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!

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!

Get Your Gobble On and Win Prizes

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I guess when I put it out on North Pole Radio News about the Gobble Contest at MyMerryChristmas.com I caused something of a stir. I hear the are getting some good gobbles coming in.

But you know what? I want someone — meaning one of our tracker elves — to WIN!

So I’m going to sweeten the pot here. If you go and enter the Gobble Contest at MyMerryChristmas.com all you need to do is in the box where they ask for your name on the Merry Forums just put in your elf name. That way we will know you’re coming from SantaTrackers.net.

If one of our elves wins the Gobble Contest I will provide prizes in SantaTrackers.net swag – we’re talking buttons, pins, coasters, stickers, etc.

What do you do?

Just follow the instructions. Record yourself gobbling and upload it at MyMerryChristmas.com. That’s all you gotta do. They even have a toll free number there that you can call to record your gobble. So just call on the phone and gobble away.

I have a feeling we’ve got some real good turkeys among us. I want show folks what Christmas spirit can do and I think the tracker elves of the world can be the ones to show it.

Go gobble – I want to send out some prizes!

Click here to go to the contest.

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.

Record Numbers of Sleigh Sightings

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North Pole Flight Command is reporting that sleigh sighting reports have spiked from tracker elves in nearly every sector over the past month.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Elf Wilbur Boeing, a flight analyst at Flight Command. “Freelance elf reports seem to be dominating this trend and they appear to be coming from a lot of coastal areas, such as the Pacific Coast of Canada, the USA and Mexico. That makes sense because that’s the flight corridor to the North Pole for inbound traffic.”

Elf Pinky of Sector 5 says the reports coming in from trackers are “off the charts” for October. She says the sleigh sighting reports are plentiful but she also reports robust activity with weather, roof and local Christmas reports.

Likewise in Sector 1, which largely has seen reporting increase from the South China Sea to the North Pacific – another popular flight corridor, Elf Randi says that because of so many sleigh sightings they are also seeing a corresponding increase in tracker elf sign-ups in Sector 1. “What’s happening is that word of these sleighs in the skies is spreading, mostly I think on social media, and as people ask ‘what is that?’ and they learn they are flying sleighs, they naturally get curious about Santa and the work the North Pole does, so they sign up.” Elf Randi said.

The same thing is happening in the Atlantic, according to Elf Rolf, Elf Supervisor for Sector 3 in Europe and Africa. “All this traffic to and from the North Pole in September and October has led to a lot more new elf sign-ups. People are interested. They want to help.”

Elf Flip has promised an update on the total count of tracker elves world wide in the coming days. We will see what impact this has had on all the recruiting numbers for new elves.

Report Needed from All Sectors

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Hi Elves!

I have a report I need from all elves in all sectors at this time – a Local Christmas Report. Please go to this link to send it in to your Elf Supervisor.

We are not expecting a huge positive response from this report. But let me tell you why we’re doing this.

North Pole Flight Command has detected a general problem with Christmas spirit, which is not unusual just a couple of weeks out from Halloween. But they are concerned that the Crisis in Santa’s Workshop could be discouraging people about this Christmas season.

So we’re asking for this report now and we will be asking for it again after Halloween. And we may be asking for it several times between now and when Santa launches, especially it concerns about this increase.

We also have the North Pole Post Office watching general feedback as well.

I have asked the Elf Supervisors to keep communication at a minimum unless there are pressing needs. This is a pressing need but I need this information from all Sectors, so instead of five different announcements I am making just this one.

Please continue on with the schedule of reports that your Elf Supervisors have asked for.

I can tell you that we are in good shape for the kinds of reports we are receiving and the number of elves we have working worldwide. If there are new needs you will see announcements either from me or from your Elf Supervisor.

We hope you are keeping informed of the news, listening to the radio news reports and the podcasts, and following North Pole Flight Command developments.

All Trackers on Alert

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It is only the end of September but I feel compelled to issue an alert for all Santa Trackers world wide.

There is a crisis in Santa’s Workshop and elves from nearly every department at the North Pole are mobilizing to help in the effort. We are equally called upon to join in the effort.

Starting TODAY, I am meeting via Zoom with Elf Supervisors, who are all at their stations at the Regional Tracking Centers. We are going through the latest instructions from North Pole Flight Command.

You can expect some specific instructions coming from each of them over the course of the next couple of days.

In addition, I have asked, and I believe he has already posted on the Elf Wall, for Elf Harold Star to remind you about the North Pole Chat already scheduled at SantaUpdate.com for this Sunday at 3pm EDT.

I hope to have new information and instruction that I can share at that time. As usual, chat recaps will be posted.

I do not yet have details to share at this time but I suspect most of what might be required of us will be added and specific weather reports for certain areas. I believe special missions to route needed supplies to the North Pole are being devised at this time and our instructions will be related to those missions.

What part, if any, Santa will play in these events are unknown. I can tell you, however, that is he very hands on with this whole process and that we can expect to hear more from him about this situation in the days and weeks ahead.

For now, my hope for each of you is that you will:

  1. Follow the news coming from this site, from SantaUpdate.com and from NorthPoleFlightCommand.com closely. Check in daily.
  2. Send your elf supervisor an Elf Status Report. If you are available for duty or not right now, your Elf Supervisor needs to know.
  3. Be prepared to respond to further reporting requests in the days ahead.

Thanks!

Elf Promotions Active

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Fellow Elves and Trackers in the Service of Santa,

It is shaping up to be an interesting season already. While I can report that we are on track with our early reporting in our efforts to track Santa for Santa I can tell you now that more will be asked of us this year.

