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While the focus of Operation Merry Christmas this year seems to be dominated by Santa’s new sleigh there is another sleigh in the skies on Christmas Eve – the one used by Elf Crash Murphy to chase Santa in the skies. His job is to observe Santa, measure his progress and position, and to report via North Pole Radio News from his chaser sleigh every Christmas Eve. Elf Crash draws more mail than just about any other elf at the North Pole due to his dual jobs of chasing Santa as an Eye in the Sky reporter and as International Director of Santa Trackers. They don’t call him the Ultimate Santa tracker for nothing. He literally works tracking Santa for Santa all year long. And that is why he gets so much mail. In this episode of the North Pole Podcast we explore the questions people have about following Santa on Christmas Eve. And we get into the deep water of why Norad isn’t exactly helpful in tracking Santa. Please click on the player above to hear this surprising episode.

Elves Frank Myrrh and Crash Murphy catch up on some of the many questions submitted by tens of thousands of believers via SantaUpdate.com the past several weeks. They discuss elf magic and the abilities of Santa and his elves to do things as if by magic. Elf Crash explains that neither Santa or elves work by magic and that believers need to understand that elves are just regular people. Also discussed are questions about Santa and favorite cookies, minimum wages for elves, scout elves and what they do, polar bears, and how the flying in the heat affects the reindeer. There are some silly questions in this episode too. We hope you enjoy this discussion.

Our North Pole Radio News report the other day about mail coming in to the North Pole about the Elf on the Shelf has resulted in an investigation and new discoveries about Elf on the Shelf. For years on SantaUpdate.com we have avoided questions about Elf on the Shelf because nobody really knew a lot about them. There is no official department at the North Pole that runs Elf on the Shelf and Santa himself has long denied any knowledge or association with Elf on the Shelf. After doing some digging, I’ve learned how this whole thing started long ago at the North Pole. In this new emergency episode of the North Pole Podcast I share that story and discuss what all this means for Santa, the North Pole and anyone who has an Elf on the Shelf. We invite you to listen to this discussion and weigh in with your own thoughts.

Elf Bernard was in North Pole Chat yesterday and he created a lot of discussions among tracker elves for his comments about how tracking Santa for Santa will be different this year. In this episode of the North Pole Podcast Elf Frank Myrrh talked with Elf Crash Murphy, the International Director of Santa Trackers. They discussed Elf Bernard and why he is a misunderstood elf. The movie “The Santa Claus”, by Disney, has a character called Elf Bernard who just happens to be the head elf in Santa’s workshop. That movie came out in 1994. The REAL Elf Bernard who is the head elf in Santa’s workshop has worked for decades longer than that movie has been out. Some of our oldest site users can remember that (we have been publishing online since 1991 and for years we sent the Santa Updates out by fax, many of them featuring stories about Elf Bernard). Elf Crash discusses what life has been life for the real Elf Bernard since the movie came out. And it hasn’t been entirely pleasant. More importantly, Elf Crash addresses why Elf Bernard said tracking Santa for Santa would be different this year. If you are a tracker elf or are thinking of becoming one this episode of the North Pole Podcast is very interesting. Elf Crash says that if you have comments or questions from this podcast you can comment here or over in the Elf Community at SantaTrackers.net.

Understanding the Crisis in Santa’s Workshop is the topic of conversation in the latest episode of the North Pole Podcast for elves Frank Myrrh and Crash Murphy. As Elf Crash explains the problem is not only that the workshop is having a hard time getting all the toys made there are major challenges in getting those toys to Santa where he will be on Christmas Eve. Not everything fits into Santa’s sleigh at one time. Elf Crash explains how Santa’s sleigh gets replenished and why the big effort to coordinate the transfer of gifts to Santa’s sleigh on a continuous basis as he travels around the world is always a big challenge. It is a coordinated operation that takes precision among many moving parts between North Pole Flight Command, an continuous airlift operation, and thousands of additional sleighs powered by tens of thousands of reindeer and piloted by an army of sleigh pilot elves. If the workshop can get all the toys made the problem of getting everything Santa needs to deliver to him on time and in order is what they think makes this year’s work of Operation Merry Christmas in danger. This is an important discussion if you want to understand the crisis in Santa’s workshop.

Santa may soon take a break. Of course, he told us that last year at this point in his flight too and just kept going. Worldwide Status Update – North Pole Flight Command: Fully Operational – Sector 1 (Oceania): Enjoying Visions of Sugar Plums – Sector 2 (Asia & the Middle East): Taking a long winter’s nap – Sector 3 (Africa & Europe): Snoozing – Sector 4 (Greenland & S. America): In the Red Zone (It’s Christmas Eve) – Sector 5 (Central and North America): In the Red Zone (It’s Christmas Eve) North Pole Weather – Temperature: -29 F – Forecast: Still snowing like crazy Status of Operation Merry Christmas – Santa: Feels like a million – Sleigh: Perfect – Reindeer: Not even close to being tired – Santa’s Workshop: Mission accomplished – North Pole Post Office: Still working – Wrapping Department: Mission Accomplished – North Pole Security: Watching Sector 5 Closely See the Santa Tracker Map Click here to Listen to Tracking Santa Around the World on Kringle Radio Click here to see the latest bedtime advisories sent from Santa’s sleigh

