Hi all! What follows are questions I received after today’s chat and the answers I want you all to know. Some of these questions may seem kind of simple for some of you but I am glad a few elves were brave enough to ask them of me. I think we have a lot of newer elves out there who are kind of wingin’ it and trying their best – but maybe we haven’t done as good a job training them as we hoped.

It also dawns on me that many are just now coming back to Christmas and tracking Santa for Santa. That is okay, too. As Elf Supervisors we have to remind ourselves that most elves working remotely have lives they need to attend to that is more than what we have to deal with. I work every day for Santa and you guys don’t get that opportunity. So, especially for those of you back in school, the time you get to know and do your elf work is kind of limited.

So please be kind in your response to these questions, if they seem basic to you. I want all of our elves to understand what Santa needs of you and how we (meaning the Elf Supervisors) are here to help you. Here are the questions and answers:

Q: Where do I find out where you leave instructions? I don’t know what to do as an elf and it isn’t clear to me where to find information?
A: Okay, this is a great question. I think one of the things made clear in our chat today was that many elves seemed to be saying they don’t know what to do right now. As that question was being asked in my mind I was thinking, “what? haven’t you been reading my posts?” Well, I think you’re telling me that’s not clear to you. So, here’s what you need to do. First of all, try to log in to the website here at least once a week, going forward. The first thing you should do it go to the News page – which looks like this:

Any news from Sector 5 is going to be headlined with the same post template – ours is red with a green stripe at the bottom that says “Sector 5 News”. Each sector has their own color and headline. For example, here is the post template for this post:

Whenever I post anything it shows up on our Sector 5 page, on the Elf Wall and in the Santa Tracker Herald Star with this same post image. You should check out all of these pages linked here if you really haven’t done so before. We try very hard to get information out to you through all these resources but it is up to you to get logged in and visiting often.

Q: My account was “retired” because I haven’t logged in. How do I get it back?
A: Yes, Elf Moe talked about this earlier this week. If you go 90 days without logging in your account is “retired”. That means it is basically locked down for security purposes. Elf Moe can unlock it if you send either him or me a note. If you got longer than 90 days – your account could be deleted (many already have) and you won’t be able to get it back. This is policy and I can’t do anything about it.

Q: What is my job?
A: Our job is to “track Santa for Santa”. To do that we try to accomplish these three things:

1. Learn the Elf Code, try to recruit more people to Become an Elf
2. Provide the North Pole with local information that will be helpful to Santa when he takes flight
3. Track Santa when he flies and respond when North Pole Flight Command asks for something.

Right now, we’re working a lot on #1 and #2. In terms of reports, I’m asking right now that you send in each week a local weather report for your area. You can literally copy and paste a link to a local weather news site or even just gab the text from one and put it in your report. Weather reports are used by Flight Command to plan test flights AND to learn weather patterns in your local area. That’s why sending them in each week is important. What day should you send this in? Really, it doesn’t matter. But I prefer you send it in on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, if that’s okay.

Other reports will be asked of you at odd times. Sometimes I want them for the database of information I’m building about the Sector for Santa, sometimes I ask for stuff that Flight Command wants to know.

One report that is becoming really important is the Local Christmas Report. You’re going to want to get familiar with this one because I’m going to ask for it a lot.

That’s about it for now, guys. More stuff to come, I promise. Thanks for all your hard work. If you have additional questions, please ask them in the comments below and I will answer them.

Hi y’all!

We have finally received buy-in from all our Elf Supervisors for a joint chat for all sectors this Sunday at 11am EST.

We know that time is not convenient for many people. It is simply impossible for us to find a time that works for everyone.

But, with North Pole Chat scheduled with Elf Hugo scheduled this Sunday at SantaUpdate.com at 10am we feel that we have the best chance to get folks together for a chat with the Elf Supervisors right after that.

So after you chat it up with Elf Hugo on Sunday morning at SantaUpdate.com, just come over here to SantaTrackers.net to chat with the Elf Supervisors.

