North Pole Press Newsletter
June 2024 – Where does the time go?
We just noticed that we haven’t posted anything since March! What happened? What have we been doing?
Well, to say that this has been our craziest year ever is an understatement. It would seem that as we get older we keep getting busier! As you can easily see in this website, we have two growing Etsy stores, two international podcasts (also growing), a YouTube channel with 91 videos, 27 of which coincide with our “Behind the Scenes” podcast.
Speaking of the Etsy stores, Santa’s Magic Chest is about to explode from having 122 items to more than 200 listings by the end of June. Mary is crazy busy putting the final touches on numerous new offerings from shirts and sweatshirts to mugs and tumblers, and…well you should see for yourself – it’s a lot. Here is the link
The other crazy thing is our upcoming Santa season for 2024. Yes, you read this right. We are getting numerous offers and possibilities of bookings like never before! We received more bookings already by Memorial Day than we would get by the end of October. We are also having to seriously entertain the possibility of spending the entire Christmas season in another city for one company whom Santa is negotiating with currently. We’ll keep you posted on this, but it may limit how many virtual and personal visits we will be doing for this Christmas. Some things are too good to pass up.
Speaking of virtual visits, since Santa and Mrs. Claus may have limited time slots this December, let us remind you we offer Anytime Virtual Visits with Santa Claus or Santa and Mrs. Claus! Anytime parents want their kids to visit with us, we will be there for them. We can wish them Happy Birthday, Congratulations on a special event or accomplishment, or just a casual chat to let them know they are still loved by the residents of the North Pole. Don’t miss the chance for your child to experience the magic of the North Pole from us.
Additionally, we are also looking at the fast approaching Christmas in July that is just before us. With all we are trying to accomplish, we have to look long and hard as to how much more we can take on for next month and this growing holiday. So many things to achieve and so little time.
Believe it when we say we are not complaining about how busy we have become, but as we get older we need to carefully consider where to put our greatest effort. We will say this, getting older is not for wimps, especially nowadays.
We wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July. We will certainly keep you posted with the new changes and updates as they take place and are firmed up. Most are extremely exciting! Until then.
March?
How can that be? Spring, St. Patrick’s Day, Time changes, and even Easter coming at us full speed this month! We are going crazy with all the wonderful things happening since we turned the calendar over to 2024 already. And this month we have some real high notes to brag about.
Our YouTube channel “A Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus” has hit 4,000 subscribers! Our podcasts for “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus” are receiving an incredible amount of likes and lovely comments. Joe’s international podcast, Traditionally Speaking, with his friend and fellow author from Scotland, Tom Christie, has branched into 20 countries around the world!
And this month we are going LIVE on YouTube to make a major announcement that you may have already noticed on this website. We are going to be offering Anytime Virtual Visits with Santa Claus or Santa and Mrs. Claus! Anytime parents want their kids to visit with us, we will be there for them. We can wish them Happy Birthday, Congratulations on a special event or accomplishment, or just a casual chat to let them know they are still loved by the residents of the North Pole. No more waiting the whole year to let the magic of the North Pole to touch your children.
Adults are welcome to visit, as well! We would love to chat with you and answer any questions or give advice on many issues parents face today. We are here to help and support you.
We hope that you will become a subscriber to our podcast and YouTube channel, as we want to keep reaching a wider audience. Plus, unlike most YouTube channels, we are not trying to push anything on you. We just want to share the many incredible, and even unbelievable, experiences we have been blessed to be a part of during our journey as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and personally as author and illustrator, podcasters, celebrities, and more.
We hope this spring brings you renewed hope and joy for the remainder of the year. Thanks for being here with us.
January 2024
What a way to end 2023! We had an incredible month in December with lots of appearances, Christmas parties, virtual visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and lots of truly fun visits with so many boys and girls!
The year 2023 as a whole was a good one, with the last quarter being especially gratifying. We saw a major spike in our YouTube subscriptions and visits for “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus.” And the podcast Joe does with his good friend, Tom Christie in Scotland, “Traditionally Speaking,” also had a strong uptick in downloads from a variety of countries. We had a lot more visits to our website, and we even had some nice Etsy sales.
Overall, we were quite pleased with all the activity. We are hoping to continue our growth in 2024 with our podcast/vlogs, and are hoping more people will discover our stores on Etsy. These things are still a big learning experience for us, especially trying to grow things like YouTube and our businesses and podcasts, which are always ever-changing.
Our “Santa Business” in 2023 took a major upswing and we had more personal and virtual visits then we’ve had since 2020. We are looking to continue to increase both of these in 2024 and Mary will soon be setting up appointment calendars and more on this website to make it easier for you to directly book some time with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
Of course, all of this was further enhanced by the addition of the newest member of our family, Rascal. 
