What Trackers Should Be Doing Right Now

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Someone on the Elf Wall got a little wiggy the other day because Elf Pinky had not posted something new for a day or two.

Relax, elves. There’s a reason why you’re not hearing a ton from your Elf Supervisors: I’ve asked them not to post anything unless it is absolutely necessary.

With 5 sectors, a bunch of punchy elves in Flight Command, and millions of new trackers out there this website and our direction as a team in tracking Santa for Santa can become a big mess in a hurry if the Supes are posting a ton of stuff every day.

So how do you know what to do?

Well, for new trackers, it’s simple: first, go to Elf University and learn your job. Then, go to your sector news page and see everything your Elf Supervisor has posted for your Sector. Once you are caught up with all that you should know what to do.

Now, for ALL trackers right now, this is what we should be doing.

  1. Weather reports, at least once weekly. This is becoming more and more important as Flight Command keeps sending out more sleighs. We need reports from everywhere.
  2. Sleigh sighting reports. If you see one, report it. We are getting a LOT more reports of sleighs in the skies. Get pictures if you can.
  3. Set up your home tracking center. Talk to other elves on the Elf Wall for ideas.
  4. Listen to North Pole Radio News. I’m on there and I have a lovely voice.
  5. Watch the North Pole Flight Command website. It has the most current news for trackers.
  6. Recruit some new trackers. We just don’t have enough of them.

And that’s about it right now. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If there is some big urgent important need in your sector your Elf Supervisor will post it. If they post something, do it. Right away. Check in daily. But for the most part, I’ve asked them to keep things to a minimum to keep down the distractions and the confusion.

Oh, remember: next Sunday, the 21st of December, I will be hosting the last North Pole Chat of the season at SantaUpdate.com. Guess what we’ll be talking about. That’s where final tracking direction will come. Be there if you can.

Thank you for your efforts.

Tracker Numbers Around the World

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Greetings Trackers from Flight Command, this is Elf Flip with your numbers report.

As of this morning, there are 27 million trackers officially checked in for duty at this time. We expect that number to more than double before Santa launches. Trackers are active from 148 countries around the world.

Sector 5 in Central and North America currently lead in overall tracker elf head count, with more than 14 million trackers. In end place is Sector 3 with about 8 million and the rest are spread out among Sectors 1, 2 and 4.

The only sector down in trackers so far this year is Sector 1, though that is expected to change.

Will Santa have enough tracker elves this Christmas?

Elf Crash Murphy, International Director of Santa Trackers, says he is unconcerned with the number of trackers. Earlier this week Santa called for more tracker elves worldwide due to concerns about the effort this year. But Elf Crash Murphy says by the time Santa launches he knows there will be enough tracker elves.

Elf Status Report Requested

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Elves,

I just need to see who is working and who isn’t working at this time. Please send in an Elf Status Report when you can.

Thanks!

You Don’t Need an Elf

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We have seen a huge increase in kids who want to know where their “elf” is this year.

For many, the “elf on the shelf” tradition has run for years.

Every year, allegedly, an elf shows up in a home and plays tricks, moves around and does silly things until Santa comes. Some children claim more than one elf shows up – one for each kid in the house!

They are there one year and the next they either don’t show up or they show up late.

Sometimes the elf-stuff is fun, sometimes it isn’t. And for whatever reason, the elf-on-the-shelf, has become something of a stress and a pain for both kid and parent alike.

For some reason some think this stuff all has something to do with Santa. I have tried to be plain spoken about the Elf on the Shelf in the past. I’ve tried to explain that nobody here at the North Pole actually knows who these elves are, who runs that department or what they are supposed to do.

So, when people come to SantaUpdate.com to ask why “their” elf has not come back yet, just what are we supposed to do?

I’ll tell you what I’m going to do: I’m going to tell the truth and I’m going to give you some straight up advice: lose the elf. Bar the elf or elves from your home. Send them packing and don’t ever let them come back.

You don’t need an elf. You only need belief in Santa.

Look, we tell Santa’s story every year. For free. You read the news and listen to the North Pole Radio News reports and you track Santa here with us every year because, well, you believe in Santa. We do that for free.

We have elves here. Tons of elves. Santa needs us because he can’t be Santa without elves.

Why do YOU need an elf?

When has this elf done anything really good for you in your home? Go ahead. Make a comment or send me an email. I’ll wait.

But none of you are going to respond because the elf-on-the-shelf in your home is really a big zero. A REAL elf doesn’t waste time on your shelf. A real elf helps Santa. A real elf doesn’t have time to be playing games with you. That’s not what elves do.

Christmas – and Santa – is about a lot more than entertainment. Believe it or not, kids, you’re going to take your childhood belief in Santa with you when you are grown up. You’re not going to take an elf.

Go ahead. I’ll wait. Tell me how many adults you know have an elf-on-the shelf. Then tell me how many grown ups you know believe in Santa.

There’s a big difference and you want to know why? Because Santa is real. Your elf….well, how do we have any proof your “elf” is real?

Think about it.

Billions of people around the world say that Santa comes every Christmas. But how many of those billions say that about their “elves”?

Almost none.

Why is it that some children have an elf-on-the-shelf…and yet many others do not? What’s up with that? That doesn’t sound like something Santa would like.

Why do you need anything else?

Memo to parents: Why do your kids need anything else?

Don’t spend money on “elves”. Don’t waste time on a creature who invades your home, makes messes in the name of fun, and promotes anything less than the pure fun of Christmas.

Stop this elf nonsense.

Nobody here at the North Pole believes it. And why?

Because they aren’t the same.

