We have quite a set up here at the North Pole to make all the miles of ribbon we use. The same building and machines have been here for
a long, long time. There are master mechanics who keep the gears oiled and check to make sure all the parts run smooth. It only takes about
20 Elves to keep every thing running smooth. There is the master designer, and the dye checker. There RE stampers, the quality control elf, the glue miesters and the spool spinner watcher. There are half a dozen magic machines laid out in a half circle . First there's a rack of several dozen bobbins of cotton thread. At one end of the rack, strands from the bobbins gather through eye hooks onto rollers from which they emerge woven into a ribbon. The ribbon swims through a small vat of glue and emerges to be squeeze-dried between little brass rollers and then air-dried on a seven-foot-high pair of reels. Next it winds onto a governor, a device that takes up any slack while maintaining tension, before reaching a calender, which smoothes the surface; a printer, where a brand name or pattern can be stamped on; and finally a winder, which puts it on spools like the ones that hold the ribbon you see at the corner store. It is a bright and happy place. The machines make whistles and whirrs and sound like music.
It is an honor indeed if a younger elf gets to apprentice in the ribbon room. There is a big glass window in the front and Santa loves it when we go watch the ribbon being made. It is a happy place. The sparkly gold ribbon is my favorite.
I tied a piece of ribbon
In many shades of blue,
All around a little box
That is from me to you.
Inside the box I put a gift
I know it's just your size,
Then I wrapped it up
In a paper of white
And choose the ribbon
To match your eyes.
