Santa and Mrs. Claus came to town briefly Thursday evening and dropped into The Selma Times-Journal office.

But the couple will return Saturday to take part in the Christmas parade.

Santa Claus said he and the wife would fly down by reindeer from the North Pole Saturday morning just in time for the parade. They’ll take their places on a float and ride through, then return to the North Pole to finish requests and oversee the elves before the big evening, Dec. 24.

While Santa and Mrs. Claus come down on the sleigh with the eight reindeer, don’t bother looking for Rudolph, Donner, Comet and the others Saturday morning.

“They’ll find them a quiet place to hide, where they can watch the parade,” Santa said.

The jolly ole elf has gotten out his naughty and nice lists. He’s checking them to make sure the correct person is on the proper list.

“You know, it’s a fine line between naughty and nice,” Santa said. “You’ve got to be careful, we only have a few more days until Christmas.”

Nice list activities include being nice to your parents; not talking back to your parents; doing chores; helping put up the Christmas tree and helping take care of the little ones if there’s a younger brother or sister in the house, Santa said.

The elves are churning out toy requests faster and faster as Christmas Eve approaches, said Santa, who admits sometimes he slips in a nap or two.

But after that overnight ride Dec. 24, he’ll sleep for a “long, long time,” as Mrs. Claus takes care of the after-Christmas chores.

Then, things return to normal. Santa won’t have cookies and milk for a year. Instead, he’ll eat everyday food. The elves will slow down a bit. The reindeer will rest.

“We’ll get ready for next year,” Santa said.