If you are available we invite you over to SantaUpdate.com and North Pole Chat for a conversation with Elf Crash Murphy. This general-audience chat will begin at 1pm EST in the North Pole Chat room at SantaUpdate.com on Saturday, August 20th.

While this chat is not specific to tracker elves I have it on good authority that Crash will be prepaid to update us on the status of the test flights and how tracker elves world wide are doing.

He will also be available to answer any general questions about Santa, Christmas and the North Pole.

Hope you can make it!

Attention all elves of Sector 2: I am pleased to report that the regional tracking center in lovely downtown Bethlehem, Palestine is now operational. As such, I can also announced that we need to activate all elves in the sector.

That means we need to get an ELF STATUS REPORT from each of you by August 24th, and the sooner the better.

This is not a drill. It’s the real deal and it counts.

As far as test flights of Santa’s sleigh I’m told there is a plan to at least brush by our sector sometime in the coming weeks. I don’t yet have details but as soon as I know you will know.

I will slowly be sending out requests for reports, some for training purposes and some for real. So please be sure to check back here on SantaTrackers.net for further instructions.

Thanks, elves!

A new era of tracking Santa has begun.

Starting in the next few days your Elf Supervisor is going to ask you to file a new report – and this one counts. This is the time we have been talking about all year. This is when you really need to be paying attention.

Today was posted a new report, titled Elf Status. This new report will tell Flight Command and your Elf Supervisor whether or not you are on the job.

Traditionally, we have done in the past something we called the Elf Check-in, which was a way to indicate your readiness before Santa took flight. That old way of doing things is now gone. Tracking Santa is now different in every way and it begins with this new report.

This next week, all Elf Supervisors in each sector will call for your Elf Status report.

It is important that you respond by filing that report when the Elf Supervisor asks for it. It does not matter what your Elf Status report says at this point. But the fact that you respond to YOUR elf supervisor within the window of time called for matters a great deal. This will be one of those reports that applies to your elf evaluation score later next year.

If you file that report that you are on the job it will lead to other very important reports that will count between now and Christmas. This is definitely the time to start paying attention to what is happening.

Also, today and over the next few days – changes have been implemented to our elf registration process. For all new elves coming aboard, as previously announced, a 90-day working period as a FREELANCE ELF is now required BEFORE a new elf will be allowed to become a part of the Elf Community here at SantaTrackers.net and classified as a NORTH POLE ELF.

A freelance elf works by contract for one full season. You can read the contract at this link. All new elves will need to abide by the contract, do their jobs as elves and gain the endorsement of their elf supervisor. This is another way in which tracking Santa is different. No more can an individual sign up as an elf and do no work. They have to actually be an elf tracking Santa for Santa.

A freelance elf still files reports. In fact, the reports are even MORE critical to a freelance elf because a review of their reports over their first 90-days is key to them becoming a North Pole elf.

Regardless of your class as an elf, reporting is now active and it all counts. We are attempting to get 1 billion tracker reports this year. Starting today, those reports count.

But they only count if you file the reports needed when your elf supervisor asks for them. Please do not just send in reports willy-nilly.

In fact, if your reports are not applicable, on-time, and comprehensive they will not help you at all. The point behind all of this is to do a better job of reporting the right information at the right time when Santa needs it.

Right now, Santa’s sleigh is in the test flight period. Your reports during this period matter because we are testing all systems, including the reporting system, as part of the test flights. If your reports show snow where there is really dry heat, it hurts the effort and could count against you.

We also remind you that many reports have changed and some new reports are yet to come out. Please pay attention.

Thanks and happy tracking, elves!

Test flights of Santa’s sleigh are scheduled to begin in Sector 4 starting sometime on Monday, July 26th, North Pole Flight Command has announced.

We are not sure yet if the tracking map for those first flights will be ready or not by that date. We are expecting an announcement from Elf Tubby Ryder, elf supervisor for Sector 4. Since that tracking center was the first announced and thus the one center most ready we are thinking the odds are pretty good that the map will be ready.

12 prototype sleighs have already been positioned at a reindeer ranch in Argentina. Two full teams of test flight reindeer are already in South America at the same ranch to be readied for the launch of the sleighs. We are awaiting word to know if the flights will work around the clock or if they will only be scheduled at certain times of the day.

Because of the late start to the test flight program many assume the flight schedule will be aggressive.

Once we know the first few weeks of the schedule we will share that information with you.

Christmas in July chats have been announced for July 23rd and 24th. For tracker elves, a special discussion will take place in Elf Chat with Elves Ernest and Crash:

This will be held on Saturday, July 23rd at 2pm EST in Elf Chat.

Chat with the Clauses!

Santa and Mrs. Claus will both be chatting on Sunday, July 24th in North Pole Chat at SantaUpdate.com