North Pole, Alaska – “It was the week before Christmas and there was a lot of commotion at the Santa Claus House in the town of North Pole, Alaska.
The iconic Christmas-themed store checked its list twice and realized it’s a lot more naughty than fun when one of the gifts it sends arrives late to its destination around the world.
“People are used to waiting until the last minute to shop online, which makes it challenging for us to process that order and ship it from Alaska,” said Paul Brown, manager of the Santa Claus House, which has been around for decades sending thousands of annual Christmas letters to children around the world.
In North Pole, about 13 miles southeast of Fairbanks, candy canes serve as street lights, and Christmas takes on special meaning for resident and FedEx driver Bill Soplu.
“Yes, this is a beautiful time of year,” Soplu said. “Everyone is so happy now, so it makes our job a lot easier.”
The cold weather does not detract from Souplou’s cheerfulness.
“The other day it was 30 degrees above, you know, and when you wake up the next morning it’s 30 degrees below,” he said.
Neither does the moose.
“We don’t want to mess with those guys,” he adds.
The gifts Soplu delivers come from an airport 20 miles away on a frozen road. During the winter months, there are only a few hours of daylight in Fairbanks and temperatures hover around zero.
During the holidays, an average of 3,000 packages per day come through Fairbanks. Captain Joseph Erikson is a delivery pilot for FedEx.
“I know there’s a good chance there’s a special gift on that plane, and it’s important to get that to that family,” Erikson told CBS News.
Before reaching Fairbanks, shipments from around the world first pass through a sprawling FedEx sorting center at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.
During the holidays, 33 delivery planes fly in and out of Anchorage every day carrying approximately 80,000 packages. The planes fly 24 hours a day, so gifts can reach the entire world in just 24 hours.
“We’ve been putting these plans in place for months so we can ensure we get these packages to our customers,” said David Lewis, senior manager of surface operations for FedEx in Alaska.
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