Christmas Eve is a most exciting time especially for children who are waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney to deliver a long awaited gift. In the good old days we could only imagine Santa’s route around the world with his gift laden sleigh and flying reindeer. But today we have such advanced technology that we can track Santa as he flies from country to country delivering his presents to all the well behaved children of the world. Here are some ways to track Santa on Christmas Eve.
NORAD is the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Their main purpose is to provide aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection for North America.
They track everything that flies in and around North America. So it is no surprise that one of the things they track is Santa’s sleigh as he makes his way around the world on Christmas Eve. NORAD has been tracking Santa’s movements since the Christmas of 1955. Leading up to Christmas, starting on 1 December, the site provides games, Christmas songs and updates on what is happening in Santa’s village.
On Christmas Eve you will be able to watch Santa’s progress. A 3D image of Santa sitting in his reindeer-drawn sleigh is displayed on the screen with the sea and land far below him. You can zoom in if you wish or you can change to a 2D map if you prefer. The site tells you where Santa’s last stop was, where he is heading and how long it will take to get there and how many gifts he has delivered so far. Each year the site is visited by more than fifteen million people from over 200 countries.
You can even call or text NORAD: 1-877-HI-NORAD to get Santa’s exact coordinates. For convenience NORAD has made it possible to track Santa on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube:
Facebook: @noradsanta
Twitter: @noradsanta
IG: @noradtrackssanta_official
The Google Santa Tracker is another way you can track Santa’s movements on Christmas Eve. The google site opens on 1 December. If you visit the site at any time before 1 December you will see an animated picture of the hustle and bustle at the North Pole. In the top right corner of the screen is a clock counting down the hours to Christmas. Besides tracking Santa’s round the world Christmas Eve journey the site offers fun educational and interactive games for all ages including coding with the elves and quizzes. Leading up to Christmas Eve you can help get Santa ready for his big journey by blow drying his beard and dyeing it a fun color.
There are many Santa tracking apps on the Apple App Store, Santa Tracker – Track Santa is one of the best. It is designed for ipads. It is easy for kids to navigate and has a 4.5 star rating. The site provides a world map showing Santa’s home and his Christmas Eve route. You can enter your child’s name and photo to make him/her the star of the show. The great thing about this app is that it shows what Santa is up to even before 1 December. It displays a count-down clock so you can see, down to the second, how long you have to wait for Christmas.
Santa Update is a news site that provides updates on Santa’s movements from the beginning of September. It gives information of what is happening in the workshop and what Santa, the elves and reindeer are up to leading up to Christmas. On 23 December the site partners with Kringle Radio with the newscasters giving updates every 15 minutes. It also comes with a bedtime warning making sure children are tucked up in bed before Santa arrives.
If you have an Amazon Alexa device you can ask. “Alexa, where’s Santa?” on Christmas Eve and Alexa will give you his whereabouts courtesy of NORAD Tracks Santa. Leading up to Christmas Alexa will give you a count-down to the big day. Your children can also use the device to voice call Santa with their Christmas lists.
The "Where Is Santa Lite" is simple and has no bells and whistles but it is rather realistic and very informative. It allows you to track Santa at any time, not just on Christmas Eve. It uses your location to estimate his arrival time at your chimney.