Merry Christmas!

Here's a video from when Santa visited Kathie Lee and Hoda at the Today Show.

Shortcake is back at the North Pole. Santa successfully made his trip last night (as you know if you woke up this morning to presents under the tree). Everyone at the North Pole spent the day napping and eating, and we are all very pleased with the way the Christmas season turned out.

The last two days at Macy's were busy. It was a steady line all day, both days. Shortcake spent a lot of time back in HR or on the Front Line with the headset. She started to lose her patience on Christmas Eve Eve. She asked to be moved from the front of the train (where people take photos and hold up the line) because she was about to start snapping at people, so she moved to Stroller Alley. Which was only mildly better. Shortcake would have moved to HR if it had been open. In HR you can be sassy, but people think it's funny. Because they're in HR.

People got a little testy on Christmas Eve, especially when the line was 2 hours long, and we closed the line at 4pm (just like we had advertised we would). People were not accepting of this fact. So Big Burly Security Man came up and stood next to Shortcake to help her out. Kate, the head of Santaland for Macy's (Santa is in charge of the North Pole section) made the decision that anyone who was about to get in line just after 4pm would be escorted to the Puppet Theatre (now empty, since the last puppet theater show was at 2:15pm) and they could wait to see if there was time for Santa to see them before he left the building at 6:00pm (to get back to the North Pole, don'tcha know). The kids were given coloring books, and Santa stopped by for a brief visit, and everyone was much happier, including the woman who flew in from England with her new baby.

To end the season, here's David Sedaris' "Santaland Diaries" as read by the author on "This American Life." It's Shortcake's dad's favorite holiday story, particularly the part where David Sedaris sings "Away in a Manger" as Billie Holliday. It's on youtube, so it's in 4 parts. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

And here's a holiday Calvin & Hobbes.

Pictures below. Happy Christmas to all! Shortcake will be back next year.

This is Sequin manning the door by the Welcome Kiosk.
This is what Shortcake and Teddy Bear looked like most of the season: on headset, mocking each other.
Klondike the elf came down from the North Pole to help out on the last day.
Pippin emptied the Make-A-Wish Wishing Well, in order to take the money to the Vault.
All the stanchions were put away for the season.
Macy's gave the elves super-awesome Santaland hats. Shortcake and Sequin model them:

ROCKSTAR WEDNESDAY

It was the last Rockstar Wednesday. Sad face. It was also manager Frank’s last day, and the last time he would schedule us. And the last time we got to tease him about being single, but in a relationship, and that relationship is perfectly fine, if you were wondering.

Shortcake was Gatekeeper. Again. For the third day in a row. Bizarre. The six Usher elves were rockstars (obviously) and played a game called “pretend to be other usher elves.” Which was hilarious.

After a mere 1 hour, 45 minutes (and many school groups), Shortcake was sent on break and then sent to the Front Line to relieve Teddy Bear on headset. Obviously. There is a method to the scheduling. It was fairly quiet. When a whole bunch of school groups showed up we went into the back hallway briefly, but were back into stroller alley within a half hour. And we never went back to the back hallway while Shortcake was on duty. She was sent to lunch at 12:15 – freakishly early. Lunch also involved a nap. After which she was sent back to the Front Line. On headset. And then sent for a break at 3:00pm.

Here’s the fun part of the day. Shortcake got to help out with a proposal. A United States Navy man wanted to propose to his girlfriend, so he called ahead and asked for help from Santa. He had his family accompany himself and his girlfriend to see Santa. He asked Frank (the manager) to sneak his future in-laws in through the back so they could watch and surprise the girlfriend. Shortcake was in charge of escorting the in-laws through the back of Santaland. And then she and Frank got to watch through the Peek window while he proposed, and she accepted, and she cried, and everyone in both families freaked out. And his nieces and nephews took pictures with Santa.

And then Shortcake was sent to the Front Line with Teddy Bear, once again manning the headset. The line started to pick up around 4:15pm – probly schools getting out and then parents taking kids to see Santa since it is only 3 days until Christmas.

2 more days. Elves are starting to say their good-byes as they head back to the North Pole. Both Fa La La and Figgy had their last days. Shortcake and a few of the other Rockstar elves are going to be at Macy’s to the bitter end. And the next two days could well be bitter, depending on how panicked the parents become.

