In light of the difficult economic and financial conditions facing us today, the choice of “Joy” as the focus of our Christmas celebrations this year may have seemed untimely at best. The bad news seems to keep coming, with little consensus as to when we may reach bottom and begin the upward climb. Yet, December is also the month when “Joy to the World” was sung all across our land, commemorating that centuries-old angelic proclamation: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

So, in the midst of all of today’s gloom and doom, is there a place for joy? Well, in the words of Mother Teresa: “Profound joy of the heart is like a magnet that indicates the path of life. One has to follow it, even though one enters into a way full of difficulties.” That theme was echoed by author Robert D. Foster, who wrote: “Joy is an inward singing which cannot be silenced by outward negative circumstances. Yes, even when life seemingly is falling apart.” No matter your current circumstances, hold joy and appreciation in your heart and you will get through these difficult times with a smile on your face.

Operation Letter to Santa and Santa’s blog wishes you great joy in your life and a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

New Years Eve is nigh and if you follow these tips you will have a safe and happy celebration!

1. If you are invited to a party, DO bring a date. It doesn’t have to be a real date if you are not currently involved with someone. Bring a friend, a relative or a office mate to celebrate the dawn of the New Year with you. However, don’t assume that the evening has to end with a kiss at midnight. If your escort is not somebody you know well or is a relative, a quick congratulatory hug will do!
2. This is the last night of the year and one where people typically feel comfortable letting their hair down. DO go out and have fun. Catch a live band. Join other people for street parties downtown. Make reservations at a restaurant that you normally would not go to because it is too fancy, too expensive…. the list goes on.  But be sure to eat something substantial if you are going to be drinking. Do plan on exercising patience and good will though. Remember that there will be a lot of people celebrating around you and lines for food, drinks and bathrooms will be long. Look around you while you are waiting and enjoy the revelers swirling around you. DON’T pitch a fit if you have to wait for a seat in a crowded restaurant or bar. DON’T constantly check your watch or sigh loudly. Even though you think you won’t be noticed in such a loud and lively crowd, you will! People do notice when you are being obnoxious. And they will do everything they can to avoid you and tend to the people who are being kind to them. It is just human nature.
3. DO tip your waiter and/or bartender. They are working hard on this night!
4. Before finalizing your New Years Eve plans, DO make sure that you have a way to get around and get back home without driving while under the influence. Find a friend who is willing to be the designated driver or check with your local cab company to see if they are offering free rides for inebriated revelers. Whatever you do, DON’T get behind the wheel if you are even just a little buzzed.
5. DO make sure you have some hidden cash on you for emergencies and that your cell phone is fully charged.
6. DO stick together during this fast-paced, crazy evening. Going out to parties and nightclubs means a fast-paced, crazy night; so be sure to travel in groups. Having a safety net around you in this environment, especially for women, is imperative.
7. DO drink sensibly if you are drinking.
8. DO have a happy and healthy New Years celebration!

As you know, Santa has an enormous list of children who are expecting him to deliver Christmas goodies on Christmas Eve.

In order to track Santa’s progress around the world, NORAD has organized a global tracking system to help you determine when you can expect Santa to arrive in your neighborhood.

Remember to put out milk and cookies for Santa and even some reindeer food before saying your prayers and nodding off to sleep.

Click here to track Santa!

USPS carrier not allowed to deliver while wearing Santa suit.

By NAT LEVY
Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer

While dreams of Santa popping down the chimney on Christmas Eve to deliver presents were extinguished for most during childhood, a select few Bellevue residents have seen St. Nick trade in his sleigh for a mail truck.

Until now.

For more than a decade now, letter carrier Bob McLean has driven around Bellevue each holiday season, delivering a little Christmas cheer while wearing a full Santa getup for two or three days. But this year, a local grinch complained to the U.S. Postal Service, and McLean has been banned from bringing his alter ego to work this year.

“The government is shutting me down because it’s a non-postal regulation uniform,” said McLean, who has been with the postal service since 1971.

McLean began donning the red and white when a stranger at the mall told him he looked like Santa Claus. Always the crowd pleaser, McLean took to the comparison, went out and bought a suit, and then another.

