Dear Santa-

 

Where did the year go? It seems like just yesterday I was writing to you and yet, here we are once again with me in charge of writing to you with our Observatory Christmas List. Since this will be the fifteenth time I have written to you in my (nearly) sixteen years up here, I have the process down to an exact science: 1. Hand written note mailed out to you no later than November first. 2. Email sent to you no later than Thanksgiving. 3. A preliminary New Hampshire forecast for Christmas (hopefully it’ll be a snowy one) no later than December first. 4. A reminder on my calendar for a follow-up forecast no later than 48 hours out from December 25th. And now this shift, (5.) I am sending you our list via our Observer Comments since I know you follow them weekly to check if we have been naughty or nice.

 

Once again, in my opinion, we all have been good lil’ Weather Observers. We have acted kindly to all our interns, guests, friends, families and pets. Even Nimbus, our cat, has been acting abnormally nice recently. While I have your ear Santa, if you’re going to give him anything this year, like in years past, please make it scoopable cat litter or food. I know our previous cat enjoyed cat toys and treats, but our newest buddy does not enjoy them. So, please do not bring them this year.

 

When you arrive at NH State Parks Sherman Adams Building (where MWO leases its space), you will find a similar layout to last year. If you are having trouble remembering, your scout, the Elf on the Shelf, has been creeping on us and can give you a preliminary report and guide you to your milk and the freshly baked cookies for a quick in and out.

 

So, if it is not too much trouble; could you get us one or more of the following?

 

1. Video on Demand gift card – Since we don’t have cable, satellite, etc up here, we use Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ for video on demand which provides us occasional entertainment for an hour or two in the evening to unwind.

 

2. Candles – Preferably the soy-based, large jar type or tumblers like the ones from Soyfire for example. They liven up our living quarters and make it feel more like home.

 

3. Coffee – Since we observe the weather 24/7/365, we like to stay caffeinated. While we typically brew pots of Coffee we occasionally will pop in a K-cup for the one-off cup as well.

 

4. Tea – sometimes we want to shake it up and have a nice cup of caffeinated or decaffeinated tea. So, a variety of tea bags would be great. Or even hot chocolate if you know of a good sampler pack.

 

5. Darts – when we are unable to go outside to recreate in our off-time, we turn to indoor activities like darts. The pair we have currently have seen better days, so we are looking for a pair of weighted darts to replace them.

 

6. Pizza equipment – Tuesday night is pizza night on the summit and an extra pizza stone would make baking the pizza even better. And a pizza rocking cutter would make slicing up the final product a bit easier.

 

7. A blender – we take turns cooking on the summit and a few times this past year, my soup recipes called for a blender. While a food processor works in a pinch, a good blender would have certainly sped things along a bit better.

 

8. Magnetic notepads – we like to stick these on the fridge to pass kitchen related notes to the various crew members and make note of items we might need to pick up in our next shopping trip.

 

9. A large stainless steel frying pan – while we typically go for a seasoned skillet, every once and awhile, we need to use a stainless steel frying pan and the one we have has a dent in it. So a nice, solid and large replacement would be welcome.

 

10. Candy and gum – Since I know you eat a lot of cookies and sweets, I know you can relate. Can we ever really have enough?

 

11. Surprise us yet again! – Sometimes the coolest gifts are the ones you didn’t think you needed.

 

Also Santa, if you are looking for gifts for other individuals on your list (while supporting us too), a few ideas for you are:

 

1. Gift Donations – This will help lighten your bag of toys and help us out in our bold step forward in the coming years.

 

2. Observatory Memberships – Not for the Observers, but for other well behaved boys and girls on your list around the world. Since we are membership supported, these gifts would be the gifts that keep giving over the year.

 

3. Shopping for Mt Washington items, weather instruments, calendars, books, pictures, etc – Not for us, but if you could purchase some from our online shop, it gives individuals on your list a great items or wall decor while providing us some financial support (two birds, one stone).

 

4. EMS gear or Oboz Footwear – Again, not for us as they have provided us with everything we need to stay warm and dry up here. This is a recommendation for if you plan on using outdoor clothing/boots/gear for gifts for others on your list.

 

5. If you shop Amazon during the holidays (or the rest of the year), you can use AmazonSmile online or in your smartdevice app. You get the item you want at no extra cost and in return The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases towards MWO. If signing up or switching between groups, search for and select “Mount Washington Observatory” then make sure to use smile.amazon.com any time you make a purchase to support your favorite charity. Learn more HERE

 

That’s about it Santa. Remember that we don’t mind second hand items so long as they are in good, clean and usable condition. This helps out the environment and extends the life of perfectly usable stuff. We are really not picky and are just thankful for anything. Also, if you want a particular type of cookie and drink, like last year, you can post/DM your preferences on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram pages.

 

Like usual, we will ensure that we have everything in order for your arrival: a clear deck and path to the door, well greased doors (so we can’t hear you coming/going), deiced stairs, clean living quarters, decorated Christmas tree, and a full plate of cookies next to a glass of milk/nog/soy. And we will keep you posted on the forecast leading up to and on the night of your arrival. Safe travels and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks.