You hear us refer to “Operation Merry Christmas” all the time. What is it?
Operation Merry Christmas is what we call Santa’s mission. It is the work of bringing a Merry Christmas to the world.
There are many phases to Operation Merry Christmas:
Phase 1: The Celebration
Operation Merry Christmas begins right after Santa returns to the North Pole after his latest Christmas sleigh ride. We call it the Celebration phase. When Santa returns it’s time to celebrate Christmas at the North Pole and it lasts well into the 1st week of January. We get together, we eat great food, we enjoy each other’s company and we recall all that was accomplished. For elves the only work during this period is to make a private journal entry about all they went through and learned up until that Christmas. It is a time of reflection and a time to enjoy the fruits of their labors.
Phase 2: Planning
Next comes the planning phase, a time that takes several weeks to recount all that went well, all that didn’t go well, and all that could be done better with Operation Merry Christmas. This is when list building really begins at the North Pole. Every key elf is going to meet with Santa to review these notes. Every Elf Supervisor is going to meet with every elf in their department to review the notes too. Together, they will make plans for the New Year. They will set goals. They will put targets on calendars so they can track their progress.
Phase 3: Getting Down to Work
Once the planning is done, the work of Operation Merry Christmas begins. Every goal is broken down to tasks. Each task is given a date. Every day there is something being done to move the work forward. Elves are never really idle and they don’t like to be. Of course, time is built into the schedule for rest, for holidays and for vacations. But the work days are very full because there are targets to meet. This is the longest phase of Operation Merry Christmas.
Phase 4: Pre-Delivery
The important period between Halloween and Thanksgiving is called the pre-delivery phase of Operation Merry Christmas. Santa goes out to visit with believers everywhere, taking children into his lap to talk about what they want for Christmas. He takes a lot of notes and the whole time he is meeting with people he is sending information to his elves at the North Pole. Santa doesn’t want to miss any details. Neither do any of his elves. North Pole Flight Command is busy planning Santa’s flight. They are gathering reports from tracker elves all over the world, keeping track of the weather, and testing Santa’s sleigh so all can be ready for when Santa launches. The Workshop, the North Pole Post Office, the Wrapping Department, the List Department and dozens of other departments at the North Pole are all watching countdowns and clocks, working very hard to have everything ready by the time Santa has to leave.
Phase 5: Delivery Phase
The Delivery Phases begins on the morning right after Thanksgiving. This date is so important that we show it on our calendars here at the North Pole as the actual start of Operation Merry Christmas. If everything is not at a certain point by the day after Thanksgiving we know there’s no way Santa can launch on time. On this date it all becomes about Santa’s launch. We count down the hours, minutes and seconds. Lots of things happen in the phase.
Everything we work on all year leads up to that final time period we call Operation Merry Christmas. That’s when the toys get completed in the workshop. It is when every present gets wrapped. It is when the reindeer are fully conditioned. It is when Santa’s suit has been fully tailored. It is when the sleigh has been completely packed. It is when Santa launches the sleigh, goes around the world and returns home safely to enjoy Christmas with Mrs. Claus and all the North Pole family.
We countdown to this period every year. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute — Operation Merry Christmas is always on our mind.
