Dale Stallings

What To Expect When Making A Christmas Request
(from the SANTA CLAUS BLOG...yes, Santa blogs too)

I have been reading letters from around the world. I've also been skimming some of the "open letters" posted to me on the internet and in newspapers around the world. I love reading all of the kind notes and innocent requests this time of year. If those letters don't put you in the Christmas Spirit, I don't know what will.

I have also started to make mall appearances. And a few snotty nosed kids with attitudes, screaming & terrified toddlers, dirty diapered infants, and adults lamely trying to be funny by sitting on Santa's lap aside, the mall interaction is also largely a lot of fun. And every so often, in one of those interactions with child, I see a little Christmas magic. I see the lights go on in their eyes and I know they leave a different kid... one that will believe in Santa forever. The vast majority of the time, I leave the mall in much better Christmas Spirits than before I arrived. It is this that gives me the energy to get through the day.

Nevertheless, there are always a few requests that I just can not fill or are absurdly insane. "What?!" you may ask incredulously. But let me remind you that I am not supernatural. I have limits just like everyone else. So I want to take this opportunity to set some expectations.

First, I simply can not fill requests for husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. The Legal department here at North Pole Inc. has been very clear that fulfilling any such requests could be construed as an act in violation of International Human Trafficking laws. The risk of such a perception is too great and far outweighs any benefits that could be gained. We can, however, recommend a few good match-making sites upon request.

We also have a number of requests for exorbitant gifts. More often than not, the folks that make those requests are on the "Naughty" list. But for those that are on the "Nice" list, we do have a few rules. We do not deliver gifts over US$25,000 in value unless there is a special exemption granted by our independent auditors. Granting requests over US$25,000 usually requires a pretty extensive background check and involves someone with a life-long tenure on the "Nice" list. Gifts between US$1,000 and US$24,999 also require a minimum of 2 consecutive years on the "Nice" list.

There there are the requests for visiting with me or the reindeer on Christmas Eve. There are so many children that want me to wake them up so they can visit. I would love nothing more than to be able to do that but we are on such a tight schedule, its just not possible. And even if I had the time, I don't think I would risk it. In the early days, when I didn't have so many houses to visit, I would occasionally honor a request to visit and introduce the reindeer. Inevitably though, someone's dog or cat would go into "attack mode" as soon as the reindeer came in the house. It's understandable.... its a natural behaviour for the dog. But the reindeer would get spooked. And on occasion, I'd have a mess to clean-up before I left. Good thing I keep a "pooper-scooper" in the sleigh. Its just not worth all the stained carpets even if I could keep schedule. Now if you really, really want to visit with me and the reindeer, you will have a chance... I will tell you more about it on Thursday's post when I announce a contest to win a sleigh ride with Rudolph.

Speaking of animals... Live animals are another controversial issue. We debate our ability to deliver live animals every year. Each year we re-visit various governmental policies on the import/export of live animals. Inevitably, the topic leads to a heated debate over whether or not we should even be in the business of fulfilling Christmas wishes for live animals. We keep the option open every year... working with the UN and individual nations to negotiate special considerations for our Christmas delivery of live animals... however, more years than not, we have chosen to not fulfill Christmas requests for live animals. As you can imagine, it is a passionate debate with more than one facet to the sides that are taken. While we all feel strongly about making the kids happy, there are some that believe that should trump all other considerations. There is a camp, represented by Jolly, our Asia-Pacific GM and former VP of Marketing, that believes that the risk of the animals falling sick and/or passing away shortly after delivery only serves to hurt our brand. There is yet another camp, predictably led by Ollie, our GM for Europe & Middle East (former VP of Logistics), that simply believes the live animal logistics are so complex - not to mention expensive - that it jeopardizes our ability to fulfill our commitments on other deliveries. Ollie definitely has a point... almost 60% of the qualifying "nice" list kids placed live animal requests of some type last year. And the requests are for a wide range of animals that require vastly different types of care. Of the ones that asked for live animals last year, 36% wanted a horse or pony. 29% wanted a dog. 9% wanted a snake. 12% wanted a cat. 2% wanted a bird of some type. 6% wanted to keep one of the reindeer. The remaining 6% wanted some other type of animal ranging from goldfish to crocidiles. Of course, even in the years when we decide to tackle the challenge of delivering live animals and we clear all of the various governmental hurdles, we still require written parental consent. And we have always denied requests for animals that posed a risk such as poisonous snakes or large predatory animals. In short, even in the best case years, it remains very unlikely a child will receive a live animal. In 2009, we are going to follow the same practices & policies as last year: allowing live animals where it is legal and where we have written parental consent. Given those considerations, Sprite, head of Procurement, believes we'll deliver approximately 25,000 small animals and 5,100 large animals worldwide this year, up slightly from last year. It's a small number as far as a percentage but we are extremely limited by the sheer number of parents that refuse to grant permission.

And finally, there is the issue of "Open Letters" posted on the internet in places such as MySpace and Facebook as well as in the media. Despite the help of my very capable friends at Google, I can not guarantee that I will see your open letter. The North Pole Inc. I.T. team crawls sites during this time of year for Open Letters and produces a summary of links for me. But even with that help, our research indicates that there is still a high likelihood of your open letter being missed. So your best bet is to send me a direct correspondence. Of course, I have noticed that most people send me direct correspondence via emails or handwritten letter for their requests but then use the open letter format to file complaints. Still, I try to read and respond to them all regardless of the spirit.

I hope this has helped to set a few expectations for this upcoming Christmas Eve. I also hope you are not too disappointed. Santa definitely wants to spread Joy throughout the world this Christmas season, so if these restrictions create an issue for you, let's talk. I'm sure there are some very creative ways you can make this your best Christmas ever... And it probably starts with trying to make this the best Christmas ever for someone else!