Squiz Kids acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands on which we podcast the Turrbal and Gadigal people.
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Hello and welcome to this very special Squiz Kids Q&A.
I'm Christy Kidgerina.
It's the most wonderful time of the year and, as per christmas tradition here at squiz kids, we've managed to nab a very special guest for a festive q?
A from his snowy home at the north pole.
Santa Claus himself has agreed to take time out from his busy schedule, and it's so busy to answer questions sent in by curious Aussie kids.
We had a flood of questions from all over the country and a handful from overseas too.
Thank you to everyone who sent in a question.
Santa would have absolutely loved to answer each and every one of them but, as you can imagine, things are really busy up the North Pole way, so we had to whittle it down a little.
Are you ready to hear from the big man in red himself?
Okay, now let me see where I put his number.
Hmm, I know it's here somewhere.
Ow!
Um, there it is.
Bear with me as I punch it in.
That's 9074...
Oh, this is exciting.
This is Santa's workshop.
Holly speaking.
How may I direct your call?
Oh, hello, Holly.
It's Christy here from Squeeze Kids in Australia.
I've got a call scheduled with Santa Claus.
Hold the line.
Putting you through now.
Hello, this is Santa.
Oh my gosh, Santa, is it really you?
It's Christy!
Christy Kijerina here from Swiss Kids in Australia.
How are you?
Ah, Christy from Squiz Kids, my favourite podcast.
How are you?
How are things in Australia?
Oh, things are just great, Santa.
The sun's shining, it's summer, we're really hot and sweaty, but we can't wait to see you down here.
Ah yes, the southern hemisphere in summer.
Thank goodness we had aircon installed on the sleigh.
Makes my visits there so much cooler.
Now, how can I help you, Christy?
Santa.
Kids all over the country have been sending in questions for you to answer in our Squiz Kids QA.
Are you ready to see what they've come up with?
Hmm.
Have they been naughty or nice, these children?
Oh, Santa, all Squiz Kids are nice.
And well, if they're not, they're going to be making a special effort with their parents between now and Christmas Eve to be really nice.
Okay, then.
In that case, let's do it.
Okay, Santa, our first question comes from Dashiell in Narrabeen in Sydney.
Hi, my name is Dashiell.
I'm nine years old.
My questions are is it stressful delivering so many presents in one night, and do your elves ever go missing?
Ho, ho, ho, ho, those funny little elves.
They really are the most curious little folk.
Every now and then, an elf wanders off into the snow to have a brain break, visit family or play with the polar bears.
But for the most part, they are incredibly reliable.
I'm very lucky to have them.
As for Christmas Eve being stressful, well, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't.
But I've been doing this for so many years now, it's like a well-oiled machine.
Oh, that's good to hear, Santa.
Now, here's a question from Marley in Currie Currie in New South Wales.
Hi, my name is Marley.
I'm 11 years old.
My question is, have you ever woken any children up?
Oh, yes, I most certainly have woken up children.
Santa does his very best to get in and out of each house without making a noise, but very occasionally I'll come across a very protective family dog, or perhaps knock over a plate of cookies and cause a little commotion.
But I always get out of there before I'm seen.
Oh, so clever.
Now, Santa, here's a good question from Carter in Montreal in Canada.
And a shout-out to our Canadian listeners.
It must be really cold up there at the moment.
Hi, my name's Carter and I live in Canada and I want to know what Santa does after Christmas.
Do you know, Carter, I like to do a whole lot of nothing.
Ha!
Every year after Christmas, Mrs Claus and I we throw a little party for the elves to give the workshop a good clean and close everything up for a month.
You know how bears like to hibernate in the winter?
That's me.
We close all the doors, stoke up the fire and spend our days sitting in our favourite armchairs just watching the snow fall outside and having a good old snooze.
Oh, that sounds heavenly, Santa.
So no Netflix up north?
Mrs Claus likes to watch Christmas movies, but I've usually got a pile of books as tall as myself that I like to read.
