Santa Claus is coming to town
By Mary Dennehy
DESPITE a very busy schedule, Santa took some time out this week for his annual chat with The Echo as he prepares for his global present drop on Christmas Eve.
In this exclusive interview, Santa, who e-mailed The Echo from his workshop in the North Pole, said that he was on track with his preparations and was checking his list twice to make sure everything was in order before he packs up his sleigh for his round the world trip.
While Santa’s workshop was very noisy, with elves singing Christmas carols as they worked hard to finish their toys, The Echo had a lovely chat with the ‘man in red’ – who sounded very excited about visiting all of the children living in South Dublin County.
How has the past year been for you?
It’s been very busy, Christmas may only come once a year but my workshop has a great deal to do from February until December. With millions of toys to make every year for all the good girls and boys we all have to put a lot of work in. We’ll all take January off to enjoy the New Year and take a well-deserved break from all of our Christmas work.
What does Christmas mean to you?
To me Christmas is a time to be grateful for all you have and to remember the things you get when it’s not Christmas or your birthday. It’s a time to appreciate your family, friends and teachers and to remember all the wonderful things they do for you all year round.
Do you ever got lost?
No, when you’ve been delivering presents as long as I have you learn the route off by heart. It is a long journey but because lots of countries have different time zones it makes my job a lot easier. We will be flying around doing trial runs before the big day and also checking right up until Christmas Eve that children are not pouting and are being good and nice.
Some children are wondering how Santa gets into apartments, since there is no chimney?
Children need to remember that Santa and his reindeers are magic so they can get into any home.
How many elves work with you in Lapland?
Since there’s more good children getting Christmas present than ever, I have more than fifty thousand elves working hard up to Christmas. I’m grateful to have such a hard-working team but we do need a bit of Christmas magic to make all the presents in time.
What does Mrs Claus do while you’re working?
I may be the face of the whole Christmas operation but Mrs Claus is the brains. She plans out my travel routes for Christmas Eve, sorts out all of the Christmas wish-lists and keeps my filing-up-to-date. She also makes sure all of the elves are happy while working and loves taking the reindeer out for walks.
How long does it take you to read everybody’s Christmas list?
It’s a year round job to make sure everyone’s Christmas list is read. I love reading everybody all of the children’s wishes and I’ll do my best to make sure all of the children of South Dublin County get a lovely gift.
Where is your favourite place to visit on Christmas Eve?
Ho, ho, ho well I love flying over the Dublin mountains, it’s such a beautiful view. Sometimes I stop there with the reindeer so they can say a quick hello to their deer friends.
What preparations do you do the day before the big night?
I do everything I can to ensure my trip around the world goes smoothly. The elves make sure all the presents are packed into the sleigh and double-check the Christmas lists to make sure no presents have been forgotten. I make sure the reindeer, Prancer, Dancer, Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, Vixen, Comet and Rudolph are all fed, happy, healthy and ready to go.
With all your journeys you have to make on Christmas Eve, would you need more than one Santa suit?
Since I’m travelling all over the world on Christmas Eve, I have different suits to suit different weather. All my suits look the same but some of them have more white fluff on them for the colder countries. Sometimes I also need a change of suit when I eat too many mince pies and my buttons pop off or if I get stuck in a chimney and get covered in soot.
How many treats do you eat on Christmas?
I don’t eat all the treats on Christmas Eve, I bring a lot of them home to Lapland and use Christmas magic to keep them fresh all year round. That way everyone back in the workshop in Lapland can share some of my favourite treats like cookies, mince pies and milk.
How do you spend your Christmas Day?
I love spending time with Mrs Claus, the elves and the reindeer on Christmas Day. Our friends the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy usually come over for Christmas dinner as well. As you know I love my treats, but I really look forward to my turkey and vegetables for Christmas dinner…and putting my feet up in front of the fire and watching television after a very busy Christmas Eve.
Have you got any final message for kids in South County Dublin and their families?
I wish you all a wonderful and joy-filled Christmas and the best of luck for 2016. I also hope that all the children go to bed early on Christmas Eve. I am very excited to visit all of the wonderful and well behaved children and I hope that they continue to think about others in 2017. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas everyone!
