Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Entertainment
Reanna Smith & Sonia Sharma

How to track Santa Claus and watch his sleigh fly over the UK on Christmas Eve

Children across the land will be getting excited about Christmas Day - and of course a visit from Santa Claus.

Father Christmas will soon be starting his journey to deliver presents to boys and girls around the world. But did you know there is a way of tracking Santa's movements on Christmas Eve?

Thanks to modern technology, parents can show their children exactly where Santa is as he travels across the globe in his sleigh on December 24. Every day, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks everything that flies in and around Canada and the United States.

Read More: Eight ways to get your children to sleep well on Christmas Eve, according to experts

But on Christmas Eve, they have a special mission of also tracking Santa on his journey around the world, reports The Mirror. Here's how you can track Santa this year.

How can I track Santa?

Children can follow Santa's journey across the world by using NORAD's Santa Tracker. NORAD's Santa tracking mission began by accident back in 1955 when the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) received a phone call from a young child who was trying to reach Santa and had dialled the misprinted phone number from a department store ad in the local newspaper.

As more calls came in, the duty officer was assigned to the phonelines and started the tradition of tracking Santa's location for children all over the world. NORAD carried on the task when they were formed in 1958 and this year marks their 67th year of tracking Santa.

NORAD's Santa Tracker website has been open since December 1 but there's a little longer to wait until Father Christmas begins his journey.

A NORAD spokesperson said: "Santa is at the North Pole, where he lives with Mrs. Claus and the elves who make toys and take care of the reindeer year round. Each year on December 24th, Santa and his reindeer launch from the North Pole very early in the morning for their famous trip around the world. The minute they launch, NORAD starts to track him!"

Starting from 9am UK time on December 24, visitors to NORAD's Santa tracking website will be able to see updates as Father Christmas makes preparations for his flight. From 11am trackers from around the world can then phone to inquire about Santa's whereabouts by dialling the free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723), where they will either speak with a live phone operator or hear a recorded update.

NORAD takes calls from nearly every single country in the world and their Santa tracking website supports eight different languages.

How to track Santa on Google

As well as NORAD's tracker, Santa's location on Christmas Eve can also be tracked on Google. Google launched their own Santa tracker in 2004.

According to Google, Santa is due to make his first stop at 10pm local time in far eastern Russia, which is at 7pm in the UK.

Read Next:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.