How cold is it at the North Pole?
During winter, the temperature at the North Pole averages from about -45 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit (-43 to -26 degrees Celsius). During summer, the temperature climbs up to a cool 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).

If it’s noon in Tokyo, what time is it at the North Pole?
Good question. In most places on Earth, local time is determined by longitude and time of day is more-or-less synchronized to the position of the sun in the sky (for example, at midday the sun is roughly at its highest). But this method of determining time doesn’t work at the North Pole, where the sun rises and sets only once per year, and all lines of longitude (hence all time zones) converge. So there is no assigned time zone at the North Pole. (Is this why Santa can defy time and fly all around the world in a single night?)

Does the sun still rise in the east and set in the west at the North Pole?
When the sun is visible in the polar sky (during the summer months), it appears to move in a clockwise circle above the horizon. The sun rises only once and sets once every YEAR at the North Pole.

Other than Santa’s Village, what other buildings are there at the North Pole?
The South Pole has some permanent scientific outposts, but the North Pole has no permanent structures. That’s because it’s in the middle of the Arctic Ocean and is surrounded by water that is and sea ice that is always shifting.

What animals live at the North Pole?
Other than Santa’s reindeer, very few animals have ever been sighted near the North Pole. The few that have been spotted near the top of the earth include the ringed seal and Arctic foxes, as well as birds such as the Black-legged Kittiwake, the Snow Bunting, and the Northern Fulmar.

Is Santa’s North Pole the only North Pole?
In addition to the geographic North Pole, which is the northernmost point on Earth, there is also a Magnetic North Pole, as well as cities named North Pole in Alaska, New York, Idaho and Oklahoma.

Remember the scene in How the Grinch Stole Christmas where the Whos hold hands in a circle and sing? The title of that song is “Fahoo Forays,” and if that doesn’t make any sense to you, it’s because the words are made up. Dr. Seuss invented some of the words of the song and tried to make them sound like classical Latin. Seuss was so successful that some people thought it was real Latin and wrote the studio to ask for a translation.

In A Year Without A Santa Claus, if you look closely when the little girl is writing the word Christmas with a crayon during the Blue Christmas song, you’ll notice that the letters seem to appear before she actually writes them.

The Grinch has blue eyes – but only after his heart grows while he’s standing on the top of Mt. Crumpet. Before that, his eyes are red.

June Foray, who was the voice of little Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, was also the voice of the teacher in Frosty the Snowman and the drummer boy’s mother in The Little Drummer Boy.

In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hermey is the only elf who doesn’t have pointy ears.

- The only time Lucy ever calls Charlie Brown just “Charlie” in a Peanuts special is just before she discusses the commercialization of Christmas in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Thereafter, she always calls him Charlie Brown .

If you’ve Elf Yourself-ed too many times to find it funny anymore, grab your digital photos and head over to FunPunch.com to check out their “You’re the Star” ecards for the holidays and Santa yourself. They’ve got some great free ecards for the holidays that let you add your own photo. Put on a Santa costume and dance with the rocking reindeer (shown here) or don an elf outfit to dance by the fireplace. You can also check out some of the racier options, such as the Xmas stripper cards. (Don’t worry – the animated characters don’t bare it all.)

You’ll need an account to send your cards or post them on Facebook, but it’s free, so have fun!
They’re all free, so go have some fun!

One parent said, “After hearing from friends and reading reviews how great this was, we bit the bullet and got it. I cannot say enough about how cute this was for our two boys (age 6 and 3). They bolted downstairs every morning to find the elf, and the oldest cried when he touched it accidentally because he thought it would lose its magic. The story and elf was the sweetest thing. Note, however, that parents have to remember to move the elf around every night, or come up with creative excuses for why the elf decided to come back from the North Pole into the same spot! .”

Yes, indeed, if you buy the Elf on the Shelf gift set, be prepared to come up with a new hiding spot every night!! This has been my biggest challenge, as the holidays are a busy time already, and remembering to move the elf every night can be difficult if you don’t make a habit of it. But it’s definitely worth it if you want to bring a little Christmas magic into your house.

More on the Elf on the Shelf Gift Set and Other Elf Toys and Books.

One silly Christmas video sure to please most kids, particularly elementary age ones, is the Farting Elves. This humorous video features Santa’s elves (along with Mrs. Claus and Santa Claus, too) farting to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Who knew elves had such a strange musical talent? I thought they only knew how to build toys. But after watching this video, you may never see elves the same way.

Now I know you’re thinking that a farting Christmas song is childish bathroom humor that probably wouldn’t be entertaining for most civilized adults. And you could be right. But there are either a lot of children on YouTube or some adults have enjoyed this video, too, as more than 250,000 people have watched the JibJab Farting Elves on YouTube. So go on, check it out. Don’t worry – we won’t tell.