Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

I’ve worked at Fred Flare, Inc. for two days now; and, believe me, Santa and his elves have some stiff competition.

I don’t know how large a workshop Santa has or how many full time elves punch the clock each morning, but I’ve got to believe he has a sophisticated operation in a state-of-the-art warehouse at the North Pole. Fred’s warehouse – all 1500 square feet of it — is in Brooklyn; from here, the dozen staff members, none of them little elves, and owners Keith and Chris take orders for any of their more than one thousand items. Maybe Mr. Claus has been at it longer, but Fred’s staff members know how to assemble, wrap, tie a ribbon, and label with the best.

Product is crammed on shelves everywhere. People are crammed at workstations or desks. Paperwork abounds. So do corrugated boxes, since Fred does not deliver his gifts by sleigh and reindeer. Rather, he depends on UPS to get things to their destination by Christmas.

On any given day, approximately 400 orders come in via phone, fax, or through the web site. And on any given day, the same number of orders goes out the door, as it is a Fred objective to ship within 24 hours. Even those busy elves get to stockpile for their one night of the year.

So fingers fly, heads nod, eyes dart. Check this. Tape that. Put it here. Double-check it. Grab a bite of lunch and do it all over again. It’s enough to make one not complain about wrapping a few gifts to put under a single tree.