NEW ORLEANS – For the 199th year, the North Pole-based Clause Industries is planning to distribute toys to the world’s nearly 2 billion children – including more than 1 million kids living in Louisiana.
The annual project is a massive undertaking that requires thousands of toy makers to work throughout the year building bikes, baby dolls, ice skates and iPads. Famously, though, just one person — Clause founder Nicholas St. Clause — brings each present to its final destination every Dec. 25.
It’s a process that is still shrouded in mystery … although economists estimate the annual tradition has an economic impact in the US of about $50 billion.
Clause said the real impact can’t be measured in numbers.
“Over the years, the specific toys that we deliver have changed quite a bit,” he said. “But the one thing that’s never changed is the chance for families to take a break from their routines to spend time with each other and to help the less fortunate in their communities. Everybody at Clause encourages the young and the old alike to use this time to find the joy, wonder and beauty in the world around them.
