Track Santa's Trip Around the World on Christmas Eve — Here's How
You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. And thanks to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), Santa Update, and Google, you can track his route to your house and call Mr. Claus directly.
Google is hosting a digital Santa's Village experience all December long. The online space comes with a ton of fun activities for kids (and kids at heart) including games, music, learning experiences, and more. There is even a geography quiz that will test your knowledge of all the places Santa must go in one night to deliver presents to everyone on the "nice" list.
And, on Dec. 21, the entire site will be transformed into a Santa Tracker so everyone can see his progress as he makes his way around the world with his trusty reindeer. As a bonus, Apartment Therapy reports, over the holiday period, those with Google-connected devices can say, "hey Google, call Santa," and they'll automatically be connected to one of the elves working in Santa's shop.
You can also head to the NORAD Santa Tracker online, on social media, and in its dedicated app. If you don't have Google-connected tech in your home, you can call Santa directly from NORAD's website.
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"Like many origin stories, NORAD's mission to track Santa began by accident. In 1955 a young child, trying to reach Santa, dialed the misprinted phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper. Instead of calling Santa, the child called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Co.," NORAD explains on its website. "Air Force Col. Harry Shoup, the commander on duty that night who answered the child's phone call, was quick to realize a mistake had been made and assured the child he was Santa. After more incoming calls, Shoup assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls and a tradition was born that continued when NORAD was formed in 1958."
Though millions of people visit the site each year, NORAD reports that volunteers typically answer more than 130,000 calls to its hotline from children across the globe as well.
And just in case that isn't enough Santa for you, there's also Santa Update, which has been tracking Santa online since 1991. There, you'll also find games, stories, and a live tracker for Christmas Eve to keep everyone entertained until they fall asleep and wake up to presents under the tree (or coal in their stocking, if they were particularly naughty in 2021).
