From how do reindeer fly to who is the funniest elf, first graders had burning questions for Santa this year.
We tracked him down and got answers from the man himself with the help of St Nick Services.
How do you fit down the chimney? Josephine Jones, Penelope Grado, Nevaeh Cummings, Corbin Hammer, Carter Barone, Lucas Johnson, Raylin Crabill, Evelyn Weston, Lucca Pesnell, George McClanahan-Guerra, Connor O’Hare, Lowell Ferguson, Joey Faulk
It’s not so much me getting in the chimney as the chimney getting around me. If you want to get really deep into science and technology, we change the space between the molecules and expand the actual physical barrier so that it wraps around me, and that’s done with Christmas magic, as far as I know. It’s always been that way, and it continues to be so.
Why do you use the chimney and not the door? How do you get in the door? Lilianna Beauchamp, Emery Bouse, Ava Barone
That’s a very good question, and I do in many places. When we first started bringing toys to children, every house had a chimney, and it was the quickest, most efficient way to land on the roof, get down in, deliver the toys, get back out and on our way. As you know, we have lots of places to go, but now there are much less opportunities for chimneys so sometimes we have to use other entry points. What we’re looking for is something that is not destructive or disturbing, that we can get in and do our wonderful work of delivering toys and get out and off to the next child’s house.
How do the reindeer fly? Raylin Crabill, Carter Barone, Kamden Hunt, Jonah Beasterfeld, Kinzlee Long, Nick Ray, Madilynn Wilson
Well, my normal answer is very carefully and very well, but I’m sure you want a little more than that. It is partially a physical ability and partially Christmas magic. And in order for magic to help, the reindeer have to be moving. They don’t start from a stop and instantly fly. They have to be moving forward. So when we’re in harness, they walk and then trot and then gallop. And as that happens, the magic starts to take effect, and their natural physical attributes of being North Pole reindeer take over, and all of a sudden their hooves aren’t on the ground, and we’re flying, but they have to continue to move their legs or we start going down.
What do reindeer eat? Evan Bolanos
Many things, sometimes things that aren’t good for them, but mostly, they eat very well. They eat like most herbivores. They will eat grains and grasses and hays. They get treats. Despite what people say, they don’t really like candy canes that much. What they like are many of the same treats that children leave for them: carrots. They really, really like dried oatmeal, human oatmeal that’s not been cooked. And they also love apples. And they particularly like them if they’re sliced, because they’re easier for them to eat.
Do elves ride a reindeer? Daphnee Wynn
Well, let’s start off with reindeer are individual creatures with their own minds and desires and hopes and dreams. So if an elf were to ride a reindeer, it would be because the reindeer decided to let them ride. Generally, we don’t have people riding the reindeer, but occasionally to get from one place to another, very quickly. For an emergency or a special situation, It could happen.
Who is your favorite reindeer? Zoey Meyers, Matthew Howell
Oh that’s easy. All of them. I don’t have a favorite reindeer just like you probably don’t have a favorite toy or our parents don’t have a favorite child. They’re all wonderful. The one I like the most is usually the one that’s behaving the best at that moment.
How many reindeer do you have? Charlotte Gonzales, Landis Starcher
Goodness, hundreds, maybe even thousands. It started off with a very small flock, but they live around the whole village of the North Pole, and they’ve grown and they do many, many important things besides just pull the sleigh. They help transport goods around the village, and they also help with other activities. They help in decorating. They help in lifting people up to do things. They have a place where they help prepare their own food, and they also have a little school for their reindeer children.
Are your reindeer sick? Heidi Stratton
Not that I know of. Occasionally we have some illnesses, mostly like colds and sniffles and things like that. I cannot remember the last time we had a serious illness at the North Pole, but we also have elf doctors who are very familiar with not only the elf physique, but also reindeer physiques, and they help if there is that. I don’t know of anyone that’s under the weather today.
Why do the reindeer fly? Aaliyah Hayes
I’m not sure I know why. I just know we needed to get around the world faster and deliver more treats and we were able to do this. This is hundreds of years ago, almost 500 years ago now we started doing this.
What are the reindeer’s names? Hadley Dunn
Well, there’s the nine that you know, because they became famous in a song and a poem. But there’s many different names for reindeer as there are names for children, and every year when we have another new reindeer, or every other year when we have a new reindeer, their parents sometimes pick very unusual names, so anything you can imagine is probably a reindeer name.
What is your favorite animal? Leo Flory
Well, do you count? I love children. Are they animals?
What are your favorite cookies? Olivia Cox, Atticus Rothwell, Maesyn Fritzel, Karter Webster, Marley Bossolon, Jackie Calleja
Well, we’ve addressed this question in previous years with your fine publication, but I will say it again, all cookies are my favorite cookies. I love them all. I am very fond of whatever cookies are in front of me moments before it disappears, who knows where? Ho, ho, ho.
Why do you eat and like cookies? Elizabeth Williams, Antione Bell, Lucas Adams
Why is a very strange question. I would say, why not? Don’t you love cookies? Why would you not love cookies? People started a tradition of putting them out for me because I think it was, in their mind, a very special gift. And I certainly receive them as very special gifts.