When he first started delivering mail in full Santa garb, McLean immediately noticed the attention. He said he’s caused traffic jams on his route on Old Main as passing drivers attempted to catch a glimpse. Merchants along his route have watched for years as McLean has been the center of attention to tourists and residents alike.

“They stop him on the corner and want group pictures with him,” said Brenda Archuletta, manager of Amore Chocolates. “Little kids – they just stare because they wonder.”

They wonder because he fits the character. Every bit Kris Kringle, McLean sports a white beard and a tuft of long white hair. Looking the part is no easy effort, either. He dyes his blond hair, and keeps a careful eye on the calendar when he trims the beard.

The only part of the Santa look he lacks is the portly figure, after losing 95 pounds.

McLean has brought his alter ego to Bellevue’s most popular Christmas attraction, Snowflake Lane, where he took his family a few years ago. He said they were pushed aside as 50 people lined up to take pictures.

He’s also been a big hit at the Aegis Living of Bellevue senior center. He visits regularly as both Santa and mailman. The residents know him well, and  are always excited when Santa knows their name, he said.

But only a few days after Thanksgiving this year, he was pulled off his route by a supervisor saying someone had complained about the uniform. He didn’t know who he had upset, or why the complaint was filed.

“This was the first time; I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I don’t step on anyone’s toes. Being Santa isn’t religious to me; it’s secular. It’s about giving.”

USPS spokesman Ernie Swanson said the complaint came from a fellow carrier. Decked out in the full on Santa suit, McLean was not recognizable as a USPS employee.

McLean is still shocked over the outcome. He sees carriers wearing Christmas gear all the time. Either way, McLean said, he will bring the Christmas cheer, and he plans to don the Santa suit at work one last time: Christmas Eve.

Bob McLean delivers mail along his route while dressed as Santa Claus in 2009. CHAD COLEMAN, Bellevue Reporter File Photo

Contact Bellevue Reporter Staff Writer Nat Levy at nlevy@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-4290.

SANTA GETS EXTRA SUPPORT FROM SOME UNEXPECTED HELPERS

By: Jahkedda Akbar and Ariel Merrick, Common Cents Interns

“We have $500 to buy items for needy families,” fifth grade students from PS 163 in Manhattan explained as they rode the subway to the 34^th Street Post Office. They headed there, led by Sue Knaster, the school’s Math Coach, as part of a “Dear Santa” Neighborhood Service project they organized to help families during the holidays. The students were excited to help, but knew they would have a difficult task ahead: they could only choose 3 families to support.

At the Post Office, the students headed right to the Santa Station — a section of the post office where all of the “Dear Santa” letters are kept during the holidays – and gathered around a long table. Dear Santa is a national program run by the United States Postal Service each year to help families in need during the holiday season. Children and parents write letters and then local donors purchase items they request. This year, the students at PS 163 decided to be the local donors and help brighten the holidays.  

At the post office, students were given a batch of Dear Santa letters to consider. One student commented, “I don’t know how many of these I can read. It’s so sad.” They were shocked to find families that did not have basic necessities like clothing. After reading several letters, each student selected at least one family they wanted to help.

After two hours the group decided to help three families and set off to buy the items on the list. Together, the students walked to a local clothing store, split into groups – one for each family – and scoured for the best deals and the items they thought were the nicest – they wanted each family to have a big Christmas with lots of gifts. Each group had $100 to spend; one student asked, “If we don’t go over $100, can we buy something for the mother too.” Another student followed by asking if she could contribute her own money if they needed more.

After the shopping was complete, the students returned to school to wrap the gifts and prepare them for Christmas morning. By the end of the day, it was clear that not only would these families have a happier Christmas, but the students would as well.

Source: Johnson City Press.com

By Madison Mathews – Press Staff Writer

With Christmas only a couple of weeks away, Santa Claus and his merry band of elves are working around the clock gathering the wants, wishes and desires of children around the world.

