All the preparations for this year are in place! Come back each day to discover new surprises in the Kids’ Countdown Village, countdown.html where we’ll offer a new holiday game every day until December 24th.
See Santa on your mobile phone
This year you can count down the days to Santa’s takeoff with the official NORAD Tracks Santa app. Enjoy playing “Elf Toss” throughout the month and then on December 24th, follow Santa with Google Maps for mobile.
Follow Santa on Facebook
Follow Santa on Google +
Follow Santa on Twitter
Track Santa on Google Earth
Or the NORAD Track Santa web site by clicking here
Why we track Santa
For more than 50 years, NORAD and its predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) have tracked Santa’s flight.
The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.
In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.
Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to phone calls and emails from children all around the world. In addition, we now track Santa using the Internet. Millions of people who want to know Santa’s whereabouts now visit the NORAD Tracks Santa website.
Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide updates on Santa’s journey.