What is your favorite food? Kenzie Keagle
Anything Mrs. Claus makes.
How do you make things into a little box? Rowan Unruh
I think what you’re trying to ask is how we make size not be a problem as we haul all our wonderful gifts around the world and take them into your houses and make sure they’re the right size when you find them. And that’s a very complex question, but the actual activity is very simple. It’s a power that we have, that we’ve developed further and further over the years to work with molecules. I’ve already mentioned it on how we get down chimneys with large objects, but it also works on how we get large toys into my bag and down the chimney for you.
How do you fit all the presents in the sleigh? Cohen Hermesch, Owen Halbleib, Miles Blake, Meika Hunter
Well, we fit them all in the sleigh because we have to. We need to take the toys around to you. And over the years, we’ve developed ways to do that, mostly dependent on your belief and hope and dreams and good wishes to us, which then turns into Christmas magic. Christmas magic is not my magic. It is Christmas magic, and I’m just fortunate enough to be able to use it to do all the wonderful things for Christmas.
Where do you put your sleigh? Jesse Elder
Well, when it’s not in use, it resides in this wonderful little sleigh house we call it, where we have not only the primary sleigh, but we have some other equipment-hauling sleighs that we use around the village.
How do your elves make presents? Jameson Dillon
Very well and very quickly. They have skills just the same way that you develop skills. When you were very young, you couldn’t hardly draw a picture at all, even with a big crayon, and now that you’ve gotten older, you’re becoming quite a good artist, and that’s the same with the elves. When they’re young, they have a natural tendency to be able to build and create and make things, but they work on those skills and become very talented. They’re taught by their elders, and they enjoy what they do.
Have the elves been good or bad? Ellis Peine
Well, in general, the elves are almost always good. We are having a little bit of an issue, as we’ve mentioned before, with some of our traveling elf program. It seems like when they get out of the influence of the North Pole, some of these elves get mischievous, and one might even call it misbehaving in general, we’re trying to clean that up. We’re asking that parents report elves that are doing things they shouldn’t be, and they may be called to the North Pole and not allowed to leave again. Well, not allowed to leave representing us.
How do the elves get their magic? Saylor Sloop, Banks Steffen
All Christmas magic comes from the source of your good wishes and beliefs, and it all flows through the North Pole. And I’m just lucky enough to be able to use it – Mrs. Claus and I and the people and animals that work with us.
How fast do the elves make toys? Jag Bowlin
Well, there’s over a billion children around the world, and we need to make things for all of them. So you can do the math yourself. If we only have maybe 1,000 or so elves, and we need to make a billion toys, they have to make them very, very fast.
Are the toys free? Joey Dahl
If we bring you something, it’s free to you from us as gifts. But nothing in life is totally free. Everything has a cost. Everything takes an effort or a resource, and it’s good to appreciate all the resources and all the efforts that go into getting you something that’s free to you.
What do you do when you have too many toys? Beckett Simonson
Oh, goodness, we never have too many. Sometimes we make a few more than we need in a certain year, but they’re always used the next year or for some other occasion.
How do you get presents? Grayson Gates
Well, let me answer this two ways. If you mean, how would you or another child get a present from me? That’s pretty plain, and I say it over and over again, you need to communicate with me. I prefer that you write a letter or draw a picture. Give it to an adult. They will send it to me. And if you have been good, and if you’re trying to do better and you’re not trying to do bad things, we’ll make sure that you get something from us. The second way is how you generally, how do I get presents? We don’t get them. We make them.
Why does everyone give out presents? Reagan Cunnningham
This is a great question, and I think the answer is just as great. We all do it because we care for each other and we want to do something nice for those that are nice around us, and those we hope to be friends with, and those we want to reward for the good things they do. Also, it’s the message of the season. Christmas is about giving and receiving and appreciating, so it’s all about Christmas,
Do you like Spiderman and Transformers? Tucker Jenkins
Do you like SpongeBob? Kaylee Lewis, Huxton Wilson
Do you like Star Wars? Landyn Gillaspie
Thank you so much for asking about my individual tastes. I have to tell you, in some ways I like everything. I don’t know about you, but sometimes it’s more fun to play with one thing over another. Sometimes I just want a good game of checkers, and sometimes the elves want to play some video games. So everything is fun at different times, and I like all of them. The only toy I really don’t like are toys that have too much violence with them, and those we don’t usually keep around. And as you know, I don’t like to make or give any type of weapon.
What is your favorite color? Mabel Stadalman
Well, this is a hard question. I’m supposed to say red, because that’s what we use, and it’s become our color of choice here. But I really like several other colors, particularly the deep colors that are very full, like purple and blue and green.
What is your favorite candy? Beckett Durkin-Hutchcraft
Well, all candies are good, but usually I really like a good dark chocolate with toffee and nuts.
Are elves red? Nora Pitts
No, not generally, although elves can be a lot of different colors as they express emotions or react to certain things, but they’re generally a skin color, not unlike yours, perhaps just a little deeper. But we have different skin colors. Elves are much different, and much like the human race, there’s many different types.
