We’re not far from Christmas Eve now, which means Santa’s probably packing his bags and getting ready to set off on his yearly route.
Wondering when he’ll be stopping at your chimney? There are a number of websites you can use to keep tabs on Father Christmas this year, including Google’s Santa Tracker and NORAD Tracks Santa.
Read on to learn more about what they do and where you can find them…
How to track Santa
If you want to follow Santa on his journey this December, all you need to do is head over to one of the popular Santa trackers on Christmas Eve when he officially departs from the North Pole.
Two of the most popular options for this are Google’s Santa Tracker and NORAD Tracks Santa, a website and app designed by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
How to track Santa with the Google Santa Tracker
The Google Santa Tracker is the more vibrant and feature-packed option of the two Santa tracking tools.
Not only can you follow Santa’s route, but the website is also filled with mini games, quizzes and education features in the lead up to the big day.
There’s a Christmas-themed Code Lab, a map of holiday traditions around the world, a festive geography quiz, a handful of painting and building games and a number of videos and interactive storybooks to keep kids entertained in the run up to Christmas Eve.
On December 24 at 10pm local time (or 10am GMT), Santa’s Village will transform into a 25-hour tracking experience, as Santa begins his journey in the east of Russia and makes his way from country to country delivering presents.
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How to track Santa with NORAD Tracks Santa
NORAD’s Santa tracker began after a local newspaper accidentally printed the number of US Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup as a phoneline for kids to call Santa. The service became a tradition and 2021 marks NORAD’s 66th year tracking Santa.
While the website isn’t quite as nice to look at as Google’s, it’s nevertheless packed with features, including games, movies, holiday music and a webstore.
NORAD Tracks Santa is available in eight different languages and you can even find it in the iOS App Store and the Google Play store, allowing you to take a look at Santa’s location wherever you are.
NORAD will begin tracking Santa’s journey on December 24 at 4am EST (that’s 9am here in the UK), and open it’s call line for those who want to call the toll-free number from anywhere in the world two hours later at 11am GMT.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
