When Belinda Slaboda was young, Santa appeared only briefly at malls. Communiqués were offered covertly by leaving wrapped treasures under the tree.

But times have changed.

Slaboda can access technology unavailable in her childhood — and Santa has hired a faction of elves with college degrees in computer technology.

Operating websites like portablenorthpole.tv, northpole.com and noradsanta.org, the elves can facilitate personalized videos from Santa, post his Naughty and Nice list and use a GPS to track the sleigh on its Christmas Eve delivery route.

“I've never seen anything like it,” said Slaboda, 37, of Butler, describing the personalized e-mail videos sent to her two oldest children.

The free videos depicted Santa at a desk, opening his big book to the pages about Chiara, 6, and Santino, 3.

“Let's see what kind of year you've had. I know there's been an addition to the family,” Santa said to Chiara, turning the page to a photo of Chiara and her 9-month-old sister Luciana.

“And your team is really lucky to have you onboard,” he added, flipping to a photo of Chiara on the softball field.

“Santa knows there's a special gift you've been hoping for — like a certain movie,” he said, showing yet another photo of a “Ramona and Beezus” video.

“Do you think you've been nice enough? I guess we'll have to wait for Christmas to see.”

Slaboda said Santa does not charge to send the video link, however hard copies are available for sale.

The messages remind children to remember certain behaviors, like listening to parents or — in the case of Chiara's brother — to wean himself from sucking his thumb.

“I'm very proud of you,” Santa said.

Santa central

Crowded around a website called northpole.com, Dominik Fudoli looks at all varieties of Christmas activities with his friends Ben and Luke Kranbacher.

Scrolling over the houses in Santa's village, the students at McQuistion elementary School could solve mazes and puzzles, log on to Elf Chat or get recipes from Mrs. Clause's kitchen.

They also could send an e-mail letter to Santa or check the North Pole weather.

“The high weather for tomorrow is negative 31 degrees,” said Luke, 11.

“The low is negative 35,” said his twin brother Ben.

The Butler trio also checked their status on the Naughty and Nice list, which asks a series of multiple-choice questions to determine a final score.

“It gives you a certificate at the end and tells you ‘Great job,'” said 9-year-old Dominik.

“It tells you if you're 10 percent or 100 percent nice.”

To avoid the appearance of bias, Dominik's mother, Kelly English, completed the quiz for her son, who was happy with his standings.

“I was really, really nice,” Dominik said of his 100 percent score.

Luke, also on Santa's list, achieved a score of 97 percent nice, having offered a less-than-perfect assessment of how much he cleans his room. His multiple choice answer was “A little bit.”

His mother Deanna agreed, describing it as “a wee little bit.”

The trio was especially interested in a link that leads to toy ideas divided into categories.

“You can click on ‘Educational Toys,' ‘Popular Toys' and ‘Unique Toys,'” said Dominik, who recalls stumbling upon a coveted voice changing device in least year's search for ideas.

Linda DeNotaris, a spokesperson for the Toys R Us corporate communications offices, said retail chains also coordinate with Santa's IT department to help youths explore potential gifts.

Children can go online or scan toys in the store to create online wish lists, copies of which can be forwarded to Santa.

Although the online lists began in 2008, DeNotaris said this year Santa began sending a response online.

New iPad applications also allow shoppers to peruse catalogs and make or view lists.

“You can share them through social networking sites like Facebook and twitter as well as e-mailing,” she said, suggesting the shared lists help avoid duplicate gifts.

“We do know that since the end of September there have been hundreds of thousands of wish lists created online (nationally),” she said.

“The creation of the wish list has increased by 20 percent year over year.”

Despite that growth, experts like Ben, Luke and Dominik say technology has yet to completely reshape Christmas: Top picks on their lists include snow boards, hockey skates and a trampoline.