Dec 5, 2023 By Katherine Mansfield 4 min read

While Santa’s elves are hard at work finishing toys for the good girls and boys, Rudolph and the gang are carb-loading and Mr. Claus is preparing for his annual flight around the world.

And last week, a group of men and women whose daily work does not often make headlines launched a special holiday-related mission.

On Dec. 1, employees at the Peterson Space Force Base, who monitor and defend U.S. airspace from Colorado every day, fired up the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD) Santa Tracker, which will provide real-time updates on Jolly Old St. Nick’s whereabouts as he circles the globe Dec. 24.

Until Santa Claus is cleared for take-off and NORAD’s tracker begins following the bearded gift-giver’s flight, kids of all ages are invited to visit https://www.noradsanta.org/en/ for a variety of digital activities that entertain and inform.

The website welcomes visitors into a quaint, magical town in the North Pole, where Christmas music plays and elves enjoy their lunch breaks building snowmen and snorkeling. Enter The Arcade for a new, free holiday-themed game each day, or drop into The Theater for Santa and NORAD-related movies.

The town’s library contains kids e-books about St. Nicholas, Santa’s sleigh and holiday traditions, and NORAD’s headquarters provides information on the organization’s mission – including how NORAD protects Santa every Christmas Eve.

NORAD has tracked Santa’s sleigh as it soars across the skies since 1955, but the mission was sparked nearly a decade earlier, when the Associated Press printed a special report from the U.S. Air Force.

On Dec. 24, 1948, the Air Force announced that a warning radar up north had detected “one unidentified sleigh, powered by eight reindeer” flying at approximately 14,000 feet. The report was a one-off, and the Air Force didn’t mention Santa sightings again.

But in 1955, Santa again was sighted on defense department radars.

It all began with a Sears ad published in Colorado Springs’s The Gazette. The ad included a cartoon Santa Claus and a phone number – ME 2-6681 – for his direct line. Kids were encouraged to call St. Nick “any time day or night,” or to visit him in person at their local Sears’ toyland.

According to legend, Santa’s number was misprinted. Instead of ringing Santa Claus, a young person called the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). Col. Harry Shoup, the crew commander on duty, took the call and, after a member of his staff tacked a picture of Santa on a board used to track unidentified aircraft, decided the mistake would be great for public relations.

CONAD’s public affairs officer announced to the press that not only was the organization tracking Santa’s sleigh, but U.S. military forces were guarding the entourage “from those who do not believe in Christmas,” according to a story published in The Atlantic in 2015. Thus, the Santa Tracker was born.

NORAD took over Santa tracking duties in 1958. Two Christmas Eves later, the northern command post at Saint-Hubert in Quebec, Canada, began sharing regular updates of a sleigh driven by an S. Claus. In 1981, NORAD launched a hotline the general public could call for updates on Mr. Claus’ whereabouts.

Today, 68 years after it first launched, NORAD Santa Tracker volunteers field telephone calls and emails from across the globe, and the website is available in nine languages, including, for the first time, Korean.

The website displays a Santa Tracker Countdown, and parents can download the official NORAD Tracks Santa app to their smartphones and other devices (the app is available through both the Apple App and Google Play stores). People can also count down the days ’til Santa’s arrival and enjoy updates, games and other fun on the NORAD Tracks Santa social media sites.

To speak with a live NORAD operator regarding Santa updates on Dec. 24, dial 1-877-HI-NORAD. Until then, visit www.noradsanta.org for all things Santa tracker.