How is Home and Family?

/2 Comments/in , , /by

There is a report you can send in which very few tracker elves actually use. It’s called the Home and Family Report.

I’d like all of you to send one in at the first opportunity.

I think it is important that you know the we care about you, that Santa sees you as more than just a tracker elf and that you DO have an alternative way to communicate with Santa.

Messages sent in via this form bypass the usual process. Messages coming in this way are tagged and Santa knows it is from an elf.

So let’s make use of this form, okay? I think it is important that Santa knows what’s going on with you and your family.

Thanks.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

A Message for All Elves from Elf Crash

/4 Comments/in , /by

We held a chat today at SantaUpdate.com with me and Elf Roger Star that was supposed to talk about tracking Santa.

I feel we really failed. My intent was to engage some of our new trackers on how to track Santa. We have a lot of new elves.

We had some great experienced elves join the chat, we got to talking about stuff, and I don’t think we ever got around to giving out information for new elves to absorb.

So I want to spell some things out.

Earlier this week, Elf Rolf, the Elf Supervisor of Sector 3, put out a post about setting up your home tracking center. That came on the heels of another post by Elf Pinky in Sector 5, titled “If You’re a New Elf”.

Both of those posts contain excellent information. I want ALL elves, new and experienced, as well as freelance elves, to go read those posts. They steer you in the right direction if you’re new to tracking Santa for Santa.

I just want to add this to what those great Elf supervisors are saying:

1. Our goal is to help Santa get around the world safely and completely. We’re not trying to set records and we don’t want credit for what we do. Santa serves a vital function and we’re trying to help him.

2. Our oath is to be honest and to help Santa by focusing on others. So let’s be nice in all that we do, whether people know we are elves or not.

3. While we work as elves we get inside information about Santa, the North Pole and how it all works. We need to be discreet with how we share that information. You are seeing all these new pictures from the North Pole of offices and reindeer and stuff – that’s privileged stuff. It’s not meant for the whole world. Be careful with sharing it. Don’t post it everywhere and think about the people who see it. Being a believer matters.

4. Ask lots of questions. Use the Elf Wall. Raise your hand, send up a flare, do whatever you have to do to make it clear what your job is. If you wait until Christmas Eve to start being an elf, you’re doing it wrong.

5. Be a leader. Reach out. Help your fellow elves.

That’s it. Now ask me questions. Especially if you are a new elf. We want to help you understand.

Thanks.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

City Captains Report!

/3 Comments/in , , /by

I asked Elf Sandy Claus of the Department of Elf Resources to post the City Captain position. Just about every Sector needs them and all the other Elf Supervisors will want more of them as well.

As City Captain you will be the local resource for all things pertaining to tracking Santa. People can ask you questions and you can recruit new elves to the cause there locally. If you are effective in this role you can easily become a Tracker Commander.

If you have served as a City Captain before you can do it again. You likewise can hold this job while holding other positions.

These jobs are claimed – meaning you just fill out the form and you automatically get the job. No interview, no waiting for answers. I believe once you accept the job there is a badge for it and Elf Max or Elf Sandy can help you with that.

Buckle up, Elves. It’s about to get exciting.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Home Tracking Center Set Up

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Friends,

We have many new elves in Sector 3, some of them joining in just the last week. We see a pattern in new elves. They read a lot of information but they don’t ask a bunch of questions. Many just start sending in tracker reports without really knowing what they are doing. That’s one way to learn, but it is inefficient and it makes our job a little more difficult here and at North Pole Flight Command.

So let’s start at the very beginning.

All elves need to prepare themselves before they begin tracking Santa for Santa. That first step, beyond going to Elf University, talking to other elves, and learning the craft of being a tracker, is to set the right tone.

An elf needs to be working in the right environment.

That means setting up a home tracking center that is appropriate. I just want to share some thoughts with you about that.

Of course, you’ve got your computer. That’s a given. But in some cases you only have a tablet and a phone. Whatever you are using does not matter but let’s be honest: a computer is best.

We work, as tracker elves, in a world of words, maps and these websites. This website should tell you all you need to know about being a tracker elf. I will send instructions from time to time about what they want us to do. Other times, like right now, I’m just trying to help you in your job as an elf.

For news about Santa and what’s going on at the North Pole, with the reindeer and the sleigh and stuff, well, that’s handled by the News Department at SantaUpdate.com.

Then there’s NorthPoleFlightCommand.com, which you will see if you’ve never been a tracker elf a couple of days before Christmas, really controls just about everything that goes on.

