Air Force
NORAD launches its Santa tracker to users worldwide for 69th year
Stars and Stripes
December 1, 2024
Volunteers at the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., inform callers of Santa's location and the number of gifts he's delivered Dec. 24, 2022. (Charles Marsh/Defense Department)
The North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Santa tracker launched Sunday and is ready to track Santa on Dec. 24 for the program’s 69th year.
NORAD monitors and defends North American airspace 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. On Dec. 24, NORAD has one additional mission: tracking Santa Claus as he makes his way across the globe delivering presents to children.
NORAD Tracks Santa has been the defense command’s Christmas tradition since 1955, and has attracted millions of people from around the world to its website (www.noradsanta.org) each year.
The website features Santa’s North Pole Village which includes a Santa tracker countdown, holiday games, a movie theater, holiday music, a web store and more. The site is available in nine languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean.
According to a news release, on Dec. 24, trackers worldwide can call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators about Santa’s location from 6 a.m. to midnight MST. Also on Dec. 24, website visitors will see Santa’s flight from 4 a.m. to midnight MST.
Users can count down the days until Santa’s journey on mobile devices with the official NORAD Tracks Santa app, which is available in the Apple and Google Play stores. NORAD Tracks Santa will also be available on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X, and on contributor platforms Amazon Alexa, SiriusXM and OnStar.