Every Christmas Eve, families across the world open the Santa Tracker to see exactly where Santa Claus is and how close he is to their rooftops.
Kids want to know when to head to bed, parents want to time the cookies and milk and everyone loves watching that tiny sleigh zip across the map. And thanks to the NORAD Santa Tracker, we actually get a surprisingly detailed look at his journey each year.
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What Is the NORAD Santa Tracker?
NORAD’s tracker has been running since 1955, when a child accidentally dialed the Continental Air Defense Command’s hotline after a local newspaper misprinted a phone number for a department store Santa.
Instead of hanging up, the colonel on duty played along, and the tradition stuck. When NORAD replaced the old agency in 1958, it officially adopted the Santa-tracking mission, and the program has run every Christmas Eve since.
Now, the NORAD Santa Tracker uses a combination of satellites, radar, fighter jet escorts and Santa Cams (NORAD’s term for its global network of cameras) to update Santa’s location in real time. Volunteers take calls from kids around the world, and the tracker’s website and app receive millions of visits every Christmas Eve.
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“Santa travels at a speed that’s incomprehensible to you and I, but he does slow down for our aircrafts so they can check up on him from time to time,” Master Sergeant John Storms told CBS Newson Christmas Eve 2025. “We’ll give him a little wing dip and he’ll wave to us, letting us know he’s OK before he gets back up to speed and continues his journey.”
If you’re in the United States, Santa typically reaches the East Coast between 9 p.m. and midnight local time, although the tracker might vary from year to year.
Central and Mountain time zones usually see him closer to 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and West Coast families often get their Santa flyover between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Once he’s spotted over Canada, the tracker usually moves quickly state by state, which is the official signal for kids to get tucked in before the sleigh gets too close if they want to stay on the Nice List.
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How the Santa Tracker Helps Plan Your Christmas Eve
For most families, the NORAD Santa Tracker is less about magic and more about logistics. It lets you plan bedtime, time your cookie plate and avoid any accidental Santa sightings. As long as you’re checking in throughout the night, you’ll know when he’s getting close.
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