46 Weeks Until Christmas

Hi there! Only 46 Weeks remain until Christmas. That may seem like a long time to you but for elves at the North Pole it is not very long at all, especially after something Santa said this past week.

He told elves in a meeting that this year we will have to work “faster than ever”.

Ever since he said that we have been wondering what exactly he was talking about. Is he saying something about his sleigh? Will the reindeer need to go faster? What about Santa’s workshop? It does not quite make sense and elves now have more questions than ever.

Santa sometimes does that. He likes to make elves think. If I figure this out, I’ll let you know. I’ve got calls out to Elves Ernest, Frank, Crash and Bernard to see what they can tell me but for right now I’ll just admit that I’m not sure what Santa is talking about.

I did ask Mrs. Claus about it and she told me she hasn’t a clue. And Santa has been ducking me lately, so he knows I’m on to him.

I told you last week I’d let you know about the Elf of the Year in the Reindeer Department. And yes, it was announced, just as I thought it would be.

Many of you wrote in suggestions and the vast majority of you felt Vixen should be named Elf of the Year in the Reindeer Department.

She wasn’t.

But you were not the only one with that thought. Just about everyone else here felt the same way.

But Elf Victor, who is the head of Reindeer Operations at the North Pole, told me that Vixen removed her name from consideration.

The name she suggested and the elf who was honored with that award was Elf Charmane.

Charmane is a feeder. Her job is one she has done for many years and she is considered one of the most essential elves in the Reindeer Department. Every day, at three times each day, she is one of many elves who feed reindeer.

That’s all she does.

But what makes her so special and why doesn’t she do other things?

Elf Charmane is a bit like Santa in that she is a reindeer whisperer. She has a talent for talking to reindeer. And that is what she does as she feeds them. She talks to them and gets to know how they feel and what they are thinking.

Very few people have this kind of skill.

The reindeer love Charmane. Whenever she comes out the reindeer gather around her like she’s handing out candy.

Sometimes, during the day when it is not feeding time, Charmane will wander out to the reindeer and they will gather around her by the hundreds. They can see she isn’t holding any kind of food, but still they gather around her. She goes out there a couple of times each day just to talk and they love her.

Elf Victor told me that Elf Charmane, who is not a trainer, spent a lot of time with Vixen last year as she worked to recover from her injuries. Day or night, sometimes even in the middle of the night, Charmane sought out Vixen to talk.

Elf Victor said there are many important elves with seemingly small jobs in the Reindeer Department. He said they don’t get much attention because of the jobs they do.

Elves like Elf Charmane is so vital to the reindeer and thus to Operation Merry Christmas.

While there were some surprised elves when Elf Charmane’s name was announced there were no arguments. We all know how important Elf Charmane is to the reindeer.

I worry about her. Every year when the reindeer leave the North Pole – and they left a few weeks ago – Elf Charmane cries. She just loves Santa’s reindeer and she gets a little sad.

That’s why when the announcement was made a few days ago there was a sudden return of more than 1200 reindeer at the North Pole. Everyone was very surprised, especially Elf Charmane, who cried again, only this time they were happy tears. It was Vixen who awarded her Elf of the Year, which is considered a very rare and special thing.

Next week is Valentine’s Day and that means the annual Valentine’s Day Elf Ball, one of my least favorite events of the year. I’ll tell you all about it.