From the desk of Santa Claus:

Thank you to the many friends, fellow Believers, and Elves-at-heart who have found their way here to this delightful website which pays such heartfelt tribute to those wonderful 77 days in 1984 when the Elves, Anya and I transformed a little piece of this Real World --- a/k/a Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England --- into my North Pole Headquarters, to help Alexander and Ilya Salkind and their associates make you believe that reindeer could fly.

Much has happened here at the Top of the World in the 35 years since we made the film. John Lithgow, of course, has gone on to great success as an actor and as a best-selling author of children's books, all of which I heartily recommend. And John, naturally, has in the interim revived both his stage and film and television careers; and he continues to captivate audiences of all ages in that particular process! As for Christian Fitzpatrick and Carrie Kei Heim, they're both grown-ups by now, I suppose, and both of them obviously have children of their own; but I do hope that they never forget their ride in the ol' sleigh when they took their respective roles of Joe and Cornelia. When last I heard from Jeffrey Kramer, he'd forsaken acting for the Executive Producer's role; he did a fantastic job helping David E. Kelley on both Ally McBeal and The Practice, and eventually struck out on his own as a producer!

As for Alexander, I wish I could express in words how much he has done for us up here at the Pole. We grieved when Ilya broke the news of his father's passing 20 years ago; we certainly continue to miss him. And each day, we follow the Ilya Salkind Company as it continues its quest to pursue the future. And when, in May 2002, we Vendequm learned of the passing of Dudley Moore, who had been battling a debilitating brain disorder called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, we wasted little time in expressing our condolences to all those who worked over the years with him, as well as to the members of his family who had their own special link to our beloved Patch. Clearly, we renew those condolences here.

Of course, it was Richard Washington who started this wondrous website in the first place. For 30 years, he has compiled, catalogued, researched and explored every aspect of my Legend and placed it all into the context of the movie. If the words "labor of love" were ever meant to embody a single person, I would wager that young Richard would indeed qualify. His efforts as this site's creator/maintainer are well appreciated here at the Pole, and we thank him with all our hearts!

But most importantly of all, as always, my biggest thanks are reserved for you, the children of the world, no matter how old you are! YOU, no doubt, are the spark that keeps this old elf jolly --- and, frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. That said, I leave you with this: I have made it my business all these centuries to make the magic of giving into something so special that it can possess the power to inspire others to give. I hope that this website has granted you that special power as well. And with that, as always......

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" (Ho-ho-ho!)

Forever and always,

Santa