Merry Christmas!

Dear readers, Shortcake has returned to the North Pole and spent the morning baking cookies and brownies with Mrs. Claus. She also added some photos and will answer questions. This will be her last update until next Christmas season, but check back in November 2010.

Photos of the droopy and non-droopy hat are here. Parade photos are up, as are various pictures from the season.

Here's a Christmas video featuring Shortcake as the photo elf. That was back in the droopy hat days. Here's another one featuring Bobble singing carols on the sidewalk the day Macy's had to evacuate for a fire.

LS sent me this clip from the Batman animated series in which Officers Montoya and Bullock go undercover as a "Mayfield's" Elf and Santa to catch a shoplifter. Their elf costume... not really realistic. Also Batgirl's in it. (From a holiday episode consisting of 4 short pieces)

Now, to answer your questions:

What do elves do when Christmas is over?
Well, we take a few days off, and then we go have a big snowball fight in the front yard. Around February we head back to work making the toys for the next Christmas.

How long is a typical wait in line to see Santa?
It all depends on what day and when you come, but most of the time it's between 30-45 minutes. Saturdays, Sundays, and the week before Christmas it's not uncommon for a 2 hour wait.

Do Santa and the elves miss the snow at the North Pole?
Yes, but we were lucky this year. It snowed in New York City about a week before Christmas. Also, Santa takes his sleigh back to the North Pole every night, so he gets to see it.

Did the family with the autistic child that waited in line have other children going to see Santa?
Yes, I believe there were 2-3 kids in the family, and only one was on the Autism spectrum.

Do you teach new elves how to be good workers?
Occasionally. All the elves go through training at the beginning of the season, but there was one day when Red was assigned to shadow Shortcake while she worked the front line. She taught him all about how to keep a line moving and answer questions from the floor.

What is a strawboss?
In unions, a strawboss is sort of a foreman, a fellow union member who makes sure the rules are followed. Shortcake once heard a story that a straw boss was the person who followed the elephants around at the circus and made sure they had enough straw. At Santaland, the strawboss is the person who helps Santa. He (or she - Shortcake in 2 years, fingers crossed) gets Santa water, helps him with his suit (lots of bells) or beard (gotta make sure lunch didn't get stuck in it), and makes sure Santa stays on schedule.

Everyone in Santaland takes care of Santa, but the strawboss as the most responsibility. As far as Shortcake is concerned, her whole purpose in being there is to make sure Santa is taken care of and happy, whether it's making sure people get through the line quickly to see him so they aren't cranky, or getting babies to smile, or keeping parents from pushing crying babies onto his lap, or making sure he's had some water. Her job is to protect Santa.