In some houses, an elf is nice and leaves notes and explains things.

In the house next door, the elf is naughty and makes messes.

And here is the worst thing: It seems that for some kids the elf has become more important than Santa. Is that right? No. It’s not right.

If you had an elf and he or she is not coming back it’s time for you to consider the idea they were never right for you in the first place.

If you had an elf and now they seem different, maybe you should check their id. Find out where they are really from and why they are in your house. Maybe they aren’t really elves. Maybe they are someone who is just pretending to be an elf.

You see, believing in Santa doesn’t require much.

You don’t have to pay money. You don’t have to question if he is going to come. You don’t have to look sideways at what he does or why. You don’t have to do much of anything other than hang you stocking and just send a wish list so he knows what to put in it. Santa’s going to come on Christmas. You can count on it.

Your elf? Well, you can’t count on him or her.

And why? Because he’s not Santa.

He or she doesn’t even know Santa and Santa doesn’t even know them. Santa doesn’t need an elf in your house. Ever. In fact, he’d rather not have one there if you want to know the truth.

Santa’s a busy guy.

He doesn’t have time to mess with an elf and the trouble they cause in your house. When Santa goes to your house he needs to get in and get out without anyone standing in his way.

Won’t you let Santa be Santa – and just lose the dumb elf?

There. I said what I said. And I’m not sorry.

Local Christmas Report Needed

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Flight Command just issued an update for us and they would like a fresh Local Christmas Report from all areas of Sector 2.

The report can be found at this link.

We have had good steady reports the last couple of days. Please keep up the good work!

Get Tracking Questions in to Santa

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Several weeks ago we were alerted to the fact that Santa will be addressing the tracker elf community about Tracking Santa this year and that he wanted your questions. This is a reminder that there is still time to send in those questions.

Elf Crash will be in North Pole Chat before Christmas too and he wants to address some of those questions, especially if Santa doesn’t have time to address them all.

You can submit your questions at this link.

Thanks!

Landing Zone Update

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Flight Command does not feel like they have a good handle on landing zones set up for Santa in our sector.

My feedback to them is that I’m not sure how many of our trackers have a landing zone set up. It’s not a requirement.

But, if you DO have a landing zone you want Santa to use at your house or in your neighborhood, please send in a landing zone report as soon as you can with information that will be useful for Santa.

Flight Command did remind me that it is OKAY for trackers to use video or cameras in their landing zones for when Santa arrives. They ask if you do capture Santa landing or taking off that you share those images or videos with Flight Command for their records.

Thanks, elves!

Sleigh Sightings Possible

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North Pole Flight Command has informed me that sleigh sightings are possible in Sector 1 in the following areas over the next few days:

Tokyo
Wellington
Suva
Guam
Bering Straight
South China Sea

These are common air traffic corridors where staging locations are set for support of Santa’s flight. Some of these areas are waterways where ships of the North Pole Navy are anchored. Sleigh in the skies are possible 24 hours per day, according to flight schedules we have received from Flight Command.

If you happen to see a sleigh in flight please try to capture video or pictures and submit a Sleigh Sighting report.

Thanks.

Elf Status Update

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Trackers of Sector 1 – things are definitely picking up. I need to know who’s working and who is not right now. Please update your Elf Status as soon as you can.

I strong urge you as well to become familiar with all our tracker reports. I think we’re going to be sending in a few public observance reports, air traffic reports, and local Christmas reports in the next few weeks.

Don’t forget the weekly weather report.

Weather Updates Needed in Northern Areas

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Flight Command is requesting – rather insistently and urgently — that trackers in our northern areas please send in updated Weather Reports right away. This directly has to do with flights supporting the Kringle Plan.

What are northern areas? Just about any area that can get snow at this time of year. So, Siberia, Northern Russia, parts of Northern China, etc. Areas such as India, Thailand, etc don’t need to worry.

From the sounds of it, we can expect a lot of these kinds of requests over the next couple of weeks.

Please check in daily.

Local Christmas Report Update Needed

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Hello trackers in Europe and Africa,

North Pole Flight Command is asking for an updated Local Christmas Report from our sector. I’m not sure why, but let’s get it to them.

Like Sector 5, we can report very active new tracker elf signups over the past week. Welcome to all of our new trackers! Please go to Elf University to learn and let me know if you have any questions.

Like the other supervisors, I was in the meeting yesterday on the phone with Elf Crash and Elf Roger Star. I am not confident yet that we will be seeing either the test flights or extra sleighs that are part of the Kringle Plan in Europe and Africa. I am hoping to meet with Elf Z today who might be able to give me specifics for our sector.

Please stand by for more news.

Thanks!

Immediate Weather Reports Needed

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We just posted the news at SantaUpdate.com about Thanksgiving and it immediately triggered a request from North Pole Flight Command.

This is for all trackers in every sector:

PLEASE SUBMIT A DAILY WEATHER REPORT, INCLUDING AT LEAST A THREE-DAY FORECAST, FOR ALL AREAS THROUGH SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH.

This is where you can find the weather report.

We can expect to see a lot of sleighs in the skies for the next week. Elves will be moving all over the world in order to get home for Thanksgiving. With the weather being forecast in the extreme at the North Pole, they will be looking to give elves a little more time to get home in between weather events. While North Pole Flight Command is monitoring the weather at the North Pole, they need reports from everywhere else to help these elves return home for Thanksgiving.

Just as we do with Santa on Christmas Eve, our reports now can help keep these elves safe.

Please plan to do a DAILY weather report from your area between now and the Sunday following Thanksgiving.

If you have questions feel free to ask them in the comments below.