Merry Christmas Eve! Today's festive edition marks the end of our 2025 content — starting tomorrow, we'll kick off the annual Best of Nice News series. That means from Dec. 25-31, you'll receive email recaps of our top stories from the past year, organized by category. We hope you all have the chance to take some time for rest and reflection as we approach 2026, and we can't wait for another year of spreading positivity. See you in January!
The US Has Its Very Own North Pole — And It's a Year-Round Wonderland
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In addition to being the home of Santa Claus and his elves, the North Pole is the northernmost point on Earth, set upon sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. But did you know there's another North Pole, located right here in the United States? About 20 minutes from Fairbanks, the village of North Pole, Alaska, lives up to its name, embracing the spirit of Christmas year-round and boasting an abundance of festive charm. The homestead originally received its moniker from a development company in 1944, in hopes of getting a toy manufacturer to put down roots. That never happened, but a trading post operator named Conrad Miller began imbuing the town with holiday cheer in the '50s, often moonlighting as Santa Claus for children in the surrounding villages. He renamed his trading post the Santa Claus House, and now, it's expanded into a sprawling Christmas store complete with Santa's Workshop and the Antler Academy, an adjacent reindeer pen where visitors can pet and feed the animals. The village is also home to the Gnome House, a quirky, holiday-themed vacation rental, as well as North Pole Winterfest, a two-day event that includes the crowning of the king and queen of the North Pole. And for those who can't visit in person, volunteers — er, elves — at the post office receive and respond to letters addressed to Santa Claus. From Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, to Santa Claus, Indiana, learn about other Christmas-themed towns in the U.S.
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Altadena's 105-Year-Old Christmas Tree Lane Is Symbol of Resilience Post-Wildfire
Eric Thayer—Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
For many families in Los Angeles County's Altadena neighborhood, Christmas will look different this year. The Eaton Fire tore through the area in January, destroying nearly 9,500 buildings — including homes and churches. But as residents continue rebuilding their lives, a cherished holiday tradition has emerged unscathed. Christmas Tree Lane is a magical stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue that's lined with 135 deodar cedars, and every winter, volunteers decorate the trees with thousands of colorful lights. It initially wasn't clear if the custom would come together in 2025, but the display, which is nearly a mile long, returned even brighter than before, boasting over 20,000 lights. They were turned on at a Dec. 6 lighting ceremony and will remain lit until Jan. 7, the first anniversary of the fire starting. "This year was special," Mikayla Arevalo, volunteers coordinator and communications director for the nonprofit Christmas Tree Lane Association, tells Nice News, adding: "There were a lot of tears, a lot of tears." The annual ceremony always includes the lighting of a memorial tree, but this time there were 19 green lights amid the white ones, representing the 19 people who died in the disaster. The tradition began in 1920, and Christmas Tree Lane was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. "It's not pomp and circumstance. It's not shiny, flashy lights," Arevalo explains of the enduring appeal. "You know, it's just so simple. It's just trees and lights, that's it, but I think that's the magic of it." See more photos from the ceremony.
Lifestyle
"Elf on the Shelf" Creators Celebrate 20 Years of Their Childhood Tradition Going Global
Anna Barclay/Getty Images
When Christa Pitts and Chanda Bell were children, they participated in a holiday tradition created by their grandmother and carried on by their mom, Carol Aebersold: An elf doll named Fisbee (that Aebersold strategically placed around the house) would appear to observe the kids during the day, then report back to Santa at night as to whether they'd been naughty or nice. In 2005, the trio self-published the book and kit Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition, which showed families how to emulate the ritual. Now, they're celebrating 20 years of their childhood tradition going global. They didn't see instant success — their pitch was rejected by various publishing houses, prompting Aebersold and her daughters to start their own, The Lumistella Company. It wasn't until 2007, when Jennifer Garner was photographed holding the book, that Elf on the Shelf began to gain traction as a concept. The Today show spotlighted it not long after, and its popularity skyrocketed. Today, elves are gracing shelves in millions of households worldwide. The initial book has expanded into a full-blown "Santaverse," featuring additional characters and locations. It has also inspired a record-breaking balloon at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, an animated series, a live musical, and countless social media posts showing families' unique takes on the tradition. "When I think back [to] where we started, which was pretty much with nothing except some grit and some blind faith, it's really hard to believe that the 'Elf on the Shelf' is as ubiquitous, at this point, as Santa Claus," Bell recently told USA Today.
In Other News
Take a tour of the biggest nutcracker museum in the U.S., run by 101-year-old Arlene Wagner (read more)
It's going to be a record year for holiday travel, as per usual — get AAA's annual report (read more)
Not celebrating Christmas? There are still plenty of fun ways to spend today and tomorrow(read more)
From the oldest choir to the largest stocking, Guinness World Records has a slew of holiday-themed entries (read more)
Rio de Janeiro's Christmas tree is floating this year: Watch a video of it glittering over the water (read more)
Inspiring Story
Deck the (airplane) halls
Throughout December, deserving children got the unique opportunity to visit the North Pole and meet Santa Claus. For its long-running Fantasy Flights program, United Airlines launched temporary "North Pole" hubs (airport code: JOY) across the U.S., as well as in Guam, Tokyo, and London, and dressed them up to look like Santa's hometown. While some of the planes flew and others stayed on the ground, all participating children and families, selected through partnerships with organizations like Make-A-Wish, were treated to magical Christmas experiences.
This Christmas tree, located in London's Trafalgar Square, has a story behind it — one that goes all the way back to World War II. When the Nazis invaded Norway, London provided refuge for the king and his government. The BBC, in partnership with Norwegian radio station NRK, also broadcast news reports in Norwegian, offering residents a much-needed lifeline. As a token of gratitude, Oslo gifted London a Norwegian spruce Christmas tree in 1947, and the annual tradition has persisted ever since. Watch this year's lighting ceremony.
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