow. When we got back from our walk, Mrs. Claus made hot chocolate while I brought in more wood for the fireplace. Once we got settled, with the fire once again roaring and the hot chocolate in our mugs, we exchanged gifts. Of course, two out of the three apparel gifts I bought her were the wrong size. UGH! That is why I typically avoid buying her clothes... I just can't seem to get it right and I know it frustrates her as much as it does me. But she did love her "big" gift.... and that made up for it all.

Well, Mrs. Claus has retired for the evening. I'm pretty tired but I wanted to check in with you before I take a 10 or 12 hour nap for the first time in a few months and wish you a very Merry Christmas before the day is over. I hope you have some time this week between Christmas and New Years Day to relax and re-energize for the new year ahead. If you do, take the time to focus on your blessings. If you find you are truly blessed... as I believe you will... make a point to share those blessings with someone else during these last days of the Holiday season.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

With Love, Santa