Santa tracker: NORAD shows when he's coming to town

Zookeepers help penguins post letters to Santa Claus

Santa Claus opens letters from all over the world, including the ones from penguins living at the London Zoo. (Credit: ZSL London Zoo via Storyful)

It’s almost Christmas and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker website is up and running, showing exactly where Santa Claus, his giant sleigh and magical reindeer are delivering gifts to children across the globe.

In the days leading up to Christmas Eve, you may have seen Santa at a mall or even doing a virtual visit here and there. But jolly ol’ St. Nick will be missing in action the night of Christmas Eve. Don’t fret, NORAD has it covered and will be tracking Santa.

FILE - 22 Wing Canadian Forces Base in North Bay held its annual NORAD Tracks Santa promotion. CREDIT: * *1st Lt. Sable Brown (https://www.dvidshub.net/portfolio/1554546/sable-brown) North American Aerospace Defense Command

In addition to tracking St. Nick, the NORAD Santa Tracker website has a fun interactive town where you can click on different buildings in Santa’s village and learn about the history of Santa, NORAD’s mission and even play games.

This marks the 66th year NORAD is tracking Santa’s yuletide journey around the world and just like last year, anyone who is keeping track of Santa’s whereabouts on Dec. 24 can call NORAD to inquire about his location.

How can I track Santa?

Since 4 a.m. EST on Christmas Eve, people have been able to track Santa’s journey on the website, and since at 6 a.m. EST, people have had the option to call 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to speak with a live operator.

"Due to COVID concerns, the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center will have fewer phone operators, so callers who do not reach a volunteer will hear a regularly updated recording as to Santa’s current location," NORAD said.

Despite the reduced number of phone operators to answer calls inquiring about Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve, the NORAD Santa Tracker website can give kids an indicator of how long they have until it’s time to set out the milk and cookies.

Children can also find Santa by using Onstar, Amazon’s Alexa, and by checking the NORAD mobile apps for Apple and Android devices.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.