It is always a challenge when children ask questions. But when a class full of children team up to ask questions of the North Pole it is a special challenge.

This last week we received mail from Mrs. Ketter’s 2nd grade class from the state of Nevada in the United States. They asked me to answer the following questions. I hope this meets to their satisfaction.

1. Is Santa Claus real?
Yes. He was when I saw the him the other day. He had mustard in his mustache from the sandwich he was eating. The mustard was real, too.

2. How does Santa get around the world in 1 night?
He doesn’t. It actually takes him about 30 hours, with is quite a bit more than just one night. He travels with the time zones, so it is always night when he delivers.

3. Have you ever seen reindeer fly?
Yes. It is something to see.

4. What makes reindeer fly?
Santa does. He asks them to fly and they fly. It is something to see.

5. What is Mrs. Claus’ first name?
I don’t know. Nobody knows. At least not here at the North Pole. Even Santa refers to her as Mrs. Claus. Every once in a while I will hear him say “Yes, dear” or “Okay, honey”. But never have I heard him use a name for her. When he talks to us about her he always, always, always refers to her very respectfully. It is always “Mrs. Claus”.

Of course, we have answered these questions many times before.

But I realize Mrs. Ketter’s class may not have seen them. So I’m glad to answer them. I invite them — and other classes — to send us their questions. We want to help everyone get the answers they are looking for when it comes to Santa, the elves, the reindeer and the North Pole.