Does Santa still live in the north pole?
december 2022
Only a few more days until the Big Red Man comes to visit…
Are you ready? Have you bought the turkey? Is the tree up? The presents wrapped?
I don’t know how the story goes in other parts of the world, but here in the UK the Christmas narrative goes something like this…
There’s a big, fat jolly man with a white beard called Father Christmas. He lives in the North Pole with his wife and hundreds of elves who make the toys in his magical workshop. Throughout the year the elves make the toys and on Christmas Eve they load them up on Santa’s reindeer-pulled sleigh and fly to kids’ houses all over the world. Santa drops down the chimney, with his sack of toys and leaves presents in stockings or under the Christmas tree ready to delight kids on Christmas morning. If he’s lucky, there will be a glass of sherry and a mince pie left out for him to munch before moving on to the next house…
But where do all the presents come from? We know that there isn’t some magical workshop in the North Pole where Santa and his elves make all the toys… But there is a magical place that’s responsible for more than 56% of all toy manufacturing. You guessed it! It’s China!
China has become the world’s leading toy manufacturer with the value of toys and games exported out of China in 2021 exceeding 100 billion dollars. And every single fidget spinner, Polly Pocket & Rubiks Cube that comes from China has to be transported to its destination around the world by – you guessed it – freight forwarders!
Now, the manufacturers might make the toys and the freight forwarders get them to where they need to go, but we know all know who it is that really brings the magic of Christmas.
And no, it isn’t Santa either… It’s the mums and dads who work hard, saving up their cash, trekking to toy shops and staying up late to sneak into the lounge and lay the presents out.
So before we close our doors and take a well deserved Christmas break, let’s take a minute to appreciate the people who really make the magic of Christmas possible. Grab your glass of Christmas sherry (if you drink) and raise your glass to toast the mums and dads who are keeping the magic alive for kids all over the world.
Good work guys, keep it up and thanks for everything you do. Enjoy your break (we all know you deserve it!). Merry Christmas! See you on the other side.