While out and about, I realized I was making an important error: I was allowing Santa "24" hours to make his journey, not "12" hours. He.must make the trip between 7 pm Line Islands and 7 am American Samoa (8 am Line) ... which is actually only "13" hours. However, since there is still the intervening complete day, we do have to add the 24, giving him 37 hours. (We are also ignoring the uninhabited Baker Island.) Since we are NOT giving him from 7 pm to 9 pm, as measured from farthest eastern Kiribati, we do not need to add the additional 24, and do not get to 62, but remain at 38, less 1 for Baker.

I cede to your calculations and agree: 38 hours (or 37, due to actual habitation) will do.

Summer Time clock changes continue to be ignored, as they do not affect the final outcome.