After The Turkey

Wow! Every year I eat too much. You would think I'd learn by now. But Mrs. Claus puts together the world's best Thanksgiving Feast every year. Each year, I think the turkey, gravy, stuffing, ham, corn, biscuits, bread, cranberry sauce, apple pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potatoes, etc. can't get any better.... and then it does. This might not be a problem but I have to be up & running at full speed first thing in the morning. Tomorrow marks our first full day of ramped-up Christmas Eve preparations. And with the strike over, it appears we are going to be operating at full capacity. But before I start talking about tomorrow, let me tell you a little bit about one of the best Thanksgivings I have had in a few years.


First of all, 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.

Every Thanksgiving I take the opportunity to get out by myself for a few minutes and give thanks for my incredibly blessed life. This year I am the most grateful for the resolution of the elf labor crisis. Specifically, I'm thankful that the elves not only came back to work but that we were able to clear up our misunderstanding over the outsourced capacity and they came back happily... not just because they need a paycheck. Anyway, I concluded my walk at the Starbucks in the Village Square just as they were opening. I ordered my first Christmas Blend coffee of the year and enjoyed it on the bench outside the store. The Christmas magic in the square was palpable as it began to fill up with elves & reindeer going to visit friends and family on this last day before the Christmas rush. I was able to visit with a few old friends as they made their way in to the Starbucks for their morning coffee. Before I knew it, it was time to head back for my traditional Thanksgiving pancake breakfast with Mrs. Claus. I grabbed a Venti non-fat, sugar-free Ginger Bread Latte for the cold walk back.

After breakfast, I flew down to New York for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade along with Jingle. Of course, the Macy's parade was the first of a host of other parades across the USA. By the time we finished the last parade on the west coast, I had just enough time to get back and catch the second half of the Green Bay-Detroit game. Just like last year, Jingle, Peter, North, Blitzen, Comet, and a few friends from the US that are visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday settled in to my downstairs den to watch the game on the big screen. Mrs. Claus had arranged for snacks and drinks. We all had our own recliners and a big roaring fire. How much better does it get than that? They all stayed through the Dallas game but they skipped the third game and took off afterwards to get ready for the Thanksgiving Day Banquet. I set the DVR to record Survivor: China... I'll watch that later tonight while I wind down with a cup of egg nog.

The Thanksgiving Day Banquet was fantastic! The place was packed. Just 48 hours earlier, I thought we might have a half-empty banquet room with all the elves on strike. Tonight it was like the strike never happened. Everyone was back laughing, singing Christmas carols, dancing, and telling old Christmas Eve "war stories". There is an incredible energy this year. I think we all know we have a lot of work ahead of us to get back on schedule for a successful Christmas Eve but we are all so relieved that we averted potential disaster, that everyone is jazzed up for the work.

I want you to know that Mrs. Claus works unbelievably hard to make this a success every year. She insists on cooking it all herself. I learned years ago that she is not going to let me help her... of course, I offer every year and every year she turns me away. All day yesterday she was in the kitchen. She must have been in there 18 hours straight. But... wow! Did it pay-off! Great meal.

Well, as full as I was when I started this post, I think I'm going to slip back into the kitchen and see if I can make a turkey sandwich before I call Jingle. I want to touch base with him on the agenda for tomorrow morning's staff meeting. 5am start time for the meeting. Operations crank up at 6am. Then its 24x7 for the operations all the way through Christmas Day. After the call with Jingle, I'll settle in my recliner to watch the recording of Survivor: China before I turn in for an hour or two of sleep.


Let the Holidays begin! Happy Thanksgiving & Good Night To All!


Love, Santa