Sitting at my desk I was going through the production reports from the workshops when I heard a knock on my open door, “Santa?”
When I looked up, I saw Sophia, Ms. Claus’s assistant standing in the door. “Yes Sophia, what can I do for you?”
“I’m sorry for interrupting, but Ms. Claus was hoping you could come down to the mail room.”
I leaned back in my chair and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Taking a couple of steps towards my desk, Sophia answered, “Carter, the elf in charge of the mail room, and Ms. Claus have some letters that they think you need to see.”
I picked up one of the reports on my desk and nodded. “I need to finish this report, but tell Ms. Claus and Carter I will be there shortly.”
“I will let them know,” the elf responded as she disappeared down the hall.
Later when I arrived at the mail room, I noticed Ms. Claus and Carter standing at a table with several stacks of letters. “Are these the letters you need me to see?” I asked as I gave Ms. Claus a little hug and kiss.
“They are,” Anya responded.
Carter held some of the letters up in the air and said, “I think you are going to need to talk with Birdie, your elf in charge of Scout Elves, about these.”
“Birdie?” I asked. “Are these all requests for Scout Elves?”
Anya noticed a look of concern on my face and informed me, “These are not new requests Santa. These letters are all from children who are worried that their Scout Elves will not visit them this year because of the virus pandemic.”
“We need to get Birdie down here right away!” I demanded.
“She is already on her way,” Carter responded. “Sophia went to get her right after speaking with you in your office.”
I picked up a couple of letters and began reading when I heard, “Santa, Ms. Claus, Carter – How is everyone today?”
I watched as Birdie walked in with a smile on her face. Frustrated, I pointed to the stacks of letters on the table. “I was doing pretty good until all these letters were brought to my attention,” I explained. “These letters are about our Scout Elves and the virus this Christmas. We need to address this problem immediately.”
“Well Santa, I have . . . “
“I just figured out how to use Zoom for visits and thought Christmas was under control until . . .”
“But Santa, I have . . . “Birdie tried to respond again.
“And now this Scout Elf situation.”
“Santa!!” Anya said in a loud, stern voice. When I stopped talking and settled down, Ms. Claus continued in a calm voice. “I know this pandemic has you very worried about Christmas, but can you give Birdie a chance to respond to the letters and her elves?”
As the three of us turned to face Birdie, she continued. “Thanks Ms. Claus, I was going to tell you that while Santa was busy learning how to do Virtual Visits, I talked with Dior, our North Pole physician. Together we came up with a plan for the Scout Elves.”
“That’s great news,” Anya said. “What is it?”
“We learned that wearing a mask is really important, so Needler, the elf who runs the costumes workshop, has agreed to have her workers sew masks for all the Scout Elves. I will also be advising the elves to try and stay at least six feet from the children during the day.”
“That sounds great, but what about all the things the elves play with between the time they return from reporting to the North Pole, and when the family begins to wake up?”
Excited that she had the solution Birdie started by saying, “This is why I love working at the North Pole. Everyone works together to solve a problem. Wheelie, who runs the bicycle workshop, has volunteered his crew to make rubber gloves for the Scout Elves to use when they are touching things in the house.”
“See Santa, you were getting all worked up over nothing,” Ms. Claus told me as she folded her arms. “You have your visits with children worked out, and now the Scout Elves that you depend on have rules all set up to protect the children and their families as well as themselves.”
“You’re right dear. Since I will be wearing gloves and a mask while delivering gifts on Christmas, I should have known that the Scout Elves will be doing the same. I’m relieved,” I said finally able to relax in my chair. “I guess the last thing is responding to all these letters to let the children know their elves will be there as usual.” Stroking my beard, I added, “And we should remind the children that if they touch their elf, the elf will have to return to the North Pole.”
Carter raised his hand as he said, “That’s what my crew is for Santa! We should have all letters answered by tomorrow.”
“I sometimes wonder if we even need you for Christmas, Santa. The elves seem to have it all under control,” Anya said as she winked at Carter.
“Why that’s ridiculous! It would not be . . .”
Anya burst out laughing and the elves could not keep from joining in. “Just kidding dear. It would not be Christmas without you.”
Notes From Santa
To read more about Scout Elves please check out: Scout Elves Are Coming, which was posted on November 4, 2019; and Scout Elf Shortage, which was posted on February 17, 2020
To read more about the Mail Room please check out: Translating Letters For Santa, which was posted on August 19, 2019; Sensitive Letters, which was posted on November 18, 2019; and A Little Bit of Elf Magic, which was posted on April 20, 2020;
I hope you enjoyed today’s story. I will post another one next Monday. If you have any comments or if there is something you would like me to tell you about, please feel free to leave me a comment. Until next week . . .
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