Visit to North Pole

Ho ho ho

Santa Claus House - North Pole

Yay - I made it!

Well hello there Santa! How nice to see you in person after reading about you in Christmas stories for over 50 years! You don't look a day older than you did in my childhood Christmas books!

As a young girl growing up in central Australia where Christmas meant searing heat & red dust storms (it was during the 10 year drought), it was so magical in those days to read Christmas books about a place called the North Pole - not the geographic North Pole - but the town where Santa lives with his reindeer. There was always lots of white, glistening snow in the books and on the Christmas cards, which we could tell (by what Santa was wearing), was very, very cold. I was 35 years old before I ever saw snow for the first time. Never in a million years did I think I would ever set foot in this place called the North Pole, let alone sit on Santa's knee! Hard to believe that this is the very place that all those letters that kids address to Santa in the North Pole have been getting delivered for decades, and letters from Santa to kids, have come from here since 1952.

Mind you, it is high summer here at the moment during my visit to the Santa Claus House in North Pole (15 miles from Fairbanks), so there is no real snow left, but I did find santa and his reindeer! However, the reindeer were behind a double wire fence, so not the ideal photo setting in my opinion.

I don't know what it is about a Christmas Shop, but I can just stand there and look around at all the twinkling, beautiful decorations & ornaments, listen to the Christmas music and immediately I am transported back to the awe & magic I remember as a child. As commercial as Christmas Shops are, and despite being devoid of the real meaning of Christmas (apart from the occasional nativity ornaments), I am able to just enjoy the aura and magic of Christmas that has thrilled children since stories of santa began.