Christmas Eve 2024 is here, and families are gearing up for the magical night when Santa Claus journeys across the globe delivering gifts. This year, the anticipation builds as children eagerly await to see when Santa will make his appearance. Thanks to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), tracking Santa's whereabouts has become part of the holiday tradition.
NORAD has been monitoring Santa Claus's thrilling expedition since 1955, and they are set to do it again this year. Families can start tracking Santa on Christmas Eve through the NORAD Santa Tracker, which goes live around 8 AM GMT on December 24. The tracker provides updates on his current location and the number of gifts he has delivered.
The excitement doesn’t just stop at knowing Santa's position. Families across Gloucestershire and beyond will have the opportunity to watch Santa, who flies at around 1,800 miles per second, as he travels approximately 510 million kilometers on his special night. It’s important to keep your eyes peeled for his sleigh since he is moving so quickly!
To track Santa, interested families should visit NORAD's official website, noradsanta.org, which will be live for tracking his flight. Alongside the tracking feature, the site entertains visitors with various activities, including games, holiday music, and festive movies as families eagerly await his arrival.
For those wondering when Santa will be arriving in the United Kingdom, he is predicted to begin visiting homes between 9 PM and midnight on Christmas Eve. According to NORAD, if Santa sees children awake, he will bypass the house and return later, ensuring he only visits when kids are asleep. This playful aspect adds to the year-long anticipation leading up to this special moment.
Track Santa’s annual trip beginning from New Zealand and Australia, where children are the first to experience Christmas morning due to their positions on the timezone map. Following his short visits down under, he will make stops across Asia, Europe, and North America before finally wrapping up his remarkable delivery spree in South America. NORAD makes sure to match Santa’s schedule with the sleeping patterns of children, allowing him to maximize the joy and surprise on Christmas morning.
The tradition initiated by NORAD continues to flourish, and each year, they share valuable insights about Santa's expected routes and timings across the globe. For families who wish to follow along closely, NORAD even offers mobile applications and live streaming on YouTube to provide comprehensive coverage of Santa's flight path.
This year's tracking predicted Santa's first stop to be Kiribati. The island nation lies among the first places to dawn on Christmas Day, followed closely by Australia and New Zealand. Based on NORAD's information, it’s expected Santa will reach the UK within the window set from 9 PM to midnight, darting past iconic landmarks and various cities, including Liverpool and London.
Santa has made significant progress since taking off from the North Pole, already covering several miles and delivering millions of presents across the globe. At the time of writing, Santa was busy distributing gifts to children throughout the Pacific Islands and made his way to Australia.
NORAD confirmed through their official insight: "If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later, but only when the children are asleep!" This captivating idea brings excitement and hope to many, as it maintains the enchantment around Santa’s presence.
For alternative tracking options, Google has also introduced their Santa Tracker at santatracker.google.com. While it might not possess the military precision associated with NORAD, it provides fun features, including keeping tally of the number of presents delivered to each country. This year, the excitement continues to grow as Santa has already delivered over 3 million gifts within the initial hours of his flight.
Families, whether with young children or simply those young at heart, can participate by checking updates on NORAD's website or their user-friendly app. This well-loved tradition builds bridges between families and makes the holiday spirit infectious as relatives from afar can also join the fun through these online platforms.
So as you prepare your cookies and milk tonight, don’t forget to keep tabs on Santa’s progress with NORAD's Santa Tracker. The magic of Christmas is just around the corner, and knowing where Santa is adds to the joyous anticipation of his gift-giving visit!