Checking and re-checking his list, making sure Rudolph and the other reindeer are ready for their flight and stocking his sleigh with gift after gift is a lot of work for the man in red. That’s why Santa has dispatched honorary elves all over the world to read through children’s letters so he knows exactly what to pack in his bag before embarking on his journey on Christmas Eve.

Johnson City is lucky enough to have one of Santa’s expert helpers working overtime to gather the region’s letters and send them on their way to Santa’s workshop in the North Pole. Valorie Hall, a city letter carrier, has acted as Santa’s leading Tri-Cities representative since 2005.

Thanks to Hall’s hard work and her constant communication with the bearded one, thousands of letters containing the Christmas wishes of many children have been answered by none other than Kris Kringle himself.

Many of the letters don’t waste any time getting to the point, like one boy who asked Santa for video games, Legos, remote-controlled cars, movies and even a 12-gauge shotgun. Out of the page full of items asked for, the boy left Santa with one more request.

“If I get anything, please let it be a cell phone,” he said.

Other letters start off with children asking for things that will help those around them, like a request from the following girl:

“My wish for Christmas is for all the sick peaple and sick animals to get whell and for the animals, like birds, dogs and cats to find home(s),” she said.

The little girl then continued to ask Santa for a copy of “Ghost Hunters” on video, before making another wish for “orfens” to get toys and for them to find “perents.”

Going through the letters is a lot of work, and Hall said sometimes a child’s letter will really tug on the heartstrings, like one letter written from a boy who only had one wish for this Christmas.

“My wish for Christmas is that the U.S. will bring the troops home,” the boy said.

So far, Hall has received about 200 letters, and there’s still plenty of time to get them to the North Pole, however, she said the sooner a letter arrives at the Carroll Reece U.S. Post Office on North State of Franklin Road, the better. That way, Santa will be able to write a letter back to the child.

When writing a letter to Santa, Hall said there are two very important rules to remember.

“First of all, Santa doesn’t require a stamp, so just send it to the North Pole,” she said.

Hall added that each letter addressed to Santa should include a return address somewhere in the letter or on the envelope, so Santa knows who to write back to.

Once the letter is in St. Nick’s hands, it’s only a matter of time before he uses his holiday magic to send word that he’s working hard to make sure their Christmas wishes will be answered.

“He handles everything. I just make sure they get the letter,” Hall said. “Santa knows everything. He knows if you’ve been bad or good. He’s got the inside scoop.”

by Eric Gonzales / KENS 5

There are two places in Texas you can get a hold of Santa by mail. One of those places is at the Blanco, Texas post office.

Blanco got a new postmaster in October and she started a program called Operation Santa.

“The children write the letters to Santa. We accept them here and then we find individuals to help Santa,” said Blanco postmaster, Tina Kmetz.

She says the locals help out by adopting the letters. So far, there has been a 100 percent response rate back to the kids.

The postal service calls the responders “postal elves” and say the program has been going on for almost 100 years.

“Dear Santa, how do you fill your sock up with those toys, and how do your reindeer fly? I’ve been pretty good this year with just a little bad, “ one of the letters reads.

Tina says she has been impressed how local Blanconians have stepped up and adopted the letters.

Santa baby, just slip a sable under the tree, for me
Been an awful good girl
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa baby, a ’54 convertible too, light blue
I’ll wait up for you dear Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Think of all the fun I’ve missed
Think of all the fellas that I haven’t kissed
Next year I could be just as good
If you’d check off my Christmas list

Santa baby, I wanna yacht and really that’s
Not a lot
Been an angel all year
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa honey, one thing I really do need, the deed
To a platinum mine
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight

Santa cutie and fill my stocking with a duplex, and checks
Sign your ‘X’ on the line
Santa cutie, and hurry down the chimney tonight

Come and trim my Christmas tree
With some decorations bought at Tiffany
I really do believe in you
Let’s see if you believe in me

Santa baby, forgot to mention one little thing, a ring
I don’t mean on a phone
Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry down the chimney tonight
Hurry … tonight

By LORI BASHEDA / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

They have read your letter, addressed to the North Pole. And all the other letters sent by little boys named Kyle and little girls named Cheyenne. Letters addressed to Candy Cane Lane, Silver Bells Road and Winter Wonderland. Letters that are piling up at the Santa Ana district post office.

