Dear Ernest (on behalf of Elf Victor, Santa’s head of reindeer operations), What makes Rudolph’s nose red? Does Rudolph have any other family that has…mmmm…a blue nose or a green nose or something like that? JC Dallas, USA He was born with it. No other member of Rudolph’s family has a nose like Rudolph’s. Elf Victor is actually very happy you asked that question. He knows a lot of people are curious about Rudolph’s nose and are just too polite to ask. Santa wants you to know that while Rudolph’s nose looks different it works just fine and he reallyRead more

Dear Ernest, Does Santa receive any presents? Karlee Bellingham, USA Yes, every year. Santa is a big believer in Santa. He hangs his stocking every year. I know this sounds goofy. What is even goofier is that Santa is always surprised by what he gets for Christmas every year. Last year he received some new golf balls and he was like, well, a little boy on Christmas. He just couldn’t wait to use them. He was so surprised he just giggled. How does that happen? I’m not really sure. I think Mrs. Claus has something to do with it. NotRead more

Dear Elf Ernest, Does Santa have any children? Alana Warragul, Australia Yes. But they are all grown up now and have children of their own. That means Santa is also a grandfather. Now, I know that opens up a great many more questions in your mind. What is it like being Santa’s kid? Do his grandchildren know he is Santa Claus? Does he ever give them rides on the sleigh? I cannot answer those questions for you because I really don’t know the answers. Santa keeps his family very private. Like all parents and grandparents Santa and Mrs. Claus loveRead more

Dear Elf Ernest (on behalf of Elf Victor, Santa’s head of reindeer operations), Do reindeer actually talk? Ria Kildare, Ireland Outstanding question! Reindeer are very, very intelligent animals. And they love working for Santa and powering the sleigh. But do they talk? Yes and no. They do not talk like you and I talk. They cannot use regular words. But they can communicate and it takes someone with very special skills — someone like Santa — to know what reindeer are “saying”. Have you ever looked into the eyes of a dog? If you have, you know they have feelingsRead more

Dear Ernest, Can bad weather stop Santa from flying? Bradley London, England Yes, it certainly can. Santa is subject to the weather just like the rest of us. A bad storm for us is a bad storm for Santa. That is why Santa has a Weather Department, so he can know what weather is coming and how to get around really bad storms. Santa might, if it is a small storm, fly right through it. But he does not want to put himself or the reindeer into any kind of danger so if a storm is really bad he willRead more

Dear Ernest (on behalf of Elf Agent X, Santa’s head of Secret Spies), Can I tell my friends I am an elf? Hayden Redwood City, USA No. Not a good idea. Well, okay — maybe. But you have to be smart about it. You don’t want to walk around wearing pointy shoes. You have to be very careful. Remember when I told you that an elf looks just like any other person? There is a reason for that. When you apply to become an elf one of the first things you are asked is if you can keep secrets. ThisRead more

Dear Ernest, Did Santa get my letter and when will he write me back? Alexis Morgantown, USA If Santa writes you a letter it will probably only happen on Christmas morning when he is at your house. And if he does, it will be a very, very brief letter — more like a note. While Santa gets a lot of letters he does not actually write a lot of letters. He just doesn’t have the time, kids. Think about it. Most of his mail comes around Christmas — when he is the busiest. It would be hard for him toRead more

Dear Ernest, How does Santa get all the way around the world in just one night? Geli Cleveland, Ohio USA This is the most common question we get here at the North Pole. People will ask us this question before they even ask us our names. Even Santa calls it The Big Question. First of all, I’m going to tell you to read what Elf Ed Zachary has to say on this subject in his classic article, How Santa Does It. Now, that article is kind of technical. And Elf Ed Zachary, who is famous for defending Santa, can beRead more

Dear Elf Ernest (on behalf of Elf Hugo, Postmaster at the North Pole Post Office) What do elves like to eat at Christmas time? Cherries Class Blandford Forum, England Thanks for all your questions. We have answered many of the other questions before but this question about elves and what they eat at the North Pole at Christmas is a very good question. Elves work hard. Very hard. So we eat a lot of protein and a lot of foods that give us stamina and energy. Mrs. Claus loves to feed us a diet of whole grains with eggs inRead more

Dear Ernest, Do planes filled with the secret elf service follow Santa’s sleigh to ensure a safe flight? Matthew Deltona, Florida USA Not quite. Santa doesn’t like to use planes, although he is a licensed pilot. He tries to stay away from too many planes or helicopters especially on Christmas Eve. Frankly, they go just too slow for Santa. But he loves sleighs. They have few moving parts to break down and they fly completely silent, which is important in Santa’s line of work. And yes, there are sleighs of elves who work behind Santa and in different parts ofRead more