The North Pole

There’s a magical place in this world. It’s called the North Pole. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. But I’m not talking of the spot in the Arctic Ocean where the earth’s axis of rotation meets the surface, though did you know that the sea depth at the North Pole is a shocking 13,980 feet?! Yikes.

I’m talking of Santa’s North Pole. And while we all know that the North Pole isn’t really real…it actually is kind of real.

There exists in Alaska a snow-dusted (more like snow-dumped) town called North Pole, which lies near the city of Fairbanks. Here, in this town of roughly 2,117 people, everything is all about Christmas. All year long.

The most popular attraction is, of course, the Santa Claus House, an old trading post turned, well…turned into Santa’s house. Each year the North Pole post office receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa from boys and girls around the world, and a community program exists to respond to those letters. Thousands more send their annual Christmas cards to the North Pole where they are stamped with the towns postmark before being forwarded to their recipients.

Picture the scene: Santa’s house nestled into the snowy terrain of the Alaska wilderness, elves carrying red and white sparkly wrapped packages, reindeer (like actual Alaskan reindeer) puffing out white plumes of hot breath, the big man himself belly-laughing on his throne, and the northern lights licking the sky above you.

Sounds pretty surreal and magical, right? Only in Alaska can these things exist. Alaska – a state where every spec of soil and air and water is infused with real-life magic.

Speaking of the northern lights…just south of Anchorage, on your way to Seward, is the town of Girdwood, a once-quaint village that is still a quaint village but now has a movie-set feel to it. Nestled at the base of Mount Alyeska in Girdwood is the Alyeska Resort, a monstrous hotel that at the same time looks out of place, yet oddly and perfectly in place.

The northern lights over Alyeska Resort in Girdwood

When the northern lights do their winter dance in the skies over Girdwood, Alyeska Resort offers their guests a wake-up call, because you will never remember those few lost minutes of sleep once you lay your eyes upon the lights in the sky and feel their power in your soul.

Basically, the moral of this story is that Alaska is probably one of the best places to spend a guaranteed white Christmas. It’s sure to create the most beautiful and lasting memories.

To send your letters to Santa, address them to:

Santa Claus
1 Santa Claus Lane
North Pole 99705

To experience the magic of winter in Alaska, book your stay at the Sauerdough Lodge in Seward.

The Seward boat harbor in winter

To experience the magic of winter in Alaska, book your stay at the Sauerdough Lodge in Seward.

Blog by Liberty Elias Miller.
Visit her website here: https://www.libertyeliasmiller.com/