How to Do Something Your Don Know: How to Track Santa's Flight Path

Monday, 24 December 2018

How to Track Santa's Flight Path

Santa Claus is a busy man on Christmas Eve since he needs to deliver presents to the whole world! If you're wondering where he is or when he's going to deliver presents to you, you can track Santa online! Whether you use Google or NORAD's Santa Tracker, you'll be able to find out when he's going to leave presents under your tree!

EditSteps

EditUsing the Google Santa Tracker

Visit Santa’s Village starting in December to play Christmas-related games. The Google Santa Tracker starts on December 1st with a digital advent calendar counting down the days until Christmas. Each day offers a new game or learning activity to get you more excited for when Santa arrives!^[1]
- You can find the tracker and Santa’s Village here: https://santatracker.google.com/village.html.
- If you’re an educator, the Santa Tracker offers lesson plans and educational games, ranging from basic coding to understanding how other cultures celebrate Christmas.
Open the tracker on Christmas Eve to see Santa’s path. The tracker starts early in the morning when the countdown clock on top of the screen is finished, or around 2 AM EST. Santa’s Village will then allow you to access the tracker so you can see Santa’s location around the world in real time.^[2]
- New games will appear in Santa’s Village only on Christmas Eve. Make sure to check the site throughout the day so you don’t miss anything!
Follow along with how long Santa takes at each location. Santa starts in Australia and works his way east to other countries. The tracker will tell you where Santa has been, where he’s heading next, how many presents he’s delivered, and how close he is to your location. Use the tracker throughout the day so you know when he’s going to deliver presents to you!^[3]
- Visit the site on your mobile browser or download the Santa Tracker app if you want to track Santa on the go!

EditTracking Santa with NORAD

Log onto the NORAD Tracks Santa website on Christmas Eve. Open your preferred web browser anytime on December 24th after 2 AM MST and find the official NORAD Santa Tracker. The website is available in 7 different languages in over 200 countries.^[4]
- The NORAD Santa Tracker can be found here in December: http://www.noradsanta.org/.
- NORAD has been tracking Santa’s path since 1955 and the website attracts nearly 9 million users every year.^[5]
- The website is available on desktop or mobile.
Watch Santa and his reindeer in 3D as they fly. Starting in 2013, the NORAD Santa Tracker started using a 3D Santa to show his location around the world. The 3D Santa flies across the map in his sleigh with his reindeer, so you know exactly where he is at any given time.^[6]
- You can also view Santa in 2D if the site starts running slow.
Look at how many gifts Santa has delivered in the bottom-left corner. NORAD keeps a running count of how many presents Santa gives to children around the world. Watch how much the counter increases as he travels between cities and countries.^[7]
- The counter will say that he’s dropping gifts as he flies over the ocean, but he’s just giving sea animals gifts as well!
Call 1-877-HI-NORAD if you don’t have access to the internet. Make your calls starting at 6 AM EST. Volunteers at NORAD who are constantly checking on Santa’s location will be able to tell you the last place he was spotted.^[8]
- The phone lines are open until around 12:00 AM EST.
- The NORAD Santa trackers take in more than 140,000 calls from around the world on Christmas Eve.