I have ask the Elf Supervisors to make this an open chat. That means YOU will be driving the discussion – not them. Don’t expect any big announcements and a huge list of instructions to come from this chat. This chat is about YOUR questions for THEM.

I might be there, lurking in the background. I want the focus to be on the Supervisors.

Elf Max will moderate the chat and will be able to answer questions, too.

Thanks!

Ok, guys – a little departure from the norm here but I think we can have some fun with this. Let’s have a sleigh sighting contest!

I have it on good authority that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are headed back to Sector 5 maybe as soon as this up coming weekend. They will evidently be over Mexico, the USA and Canada for a week to ten days.

Also – and this is likely getting a little ahead of the news yet to be published at SantaUpdate.com – it appears that Santa is also in Sector 5 somewhere and HE’S IN A SLEIGH. You’ll be hearing more about that soon, I’m sure. I can’t say any more right now.

Anyway – here’s what I propose:

If you’re lucky enough to have clear skies – and even remotely see what you think is a flying sleigh, by all means, grab your phone and snap a photo or video of it. Upload it via a Sleigh Sighting Report.

I will collect these reports between right now and, say, September 7th. For each report you send in your name gets tossed into a hat. On September 8th, I will pull three names out. Those three names will win our first-ever prizes: a nifty SantaTrackers.net magnet.

You see, I’ve got a connection over in the properties department at Public Relations at the North Pole. They’ve been experimenting with some product development ideas and this is one product they have put together. I’ve got a small collection of these things – magnets, coasters, mugs, keychains, stickers – small stuff. None of it is available yet online but I’ve got samples that they are letting me use for prizes. You game?

I am! Let’s have some fun with this!

Disclaimer: this is for elves in Sector 5. And no, I don’t think any of the other Elf Supervisors are doing this (yet). That’s why you should move to Sector 5, because I’m the best.

Fellow elves of Sector 5, awaken and arise! I send you greetings from our brand new Regional Tracking Center here in Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada.

Cold Lake is indeed a cold lake. We’re kind of far north for the first time in many years. But I’m enjoy the mild summer they have here and, in contrast to other parts of Canada, I’m pleased to report there are no large forest fires in this area. It is pretty and fresh here right now.

Our center is fully staffed, more than 200 elves are here with me getting ready for the season ahead.

Yes, it is still very early in the tracking of Santa 2023 but we’ve got work to do. Santa takes off in a little more than 130 days. Between now and the end of October, there is much we can do to get ready for that big day.

Let’s take it step by step. Over the course of the next few weeks I will be outlining for you the things you need to be doing from your location.

Our steps will begin with very “big picture” type steps. You will be sending in weather, geographical and structural information of a general sort. If you did these reports with us last year then you’ll be just updating information that you sent in before. This means the work will be fairly easy and fast for you to do.

We will also be focusing on two personal elements of Santa’s flight over the next several weeks: your personal home tracking center and, if you choose to do it, a landing zone at your home for Santa and his sleigh.

I’m also contemplating sending out a few prizes in the early going this year. No, I don’t have details of that yet but I wanted to throw it out there that I’m thinking about it. I think it would be fun to have a little contest or two and send out small treasures from the North Pole as souvenirs and thank-you’s for elves who work so hard all year.

What do you think of that idea?

Mrs. Claus has taken charge in the absence of Santa Claus while he goes on walkabout. News of Santa’s travels broke at SantaUpdate.com yesterday.

As noted at North Pole Flight Command this morning, Mrs. Claus has set up office at Santa’s Workshop and chosen Elf Trixie to be her Chief of Staff while Santa is gone.

For the Elf Community at SantaTrackers.net, Elf Trixie says that Mrs. Claus will be meeting with Elf Roger Star this next week for an update on the various projects already in progress for the tracker elf community.

As for Elf Trixie, I am her boss in her regular duties, and while serving Mrs. Claus as Chief of Staff I have been told that Trixie will continue in her regular reporting duties for North Pole News and here at SantaTrackers.net.

We have all been told that even though Santa will be absent for a while we can expect things to carry on normally.