Tiny villages of Northern China and outer Mongolia are reporting Santa’s visit at this hour. Hearts there are indeed merry.

Not so at the North Pole. Mrs. Claus has directed the elves attending the Christmas Eve party at the Claus residence to the Workshop to help Elf Bernard and his team complete things in time so that Santa can deliver to Europe, North America and South America.

“Santa is going to run out of toys if we can’t get it in gear” Elf Bernard barked to elves coming on to work in Santa’s workshop. I’ve never seen Bernard more serious. He even put Mrs. Claus to work dressing dolls.

— Elf Ernest

Bedtime Warning: Kabul

Santa is in Mongolia 1