If you’re a parent with young children, then you’ll probably hear this a lot on Christmas Eve: \u201cWhere’s Santa right now?\u201d With tracking tools like the NORAD Santa Tracker and Google’s Santa Tracker, everyone can know when Father Christmas will arrive.
\nHere’s how to follow Santa’s journey this Christmas Eve.
\nTrack Santa Claus with NORAD
\nNORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command) had the first-ever Santa tracker in 1955. While it used to be just a boring animation of Santa’s sleigh and reindeer flying across a map, NORAD has added tons of features in recent years, such as fun mini-games, videos, stories and Christmas music.
\nImage Credits: NORAD
\nRather than a 2D model, the NORAD Santa tracker has a 3D visual depiction of Santa’s journey as the platform was built on Cesium’s open-source 3D mapping library. It also uses Bing Maps satellite imagery, making the globe look more \u201crealistic.\u201d
\nAlong with the tracker tool, users can also see a \u201cSanta Cam,\u201d which has videos of Santa making his way around the world to deliver presents to every kid on the nice list.
\nNORAD’s website has Santa’s North Pole Village, which includes a holiday countdown, arcade-style games, kid-friendly music, an online library and various videos that can be watched on NORAD’s official YouTube channel.
\nNORAD Santa tracker is available on noradsanta.org, or you can download the official NORAD Tracks Santa app on\u00a0Apple’s App\u00a0Store or the\u00a0Google Play Store. The website is available in English, Chinese, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian and Portuguese.
\nYou can also track Santa through NORAD Tracker’s social media accounts, such as Facebook,\u00a0Twitter and\u00a0Instagram.
\nFor a more personable experience, call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6732), and you’ll speak with a volunteer from the organization’s call center who’ll update you on Santa’s location.
\nPlus, through a partnership with Amazon, NORAD lets Amazon Alexa users track Santa. Users can open the Amazon Alexa app and go to \u201cSkills & Games,\u201d then search for \u201cNORAD Tracks Santa\u201d skill. Once enabled, you can ask: \u201cAlexa, where’s Santa?\u201d You can also say, \u201cAlexa, call Santa,\u201d and the jolly man will hop on the phone with you and your kids. There’s an option to leave a voicemail message for him as well.<\/p>\n
Track Santa Claus with Google
\nGoogle’s Santa Tracker launched in 2004 and simulates the tracking of Santa. The website features a live map of Santa’s current location, his next stop, a live video feed of his route, and the estimated arrival time for each location. It also shows the total distance that Santa has traveled so far and the number of presents he has delivered.
\nImage Credits: Google
\nThroughout December, the page operates as Santa’s Village, where users can play mini-games, take quizzes, watch animated videos and explore other interactive activities. For instance, players can build their own elf in Google’s \u201cElf Maker\u201d game as well as host a concert with \u201cElf Jamband.\u201d Kids can also learn how to code with easy and fun tutorials like \u201cCode Boogie.\u201d
\nAdditionally, users can enlist the help of Google Assistant to learn about Santa’s whereabouts. You can ask, \u201cHey Google, where’s Santa?\u201d or even \u201cWhat’s new at the North Pole?\u201d which lets you tune into Google’s North Pole Newscast where you can hear what Santa and his elves are up to that day.
\nGoogle Assistant also lets you call Santa himself. When you call him, Santa will be rehearsing for a concert and will ask for your musical expert advice.
\nAnd don’t forget to ask Google Assistant to tell you a Santa joke!<\/p>\n