POLE PROMISES A SAFE, BRIGHT HOLIDAY SEASON

By: Porter

The Holiday Season has arrived and it’s promising to be safe and bright.

That’s according to the Pole, which according to them, has been quite busy as of late. As December rolled in, Santa’s famed headquarters in the dream world are seeing more work trying to get everything done by December 25. So far, things are looking good three weeks ahead of time.

“We’re busy here at the Pole but hey, we don’t have any troubles on the horizon that we can see!” Rainier, Secretary of Christmas Affairs told me, “We’ve had our fair share of trouble in recent years but wow! It looks like we’re going to be okay this year. Knock on wood, of course.”

Rainier stated that many residents have come to visit the Pole, primarily for assistance with holiday related affairs, as well as for touring. Higher than normal foot traffic has been seen through the streets of the Pole— which is normal for this time of year— and that includes the Pole HQ.

“We get a lot of people coming to the Pole to visit but we also get lots of visitors to the HQ looking for help,” Rainier explained, “There’s nothing wrong with getting help! We’re here for you!”

The secretary said that anyone needing assistance during this holiday season can book an appointment to the Pole. This includes, but is not limited to, gift wrapping, postal material, records, and other general holiday help.

Apart from that, Rainier expects the dream world to be looking extra festive soon.

“Like last year, we’ll be sending out Pole workers to help decorate the dream world for the holidays!” He said, “I’ll be sending them out starting this weekend to make sure all the corners of the dream world look nice. It’s time to use some holiday magic to get things looking festive around here! I hope everyone’s excited!”

Christmas is just three weeks away! The dream world will soon look festive and decorative as Pole workers head out to dress areas up for the holiday season. This is a developing story. Stick with the Tribune for the latest information as it develops.

WINTER USHERS IN COLD, AURORAS

By: Arial

It’s feeling quite frosty outside as of late.

Winter has officially arrived to the dream world as of last Monday. As the final month of the year arrived, temperatures across the general dream world have gotten colder. In many outdoor dimensions and areas, temperatures have reached the freezing point which prompted the weather service to issue Freeze Warnings.

“Temperatures are so cold that they are now below freezing in many spots,” DWPS senior meteorologist Neige told me, “As usual, this prompted advisories to alert the public that freezing temperatures are occurring and could be hazardous if they aren’t prepared.”

The DWPS’ Seasonal Outlook for winter detailed a “near-below average” season ahead. They stated that temperatures won’t be too far off normal when compared to other winter seasons on average, but it’s the precipitation forecast that is a bit murky. The weather service is unsure if snow will be reported across the dream world as a result of last year’s winter storm.

“Winter Storm Genesis, which was caused by Francis, disrupted the natural cycle of the winter season which made the environment destabilize itself,” Neige explained, “This means that in dimensions where it should’ve snowed saw no observations of it in all of 2025 so far. We aren’t sure if the environment is back to normal yet.”

But where the dream world lacks in snow, it makes up for in auroras.

“If there’s any good news, it’s that auroras have appeared in the skies all over the dream world,” Neige said, “If you step outside, there’s a good chance you’ll see these lights in the sky. They typically appear in December at sporadic rates, but it looks like this may be quite the event.”

Neige said that the auroras may likely persist all month long in a large portion of the outdoor dream world.

“There may or may not be snow but at least there are auroras to see,” He told me, “So enjoy the holiday season and enjoy winter too. Bundle up, it’s quite cold outside, you know?”

For the latest weather information, visit the DWPS website or your local forecasting office for additional resources.

Q/A: Ask Nate

Dear Nate, where can I get help with Christmas related things?

By: Eyned Hellp

Hi Eyned! It sounds like you’re needing help for general Christmas related tasks this holiday season. Well I have some good news for you! There is indeed a place you can go to get help in time for the holidays.

The best place to go is the Pole HQ! Located in the Pole dimension, workers at the HQ work around the clock during the holiday season to ensure that everything runs smoothly by the time that Santa gets on his sleigh to deliver presents. However, they will also help out residents if they need it! There are several offices within the HQ that can provide you assistance in different areas. For example, if you’re needing help sending things through the postal service such as gifts, post cards, or letters to friends and family, you can visit the Postal Affairs office for help with this! They’ll be able to direct your postal material to its destination if it’s holiday related. It’s kind of like the Dimension Postal Delivery Service but specifically for Christmas matters if that makes sense.

Another example includes getting help with presents themselves. Not all of us are great gift wrappers (I’m guilty of this!) so we look for help elsewhere. The Gift Affairs office at the HQ can help you wrap presents up quite nicely! They include different options for gift wrap, bows, stickers, and more! They do so pretty quickly too and they look very nice! Another office is the Toy Affairs department. This office provides help with toys and gadgets that may be gifts for others. If a toy or gadget you have is broken, not working right, or needs some tweaking, you can stop by and they’ll have a look at it! They want to make sure that it works fine and will fix it so the person who will receive it can be happy to get it! They’re pretty thoughtful of that.

And of course, for just about any sort of Christmas related matter, you can go straight to the office of Christmas Affairs! Here, you’ll find Rainier, who is the Secretary of Christmas Affairs. He pretty much runs the Pole HQ and helps make each holiday season bright! Of course, he’s not Santa himself, but kind of just below Santa if you think about it. The man himself is elusive to even catch a glimpse of and some say Rainier is actually Santa! Who knows but hey, if you ever need help this Christmas, consider booking an appointment to the Pole HQ! Just don’t goof off there…it might put you on the naughty list!

Dear Nate, what are the wards of the District like?

By: Lan D. Marks

Hi Lan! It always makes me happy to see people ask questions about a place like the District. It can be a really fascinating place for those who have never been there before, so it’s natural to be curious about it! As you know, the District is the biggest and self-made dimension of the dream world. It’s divided into six wards and each ward contains its respective enclaves that are basically large communities of certain groups of people. All the respective wards and enclaves are modeled after their real-world counterparts!

If you visit the French enclave in the Europe ward, you’re going to see a lot of French architecture, including landmarks! A trip to the Eiffel Tower, perhaps? Yup, it’s there! If you visit the Japan enclave in the Asia ward, you may find yourself at a very busy pedestrian crossing modeled after the real-world intersection Shibuya Crossing! If you visit the U.S. enclave in the America ward, you may run into a street modeled after real-world Hollywood Boulevard! The list goes on and on…

Those are just some examples of certain areas in those wards, but there are plenty more! As times change, the wards of the District change too. We have construction workers who monitor real-world landmarks and architecture and many areas get remodeled after a certain amount of time to better look like their real world counterparts. One hundred years ago, many wards looked much different, and some enclaves didn’t even exist yet!

The size of wards also scale off the size of the continents in the real world and the same goes for the size of enclaves. We have a team that also monitors geographical boundaries and nations in the real world so we get a sense of if an enclave should shrink or grow, depending on its real-world nation counterpart. It’s tricky stuff when humans don’t get along and cause a lot of problems up there, but someone’s got to monitor them… I definitely recommend visiting the District if you ever can! Just ask a local DPF officer or tour guide to point you in the right direction and you’ll be there in no time! There is a LOT to see and places to visit, but it is one hundred percent worth the trip!