BREAKING: NORAD reactivates its Santa Tracker tomorrow night. I can confirm the command’s holiday team is prepped, its maps are warm, and its phone banks are ready. A Cold War control room ritual has grown into the coziest tech hobby of the season. Families can follow Santa’s flight, check in by phone, and make a night of it at home.
The news: NORAD is tracking Santa again
NORAD’s Santa Tracker returns with its full kit. The live map, mobile apps, and playful Santa Cams will light up as soon as the sleigh lifts off. The whole experience is ceremonial and family friendly. NORAD talks about radar, satellites, and infrared, then delivers simple updates on where Santa is headed next. Volunteers, both military and civilian, will staff the phone line and share location reports with a smile.
This is not surveillance. It is storytelling with instruments and a wink. The tracker creates a moving window into the night. Kids get a steady stream of check-ins. Adults get nostalgia and structure. Everyone gets a reason to pause, gather, and look up.
How a wrong number lit the runway
The tradition began with a mistake. In 1955, a local newspaper ad misprinted a phone number for Santa. Children dialed, and the calls landed in a Continental Air Defense operations center. An officer chose kindness over protocol. He gave updates on Santa’s position. The next year, the staff planned for it. When NORAD later formed, the handoff came with it.
That small choice shaped a big ritual. A military watch floor learned to host a bedtime countdown. What started as a switchboard surprise became a global outreach program. Today, the tracker keeps the heart of that moment. It blends high-tech toys with low-tech joy.
Follow the sleigh: simple ways to join in
You do not need gear to take part. A phone, a tablet, or a laptop will do. The map is clean and fast. Kids can tap a city and learn where Santa was seen last. Teens can zoom out and watch the route curve along weather and time zones. The phone line lets shy voices ask one safe question. Where is Santa now?
Try this quick sequence for a smooth start:
- Open the official NORAD Santa Tracker on your device
- Turn on sound if you want music while you watch
- Add the call center number to your contacts for later
- Set a simple check-in schedule to pace the night
Build a home command center. Tape a world map to the wall, set out stickers, prep cocoa, and line up a playlist. Give each kid a job like map spotter or cookie quartermaster.
Turn it into a family hobby
Treat the tracker like a seasonal club night. Keep a notebook, then add a new page each year. Note the first sighting, favorite stops, and any funny call center moments. Compare routes. Did Santa cross the Pacific earlier this time? Which landmarks popped up on the Santa Cams?
Use the map to teach soft skills. Practice reading latitude and longitude with simple clues. Talk about why the sleigh usually moves west to east. Show how time zones shift bedtime across the world. Fold in weather too. Tailwinds, headwinds, and clear skies all become part of the story.
Make something with your hands. Cut passport stamps for each region. Print tiny boarding passes. Build a cardboard radar dish, then give it a bright red knob. Mix cookie taste tests with map check-ins. Every 30 minutes, log a bite and a sighting.
Set a bedtime checkpoint. Pick one last update, then switch to a lights-out story. Santa flies faster when kids are asleep.
If you have older kids, let them run the room. They can handle the map, call the hotline, and announce the next city. Give them a weather app and a flashlight. Leadership grows fast when you turn screens into tools.
Why it matters for your winter rhythm
The Santa Tracker is more than a website. It is a shared ritual that builds calm in a busy week. The flow is gentle. Prepare, check in, laugh, and tuck in. It gives grandparents an easy way to join by phone. It gives new parents a script for a first holiday. It even gives teens a chance to teach siblings, which is its own kind of magic.
I will be watching the blips and listening for those cheerful voices in the call center. When the sleigh goes wheels up, the hobby begins. Gather your crew, warm the mugs, and mark the map. NORAD has the skies. You have the living room. Happy tracking 🎅.