Getting a handle on those three websites – santatrackers.net, santaupdate.com and northpoleflightcommand.com – is why you need a computer and why you need a good space to work at home.

So make it comfy.

Have a good chair, a decent desk, and good lighting. It’s okay to have a Christmas tree, lights and other decorations. A source of eggnog, candy canes, and maybe a place to hang your stocking is also advised but not required. Playing Kringle Radio while you do your elf work is also advised.

The work of elves is the working of helping others. When I ask for a report, I’m asking you to help others. You help others by helping Santa.

So you need a good place to think through that.

That’s your home tracking center.

I’m asking elves in our sector and any sector to please post photos of your home tracking center. Give your fellow elves an idea of what it looks like for you. Share ideas. Talk about how to make it as elf like as you can.

This is where we begin. It is an important detail.

Do the best you can.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Test Flights Coming Our Way

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Greetings, Elves!

I have been officially notified from North Pole Flight Command that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are heading to Sector 4.

Given their last known position near Iceland it is difficult to know it that means they will head north and west towards Greenland or south and west towards South America.

I asked. They wouldn’t tell me.

So I guess we will need to be ready for anything.

We STILL do not have an elf on record this year who has spotted any of the test flights of Santa’s sleigh. I find that to be unbelievable. Wouldn’t it be cool if a Sector 4 elf scored the first sleigh in the skies?

If you see something, say something!

I don’t know how long we’ll have the test flights here. So let’s make the best of it.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Pipeline to Santa

/1 Comment/in , /by

Deep at high command at North Pole Flight Command is where a special desk is located. Elves there call it the “hot seat”.

The elf sitting in that chair has one job and one job only: to talk to Santa when he flies.

North Pole Flight Command has a very difficult job. It has to take in all the information around the world that might affect Santa’s flight – and then they have to communicate what is most important and most timely for Santa to know.

One person has that job and it is the elf occupying the hot seat.

That is why what I’m about to share with you is so important for you to understand. If you use this new report you MUST understand how it works and use it responsibly. If you do not you could be immediately banned.

We have long had elves request an ability to reach out to Santa individually and privately. We now have a way to do it. We call this the “pipeline to Santa” because it bypasses all other messaging protocols and it goes right through the elf in the hot seat at North Pole Flight Command. When you use this tracker report you need to weight whether this is so urgent and worthwhile and important that the elf in the hot seat will see it the same way that you do.

If that elf, who bears a great responsibility, looks at your message as false, frivolous or a waste of time he’s just going to instantly ban you. He’s got that kind of power.

So THINK before you use this report.

This report is ONLY for North Pole tracker elves tracking Santa for Santa. Yes, it can be used for personal messages. And, of course, it is absolutely appropriate for elves to use it for timely, emergency situations that Santa will be flying into locally.

We have been testing this capability for two years. The next step in our test is now here. We open it up to you. We will see how this goes between now and the end of January 2025. If it tests well, we might keep it as a permanent feature. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

With this report you can tell Santa anything. And you can upload a file like a photo. What you send it goes straight to the elf in the hot seat. He will see it, he will read it, and he will review it. Then he will decide if it goes to Santa. If he (or she) so decides, it goes through immediately to wherever Santa is.

Click here to go to the Pipeline for Santa. It is listed under emergency reports on the tracker reports page.

Like all reports, this is a one-way communication. Your message gets to Santa but Santa cannot reply to it. This is by design. Please remember that.

Hopefully we can all follow the rules on this one.

Santa and I have spent a lot of time discussing this and he has concerns. Especially when he flies. But he trusts your judgment. He knows you all want to be good elves and will take these directions to heart.

Thanks and good luck.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Sector 5 Elf Activity Jumps

/2 Comments/in , /by

Elf activity in Sector 5 has jumped 20 percent in just a week.

Elf Crash Murphy asked me to submit a report to the elf supervisors summarizing new elf sign-ups and other data for each sector. I completed that assignment a day or two ago.

By far, the most striking number from that report is what’s going on in Sector 5. Not only are new elves signing up – and Sector 5 usually leads in this category – but they are getting down to work. “Elf Activity” is a metric that measures not only sign-ups but also reports.

The Regional Tracking Center in St. Nicholas, Minnesota in the USA has to be very, very busy at this time.

I did reach out to Elf Pinky to get her side of this story. She has not yet had time to respond. However, I hear through the grapevine that she plans to update her sector this weekend some time to specifically address new elves and what they can be doing right now.

While Sector 5 clearly led the way it should be noted that EVERY sector is showing large gains in elf activity. Elf Crash tells me this is to be expected for each week going forward.

