The big day is Sunday and that means Santa Claus will be gearing up his sled to head around the world.
But there’s always the slight matter of making sure everything is up to proper code and that includes the nine reindeer who provide the horsepower.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) has solved that problem by approving entry into the NWT for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph. ENR posted a copy of the reindeer transport permit that Santa’s Workshop applied for on its Facebook page on Monday.
“We have cleared Santa’s reindeer for entry into the NWT,” stated ENR in the post. “This transport permit allows for the reindeer to move freely from rooftop to rooftop across the territory and the rest of the world.”
The permit outlines the details of transportation — toy delivery with flying sleigh — and Santa must have the licence on him upon arrival. There are terms and conditions with the licence and they include having the naughty and nice list carried at all times in case of problems.
According to the information given by Santa to ENR officials, eight of the nine reindeer are 199 years old. Rudolph is the lone exception as he’s a rather spry 83 years of age.
The permit is good from Dec. 24 to Dec. 26.