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NUNAVUT
Santa Claus may have had a busy Christmas Eve, but the Jolly Old Elf stayed pretty busy in the days before the big night, too, visiting children in 17 communities across Nunavut.

Mark Attagutsiak shakes Santa's sleigh bells during the Santa Flight's visit to Arctic Bay Dec. 20. It was one of 17 Nunavut communities Santa visited the week before Christmas as part of Keewatin Air's annual Santa Flight. - Casey Lessard/NNSL photo

The annual Keewatin Air Santa Flight, previously limited to the Kivalliq region, was expanded this year to include visits to almost every community Keewatin serves.

"My son slept three hours, he's so excited," said Ragilee Nangmalik of Hall Beach, who has three children, aged five months, three and five. "This is our first time (seeing Santa)."

That sense of eagerness was common among children in the hamlet.

"(My grandkids) were so excited and they got up early to come," Karen Nattuk said. "They've been announcing it on the radio and local TV. It's the very first time Santa has come here and we're so excited."

Keewatin expanded its medevac services to the Baffin region in 2011, so president Wayne McLeod wanted to spread the Christmas cheer to the region, too.

"It gets you in the Christmas spirit," McLeod said, noting his company has taken Santa to Kivalliq communities for about 10 years. "I haven't been up in the Arctic for a few years and it's nice to get back and see all the people."

The only scheduled communities not visited on the Dec. 19 to 22 trip were Kimmirut and Grise Fiord, where bad weather prevented the Santa's Express airplane – a Pilatus PC12 typically used for medevac and charter flights – from landing.

It was Santa's first pre-Christmas visit to many communities in the Qikiqtani region for some time. It's been at least 15 years since the last time he was in Resolute, said hotelier Aziz Kheraj, who hosted Santa and his entourage.

"I've been getting calls all day about this flight," said Tim Pettypiece, the observer and communicator at the Arctic Bay airport, which has an average traffic load of about one flight per day. "This is the first time I'm aware of that Santa has come into the airport. The kids are loving it."

Most visits took place at hamlet airports, with some communities, such as Resolute Bay and Repulse Bay, hosting Santa at community halls. Turnout depended on the community, but Santa was often overwhelmed by a crush of children crowding airport lounges to see the big man.

"Children bring pictures and letters to Santa Claus," McLeod said, "and in one community, we had a sing-along to welcome Santa. You can tell that the kids are pretty excited to see him."

His staff need several weeks to organize the trip and pack enough treats – they came prepared with 1200 bags of candy – for all of the children they expect to see. The trip also requires three days of travel for two pilots (Matthew Todd and Kate Weber), two elves (Naomi Monkman and Kim Lepage), and Santa himself.

"It's a lot of commitment with a lot of people behind the scenes to put together the candy and ship it up," he said. "The cost is not an issue. It's about spreading good cheer to the kids. It's nice to see the kids and give them that little bit of hope that there is a Santa Claus."

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