Santa Claus is busy preparing for Christmas Eve
122 views · Published 19 December 2018 · 7:30 · Indexed 15 October 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(14 Dec 2018) LEADIN: Santa Claus is making final preparations in Lapland before heading off on his annual globe-trotting Christmas trip. Hundreds of thousands of letters and wish lists are being sorted by Santa's trusty elves. They contain numerous toy requests - including unicorns - but also hopes for the future. STORYLINE: Early morning at Santa Claus Village, which is located just on the Arctic Circle, around eight kilometres (five miles) north of Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland. At this time of year, the sun doesn't rise till about 11am, but that doesn't stop Santa Claus and his elves busily making their final preparations for Christmas Eve. Santa Claus still has letters to read and sacks to fill, but he's confident they'll make it in time. "Elves and reindeers have been working the whole year round because when Christmas goes, we start preparing the next one," he says. With Santa's list almost complete, it's now possible to say whether children have been naughty or nice during 2018. "Children are always behaving nicely, it's about the adults, I think that's the trouble," laughs Santa. "But children are mostly nice and that's enough for me because everybody has a bad day sometimes and I understand that. If you try to be nice most of the time, that's enough for me." For those who can't meet Saint Nick in person, there's always old-fashioned mail. In the village's nearby post office, Santa's 'elves' are busy sorting through thousands of letters sent from all around the world. The post office receives about half a million letters and wish lists every Christmas. At peak times, that can rise to about 32,000 letters a day. This year, they're celebrating having received mail from their 200th country - El Salvador. The most festive mail comes from China, Poland, Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan. "I think people know that Santa is quite old fashioned, and he still prefers his wish lists by actual letters," says "elf" Elina. "So, they don't really e-mail, they still keep writing letters to Santa Claus. So, that's great." Elina says it's not all about high-tech toys like video games and smartphones. Popular requests this year include Harry Potter-themed Lego and books. "Sometimes people ask for more time with their family, for example, or more time with their friends and maybe a girlfriend or a boyfriend and things like that. So, love and just joy and being together," she says. Santa Claus is no stranger to wild requests. He's just received a wish-list from Chloe, asking for some slime and nail polish that changes colour. "A unicorn is a very popular at the moment and it's luckily the toy one, because the real one is a bit tricky to put in a package," he says. "But children's wishes are changing a little bit and that's a good thing, because children are wishing health and happiness for their parents and time with their parents." According to the local tourist board, over 350,000 people visit the Christmas-themed destination every year to meet Santa, play in the snow and get in the festive spirit. Nine-year-old Olivia Duggan is visiting Santa Claus Village with her family from Belfast, Northern Ireland. "Loads of snow, very cold and also there's the real Santa Claus, and there's the elves and there's just everything that you wouldn't really have back at home," she says. "It's very beautiful here," says Lisa Beining, visiting from Hannover, Germany. "You imagine you're on Christmas Eve here so it's very perfect and so wonderful with all the snow." "So much snow, we don't have it in Germany so much, very pretty," says Lisa's cousin, Nina. ==== Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ac475d50e1ea6306418296fd050aa7fe