And, no, Shortcake does not care that you want the Peek window open. Yes, you have to stand in line if you just want to see Santa without “seeing” Santa. Actually, 40 minutes is a pretty short line considering it moves quickly; it’s 3 days before Christmas, and you’re the one who procrastinated seeing the man in red. No sympathy.

Tired Tuesday

Shortcake started the day as Gatekeeper. Two days in a row not on the front line? What's going on? It was a steady day, but it never reached the back hallway. There was one man who came barreling through the maze. Shortcake had to check him with her arm, literally stopping him in his tracks. There were six Usher elves surrounding her, giving her backup and she explained that his wife and child would find him again at the exit. He was very agitated. Shortcake beckoned with her eyes for backup from the manager waiting just around the corner. Later, the man came through the maze, with wife and child, and he was much calmer.

Here's the deal. Stay with your family inside the maze. When you get to the Gatekeeper tell the elf how many are in the party -TOTAL. Not just the kids. Adults, kids, babies, everybody. And make sure everyone who should be with you is with you. The elves are not responsible if you misplace your husband. And you will be bodychecked if you try to get into the Village without an elf escort.

After a short break, Shortcake went to the front line to pick up the headset from Teddy Bear. Which is par for the course. The line was nice and steady, although there were a lot of elves without a voice. Happy was miming everything (no voice at all), but he was remarkably talented at it. He had more Christmas spirit than anyone else on the front line, and he was effective at answering questions, despite being unable to talk.

After lunch Shortcake went to Photo for a whopping 30 minutes. She had good families, and Moonbeam was her Santa elf. Moonbeam, Santa and Shortcake made a great team.

Oh! The buttons are out! We ran out of buttons! We are now passing out crayons and coloring books! AH!

Anyway, Shortcake went to a special event with Santa on the 16th floor. There was a Christmas party for Macy's corporate employees, and Santa was there for pictures. Shortcake held drinks and coats and purses and made sure Santa was able to go back to the kids at 4pm.

Shortcake went to the office after the event and colored a Tom the Turkey (from the aforementioned coloring book) with a blue pen (and only a blue pen - Frank would not hand Shortcake the red pen because it "was too far away." Humph.). She did a Special visit, and went back to coloring. Perhaps Shortcake should have been sent back to work, but the 4:30pm elves were about to come in and relieve the day shift, so Shortcake would have only worked about 10-20 minutes anyway. So she clocked out and went in search of Christmas presents. Because there are only 4 days until Christmas and waiting until Christmas Eve is not advised.

Okay, you need to go watch Prep and Landing right now. Now. No, not in 5 minutes. Now. It's only 30 minutes long. It's on Hulu. And it's amazing. You will laugh and almost cry. Shortcake just watched it twice.

For Aiden Thomas

Shortcake went on a special event today. (She also worked Gatekeeper and at the Map - stumped on the Republic of Georgia and Djibouti briefly.) The event was assisting Santa as he visited kids in the pediatric section and pediatric ICU in NYU's hospital. Santa delivered gifts and said hello to the kids. Because of the risk of infection, in some rooms Santa could only stand in the doorway and wave, but there were some kids he could high five and go in and talk to. Armani was the first boy we saw. He had said just the day before that he didn't believe in Santa (at 6 years old!), but the appearance of Santa in the hospital may have changed his mind. Armani got some cool gifts, but the best was definitely the collection of Where's Waldo? books.

There was little boy, Frankie, in the ICU who had a reindeer mask in front of his face when Santa entered the room. He was the most excited boy we saw, and he ripped into his gifts. Another boy, Dylan, was probably a year old, and he just looked at Santa with awe on his face.

There were a lot of babies that Santa visited, most sleeping. They got presents too, and Santa took pictures with them as they slept. He wasn't able to hold them, so he stood by their bed. As Santa visited the babies, Shortcake thought about her friends who had a baby just over 6 years ago. Aiden Thomas lived a short life and spent most of it in the infant special care unit. Aiden didn't get to see Christmas, and Santa didn't get to visit him. Aiden has a little brother, now 2 1/2 years old, who has definitely seen Santa. But standing in the pediatric ICU reminded Shortcake of Aiden. She just wants to say that Aiden is not forgotten, by the elves or Santa.

