Every year we help elementary school classes contact the North Pole and talk directly to Santa. While I joke about hating the endless singing of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and elementary schools giving me hives...I really do love to see the looks on the kids' faces when Santa holds up their letters, calls them by name, and talks about secrets shared with him by their teacher. Santa is amazing. His suit is gorgeous, his beard is legit, and he loves those kids! We usually have a theme each year, kids participate in activities geared toward that theme, and Santa reads a Christmas book with the same theme. During the race for Governor, we held a race to see who would be the reindeer Governor. One year we did an environmental theme and kids talked about ways to recycle after Christmas. You get the idea. It's pretty cool. Here are some more photos from this year's connection with the North Pole.