Are each of the sectors fully staffed with enough elves tracking Santa for Santa this year?

That is the question I have been asked to answer. I am meeting with Elves Roger Star, Crash Murphy and each each supervisor weekly to discuss that very question.

As if right now, the answer is “no”. We simply need more elves. I believe Elf Crash Murphy is going to speak to that sometime very soon.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Test Flights Coming to Sector 3

/1 Comment/in , , /by

In our weekly meeting with North Pole Flight Command we were informed that the test flights of Santa’s Sleigh will be in our Sector through the end of the month.

This will be an excellent opportunity to see flying sleighs, especially since the weather will be pretty good still over the next few weeks. The test flights are scheduled to be running both night and day.

If you see sleighs in flight at any time please report it as soon as you can. So far, we have NOT yet had any sleigh sightings this year. I have it on good authority that a prize of some sort will be awarded to the first elf in any sector who files a valid report with verified photos.

I sure hope an elf in Sector 3 can snag that prize.

Thanks, elves!

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Classroom Sign-Ups Surge

/2 Comments/in , /by

After a tip off from Elf Moe, I looked at the numbers and sure enough, it appears sign-ups by school teachers are surging. This happens every September.

Spurred on by a post at SantaUpdate.com last week for questions from teachers it stands to reason why so many are finding their way here to SantaTrackers.net to track Santa for Santa as a class. Elf Moe tells me he is working with Elf Max to reach out to these special groups of tracker elves.

School teachers have long embraced news from the North Pole as presented at SantaUpdate.com. Elves Frank and Crash are soon to release the annual question-and-answer North Pole Podcast episode that feature questions these school classes send in.

Elf Crash reports that questions so far this year have come mostly from Sector 5, which is normal, but this year it appears they have heard from many in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and from classes in the US Virgin Islands, Iceland and from Fiji.

Elf Crash expressed concern that the episode will run a little long because of the number of questions received.

We’re not sure yet when that episode will be released but Elf Crash says they have needed a few days in the studio to record the conversation.

Elf Moe says he expects the sign-ups from teachers to continue to escalate through Christmas.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Roof Reports by the End of September

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Ok, Elves. After discussions with Elf Roger Star we have determined that the best plan is to get all roof reports in Sector 3 completed by the end of the month.

This is for all roofs in all areas of Sector 3. This goes out to all elves everywhere in Europe and Africa.

This is the earliest we have ever targeted this for completion. The roof report is found at this link.

Bear in mind, YOU might see a local need for additional roof reports before Santa flies. And that’s fine. You can send them in at any time.

But please remember our guidelines for doing roof reports. You must remain safe. STAY ON THE GROUND. If you suspect damage that needs closer inspection, please report that to Flight Command in your report and we will send a team of elves to your location to do an in-air inspection, by sleigh or by drone, depending upon the availability of equipment and elf power in our sector.

The sooner we can act on these situations the better.

Thank you.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Status Report Requested

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Howdy Elves in Sector 5,

I am pleased to report that Sector 5’s regional tracking center in St. Nicholas, Minnesota is now fully operational. We’re open for business completely.

Our thanks to the crack crew of elves from Flight Command and Santa’s Workshop for getting us up and running.

All things considered, we feel like we are in good shape.

Some of you are writing in asking “what about us?” as you see requests coming from other Elf Supervisors for their sector. This is especially true of chimney inspections which have been kind of a hot topic.

We do NOT feel the need to put out a similar request at this time. HOWEVER, if you have NOT yet done chimney inspections in your area please think about doing them soon. I’m targeting November 10th for this task in our sector.

I did check with Elf Roger and he tells me the forecast, especially for Canada in our Sector, is not the same as what we’re seeing in other Sectors. Elf Roger did advise “a regular schedule” for our region.

I think, just to stay organized, we’d like to request at this time an Elf Status Report for all elves in Sector 5. If you can get that done it would give us an idea of how many elves we have active right now. That may determine what we ask to have done.

We might also be asking for this same status report in the months and weeks ahead. So please check in here frequently.

The Elf Status Report can be found at this link.

Thanks. You guys rock.

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online

Chimney Inspections in Sector 2

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hi Sector 2 – we’re going to piggy-back on the call for chimney inspections in Sector 3 by asking all elves in any northern area of Sector 2 to do the same.

Elf Roger and Elf Seymour reached out to me after talking with Sector 3 and encouraged us to do the same.

If you haven’t yet done the chimney inspections we urge you to do it soon. Here’s the link.

Thanks!

SantaUpdate.com - Tracking Santa Online