A Final Word On Christmas

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I sure hope you had a great Christmas. I know I did. Each year it seems to get better and better. I was very pleased with how well our Christmas Eve Operation went last night given all of the unexpected challenges. We ended up with 100% delivery success and initial polls show that overall satisfaction was around 97%. That's up about 4% from last year (note: last year was actually the lowest we have had since the 1940s) and back within our historically normal range.

It was a very pleasant Christmas for me. It took us about 3 hours after I landed back at the North Pole to wind down the operations. Mrs. Claus and I then had brunch together at the house. Some of the elves were kind enough to prepare it for us so that neither one of us had to cook... it was very nice of them. After brunch, Mrs. Claus and I both took a 4 hour nap. We awoke around 2pm NPT but only because I had set the alarm. Its a good thing I did because we had to get up and prepare Christmas dinner. We invited about a dozen of our closest friends over for dinner. It's nothing fancy but its one of my favorite things about the season.... we (read: Mrs. Claus) make good food, its a great atmosphere, and we share laughs with good friends. We just use the dining room but on Christmas, with the dining room tree (it's a 10-footer, decorated with multi-color lights and hand-made ornaments we have received as gifts from children all over the world... every country is represented) glowing, tens of candles flickering, and the floor-to-ceiling windows revealing the snowy scene outside, and a huge fire roaring in the stone fireplace, the atmosphere was hard to beat. We sat for hours after dinner drinking coffee, sharing memories, and making plans for the future. I hope all of you had a chance to connect with friends and family the way Mrs. Claus and I were able to tonight.

After everyone left and Mrs. Claus went to bed, I retired to the den and took a seat in my recliner. I turned all the lights off except the Christmas tree lights and the lights in the garland that draped all the windows. The fire was burning low in the fireplace and about a dozen candles on the mantle were lit. I started to turn the TV on but then decided not to... instead I turned on the sound system and tuned the satellite radio to the Christmas music channel. I grabbed one last cup of Christmas Blend coffee (I won't drink anymore until next year) and settled in my recliner. I just sat there and enjoyed the moment... soaking in every last precious moment of Christmas. I didn't think about old memories or make plans for the future... I was just truly in the moment. I don't know about you but its rare I do that. I am always thinking about what's next... two, three, four moves down the road. I don't think much about the past other than to consider what I can learn from it but thinking about "what's next" often keeps me out of the moment. So tonight was special. It is something I need to apply more often. If you haven't taken time to just sit and enjoy a quiet, still moment during this very special... even magical... time of year, I encourage you to do so. You will be amazed at the pure joy it provides.

It's time now for me to "hit the hay". It's been an amazing run to and through Christmas this year. As we close this season, I want you to know how much I appreciate all of you. I hope that my role as Santa Claus serves to provide you with joy, hope, and belief. I pray the spirit of Christmas and its true meaning will be with you through out the year ahead. May God bless you and all of your loved ones.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a very blessed night!

Love,
Santa