Santa tracker 2025: Follow Santa Claus in real-time as he delivers Christmas gifts around the world

Is the list prepared? Check it again. Because Santa is on his way and you can live track him as he drops off gift around the world. For about 70 years, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has kept this tradition where they follow St. Nick across the globe.



The Santa surveillance, it is said, started when NORAD started getting calls from children looking for Santa after Sears goofed and printed the command's secret number, Air Force Col. Harry W. Shoup told The Associated Press in 1999.



NORAD has since made this tradition even more interesting by installing Santa cams in space to monitor the jolly old elf, the agency says. A senior official said in a news release, "NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house."



This year the official YouTube channel, the NORAD Tracks Santa, is also showing Christmas celebration videos submitted by families. "Their excitement reflects the spirit that has made NORAD Tracks Santa a worldwide favorite for nearly seventy years," according to the channel.

How to follow NORAD's Santa tracker 2025

The tracking began at 6 a.m. EST/4 a.m. MST on Wednesday, Dec. 24, better known as Christmas Eve. For the live update you can do any of the following



Call operators at NORAD about Santa's trip on 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) until midnight MST or 2 a.m. EST on Christmas Day.



You can also follow download the NORAD Santa Tracker app from Google Play and Apple's App store.



The site had gone live on December 1 only. It featured games, videos and other holiday activities. It also has information about NORAD, which the United States and Canada collaborate on to monitor each country's airspace. The site is available in English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.



You can also track Santa via Google's Santa tracker, which has been doing so since 2004. The Google tracker shows animated real-time information on where St. Nick and his sleigh is across the globe.



Global flight-tracking service Flightradar24, which provides real-time data on thousands of aircraft around the world, also keeps an eye on Santa’s journey. Viewers can follow his progress on the Flightradar24 website or via its YouTube channel.



To make it happen, Flightradar24 says it has “worked closely with Santa’s workshop to ensure the sleigh is outfitted with the latest tracking technology,” giving Santa an extra boost on his annual trip.


People take this tradition quite seriously. NORAD's official X page posted that they have already recieved aboout 38,000 calls worldwide. In their post they also expressed gratitude for volunteers who are taking these calls. The post reads, "We’ve now received more than 38,000 calls from families around the world tracking Santa’s journey tonight. Thank you to our volunteers who are answering phones and helping keep this holiday tradition going strong."