These Chicago-area reindeer can fly (with a little help from FedEx), give kisses and draw hundreds to holiday meet-and-greets: ‘They’re like big puppies.’

There are only 1,000 to 2,000 reindeer in the United States, many of them purchased in small numbers by people with farming backgrounds who fall in love with the animals, according to Jeff Phillips, central region director for the 110-member Reindeer Owners & Breeders Association (ROBA). Growth has been slow but steady since the early 1990s, Phillips said, and today there are about 25 reindeer farms in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.