The Update from the North Pole is the oldest tradition on My Merry Christmas. It is what started this web site. And it continues to be one of our most popular features.

The updates are published every day from Thanksgiving to Christmas. On Christmas Eve we track Santa around the world with live updates every half an hour or more. They can be accessed via the North Pole section of My Merry Christmas and our sister site, Santa Update.com.

The updates tell the story of Operation Merry Christmas each season.

Operation Merry Christmas is Santa's mission to deliver Christmas. Along with the current information about Santa, the North Pole and life with the elves other elements of the season are explored and explained in an ongoing dialogue suitable for parents, children and families. Traditions, legends and seasonal elements are condensed and made simple for young minds via the updates and stimulate discussion between parent and child about the holiday season. The updates are a simple and fun way to explore the Christmas season together.

By popular request, the Updates now feature a link to a printable version of each update.

Previous to Christmas Eve, many families will acquire a world map and hang it on a wall near the Christmas tree in their home. This map is used to track Santa on Christmas Eve, following the information given in the update here on our websites. Please see this link for an explanation of how the map works in our home.

We find this tradition helps the kids to pass the time on Christmas Eve and it teaches them a little geography at the same time. Surprisingly, our older children (ages 10 to 20) are more "into" the map and tracking Santa than our little ones (ages 4 to 8).

We encourage kids who enjoy the fun of the Christmas Eve Santa tracking tradition to consider becoming a Secret Spy for Santa. In this capacity they can become a deputy elf and send reports to the North Pole of potential dangers (poor weather conditions, obstacles, non-believers, etc) to Santa on Christmas Eve. It is a fun way to interact and be part of the action on Christmas Eve.

The Update continues to be a free service and will remain a beloved tradition. We welcome your feedback on this feature.