How to Track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve

donreisinger

One of the most joyful holiday traditions for many families on Christmas Eve is awaiting the much-anticipated arrival of Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or the otherwise familiar bearded, gift-bearing figure. While answering the questions of excited children should always be encouraged, parents and guardians who need a break may want to consider using a more technology-based solution to address inquiries about the exact time Santa will be in the local area. By knowing how to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, you and your kids can monitor the sleigh's location in real-time and make sure Santa's favorite cookies are ready for his arrival.  

NORAD Santa Tracker Mobile App, Website, and Social Media Pages 

Perhaps one of the most heart-warming incidents involving an accidental breach of national military security, the birth of NORAD's (North American Aerospace Defensive Command) Santa Tracker can be traced back to a printer's error in a 1955 department store's phone number for children to call Santa Claus. Rather than reaching the intended recipient, the individual who answered was none other than Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup, the night commander for CONAD (Continental Air Defense Command).  

Thinking quickly and speaking to each child as if he were Santa Claus, Col. Shoup eventually assigned another officer on duty to handle the increasing number of calls. The custom continued when the organization reformed as NORAD in 1958 and has provided children with live updates on Santa Claus's location every Christmas Eve for the last 67 years. NORAD's Santa Tracker currently provides information annually for millions of digital visitors from over 200 territories and countries. In addition to the original phone line, you can show your kids how to track Santa's location via the mobile app, website, and NORAD-affiliated social media pages full of activities, stories, and more. 

Google's Santa Tracker Village is Great for Information and Entertainment 

As Google's official source of information for tracking Santa Claus on December 24th, the Google Santa Tracker offers your kids a live countdown to Santa's ETA (estimated time of arrival) as well as his sleigh's location. In the event that your children are dissatisfied with how long it takes for the reindeer to get it in gear, Google's Santa Tracker offers an impressive variety of holiday-themed distractions to keep their morale from flagging. Activities and games include a Santa's Workshop for learning how to code with elves, storybooks about the holidays, pictures to color in, and much more.  

For families who also have Google Assistant devices in their homes, there are also several exclusive activities, such as the ability to call Santa, learn a plethora of Santa Jokes, or treat themselves to the latest edition of the North Pole Newscast. While it should be noted there is currently no app available for users of iOS devices, this can be easily surmounted by opening the website on your preferred web browser, preventing proprietary technology from being a Grinch this year. 

Amazon Alexa Devices Also Provide an Easy Means of Tracking Santa Claus 

Similar to Google Assistant, Amazon's collection of various Alexa devices also provide your kids with a hands-free means of tracking where Santa Claus is while also (hopefully) helping to prevent excessive device usage around the holidays. Thanks to the Christmas-related Skills collection available for Alexa devices, parents can take a break. With the Ask Santa Skill, you no longer need to come up with explanations for Santa-related questions involving physics and logistics, allowing you to breath a bit easier.  

You can also enable the NORAD and Santa Countdown Skills to provide instant answers on Santa Claus's location and how long it will take for him to arrive. Families who love trivia and facts will also love the Interesting Christmas Skill, which relates information like the link between the British Royal Family and the popularity of decorating Christmas trees and arcane laws related to the holiday itself. 

Consider Downloading Christmas Countdown Apps to Save Some Questioning 

If all you are looking for in a Santa Tracking service is the ability to keep track of the upcoming holiday entertainingly and effectively, there are several excellent options to do so. Examples include a Christmas Countdown app that will serve as a digital advent calendar and break down the intervening time by seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, and even heartbeats.  

Depending on the features of the individual app you decide to install, you can also select from a group of holiday-themed characters to help you pass the time. You can also listen to your favorite Christmas songs like Silent Night and Jingle Bells and select an attractive background to get you in the holiday mood. Some apps even offer premium features, including a lack of ads, access to a greater variety of music, a collection of downloadable HD images you can use as desired, and so on. You can even learn more about various Christmas greetings from across the globe and how to pronounce them, ensuring you can wish someone happy holidays in their own language.  

From the military to the mercantile, there is no shortage of potential ways to track Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and all its varied aspects. So check out these apps and services as the holiday gets closer to learn more and get in on the fun! 

About Dan Martin: Daniel Martin is a technology researcher and writer with more than a decade of experience. He is a professional librarian and an experienced tech teacher, writer and blogger. Specializing in technology, Dan has taught courses in technology and writing at the college level, developed web pages for businesses and higher educational institutions, written on tech topics for leading national publications and created numerous how-to guides.