In-character interview Santa gives tips on how to make the Good List

There's still time to make it onto Santa's Good List!

As the jolly North Pole resident made early visits throughout southeast Iowa, he let slip on how some of the Christmas Day preparations have been going for his crew of elves and reindeer.

Flanked by his most trusted associates, Sugarplum and Gingersnap, Mr. Claus gushed about the North Pole's hardest workers.

'Santa could not function without the elf crew, I guarantee it,” he said.

'We're working 364 days a year,” the elves noted about all the planning and work that's been put into the Big Day. While the Good and Bad list have mostly been hammered out, Santa wants everyone to know there's still time to make a change. He even gave some helpful tips on how to gain some points for those who may have struggled throughout the year.

'There's still time, it's drawing close but some suggestions for things they can do is help Mom. Grab their dirty dishes and put them in the sink for her, when they get ready to go to bed, they need to put their clothes back in the closet. Those are big pluses. They can always turn the corner,” Santa said.

'Most of the people we see are on the Good List. Sugarplum and Gingersnap got their computers going in their gloves and when the kids come in, and they check and give me the signal,” he commented, adding that the North Pole has computerized to stay current with the times.

As the day draws ever closer, the reindeer have also begun doing practice runs, with Rudolph and his red nose leading the way for everyone else.

'The reindeer are getting fattened up and getting ready for the big run. They're mixing the magic potion, the flying dust. We get them out there on the runway with the elves to test-run,” Santa explained.

Everyone has been doing their part to make sure Christmas is as magical as it can be for every kid. Santa revealed that Mrs. Claus is also busy at work writing letters and notes for families.

'She doesn't like to fly on the sleigh that much. This year she's kind of taken with a cold so she'll stay home but she's finishing up some letters and she's had a good time. She writes a lot of the letters. It's been fun getting ready,” Santa said.

Sugarplum and Gingersnap, who are both over 400 years old, explained that their favorite part of Christmas is getting to celebrate after Santa returns from delivering presents.

'There's a big feast and we gather around and celebrate everything that we've done and enjoy the holiday,” Sugarplum said.

'The week after, everyone revels in the good things that happened and all the good young people that we've helped,” Gingersnap added.

And while the elves acknowledged that presents and gifts and celebration can be exciting, the true spirit of Christmas is about spending time with family and friends.

'Christmas Day is really meant to be spent with the people that you love the most and that are most important to you,” Sugarplum said.

As a final note, Santa wanted to remind everyone that his favorite cookie is chocolate chip. Be sure to leave some out for him on Christmas Eve.