Last-minute Christmas magic

Most Christmas magic is bought in November by people who plan. This page is for everyone else: what can still be done tonight, honestly, and what cannot.

The short answer

On Christmas Eve you can still make a personalized letter from Santa, a Nice List certificate and a Christmas Eve note (the North Pole Archive, $9.99), an explanation from Santa for a delayed present or a missing chimney (North Pole Rescue, $6.99), or a fix for a stationary elf (Elf Emergency, $4.99) — each is a printable file ready about a minute after purchase. A personalized Santa video takes longer and should be ordered earlier.

Ready in about a minute

Three of our products are made automatically from what you type and delivered as a file on a private page the moment payment clears. Nothing is posted, nobody has to be awake at the North Pole, and the only thing you need is a printer or a screen.

  • The North Pole Archive: a letter from Santa, a Nice List certificate, the Christmas Eve note and the sleigh docket, for one child
  • North Pole Rescue: Santa explains the present that did not arrive, the missing chimney, two homes, or Christmas away from home
  • Elf Emergency: the plan for tonight and a note in the elf’s hand, whether it forgot to move or is saying goodbye

What takes longer

A personalized Santa video is produced after you order and emailed when it is ready. It is not a Christmas Eve purchase if you need it by morning; it is a December purchase, and worth being early for.

The free things that work tonight

A note from Santa in your own bad handwriting, left by the plate. A bitten carrot. A trail of something from the fireplace to the tree. A letter from the elf saying it fell asleep. Our guides cover each of these in detail, and none of them costs anything.

  • The note Santa leaves on Christmas Eve
  • Reindeer food, without the glitter
  • What to say if you forgot to move the elf
  • Proof that somebody came

One rule for the night

Do one thing well. A single note in the right place does more than four half-finished ideas, and it is the one thing you will still be able to do at midnight.

Questions

What can I still get on Christmas Eve for my child?

Anything that is a file rather than a parcel: a personalized letter from Santa and Nice List certificate (the North Pole Archive), an explanation from Santa for a delayed present or a missing chimney (North Pole Rescue), or a fix for the elf (Elf Emergency). Each is ready about a minute after purchase and prints at home.

Can I get a personalized Santa video tonight?

Not reliably. The video is produced after you order and emailed when it is ready, so order it earlier in December rather than on the night.

I have no printer. Is there any point?

Yes. Every file opens on a phone or a laptop, and a note from Santa read off a screen at the kitchen table still works. A certificate is better on paper; a letter is fine either way.

While you are here

  • The North Pole Archive

    Four printable documents about one child — a letter from Santa, a Nice List certificate, the Christmas Eve note and the sleigh docket — ready in a minute. $9.99.

  • North Pole Rescue

    A present that did not arrive, no chimney, two homes, away for Christmas: an official North Pole notice and a letter from Santa that explains it to your child. $6.99.

  • Elf Emergency

    Forgot to move the elf, got caught, need tonight’s idea, the arrival or the goodbye: a plan for you and a note in the elf’s own hand for them, in a minute. $4.99.

  • The note Santa leaves on Christmas Eve

    What to write in a note from Santa left on Christmas Eve, where to leave it, and why the short ones work better than the long ones.

  • Leaving proof that Santa was here

    How to leave convincing evidence that Santa visited, from boot prints to the half-eaten carrot, and the one rule that keeps it believable.

Santa knows more than you think.

Tell Santa the small things nobody else knows, and he will tell them back.