This lovey little bundle of cat fluff, not only increased our holiday enjoyment, but has made a major impact (for the good) on our 10½ year old Tabby, Smoky. We are seeing him getting more exercise and having more fun tousling with Rascal than we ever thought possible. Of course, Rascal has gotten into lots of things we wish he wouldn’t, but such is having a very high-spirited kitten around. Sure wish we could borrow some of his energy!
It has taken us a few weeks to recover from the holidays, and we are still trying to pack away our Christmas items, and are beginning to add more items and adjusting some things to our stores. This along with adding new podcasts (the 10th and 24th of each month for Santa and Mrs. Claus, and the 15th of each month for Traditionally-Speaking) but we are taking our time doing all this, as we are enjoying everything we are undertaking and not rushing our enjoyment of our accomplishments.
So, we suggest you check with us several times over this year in order to keep up with our changes and additions. We hope to have more interaction this year with our visitors and subscribers. And as always, we welcome your comments, suggestions, and ideas. So please drop us an email or make a comment on any of our platforms and we promise we will respond.
We hope everyone has an outstanding 2024 and we look forward to hearing from you!
October 2023
So now it’s time for pumpkins, cornstalks, scarecrows, falling leaves, crisp mornings, and skeletons. Welcome October!
Can you believe we are into the last quarter of 2023 already? It truly doesn’t seem possible. I am already getting Santa bookings for the upcoming season. And both of us have been invited by two well-established agencies to be one of their featured Santa and Mrs. Claus for this year. I think we will be crazy busy these last few months.
We are also beginning to eye our Christmas decorations in the garage with greater enthusiasm, and most importantly, Mary is desperately trying to get the Christmas items we want to sell on our two Etsy stores up and visible. Not to mention both of our podcasts, “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus” https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpPll5Gfj9FkJHaIawhnm-p8syT8Gj-I0 and “Traditionally Speaking” https://traditionally-speaking.weebly.com/are continuing to gain more fans and and a greater audience with every episode. (Links to both of these are above.)
Speaking of our Etsy stores, our Santa’s Magic Chest https://santasmagicchest.etsy.comis up to 155 items! And some of the newly designed items from Mary include new clothing for Return of the Birds and lounge-wear for the entire family featuring our Christmas Eve Journey book! We still have more items that Mary is working on for Magic Chest, however, we have a large assortment of vintage and collectible items that are going up on Mary’s Treasures by Mrs. Claus https://treasuresbymrsclaus.etsy.comstore on Etsy as well, and she is hard at work getting all the pictures and descriptions for these for your shopping pleasure. These also include many vintage and collectible items for Christmas. Both store sites have links above, so please check them out. You may find a rare treasure or gift to make someone’s Christmas truly special, maybe even your own!
Speaking of our books (yes, I can go on doing this all day), I am proud to announce that two of my books are now available as audiobooks on Apple! Glaciers Melt and Mountains Smoke and Revenge of the Birds are now both offered in this exciting new format. And yes, the rest of the Santa Claus Trilogy and Return of the Birds will also be available as audiobooks on Apple, soon. We have waited a long time to begin to offer audiobooks, especially since all my books were already available in hardcover, paperback and digitally. So this is truly exciting for us to have partnered with Apple, and we hope you will think so, too.
So much to do, and so little time. I better get back to helping Mrs. Claus! We are wishing everyone a truly memorable Fall and Winter this year, and we hope you find lots of wonderful magic and good times for Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It feels so strange to be mentioning these holidays so soon. May we all find the time to enjoy them this year. God Bless.
September 2023 Newsletter
Good God, are we really past Labor Day already? It seems like the blink of an eye that we were just welcoming spring. And in spite of all the excessively hot weather around the world, I am already seeing Christmas Trees, lights, gift wrap, etc. for the upcoming season in several stores.
Very soon it will be pumpkins and pumpkin spice everything! I am already looking at my Halloween decorations and scratching my beard. Although, I must admit the cooler days cannot come soon enough for Mary and me.
Today we are working on our 9th podcast for “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus”. Eight! Already! And Tom Christie and I are well into our second year with the “Traditionally Speaking” podcast, which continues to grow monthly. I am very proud of both these podcasts and invite you to give a listen, because we really are having as much fun as it sounds. We’d love to bring a smile to your face today.
And our stores! Good heavens, I am up to 145 items and growing on Santa’s Magic Chest! And Treasures by Mrs. Claus has been gaining more customers, and she will be adding many more items for Christmas soon. (She has been working on new designs and products of my store, sorry you antique lovers. Trust me, she has tons more items coming.) Both stores have links at this website for your convenience.
Concerning the stores, Mary has a brand new camera with all the bells and whistles, and is crazy busy retaking and updating all the pictures to much sharper and better photos. Already, they are more representative of our products. I continue to tweak the descriptions and could spend half the day talking about the extremely high-quality of our wares. I can never get over how beautiful the clothing is and I know Mary’s new photos will far better represent this.
