Dear LockNet,

I got your letter last week. (Little late, but Whitney wrote it so it wasn’t a surprise.) I’ll do my best with most of your requests and, while this might be a little unusual, I actually have a question for you.

First, let’s get this confession out of the way: I don’t actually slide down a chimney. Let’s be honest, all those cookies throughout the years don’t leave me with the slimmest figure so it makes much more sense to actually sneak in to deliver toys through an actual door.

With that shocker  out of the way, here’s my question: What could people use to help make my entrances a little quieter? I’m using the Elves on the Shelves this year as my personal messengers so I’ll let them know what you say. Any help is truly appreciated and if you could put a rush on it, that’d be even better.

XOXO,

Santa

Well, Santa, you’re really cutting it down to the wire with this, but because you’re in charge of the presents, we’ll let it slide. I have some pretty simple changes for the families of the world who I’m sure who won’t mind to help the man in the big, red suit out.

Door Closers

Ahhh, my favorite topic! Door closers will definitely decrease the amount of slamming doors on Christmas Eve and, in turn, will decrease the amount of kids jumping out of bed once they hear a noise. Not only will this grant parents a few more hours of precious sleep, but Santa, you should be able to get in and out of the house undetected.

A closer softens the force at which a door closes and allows for a quieter door. A faulty door closer can sometimes cause your door to stay open and not close properly in the colder winter months. This means the cold, winter chill might also wake up those little ones. Just another reason a door closer might be just what parents need.

Granted, a door closer isn’t used on a typical front or back door. However, they’re perfect for storm and screen doors. They are much lighter than regular doors so you wouldn’t have to get anything other than a light duty residential door closer. Easy peasy!

Squeaky Hinges

Squeaky hinges are definite noisemakers, and if you’re trying to be sneaky and not wake up the kids, Santa, squeaky hinges are a death sentence. (They’re also terrifying if you’re woken up by them at three in the morning so this is helpful for parents to know in general.)

However, these are an easy fix.

Squeaky hinges can be fixed by placing WD-40 on them so the parts don’t stick when the hinges slide as the door opens. This is a five minute fix and saves you from getting busted by a bunch of kids!

Dragging Doors

Unfortunately, Santa, I’ve saved the most difficult for last. Dragging doors can be quite the pain when it comes to making a racket. They definitely won’t do you any favors if you’re trying to drop off presents undetected.

To fix the problem, the door might need to be realigned. This needs to be done by a technician because it’s actually tougher than it looks. Sometimes it can be as simple as adjusting the hinges, but other times there can be an issue with the frame.

So, there you have it, Santa. If you want to pass that info along to your elves, they can make sure the parents do all they can to help your sneaky delivery of happiness on Christmas Eve!