Santa Claus performers are working from dawn to late in the evening as they try to meet the pent-up demand for appearances, while dealing with retirements and deaths among their ranks.
To all those holiday present procrastinators out there (you know who you are): Be sure to ship that holiday gift sooner rather than later to get those presents to their destination before December 25.
With some holiday spirit and over 100 volunteers, the White House has been decorated in the theme of "gifts from the heart." The theme honors front-line workers, first responders and the military.
Retailers are racing to get merchandise onto store shelves in time for the busy holiday shopping season. But with ports and warehouses overflowing, many orders are tied up in traffic.
The CDC says that having every person in attendance vaccinated is important for protecting those who can't get a shot. And it recommends that those who aren't fully vaccinated delay travel.
The coronavirus pandemic has made for a Christmas unlike any other. Here are some glimpses of how people are observing the holiday season — and maintaining traditions — around the globe.
"Vaccines for all, especially for the most vulnerable and needy of all regions of the planet," Pope Francis said at the Vatican on a subdued Christmas Day.
Jamie Olivieri and Yennie Neal-Achigbu have been inseparable since eighth grade. From annual Christmas gatherings to a husband's death, the friends have helped each other through the good and the bad.
Only 100 or so people attended the service, and they wore masks and socially distanced. The Mass began two hours early so all could make it home before Italy's virus curfew.
In Santaland Diaries, humorist David Sedaris describes his time working as a department store elf named Crumpet. Here, Sedaris again reads as Crumpet — an NPR holiday tradition.
"We're really busy. It's been unbearable," sighed Manny Huenchunir, a Postal Service truck driver who was unloading and reloading crates of mail at a post office outside Boston on Tuesday night.
The holiday tradition continues with Political Rewind host Bill Nigut and his reading of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory." Capote's short story describes the Christmases he spent with an elderly, distant cousin when he was a young boy living in Monroeville, Alabama.
Capote was an American novelist who found his love for writing at 8 years old. He wrote several acclaimed short stories and novels that contributed to both nonfiction and fiction genres. Some of his most popular work includes Breakfast at Tiffany's, "Miriam" and In Cold Blood. He died in 1984.
Stations have been playing Christmas music earlier than ever this year, as a way of luring in listeners during the pandemic. One Indiana station was doing it in July.