We also have new artwork for Blitzen (our Hyundai Elantra) and hope you will stop and say hello if you see us streaking around town. Well, it is time to go look at mums for our fall decorations.
September, good God.
August 2023 Newsletter
I know, this month’s installment is a bit late. But can you really blame us? With two international podcasts, two very different Etsy stores, a YouTube channel, a side hustle to boot, and dare I say it? Yes, we have even started making Christmas reservations (don’t blame us, you guys are the ones asking in August)!
And speaking of our Etsy store, Santa’s Magic Chest is already to break the 200 item mark (we just launched the store at the very end of July). Mary is working feverishly to blow that number through the roof. She is currently designing custom (and one-of-a-kind) adult clothing, blankets, pajama/nightwear, ornaments, and even a set of special artwork for our car! Pretty soon you will be able to spot us cruising around with me on AND in the car, ho, ho, HO! Mary is excited seeing how many views we currently are getting on our store, and she is out to offer you an entire world of new products, all related and exclusive to The North Pole Press (and nowhere else)!
So please don’t think you’ve seen everything we have to offer. I highly recommend you check back often to see what new and fun things we have come up to make everyday like Christmas for you.
About our podcast, “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus”, it is growing rapidly, and we would like to thank all of you for its hundreds (and soon, thousands) of views and numerous likes. It is very gratifying to share all the exceptional things we have been so blessed to partake and be a part of during our years as Santa and Mrs. Claus. When we began this journey, we were amazed at the flood of memories that poured forth. I can tell you we will have many, many, many more stories and experiences to share with you, so please keep visiting our podcast/vlog.
Likewise, my dear friend, Dr. Tom Christie and I are reaching larger audiences in numerous countries every month with our podcast, “Traditionally Speaking,” and like “Behind the Scenes,” we are finding more and more wonderful and interesting traditions to discuss and will be at this a good long while, as well. We are enjoying learning just how differently we celebrate Christmas and the times leading to and away from it. Tom also just released a new book with Murray Cook, the renowned archaeologist, entitled “Scotland’s Christmas” that goes much, much deeper into the celebrations, traditions, and customs much further back than the birth of Christ. It is a fascinating and enjoyable read. Tom’s book can be found on the Extremis Publishing website.
Well, I better push off. Mary wants me to look at some of her new designs. She is anxious (like, I’m not…) to get these into the store, quickly. Besides, there is only 128 days remaining until Christmas! (I know you really, deep-down inside wanted to know this.)
July Newletter – Santa Says “Do Something Unique and Special for Loved Ones This Year.”
Like it or not, Christmas will be here before you know it. Now is the time to begin ordering those one-of-a-kind items.
There are now fewer days to this coming Christmas than to last Christmas. While you may have not thought about what special gift you want to give for this December, time is already marching against you to find those incredibly unique, custom, and special gifts that cannot be duplicated. The kind of gift that will ensure they think of you every time they look at it.
And while we’re at it, why not save money on those desirable gifts while they are on sale?
For instance, children and grand-kids love reading a book they enjoy. The North Pole Press offers wonderfully illustrated and rhyming books about Santa’s elves and how they all work together, brilliantly, to make every child smile at Christmas. And these books are available from great merchants such as Amazon, Walmart, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and even Waterstones in London to name several.
But why not make the book(s) truly one-of-a-kind? How? Order it from Etsy at Santa’s Magic Chest where it will not only be autographed by both the author and illustrator, but it will be dedicated to your child or family by none other than Santa and Mrs. Claus, themselves! Now THAT is truly special and makes the book an instant heirloom.
You can even order custom-made clothing designed by Mrs. Claus that accompanies the various children’s stories. Each piece is individually made to your child’s size. Because of this, these unique articles take a couple weeks to be made and then shipped. See how the time is moving forward already?
And children are not the only ones that can receive exclusive presents from Santa’s Magic Chest. There are novels for all ages in fantasy and suspense/thriller genres, clothes for adults, special family Christmas books, and even a coin to help your kids behave year-round. And Santa is always adding more things to his chest to make it even more exclusive.
Visit https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasMagicChest to see all the wonderfully rare and different gift ideas. And during Santa’s Christmas in July event almost 80% of Santa’s Magic Chest is on sale. But hurry, like melting snow, this sale will disappear soon.
Summer is Coming Fast!
June at last! Everyone is planning their vacations (if they haven’t begun them already). Kids are already tasking their folks into keeping them busy and occupied without losing all their precious time for work and errands.
The days are getting longer (as are bedtimes). The weather is getting warmer. And the days seem a little brighter. It’s time to pick up a new book, whether adult or child. Summer reading programs are in full swing and mom or dad have been wanting to start a new read for a while, themselves.
