NORTH POLE: The Christmas celebrations around the world are infamous for getting a bit out of hand, but all were overshadowed by the after-party thrown in Santa's Workshop this year when one elf spiked the large vat of eggnog with peppermint rum.

The Christmas party thrown by the elves while Santa is away celebrates the end of a long and grueling work year and also serves to kick off the planning phase for another long and grueling work year. It's one of the few full days off in an Elf's life and is the largest party of the year. Elves dance, eat, eat some more, dance again, eat, and drink non-alcoholic eggnog (Santa forbids drinking due to the heavy work schedule), the main beverage of the typical elf. But the party went a bit afoul after one mischievous elf spiked the eggnog with 90% proof peppermint rum. The elves, who typically drink a lot of eggnog over the course of the day, were all either asleep or intoxicated when Santa made his grand returning entrance after his trip around the world.

It's day one and Christmas 2012 is already off-schedule - One sore-looking elf

This morning's elf meetings were all cancelled and work was called off completely for everyone to let the elves recover. Many were still asleep at noon but the ones unfortunate enough to wake up early had a lot to take in:

"The place is a mess, Santa's furious, every elf has a massive headache and nobody can remember what happened yesterday!" said a member of the cleanup crew.

The eggnog was tested and reported to be about 25% peppermint rum, which considering the size of the container is an impressive feat to have gotten away with. No elf saw the crime take place. The vat is about the size of a large house.

Work resumes tomorrow at the North Pole though and will continue on schedule until mid-March when the elves get a 2 month vacation. Santa has ordered a testing of all vats of eggnog before each party in the future to prevent another disaster. Mrs. Clause is busy rescheduling the entire North Pole and mixing up medicine for the elves to take when they wake up to lessen their hangover feelings. For now, everyone is waiting for the rest of the elves to rise from their slumbers.

Reporting from the North Pole, this is LeafyDebater from Newsvine.com