Last Sunday

It was the last Sunday before Christmas. There was a line before we opened. Shortcake started on headset, adjusted some stantions, and we were off. Dulce stopped by to say hi. She's been staying at the North Pole for the last two years, so it was great to see her again. The line actually didn't explode until 9am. And it went to women's coats. After about 3 hours of Shortcake trying to shout with a bad voice, managing the incoming people, directing people to the new end of the line in women's coats, answering questions, staying updated on the wait time, and making sure people fill in the corners thus keeping the front line tight, Jangles relieved Shortcake for a 10 minute break.

Then Shortcake went to Crossroads to relieve Teddy Bear on headset. She and Gingerbread rocked Crossroads, but it's all about stopping people from entering the exit, keeping the line moving, letting people exit, answering questions, and letting people rejoin their peoples already in line. Remember 2 years ago when Crossroads was manned by 3 people instead of 2? And someone wanted to bring a dog to see Santa. Which, of course, you can't do.

After lunch, which was a short 45 minutes, Shortcake headed out to HR to relieve Teddy Bear on headset. Why, yes, Shortcake did spend the entire day on headset. She also spent the day going through a bag of cough drops. But she almost had a voice by the end.

Shortcake stayed in HR until 5:40pm, which is 40 minutes after her shift ended. She was relieved by Cider. The funny thing about HR is that it's a constant flow of people in 2 directions, but the people coming at you are in shock at how far back they have to go. The people leaving can be cheered up because they're past the turnaround point. The people coming at you have a tendency to say things like "You're kidding me!" or "You're not serious!" To which Shortcake replied "No, I'm not kidding you" or "Yes, I am serious. Turn left and stay to the right." Because it's not Shortcake's fault you got into line on a Sunday afternoon the weekend before Christmas and it's her job to keep the line moving. Some people appreciated her mild sass. People appreciated more that she did not sing the Turn Around song, and that she had not yet invented the "To the right" song. They were excited to know that they would only see her twice and then never again because going back down the elevator hallway makes everything old new again.

And just at the end of Shortcake's shift, her friends Katie, Aurora and Elizabeth arrived in HR. So Shortcake clocked out and joined them on line (Ah - no! That's a New Yorkism. In line! In line!) and they got a personal elf escort through the line and Santaland. No skipping ahead, Shortcake and her friends waited the full 2 hours and took their photo with Santa.

Saturday Special Event

Saturday is supposed to be Shortcake's day off. Well. Instead, it was the first of seven in a row up to Christmas. And it was the day after the epic Elf Holiday Party thrown by Bobble and Merriment. Shortcake participated in a dance party and ate a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream at said party. Needless to say, Shortcake was glad she went to work at noon and not 7:30am like the other elves. And, of course, it was the last Saturday before Christmas, so the line was in women's coats practically all day.

Anyway, Shortcake went to the New York Police Dept. Manhattan South Task Force's holiday party with Santa. There was a mix-up on where his car was picking him up - 35th street vs. 34th street, but the car was found and Shortcake and Santa drove through Manhattan in a police van. Like the superstars they are.

Santa handed out gifts to the kids while Shortcake handed out giftbags. Santa took a lot of photos, including one with an officer from the K-9 unit. Shortcake felt bad for the magician who was performing when Santa arrived. With Santa in the room, it was quite a distraction for the kids watching the magic show, but the magician didn't seem to mind too much.

As a thank you, Shortcake and Santa received an NYPD PBA (policeman's benevolent association) card. It's basically a "get out of a ticket" card. It's kinda awesome to have, although, since Shortcake is good all year round, she won't be needing it. Hopefully.

After the event, Shortcake and Santa headed back to Macy's. Shortcake volunteered to help out on the line since she had 2 1/2 hours before she needed to go to the Yule Ball. She ended up at the Switch, urging people to fill in the empty spaces, cover up the ugly grey cement floor (really, they could have at least painted the floor red or green), and generally tried to keep spirits up. Of course, but this point in time Shortcake's voice was shot, and she was running low on cough drops. After two hours she was sprung free, and headed to the Yule Ball where she caught Draco & the Malfoys and Harry & the Potters singing songs about Christmas. There was a bubble machine. It was awesome.

New York Times

Detailed posts for the last three days are coming soon (involving 2 special events and some pictures), but in the meantime here's an article about Santa in the New York Times complete with a video. Shortcake is not in the video or article, but her friends Bobble, Figgy, Pippin, Hot Chocolate and Fuzzy Mittens are. And, of course, Santa.