Let us help you! Did you know that we have a variety of genres and subjects available? From children’s picture books, to fantasy novels dealing with time travel, past history, and magical places, to suspense thrillers that you can’t put down. Let us help make your time together truly special with an autographed and dedicated book to you or your child.
We even have dishwasher/microwave safe mugs so you can enjoy your coffee, tea, or favorite beverage while you read. We also have tote bags that are perfect for the beach or outings to the park. And something that no parent should be without – Santa’s Magic Coin, to help keep your kids in check and staying on Santa’s Nice list.
Remember, we are all about fun, families and smiles, all through the year. Let us help make this summer truly special for you and your family. Visit Santa’s new Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SantasMagicChest where we are adding new products almost daily!
Welcome to our May Newsletter!
And finally, a podcast and vlog more than twenty years in the making!
That is what is being released on May 10th. Joe and Mary begin with an introduction of what the podcast “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus” is all about. Then on May 24th we follow up with our first ‘official’ episode of how the whole journey began.
No matter if you are considering a career as a Santa or Mrs. Claus, wondering what it is like to portray the infamous couple, or you just can’t get enough of Santa in your life, we know you are going to laugh, ponder, and even cry at many of our events and travels throughout this country.
We have been truly blessed in our roles. What is also fun is when we compare our involvements with those of other Santas and Mrs. Clauses. It is difficult to encompass the multitude of all the ways and places Santa makes an appearance. For instance, Joe has personally been on a wild ride in a Zorb in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with none other than Elvis Presley (YouTube link: https://youtu.be/tTz3Dg6Cvzc). He and Mary also did a commercial for a waterpark in Sevierville, TN and went on their various rides and attractions for it. (What is with this Santa and water?)
We are also good friends with the Santa from the Hollywood parade who has been the main attraction in this event for many years, as well as a Santa who had the ultimate mall experience with Mall of America, almost as long as we have portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus. Then there is the Polar Express trains, the North Pole Experience in Arizona, the Santa themed parks, and, well…you get the idea.
So Santa Joe and Mary Claus invite you to tune in and hear some of our amazing stories on “Behind the Scenes with Santa and Mrs. Claus” starting this month with a new episode every couple weeks (after all we have over 20 years to cover). So please tune in to our new podcast and let us show you the many adventures and crazy times of portraying Santa and Mrs. Claus.
March, 2023 Newsletter
You better grab a rein and hold on tight, because this sleigh is going to fly like it has never flown before!
If this is your first visit to our web pages, than Mrs. Claus and I offer you a hearty and joyful “Ho, Ho, Ho, and Welcome!
If you are one of our many, many return visitors, all we can say is you are in for some new surprises to our completely revised and enhanced website. We strongly urge you to take a good look around, as we have changed and added several more pages and attached a new store to the website. It is much easier to navigate and see the myriad of products and events taking place around here.
One of the things we want you to consider is to drop us an email and let us know how you like the new format. Also if you give us your email, we will add you to our brand new podcast coming soon and the accompanying vlog that will be appear under our YouTube channel, “A Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus”.
What new podcast you may ask? Well, let us tell you! Mrs. Claus (Mary) and I (Joe) have performed as the Claus’ for over 20 years! We have done this in multiple states and in nearly every imaginable way that Santa Claus can make an appearance in public (and privately). From television appearances and shows to parades, mall-type visits, riding fire trucks, visiting reindeer, and photo shoots at the Western White House in San Clemente, and so much more.
So many people have asked what it is like to portray this world-renowned gift giver and what have we enjoyed most, or what was our funniest experience(s)? So we have decided the best thing would be to do a podcast and place our many experiences, anecdotes, stories, and advice for all those who would like to pick up Santa and Mrs. Claus’ mantle going forward. So many wonderful memories and experiences are just begging to be shared with all of you that we just can’t wait. We will start with the first three podcasts soon, and if you give us your email, you will be notified the day they are broadcast!
Speaking of podcasts, have you tuned into Joe’s podcast with his dear friend, Tom Christie from Stirling, Scotland called Traditionally Speaking? We have just finished an entire year of episodes and have listeners in a dozen countries! In this podcast, Tom and Joe discuss Christmas traditions and their origins in Scotland, The United States, and other countries and how these traditions differ in each. Everything from Christmas Trees to Ecclefechan tarts and more are talked about. What is an Ecclefechan tart? Go to the Traditionally-Speaking.com website (linked above) or your favorite podcast provider to learn more.
In future newsletters, we will keep you apprised of new podcasts, YouTube videos, appearances, book signings, and so on. With God’s grace we will be at this many more years. And we promise continuous new and awesome stories guaranteed to make you laugh, bring a tear, or just shake your head in wonder. Grab a rein and hold on.