They may not be able to make the tumor disappear in your dog Benny. Or locate a unicorn. But they are working very hard to make at least some of your Christmas wishes come true.

How could they not, when then read letters like this one from a little girl.

“Dear Santa … A year ago my dad killed my mom and little brother so now I don’t have a mom or dad, only a sister. Im 9 years old and would like for you to bring me something for Christmas if you can. Anything would be ok.”

Or this one: “Dear Santa, my brother says that I was 3 years when my dad left. I do not remember him. My mom doesent have no meney. Sometimes I want a burger and she do not have not even a dollar. The other day I had a dream that my dad came in dressed like Santa with a lot of presents but my mom says it is just a dream.”

Some of the young letter writers aren’t even asking for anything for themselves.

“Dear Santa, my mom is sad and I can see it, paying bills and getting by being a single mom with three kids is hard for her,” one boy writes. “Just bring happyiness to my mom.”

Another girl tells Santa she has had four surgeries on her legs, but she is more concerned about her parents feeling bad because they can’t afford presents for her little sisters.

“People and kids look at my legs a lot and I don’t feel good when they do and point at me,” she writes. “But my mom and dad always been there to help me! That’s why I’m asking you to please help them this year. … Will you please help them. You don’t need to give me anything.”

Not all the letter writers are children.

One arrived from a 43-year-old unemployed mother of three. “Dear santa, I now write to you because I feel alone,” her letter reads. “I plead that maybe you can grant me the wish of a job.”

Fortunately, not every letter writer is full of sorrows. In fact some of the writers seem to have it better than this writer.

A girl who signed her letter “always nice, never naughty” is asking for “a brand new sparkly diamond ring.”

And here’s the opening line from a boy: “Dear Santa, please get me and my dad a Lamborghini.”

That same boy asks Santa to give his mom a baby boy, which would probably cancel out his dad’s delight over the Lamborghini.

If one thing is for sure, it’s that Santa letter writers cannot be stereotyped.

There are fesser-uppers: “Dear Red, I am sorry I was a bad boy.”

And butter-uppers. “Dear Santa, You’re a great guy,” begins a girl named Angelina.

There are politicians: “Thank you for participating in Christmas,” a girl named Miriam signs off.

And bargainers: “I will not yell at my mom or cry or fight with my sisters,” swears Brooklyn after asking for a guinea pig to replace the one that died.

There are cheerleaders: “Dear Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman is coming back on Christmas day!” is one boy’s entire letter.

Over-achievers: “What I would really like though is a spot on the nice list,” writes a girl named Rebecca.

And possibly even the next Kitty Kelley: “I would like to ask for your permission to write a book about you,” pens a boy.

Some kids play it cool: “Dear Santa, long time no see,” writes a girl named Gianna. “Could you go to Haiti for me?”

Others have been watching too many detective shows. “Have you ever met someone named Charo Guerrro? A.k.a Salvador Guerrero” one boy asks, directing Santa to then circle Yes or No.

And then there are those kids who you aren’t quite sure what category they belong in. “Do those little doll elfs come alive on Christmas (if you have been good) because my mom says that we don’t believe that the elf dolls come alive on Christmas.”

Some of the letters include catalogue clippings to make sure Santa gets it right. One girl taped half a dozen doll photos to her wish list. “They are the new things this year so I feel sorry for your elfs,” she writes. “Tell them to work with all they got.”

Other requests range from an electric pencil to underwear. One boy asked for the odd trio of an invisibility cloak, a Diet Rite Cola and perfect attendance. “Thank you for listening,” he signs off.

Another boy asks for a doghouse and then left his footprint in what appears to be dirt on the stationery.

But for every 10 kids who ask Santa what football team he roots for or remind him that they have outgrown Legos, there is one who wants “my abuelita to believe in herself and start walking.” A letter that breaks your heart.

“I want to know why you never come to my house,” one girl writes. “I wait for you and you never came. I have good grades. Please could you come this Christmas and make happy my family.”