Dear Elf Ernest, How does Santa live for so many years? Most people his age are dead.

Thank you,

Kaitlyn

Dear Kaitlyn,

Age and time can be a tricky thing to understand. But let me try to explain it in a way that will make a little sense to you.

When I was a boy, I got a puppy from Santa for Christmas when I was six years old. For many years, he was my very best friend. But when I was only 14, my dog Buster was very old. He couldn't run anymore and it was kind of sad to see him hurt all the time. It didn't seem fair to me. I was still young. I could still run. But my mom explained to me that dog age differently than people do.

The same is true of many animals. Some insects, for example, only live to be just a couple of days old before they die of old age. In our world, it is not much time. But in theirs it is a lifetime.

It is kind of like that with Santa Claus. Yes, he's a person just like you. But there's just something about the way time works with him. He never gets older. And he never goes out of style.

I wouldn't worry much about Santa's age if I were you. He's been beating the odds as far as time goes for a long, long while now. After all, he travels the entire world in just one night. And he's done that every year now for, well, ages.