Santa Lives

December 6, 2002 10:17 AM

Santa Claus, elusive jolly old elf, has finally been located by someone curious enough (in both senses of the word) to use FedEx to track him down. (The page I linked to here only tells half the story; click that link down on the left to get FedEx's tracking page.)
posted by wanderingmind (20 comments total)

Basalt, Colorado.

"Signed For By --- S CLAUS"
posted by Pretty_Generic at 10:24 AM on December 6, 2002

So, while we thought Santa was in the North Pole, he was actually in Colorado all along! Another lie perpetrated by the liberal media proved to be false!! /sarcasm

It would be interesting to track how each country handles mail to Ol' St. Nick...Fedex sends to CO, so I wonder where the USPS sends it?
posted by JaxJaggywires at 10:27 AM on December 6, 2002

You really didn't need to add that sarcasm tag, you know.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 10:29 AM on December 6, 2002

I knew it all along! Santa Claus lives near Denver.
posted by PrinceValium at 10:30 AM on December 6, 2002

Basalt?re
posted by carter at 10:37 AM on December 6, 2002

<ever-so-slightly-offtopic>
Back when I was a shipping/receiving clerk in a retail store we had manifests that needed to be signed by the trucker picking up a skid of product. One of them always signed "Santa Claus" as a small private act of subversion.
</ever-so-slightly-offtopic>
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 11:24 AM on December 6, 2002

I met a lady that worked for a post office in NYC. She said that they took volunteers to answer & reply to some of the Santa letters. I would guess FedEx does the same sort of thing, just out of Colorado.
posted by password at 11:42 AM on December 6, 2002

In Canada, letters to Santa Claus sent through the regular mail are dealt with by teams of Canada Post volunteers who reply to each one. Santa Claus even has his own postal code: H0H 0H0.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:04 PM on December 6, 2002

How far will my letter to Santa travel via FedEx?

-Full delivery with signature to North Pole
-Memphis, TN (FedEx headquarters)
-Indianapolis, IN (nearest sort facility)
-Stevensville, MI (nearest scan in center)
-South Haven, MI (never leaves town)
-E L S E W H E R E
posted by Shane at 12:08 PM on December 6, 2002

volunteers to answer & reply to some of the Santa letters. I would guess FedEx does the same

"Signed For By --- S CLAUS"

DeliveredBASALT CO 12/05/2002 09:58 No signature required - release waiver on file
DeliveredBASALT CO 12/05/2002 09:58 No signature required - release waiver on file
On FedEx vehicle for deliveryBASALT CO 12/05/2002 09:19

I agree with you password as this package was moved about on their system thrice after being delivered in Co. The, no signature required- release waiver on file, is maybe the code for this. I'll take a guess with this from my experiece tracking my company's packages.
posted by thomcatspike at 12:13 PM on December 6, 2002

Shane, too funny, E L S E W H E R E:)
posted by thomcatspike at 12:17 PM on December 6, 2002

Elsewhere?
posted by jazon at 12:20 PM on December 6, 2002

I met a lady that worked for a post office in NYC. She said that they took volunteers to answer & reply to some of the Santa letters.

I saw a movie about it. They actually deliver them to the court house.
posted by maurice at 12:28 PM on December 6, 2002

jazon
posted by Shane at 1:04 PM on December 6, 2002

What do Santa and Blue Honey have in common?
posted by Grand Wahzoo at 3:02 PM on December 6, 2002

Grand Wahzoo, that's one hell of a link:



1. Saint Nicholas is the patron Saint of children in Siberia (Russia)

2. The Mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) grow nearly exclusively under the Christmas (Coniferous) Trees.(Birch also; Another whole story)

3. The Reindeer eat these Mushrooms.. Hence the presumed flight.

4. Santa brings presents in his Bag. Mushrooms are gathered in Bags.

5. The Mushrooms are Red and White.

6. The Mushrooms are typically Dried by hanging them on the Hearth of the fireplace on strings. Just as stockings are hung in the same way

7. The Virgin Birth is Symbolic for the Mushroom. It grows without seed (Spores are microscopic) and it's appearance was thought to be Miraculous because of this.
posted by Pancake Overlord at 7:18 PM on December 6, 2002

3. The Reindeer eat these Mushrooms.. Hence the presumed flight.

I once ate those very same mushrooms and I, too, was a flying reindeer (among other things) for a few hours.
posted by Shane at 8:21 PM on December 6, 2002

Can't find a decent up-to-date link, but yes, local post offices all over the country handle Santa Claus mail.

Here in New York, the James A. Farley post office at 33rd and 8th handles the bulk of it -- they recruit volunteers to answer the letters. I believe they call it Operation Santa Claus.
posted by Vidiot at 12:55 AM on December 7, 2002

so in the modern version of miracle on 34th street we'll just use the tracking number to prove that the old guy with the beard really IS santa.
posted by NGnerd at 7:31 PM on December 7, 2002

I remember reading that some small town in upstate new york got a lot of santa mail because they have the zip code 12345 which apparently people often use to designate the north pole... (again volunteers take up the mail).
posted by mdn at 10:05 PM on December 7, 2002