Who is the funniest elf? Maxwell Weinmaster
Usually the one telling the jokes. At the moment, we have some elves that are extremely funny, but there’s not just one. There’s a whole bunch. And there’s other elves who sing wonderfully. All elves think they can sing. They all think they’re good, but some are much, much better than others.
When do the elves go back to the North Pole? Ellie Bray
Oh, you’re talking about our traveling elves again. Well, as far as I’m concerned, they never go back soon enough, because we need to get them up here and talk to them about behaviors. But usually that depends on the mission they’re on in the family they’re with.
Can we go to the North Pole? Declan Fulks
Can is a very strong word. I suppose it could be arranged, but we really don’t do that. There’s wonderful TV shows, movies and books out there, and many of them imagine coming to the North Pole like “Polar Express,” but that really doesn’t happen. It’s a wonderful story, and I appreciate it, but no, it’s probably a good idea if you don’t come to the North Pole, and instead, we come to see you.
How do you stay in the cold North Pole? Kenley Atherton, Luke Davidson
Well, as you know, I don’t stay in the North Pole all the time. There’s two different questions here. One, I don’t stay all the time. I travel around the world all year long, and when it’s not Christmas season, I’m not in a red suit with a long white beard. I could be the person standing next to you in an elevator or sitting beside you in a park. You’ll never know for sure. But the second part of the question is the North Pole itself. The village of the North Pole and Christmasland where we are is more moderate than the worst parts of the tundra around us. It’s all part of having that wonderful warm magic.
How are you magic? Carter Barone
Luckily, I’m magic. The magic comes from all the world and all the people who do kindness and enjoy Christmas and believe in what we try to do. I just get to use it. And in some ways, if you want to, you can use some Christmas magic by doing a kind deed, and see how that makes you feel.
How do you see everybody at the same time? Brinnley Annan
Oh, that’s wonderful, and that’s a rumor that’s been passed out through stories, authors and tales. I don’t see everyone at the same time. I am able to see anyone at any time, which is slightly different. And again, it flows from the need we have to see folks and how they’re behaving in order to do our work.
Are you real? Jaely Faler
Well, I’m only real if you think I’m real. If you don’t believe in me, that’s fine. I’ll live on the Christmas magic of others who do believe in me and who we can help. But I hope you think I’m real. I think I’m real
Who are you? D’Artagnian Cisneros
This could be a long, deep, philosophical answer, but I prefer to just think I’m Santa, St. Nick, Father Christmas, someone who, with the help of so many good beings, tries to bring about the joy of Christmas.
What is your job? Livie Mies
Well, I don’t really think about it as a job. I love it so much, but I like to say my job is to implement the mission of Christmas and bring joy to children everywhere, to help all the people of the earth try to be rewarded for behaving well.
How old are you? Harper Peck, Madelyn Garcia, Evan Bolanos
This is hard because I don’t remember the year I was born. Do you remember the year you were born? I don’t, but the elves are very good with math, and they’ve been around even longer than I have, and they say I’m somewhere between 479, and 583, they have nice little arguments about it.
I know you are tired, but I could give you a gift if you want. Norah White, Kyah Yarbrough
Well, the mere fact they wanted to is a gift to me. That means their hearts are in the right places, and that means that our work is doing good things. But the biggest gift I would like for them to give me is behaving well and doing better. Mrs. Claus tells me every day, ‘You know, Santa, we could all do just a little better.’ That’s what I try to do, and I hope that’s what they try to do.
Have I been good this year? Holly Maine, Maycee Beerbower, Jevehn Colter, Olivia Roth, Joni Nibert, Ivy Wiese-Swan
Ho, ho, ho. Everyone asks if they’ve been good this year, and the answer is, of course, you’ve been good at least some of the time. You know better than anyone else how you’re behaving and how you have behaved in the past, but there’s always time to get better. There’s always time to do something nice. There’s always time to be a better person. And if you’re working towards that, you’ll end up where you need to be on our list.
What happens when there are twins and one of the twins is naughty, but the twins look the same? Isla Roberts
Well, just as we know that they aren’t the same person, our ability from the North Pole with the elves and myself, it’s to discern who is who. So just looking the same is not enough. We look underneath your skin and we can see who you really are. Hopefully you’re the good twin.
Why don’t penguins fly? Violette Moncrief
I don’t know this for sure. I think it’s because they never had to fly. Their life depended more on swimming to catch fish to live and walking to take care of their eggs and flying wasn’t really a part of it.
Can you bring me a bike? Atticus Rothwell
Can you get me a kitty cat? Genevieve Curnes
I’ve been good this year. I want $40 for Christmas. Braxton Thompson
Can I have a Nintendo and a creeper toy? Desmond Polk
I want a car, a robot toy, a robot godzilla and a robot dinosaur. Can I have that? Lincoln Fisher
Gavin Khatchadorian wishes for Crocs and Croc charms.
Micah West wishes for Jordans.
Well, I encourage you to send me letters, telling me what you would like and making requests, but I need for you to remember that this operation is based upon asking for things and then being happy with what you get. It’s not always the same thing, and sometimes what you get is more about what you need than what you want.
