It’s Christmas Eve, excitement fills the air as children around the world eagerly await Santa Claus’s arrival.
The waiting is over and the inevitable questions start:
“Where is Santa?”
“Do you think he’s in our neighborhood yet?”
This year, the original Santa tracker from NORAD will help you to track Santa’s whereabouts as he starts his night shift at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and heads to New Zealand and Australia.
And Google also continues its tradition with an interactive website and mobile app so users can follow Old Saint Nick’s journey as he delivers presents worldwide until he finishes in South America.
NORAD Santa Tracker: A Holiday Tradition
For over 65 years, the NORAD Santa Tracker has helped families follow Santa’s whereabouts.
The NORAD Santa Tracker began in 1955 when a misprinted phone number in a Sears advertisement directed children to call NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), instead of Santa.
Colonel Harry Shoup, the director of operations, instructed his staff to give updates on Santa’s location to every child who called.
NORAD continues the tradition to this day.
Screenshot from: noradsanta.org/en/, December 2024.
How To Track Santa With NORAD
Visit the NORAD Santa Tracker website.
On Christmas Eve, the live map will display Santa’s current location and next stop.
For a more traditional experience, call the NORAD Tracks Santa hotline at 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to speak with a volunteer who will provide you with Santa’s current location.
Follow NORAD’s social media channels for regular daily updates.
This year, NORAD has added an AI chatbot called Radar to help you get the latest updates.
The Evolution of Google’s Santa Tracker
Since it launched in 2004, Google’s Santa Tracker has changed and improved. The team uses this project to try out new technologies and make design updates. Some of these new features, like “View in 3D,” are later added to other Google products and services.