While I cannot yet share full details of what is going on – that will be coming out soon — I can tell you our need for GOOD elves is growing by the minute.

As such, I have directed our Elf Supervisors today to effect as many elf promotions as possible.

That means that as a Freelance or Junior Tracker elf you can be elevate to full North Pole Elf status and obtain greater status and accessibility on this website just by sending your elf supervisor a message.

I am not entirely sure at this time what more will be asked of us in the Tracking Department. But we want to be ready. To be ready means more elves are trained and ready to serve Santa.

More details will be forthcoming. Those elves able and smart enough to act on this message will be rewarded. We need more good elves.

Tracker Sign Ups Surge

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Tracker sign-ups have surged over the past few days after North Pole Flight Command announced the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are coming to Sector 3 in Europe and Africa. Here are some location screenshots that have crossed my computer monitor in just the past hour from Sector 3:

This is just a small sample of what we’re seeing. Yes, there are a lot of sign-ups in England but really I’m seeing it from North to South in our Sector. There is a LOT of energy right now for tracking Santa this year in our sector.

I don’t know if we can keep up this pace but if we do I imagine we can double the number of elves from what we had last year.

That being said, I want you all to remember that we’re not just here for checking the skies for sleighs. Yes, there is a lot of interest in that right now. And I get it. Everyone here at the Regional Tracking Center in Christmas Island is pumped to be checking the skies over us, too. This is a rare opportunity and we’ll be watching like everyone else is.

But while we spend the month of September doing that please do NOT forget we need a lot of reports over the next couple of months. I don’t want all of our new elves to just show up now to look for test flights and then not come back until Santa launches.

Our work here, if you remember, IS TO HELP SANTA.

Now, there’s an elf in Sweden – Elf Freddie the Fixer – I want to send a shout out to. The guy is a freelance elf but he’s dedicated. He’s good. I appreciate all your reports, pal. Nice work. If you are interested in becoming a North Pole Elf, please message me.

Eyes up! The test flights of Santa’s sleigh will be over us soon!

Sector 3 Reports in August

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Hello Elves of Sector 3! I send you greetings from Christmas Island in Zimbabwe.

I’m watching with great interest the situation with the test flights in Sector 5. I want to see how they handle it because I think in a month or two those flight could be coming our way. If that happens – and I hope we are lucky enough to be chosen – it could impact what we work on during the months of September or October. So I want to be ready.

So…let’s get to work, shall we?

First, I know this could be a month of change for some of you. The seasons are changing in all areas. So, when you get a chance, please check in via an Elf Status report and give me a good idea of how available you might or might not be at this time. I want to give you enough to do but not too much so that you do not feel overwhelmed.

Second, while the weather remains good in most areas, I say we get to work sending in roof reports and chimney inspections.

As always, be very careful doing these reports. Do not get on rooftops to do these reports. Stay safe!

I usually get questions about how many houses you need to do roof and chimney reports for. The hope is that you will do your house, and if close enough, the homes on either side of you. If you can do more houses in your neighborhood, that’s even better.

What if you live in an area where the homes do not have chimneys? You don’t worry about it. You do not need to send in a report stating there are no chimneys. If there are no chimneys don’t say anything. Flight Command will assume – and pass along to Santa – the info of “no known chimney”.

Some Elf Supervisors think it is too early for these roof and chimney reports. I don’t. In fact, I think it is the best time to do them.

Finally, please try to send in a local weather report every Wednesday. Why Wednesday? I don’t know. Frankly, I love doing weather reports. I even do them myself right here in Christmas Island. I just love reporting on the weather. I think it is fun. I want us to get used to doing them every week so that when the test flights are here we’re strong with weather reporting. It’s pretty critical.

Ok, that’s it for now. Thank you for Elfing.

Trackers Invited to Toyvember

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As you may have heard, Santa declared a very rare Toyvember event – right in the middle of Christmas in July. That’s never been done before.

Naturally, elves all over the world had questions about how that would work for them, including tracker elves in every sector. I finally have some answers for you.

Yes, all trackers, regardless of location or status – freelance, junior trackers, North Pole elves – are all invited to participate.

If you have a toy idea, design or prototype you are encouraged to submit them via a message to your Elf Supervisor.

Please keep your eye on the news. I have a feeling this Toyvember will not last long. I would encourage you to submit your toy invention as soon as you can.

Thanks.

Sector Lead Position Changes

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The elf job of Sector Lead is evolving. It will now require added duties, as listed at the job description found on this page.

Due to the changes in the position, I have decided to release all existing Sector Leads from their positions. They are welcome to re-apply and would be strongly considered if they are willing to take up the new duties as listed in the job description.

What is different about this position?

After long discussions with the Elf Supervisors, it was decided that Sector Leads need to have a more visible presences both on SantaTrackers.net and on social media channels. Sector Leads will be given more responsibility in both recruiting and news outreach efforts. This will require a lot more time and certainly a lot effort. That was a key reason why I chose to release those currently in the position.

The job has just changed.

The Elf Supervisors not only ask for a voice in recruiting for this position but also an ability to tailor the job to their own needs in each sector. I support this request. A Sector Lead in one sector will need to adapt to the needs of that sector through communication with the Elf Supervisor.

Please note that while the job description says a Sector Lead needs to be a North Pole Elf with a presence on SantaTrackers.net I will be flexible in that requirement in sectors where access and language make finding qualified candidates difficult (looking at you Sector 2). I will consider the possibility of a strong freelance elf candidate (or two).

If you are freelance elf with interest and qualifications in the Sector Lead position, please reach out via a standard freelance tracker report submission or via the support page here at SantaTrackers.net

If you have questions please feel free to ask them below or on the Elf Wall.