Christmas is just a week away and it's a busy time for Santa Claus and his elves. They're already sorting through some 160-thousand letters from children around the world. Naturally, things having been getting stressful - even Rudolph the reindeer¹ is getting bossy² - according to Santa, that is.

It's here on the fringes of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland that Santa and his elves prepare for Christmas. And if you've ever wondered what happens to all the letters sent to Santa from all around the world, here's the answer.

Katja, chief elf of Claus Main Post Office, said, "Hello, welcome to the Santa Claus Main post office, please do come in. This is the place where we sort all the letters that come to Santa Clause."

The post office is run by a team of international elves. They're frantically³ helping⁴ Santa open all the letters from around 195 different countries. Each one is sorted by country and then passed on to Santa Claus himself.

Riila The Elf said, "So this year we have had 160,000 letters since today, so it will be increasing. And I think we are going to have about half million, 700,000, like last year."

Last year Santa replied to nearly 50,000 letters. About one in ten children who write letters get a reply, but only if they give their full address and write a proper letter rather than just a Christmas present list.

Santa Claus said, "It's funny that even though the modern technology has brought electronic things and that sort of thing, but the basic thing how it's divided has, over the centuries has really been the same. Boys want tractors and lorries and cars and technical things and then the girls want more clothing or books or soft toys and puppets and things like that, so that still remains⁵ quite clear."

But just how does Santa manage to deliver presents to every child in the world in just one night?

Santa describes it as an "earth rotation⁶ movement thing", coupled with the efficient use of different time zones and a touch of Christmas magic to help Santa complete this most important of tasks. So get ready to check your socks!