Did you know that Santa’s reindeer have 18,000 hairs per square inch on their bodies?

This is what allows them to keep on flying in temperatures of 60 degrees below zero.

Getting some much needed rest before a busy week this week, one of Santa’s reindeer, Dasher, paid a visit to Creighton Edwards Home Lifestyle store in Gilman Village in Issaquah on Saturday, kindly posing for pictures with families and storeowners.

Joining Dasher was, of course, Santa himself, and a few of his helpers, Sasha Puskar and Logan Hendricks, who in addition to their work as elves also take care of the animals at Cougar Mountain Zoo.

“Dasher is a Siberian reindeer, one breed of a number of different kinds of reindeer,” Puskar said. “They are typically a little smaller, and thicker set, which serves them better in the cold.”

While Dasher was getting the star treatment at Gilman Village, his teammates were meeting with other families from the Eastside at Cougar Mountain Zoo’s 21st Annual Issaquah Reindeer Festival.

The festival will continue through to Dec. 30. For more information go to www.cougarmountainzoo.org/Reindeer Festival