NORAD’s Santa Cam Goes Live on Christmas Eve

When last seen, at 11:45 a.m. on Christmas Eve, Santa and his sleigh full of toys was headed toward Venice, Italy. He has already delivered over 3 billion gifts! PC: NORAD

Neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor hail nor government shutdown kept NORAD’s Santa Tracker from following St. Nick’s journey this year.

On Christmas Eve, a 3D Santa Cam provides streaming video and a call center full of volunteers will answer questions from good little boys and girls around the globe.

View videos of his stops at locations around the world.

On Dec. 24, 2018, users may also call 1-877-HiNORAD to get an up-to-date report on Santa’s location.

NORAD is a joint United States-Canada organization that provides aerospace and maritime warnings and aerospace control of North America.

It all started with a local ad that listed a phone number to chat with Santa. But when keiki tried to call Santa, they reached the Continental Air Defense Command Operation Center (the predecessor to NORAD) instead.

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Kids were connected with a colonel Instead of Kris Kringle—and a Christmas tradition was born. Now the same satellites and radar used to protect North America are used to track Santa.

“We’re on duty 24-7, 365 days a year,” said Capt. Cameron Hillier, spokesman for NORAD and U.S. North Command.

NORAD gets its U.S. funding through the Department of Defense; its budget was already approved by Congress and signed into law by the president. A minimal amount of federal funding is used for the tracker. Most of the program’s resources are provided by corporate sponsors and by about 1,400 volunteers who will join NORAD on Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and help man an around-the-clock call center on Christmas Eve.