That's my idea of relaxation.
Okay, Santa, let's pop to Brisbane now where 10-year-old Ava has a question.
Hi, my name is Ava and I'm 10 years old.
My question for Santa Claus is, does Mrs. Claus bake you cookies and what are your favourite kind?
Oh, Ava, I wish.
Mrs. Claus never bakes cookies.
She thinks my belly is quite round enough as it is.
In fact, Mrs. Claus has been trying for years to get me on a diet of salad and whole grains.
She thinks that I get more than enough cookies and sweets on Christmas Eve when I visit all the homes.
And she's probably right.
Oh, she just cares for you, Santa.
I suppose.
On the subject of visiting so many homes, Lawrence from South Australia has a question that a couple of kids asked us.
Hey, Santa, how do you not get arrested for trespassing when you're going into people's houses?
Also, what if they don't have a chimney and if they lock all their doors, how do you get in?
Ah, Lawrence, I like the way you think.
Very practical.
And it's an excellent point, because having a stranger coming to your house at night is well, it's most unusual.
But I have an agreement with police and parents all over the world that I will not get arrested for trespassing when I'm delivering gifts on Christmas Eve.
And if they don't have a chimney, which is quite often these days...
I rely on, let's just say, a little bit of Christmas magic to make my home deliveries.
Santa, that's amazing.
And on the subject of Christmas magic, Santa, here's a question from seven-year-old Magnus.
He's from Subiaco in Western Australia.
Hi, my name is Magnus.
I am seven years old.
My question for Santa Claus is how do you get around the world in just one night?
Ah, hello to all of my friends in Western Australia.
I do love flying over the wide plains of Australia on Christmas Eve.
It's absolutely one of my all-time favorite places to visit every year.
But, to answer the question, there's a fair bit of science and a fair whack of Christmas magic that helps me do my job every year.
First up, I follow the night.
Which is to say, I start in the Pacific Islands and follow the turn of the Earth to make sure that I stay in darkness.
And that gives me around about 31 hours of night time to work with.
And then, well, there's a whole bunch of wonderful science involving time warps and wormholes.
Oh, you're so technical, Santa.
That's actually something that we talk about in our Squiz Kids shortcut to the science of Santa.
Oh.
It's going to be publishing this Sunday, so if you're listening Anyway, let's head back to Brisbane now, where eight-year-old Sebastian has a question.
Hi, my name is Sebastian and I am eight years old.
And my question is, how many cookies do you eat every Christmas?
Oh, Sebastian, that's an excellent question.
And one that I get asked a lot, mostly by Mrs. Claus.
But let me let you in on a little secret.
The clever elves that I work with up here in the North Pole include a team of engineering elves.
Now they work year-round on my sleigh making sure it's up to the job of getting me around the world in a night.
And one of the innovations that they have developed is the creation of a CFC or cookie fuel converter.
What?
It's a special piece of technology that converts cookies into energy that I use to fuel the sleigh.
Which not only means I can do my job efficiently, but it also keeps the calorie intake down and Mrs Claus off my back.
Mind blown.
That's ingenious.
What a clever bunch of elves you have.
Oh yes, Christy.
I'm very lucky to have them on my team.
Okay, Santa, let's pop down to Bungendore now, near our nation's capital, Canberra.
We've got 10-year-old Pacey who has a question for you.
Hi, my name is Pacey.
I'm 10 years old.
My question for Santa is, do you have a potion to get your reindeers to fly?
And what are the ingredients?
Ah, Pacey, now you want me to give away all the secrets of the magic of Christmas.
So much of Christmas Pacey relies on kids, just like you all over the world believing in the magic of it.
If you think about all the joy that Christmas brings people all over the world, if you think of the important part it plays in making us all stop and take a breath at the end of a busy year and gather with friends and family and yes, give one another gifts and appreciate the importance of having people that care about us in our lives, now that Pacey is the true magic of Christmas.
So there are no potions per se involved, but each year the reindeers take flight because kids, just like you, believe.