11 weeks until Christmas! Can ya believe it??? This weekend has so many Christmas things going on. First of all, Santa and Mrs. C have headed out to Canada to celebrate Thanksgiving, as is their tradition every year. Mrs. Claus has family there and they love taking this trip every year. And Santa just loves celebrating Thanksgiving twice. Thanksgiving is, after all, his favorite holiday and it happens in Canada on Monday. But they will be back pretty fast. I believe they are coming home on Tuesday because there’s this big to-do at North Pole Flight Command about the sleigh. If you’re not following along with the news from Flight Command about the sleigh you might want to start paying attention. I was involved in a podcast last week with Elves Frank and Crash that featured questions from students and teachers. It was fun to do it. It is a new episode of the Santa Trackers Podcast and I think many of you might be interested in it. It does cover some stuff about tracking Santa but there are some general Santa/Christmas/North Pole type questions in there too. I’m also adding it here, too. The reason I bring it up is because we are working on a similar episode for the North Pole Podcast to come out soon. If you are a student or a teacher with a question to ask you can submit it at this link. Elf Crash loves to do these episodes and he seems to be able to answer just about any question. So ask anything you want! Christmas cards are also on the minds of many here at the North Pole. There are literally hundreds of exchanges set up among the Elf Community and I know several elves who send out thousands of Christmas cards. When it comes to Christmas cards one of my favorite charity events here at the North Pole is the Christmas-Card-Artists events sponsored by Santa and Mrs. Claus. That starts this weekend, too. Every year aspiring artists design Christmas cards that get printed for free by SantasSleigh.org, a little organization that helps families in need at Christmas. The event features a big display of each card and the artist is there to explain their design. There are some artists there as young as 4-years-old and Santa puts no restrictions on who can design a card. Elves and North Pole citizens can order cards and proceeds go back to SantasSleigh.org for the upcoming season. For many elves in Christmas card exchanges this is the only way they get their cards. I joined a Christmas card exchange for the first time a year ago. I thought at first it was kind of a hokey thing to do but when each day brought lots of cards to my mailbox I changed my mind. I enjoyed getting cards from people all over the world and now I think this is my new favorite Christmas tradition. If you haven’t tried it I humbly recommend this Christmas card exchange at MyMerryChristmas.com October is such a great time for Christmas events. Another event I won’t miss will be the Eggnog Workshop that happens next weekend. Of course, Halloween is coming and you know what a big deal that is here at the North Pole. More on that next week, kids. Until then… ….toodles.

Rudolph is the subject of a new episode of the North Pole Podcast that is turning a lot of heads. Elf Crash Murphy shares never before known information about Santa’s most famous reindeer. Rudolph is famous for having a red nose that “lights like a light bulb” and has been utilized by Santa in bad weather situations more than once to save Christmas. In the story, made famous by a book and song, Rudolph is bullied by other reindeer for his unusual physical features and abilities. But in this episode Elf Crash explains that what you hear in the song and read in the book is not quite totally accurate – and that it, in fact, depicts other reindeer wrong. Donner, who is Rudolph’s father, is assailed in the story and the television special as insensitive to Rudolph and ashamed of his appearance. Elf Crash tells us this is not true. Even more importantly, Crash tells us that there is a lot more to Rudolph than his blinking nose. And that could be the most surprising revelation of all. Play the podcast episode via the player above.

North Pole Radio News has added a new voice to the reporting team. Elf Victoria Wassail will broadcast from London on assignment through out the next 7 weeks. This is a very unusual arrangement. Most news elves are at the North Pole and only work on remote assignment on Christmas Eve. Elf Victoria will be permanently stationed in England where she will report the news from a studio set up there by North Pole Radio News. You can hear her first report below. Elf Victoria is a seasoned radio reporter with many years of experience in London, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sydney, Australia. She is married, has a family of several children, 2 goldfish and a dog named Lacey. North Pole Radio News will likely continue to expand its staff as the demand for more North Pole news grows.

Many elves here at the North Pole are starting to express concern about Santa’s lead reindeer, Donner. All of Santa’s reindeer have returned to the North Pole except for Donner. The others have all been back for more than a month. This is a big concern because Donner is the team leader. He sets the conditioning schedule. The team does not train together unless Donner is there. Santa appears to know what is happening with Donner and has told everyone not to worry. But the elves are starting to talk. Operation Merry Christmas is just weeks away from kicking off. One of the biggest parts of that event is the reindeer games. The games are used to help Santa – and Donner – to decide roles that reindeer will play when it comes to Christmas. While Santa’s team is assigned and well known most do not realize that it takes thousands of reindeer in a world-wide effort to help Santa deliver. Those reindeer all need to be evaluated to see what they can do so they can be assigned to the right duty on Christmas Eve. North Pole Radio News visited with the elves in the Reindeer Barn earlier today and you can hear their report below. We will keep you posted.