Logistics for Santa Claus: how does he manage to deliver all Christmas presents on time?

Ho ho ho: Santa Claus is in the midst of preparations for his big day (or to be more precise: his big night). The sleigh is being given a last check, the reindeer are fed and watered, and kiddies’ last-minute wish lists are being processed. But how does the man who has yet to be spotted in real life manage the rush of requests?

Physically, the task is simply impossible. Due to differing time zones, Santa Claus’s working day stretches to 31 hours, during which he needs to cover around 325 million kilometers. Quite a challenge, requiring superhuman speeds: at 9,700 times the speed of sound it is no great surprise no one has seen Saint Nick in the flesh. And he would have less than 1/1000 seconds for each visit to silently and secretly deposit his gifts beneath the lovingly decorated tree and to shimmy up the chimney again undiscovered. And don’t forget the enormous weight that the sleigh would have to carry around: some 500,000 metric tons. Just getting the vehicle to budge would require a feat of Olympic proportions on the part of a traditional team of eight reindeer. And according to legend, Mr. Xmas himself is no featherweight. So realistically, he would require a herd of around 300,000 of the hoofed animals. What’s more, getting them hitched up to the sleigh would be beyond the power of a single man – even if he recruited the Grinch and several elves to help.

Perhaps it is time for Santa to seek the advice and assistance of some logistics experts? Until then, it remains a mystery how Father Christmas masters his extraordinary workload.


» How logistics processes outside the North Pole are coordinated during the Christmas period is the subject of our next article: “19 million parcels a day: how do service providers ensure seamless delivery during the Christmas season?”

Related articles