The life of an elf is all about working from home, rolling your eyes at sugar substitutes, and being very, very excited about the comings and goings of packages! This year many of us got an unexpected taste of Elf Living—candy binges, living where you work, delivery enthusiasm, and all. And for those of us asking, “Why as the year winds down do I just feel more and more jolly???” (that’s all of us, right?) … The answer is rolling in behindeightnine tiny reindeer!
Little known fact: On top of guiding the way, the addition of Rudolph as the ninth reindeer improved overall “sleigh velocity”–allowing Santa to reach more homes and keep up with world population growth.
For the rest of the season, whenever you search for “Santa” or “Christmas” on Google, you’ll see a familiar red hat on the results page. Click on it and hold on for deer life as you fly off to Santa’s Village. Starting on December 24, you can follow Santa on his journey around the world with Santa Tracker. Until then, help Santa prepare for his trip around the world in Santa’s Village.
Before the big night, keep up with the North Pole from around the world
You can keep track of what’s happening in the world’s coolest spot with your Google Assistant. Just say, “Hey Google, what’s new at the North Pole?” to get updates from the elves via the North Pole Newscast. You can also find out how the world’s getting ready for Santa’s ride by checking out the latest holiday searches. “What do elves eat?” and “Write a letter to Santa” are both up over 5,000 percent worldwide over the past month—and the United Kingdom takes the (fruit)cake for the most searches for “Santa Claus.”
Santa and Mrs. Claus overseeing preparations.
Help get Santa’s elves ready for loading up his sleigh with Elf Maker
After 1,740 magical years at the North Pole, elves know a thing or two about being on ice while sharing the Yuletide joy…but this year they’ll need your help getting Santa’s sleigh ready. Families around the world can help the elves get ready to export the cheer with Elf Maker, which lets you create your own elves. The elves will then be ready to load Santa’s sleigh for the big night!
Help Santa practice for his trip with Present Drop
The love and concern people showed for each other in 2020 inspired Santa. This year, Santa’s “Nice List” broke all records as millions of people and small businesses around the world tried new things and used digital tools to keep each other safe and their communities going. Santa noticed! This year you can help him get ready for the big day with a practice delivery (that also practices social distancing) using Present Drop, which lets you drop packages into chimneys.
Help Santa practice with Present Drop
Be visited by the artworks of Christmas Past (and color them)
For some festive fun, Google Arts & Culture created a special edition of its coloring book, featuring cheerful coloring activities for children and families. When you search for “Santa” or “Christmas” on Google, you’ll find a link to explore some classic artworks.
Follow the search for Santa around the world
After helping out in Santa’s Village, it’s time to put out the milk and cookies and refresh the Trends page to see which parts of the world are reporting reindeer sightings. Notice a sudden spike in “reindeer food” for the month of December? That gives you an idea of how many carrots Santa’s reindeer are eating in preparation for the big flight (hint: it’s a lot, pulling that sleigh requires energy!). And with a 300 percent increase in searches for “Where is Santa right now?” we know people around the world will be listening for the sound of silver bells this week.
So before you turn in for the night, follow Santa’s progress on his journey as he checks off the longest nice list in history.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
