Kentucky Christian University's Young Library The 12 Towns of Christmas Virtual Vacation

This is it, the end of the road. Quite literally, figuratively speaking (Fairbanks is 15 minutes further North). You have arrived at North Pole, Alaska for the twelfth town of Christmas.

This time, the town's name was quite intentional. Some land developers hoped to attract a toy manufacturer to set up shop, allowing them to rightfully say their wares come from the North Pole. This didn't happen, unfortunately.

Santa Claus House:

A staple of North Pole, Santa Claus House was founded in the 1950's by a trading post operator named Con Miller. He would travel across rural Alaska and dress as Santa for the children. He set up shop in the now famous Christmas town, and now his "house" is a gigantic facility that sells all kinds of ornaments and toys. There is even a giant Santa outside the store to attract travelers.

Winter Festival:

For the outdoors enthusiasts, nearby is Chena Lake and some campgrounds. Many find this an ideal spot for fishing, canoeing, camping, and...swimming. Swimming? In Alaska!!! Anyways, I'm sure most of us aren't about that kind of life, turning into human icicles. Instead, how about a competition where humans carve the ice? That's right. North Pole's Winter Festival boasts an annual ice carving competition. See a master at work in the video below:

Here's a video of a park decorated with ice sculptures and Christmas lights:

Another North Pole, Alaska fun fact is that over 400,000 pieces of mail arrive each year addressed to Santa Claus. People from all over the community volunteer to respond to as much of the mail as possible.

Finally, let's enjoy one more traditional Christmas dish together, and get back somewhere warmer and further South.

Crescents

Is there any better smell than freshly baked bread, straight from the oven? If you're celebrating Christmas in Alaska, the answer is no! They love their crescent rolls during the holidays. Not the ones from the cans, though. Everything is made from scratch this far up north. Crescents go great with coffee, tea, as a snack, as a side dish at dinner, and so much more! What better to warm you up during those long, cold winters? Try this butter crescents recipe from allrecipes.com, YUM!

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 butter, softened
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package (1/4oz) active, dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 egg
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

• Warm the milk in a small saucepan until bubbles form at the edges; remove from heat. Mix in the butter, sugar, and salt. Let cool until lukewarm. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• In a large bowl, combine milk and yeast mixtures. Stir in 1 egg. Beat in flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls together. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and form into rounds. Cover, and let rest 10 minutes.
• Using a floured rolling pin, roll each dough half into a 12 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Roll each wedge up towards the point. Bend ends inward to form crescents, and place point side down on lightly greased baking sheets. Cover, and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Brush rolls with beaten egg, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Game Over

Now that you're about finished with your Christmas vacation, can you guess how many Santas you encountered in the static images?

If you guessed 23, you're correct! A few may be hard to see, some are in pics of ornaments, and you got to count the actors playing or dressed up as Santa in the book and movies pics.

If you missed some Santa's, don't sweat it! I appreciate you playing along.

Your Christmas journey has come to a close at the aptly named North Pole, Alaska. Now that Santa has made his way back, with all his presents delivered to all his favorite towns, it's time for us to go back as well.

I hope you enjoyed your trip across America, to all the greatest towns named for the greatest holiday. We've experienced the diverse ways we celebrate Christmas, through different food and celebrations. Although our towns have deep roots and unique cultures, remember that we all have more things that unite us than separate us, regarding Christmas and all the other ordinary days of life.

Let's meet again in 11 months and celebrate all over again! Until then...