And as long as you believe in the magic of Christmas, the reindeers will keep on flying.
Oh, how lovely.
Santa, how do you think we're going for time?
Do you have a little more time for a few more questions?
Well, my executive assistant, elf Lorraine, is shaking her head and pointing to my schedule for the day.
But I'm enjoying this so much.
I'm going to ignore her and say that we can take a few more questions.
Sorry, Lorraine.
Oh, thank you, Santa.
That's wonderful.
Let's go to Bendigo now in Victoria, where seven-year-old Macy has an excellent question.
Take it away, Macy.
Hi, my name is Macy and I'm seven years old.
And my question is, How to send to read out all the Christmas wish lists in all different languages.
Bye.
What a great question.
Thank you, Macy.
As it happens, I speak seven different languages.
English Spanish Mandarin French Russian, Portuguese and well Finnish, of course, because that's the language that's spoken here at the North Pole.
And then for all the other languages of the world, I have a team of language elves.
They're called the Babel team, up here in my workshop, and they know every language and every dialect there is in the world.
It's really quite remarkable.
Whoa, where would you be without those elves?
Oh, I'd be lost, Christy.
And I mean that quite literally, because there's also my crack team of navigation elves who plot the course the sleigh will take each year to make sure we don't miss a child anywhere in the world.
Oh, Santa, that's so great.
And it's really interesting that you say that, because we have a good question here from Audrey in Sydney.
Hi, my name's Audrey and I'm nine years old.
And my question for Santa Claus is...
Do you deliver Christmas presents to children who have gone overseas for the Christmas holidays?
Ah, great question, Audrey, because lots of kids go on holidays for Christmas.
Some go overseas, some stay here at home.
But rest assured, I will find you.
There's lots of different ways that I communicate with your parents throughout the year.
And when a mum or a dad gets in touch to let me know that they're going to be away at Christmas, I get the travel planning elves involved to make sure that no child misses out.
There is an elf for everything.
Wow.
There certainly is.
And that's a big relief, Santa.
Okay, one more question we have time for today.
Okay.
And this one comes from eight-year-old Ginger in Toowoomba.
Take it away, Ginger.
Dear Santa, my name is Ginger and I am eight years old.
My question for Santa is, what is Mrs Claus's first name?
And I also want to thank Mrs Claus for doing lots and lots of hard work.
Oh, Ginger, what a thoughtful little girl you are.
How lovely of you to think of Mrs. Claus.
Because yes, while I get all of the credit for Christmas, there's no way I'd be able to do everything I do each year if it wasn't for Mrs Claus's support at home.
And in answer to your question well, lots of movies refer to her as Jessica, which is almost correct.
You see, she is Dutch, meaning that she comes from the Netherlands, where the correct pronunciation is Jessica.
The J is pronounced like a Y, but I just call her sweetheart.
Oh, that's so lovely.
And what a beautiful name.
Please give her our regards, Santa.
I will.
Well, Santa, we've probably taken up enough of your time.
No doubt you are extremely busy with only nine sleeps left until Christmas.
Good heavens, this is only nine sleeps.
I must get back to work.
Well, it's been such a pleasure talking to you, Santa.
Thank you so much for answering Squiz Kids questions from all over Australia.
It's been my very great pleasure, Christy.
And be sure to remind those listeners of yours that my naughty and nice list is still being updated every day before Christmas.
I know it's sometimes hard for kids to be on their very best extra good behavior, but...
Santa's best friends in the world are moms and dads.
So I need all the kids out there to be extra good for their parents and their carers this Christmas.
And remember, while it might look like Christmas is all about toys and presents, it's actually about giving.
And that means being kind and thoughtful and caring for all of the people in your community.
What an excellent reminder, Santa.
Well, let's get you back to work, but before you go, do you reckon you can help us with a little traditional Squiz Kids sign-off?
Oh, I'd be happy to.
Now, get out there and have a most excellent Christmas.
Thank you, Santa.
Over and out.
Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.
Thank you.
