by Charles George
Have you ever thought about the logistics behind Santa delivering presents to so many children on Christmas Eve?
Santa is the ultimate performance driven giver.
In 2019, in a Washington Post article, Philip Bump tried to determine how many homes Santa visited each year. He calculated about 350,000,000 homes. That is 350 million homes. Not a small feat. Remarkable!
The Google Santa tracker reports that Santa’s journey lasts about 25 hours total. Plus, with the tracker, you can follow along as Santa delivers the toys across the globe
5 Things Santa Must Optimize to Ensure All The Children Receive Their Toys.
1. Santa’s Workshop
We all know Santa’s Workshop is where all the toys are made. But where is it exactly?
According to Wikipedia, children send letters to different addresses depending on where they live.
- For instance, children in Canada mail their letters to a Canadian destination with the zip code HOH OHO.
- The United States Post Office delivers letters to Santa in the NorthPole by simply addressing the envelope to Santa Claus, North Pole.
- And children in Europe send letters to Lapland in Finland. Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, and it is also the official hometown of Santa. So if you want to visit Santa’s homeland, it’s available to tour. Keep in mind at the time of writing this article, it was a high of 5 degrees with a low of 0. So dress appropriately, if you visit.
Santa has created three different headquarters to help with the demand.
As we think about the operations behind Santa’s workshop, my first question is how many elves does it require to create toys for 350 million children? This is an operation that is easily equivalent and surpasses some of today’s largest retailers.
Plus, the elves need organizational structure, job training, and homes. Not to mention the amount of food required to keep the elves at peak performance. A lot to be considered, and we haven’t even touched on caring for the reindeer yet.
2. Santa’s Post Office
The second component of Operation: Santa is managing all of the mail being sent to Santa. Now, I found where your child can register for a phone call with the elves and sometimes even talk with Santa himself. And you can video chat with Santa through the app Video Calls with Santa. But I’m not sure if the elves accept email requests for toys wanted. I believe it is still only snail mail.
Receiving this much mail requires a post office and some system where he can match the child to the toy request…I wonder if each Workshop contracts with that countries post office system to manage this part of the operation? Hmmm…not sure how he manages all of these letters. The world may never know.
3. Managing Other Santa’s
An additional way that Santa receives toy requests is by children visiting Santa in malls and stores across the globe. Again, another system needs to be in place to connect the child with their toy request to ensure each child receives their present.
Not to mention training all of the Santas and then deploying them throughout the malls. I believe choosing these Santas can be done on a local level. Maybe there is a centralized Santa University that train’s the store Santas, similar to McDonald’s U.
There are 17 Santa organizations in the USA, such as the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas. Maybe training is coordinated through these and other similar organizations. Could each organization schedule training time for their members at the closest Santa Workshop? Maybe Santa moved more into virtual digital training with the pandemic like many businesses were forced to do.
4. Managing the Naughty or Nice List Santa’s
This is one of the essential parts of Santa’s operations…managing the list of good and bad children. Not only does Santa need to know who gets what toys, but who does and doesn’t get toys. Oh my!
Plus, this list needs to be updated in real-time because we all know that things can change quickly. I do believe Santa errors on the side of caution and grace. I think he delivers toys to almost all children, whether they have been good or not. It is this spirit of giving that created the legend of Saint Nicholas.
5. Delivering Toys
The most important part of Santa’s entire operation is to ensure the children receive their toys.
For all of Santa’s hard work throughout the year, it is so he can be at optimal performance on Christmas Eve. A lot of thought, time, and preparation goes into delivering these presents.
There is nothing quite like waking up on Christmas day to the delight of a child’s excitement and enthusiasm. There is nothing quite like seeing a child smile on Christmas morning. As Nat King Cole said, “It’s the tiny tots with their eyes all aglow that make the season bright.”
Santa’s entire operation is designed to maximize his impact across the globe, from children to adults alike. Yes, this jolly ole’ elf is the ultimate performer and giver. It is his spirit of giving that defines who he is. His simple but big idea of giving gifts to children led to his global influence and impact.
Each year, his generosity spreads joy and goodwill across the globe. He transcends generations while delivering smiles along the way.
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