Santa Claus makes final preparations in Lapland before heading off on Christmas Eve

(24 Dec 2014) Santa Claus is making final preparations in his home in Lapland before he heads off on his globe-trotting Christmas Eve trip.
The last few letters are arriving, the elves are busy and Rudolph is getting ready for lift-off.
But before setting off, Santa sent his best wishes to the children of the world and encouraged patience ahead of Christmas Day.
"As Christmas is getting close - now very, very close - I send my love to all the children and my best wishes," he says.
"And I know that waiting for the Christmas moment, the morning when the presents are there, it feels such a long time, but it will come."
Santa Claus Village (around 8 kilometres/5 miles north of Rovaniemi in northern Finland) is a popular tourist destination.
According to Rovaniemi's tourism and marketing company, some 400-thousand people visit the village every year to meet Santa Claus, play in the snow and get in the festive spirit.
For those who can't meet Santa Claus in person, there's always old-fashioned post to get in contact.
At the village's own post office, "elves" are sorting through thousands of letters sent from all corners of the globe and sorting them by country.
The village says they receive over 500-thousand letters a year.
The countries which send the most festive correspondence include Italy, China, the UK and Poland.
According to one "elf" named Henna, children often ask for toys, but also the health and well-being of their families.
Once preparations are complete, Santa Claus goes to meet his trusty reindeer Rudolph in the forest and they both head off around the world.
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.c...

[@laurakilbane5046]

The sack is not big enough for the world 🌍

[@SabrinaMarie-uc3xo]

It's magic tho 😀

[@SabrinaMarie-uc3xo]

Yea but he is magic 😃