Many children want to know why Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. We chose the North Pole to keep Santa and the Workshop hidden from the world. That way, we can get all of our work done in the Toy Shop and Village as we prepare for Christmas Eve. As you might imagine, with magical creatures like Elves and flying reindeer living at the North Pole, allowing visitors into our world could make it difficult to stay on schedule. We would need to spend a lot of time taking photos with our visitors, answering questions about the North Pole, making cookies available for snacks, and guiding visitor groups through Santa’s Village. And, Santa certainly understands – who wouldn’t want a photo with Santa and the reindeer or to have lunch at The Reindeer Cafe!

The Elves and I put much thought into where to locate Santa’s Village and the Workshop. We decided on the North Pole because it is an extremely cold and desolate place that few people can travel to. Even with modern technology, the Arctic remains difficult to explore which makes it ideal to stay hidden from the world.

As the North Pole is very isolated, it is difficult for humans to explore or spend any length of time there. Unlike the South Pole, the North Pole has no land mass – it is simply large sheets of thick ice floating on top of the Arctic Ocean. These sheets of ice are constantly shifting. As the ice is constantly moving, Santa’s Village is never in quite the same place. Today, the Workshop may be just a little east of the Pole but next week it will be in a totally different location. 

We are also hidden from the world by a powerful enchantment that keeps us invisible and unreachable to anyone who isn’t supposed to find it. It is a magical dome of icy fog which the Elves created so that we cannot be seen from ships – even satellites and airplanes cannot detect our location. You can think of the magical dome as similar to the cloaking technology in science fiction space stories like Star Trek or Star Wars.

Finally, the Polar Night is a natural feature which helps us stay hidden at our busiest time of year. The Polar Night is a special time of year at the North Pole where it is completely dark, no sun, for 24 hours a day. This period of time lasts about 11 weeks –  from mid-November to late January. The darkest time of year is around December 21 which is called the Winter Solstice. With reindeer going on training flights, large transports of toys being moved from the Workshop to the sleigh launching site, and Elves seemingly everywhere  – there is just so much activity right before Christmas Eve that the darkness is especially helpful to our remaining hidden. 

Now, you might understand why Santa’s Village and the Workshop remain such a magical mystery in the world. Some humans have even gone so far as to question whether our home at the North Pole even exists! Rest assured – the supernatural beauty of our North Pole home exists as surely as the love, kindness, and generosity of the Christmas spirit exists in the world.