The Real Big Deal of What Santa Said
Santa caused a stir in Santa Chat in the North Pole Club at SantaUpdate.com yesterday.
But what everyone is talking about isn’t the big deal.
I mean, it’s interesting. It will be a really big deal when it happens. But we don’t know that it will happen and already some trackers are speculating that they don’t see HOW it can happen while Santa is so busy delivering on Christmas Eve.
You’re missing the big news from this chat and I want to talk about it:
Santa said he’s going to test fly this new sleigh.
That’s big news. Really BIG news. BIG, big, big, big news.
Why?
Because Santa never does that. I mean EVER.
In fact, it’s kind of a rule that Santa doesn’t even SEE a new sleigh when it is testing.
He always gets in on the design discussions and he’ll see a mock-up of a sleigh before it flies for the first time but it is tradition that the first time Santa flies a new sleigh is on Christmas Eve.
And the sleigh design elves and the test flight pilots and the analysts at Flight Command really like it that way too.
They all take their jobs very seriously. And they are protective of what they do. It’s their territory. It’s not Santa’s sleigh until they make it perfect for him.
That’s why we got into the test flight business to begin with.
Back in the old days Santa just used the same old sleigh he always had. There was nothing fancy about it. It was just a sleigh. All the magic came from just the reindeer.
And for many decades it was enough.
But the world about 150 years ago started to really believe in Santa. Little by little believers grew in number and Santa started to struggle a little bit to deliver to all of them.
That’s when all the changes came to not only Santa’s sleigh but everything at the North Pole. It’s always been about getting to the people.
And it still is. That’s why they build, test and send Santa out in a new sleigh every year. They have to, just to keep up with all the believers in Santa that come on board.
But Santa has respected the space of all those elves who make his sleigh fly and make it better every year.
So for Santa to say he’s going to test fly, and “to get trained”, to fly this new sleigh is really something that crosses a line.
I shared what Santa said in the chat about taking the reins of the new sleigh.
Those dudes are territorial. They want to know when and they want to know why.
Are they unhappy that Santa will fly that sleigh before Christmas Eve?
I would not say that. He’s Santa. What are they going to do, cry about it? Who would they complain to?
But they are surprised. And some are a little worried. Suspicious even.
I think Santa will address it with them. That’s just his way. He does not want any elf feeling uncomfortable with what they do. So he will talk with them, you can take that to the bank.
In the meantime, I’m sure sooner or later North Pole Flight Command will tell us the plans for Santa and his test flights.
And I’m sure in future chats Santa will share some more details about this new sleigh that is commanding all the headlines and, really, all the energy at the North Pole.
As I write this, it’s July.
July is not like this usually. It’s kind of slow time for us at the North Pole, if you want to know the truth. It’s been a time where we rally the troops and try to get everyone’s mind on Christmas.
Well, everyone’s mind IS on Christmas this year.
This sleigh thing has taken over everything at the North Pole. Elves are working. Energy for Christmas is high. And there is some hesitation, if I’m being truthful.
It comes from not knowing how things are going to go. It comes from doing things outside of tradition and routine.
Everyone’s excited for the new thing…and everyone is nervous about it too because nobody knows for sure how it’s going to work out.
It’s different than what happened last year with the crisis in Santa’s Workshop. That was a train wreck in slow motion. It made Christmas eve kind of wild.
Everyone is feeling – and some are even saying – that this Christmas Eve is going to be wild again. Heck, even Santa said so in the chat.
But this is not a scary thing.
It’s like watching a guy pitch a no-hitter in the 8th inning. Everyone is looking at the scoreboard and hanging on every pitch.
Everyone wants what COULD happen. As every batter comes up and every batter goes down they hold their breath. Every foul ball, every time the hitter makes contact they worry and pray for the ball to get caught.
That’s the feeling right now. Everywhere at the North Pole. There’s a feeling that something special is happening. That we could be witnessing history. But any little thing could stop it from happening and we’ve got more than 150 days to go until Santa launches.
Maybe that’s why there’s kind of a tense response with unspoken things being thought but not said about Santa test flying the sleigh.
Is it the thing that will derail history?
Or is it part of the magic in the making?
Nobody knows.
Ed Zachary has been a force in North Pole journalism for decades, having served for years as a columnist for the North Pole Gazette. He is known as the Defender of Santa Claus, taking on all doubters and scoffers of Santa and his Christmas effort.
As part of his news duties Elf Ed Zachary contributes "news about the news" at the North Pole in a column here on SantaTrackers.net called The Scoop.
- The Real Big Deal of What Santa Said - July 20, 2026
