Christmas is now so close you can almost smell it! Children all over the world are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa on the morning of 25 December and what better way to help the time to pass a little faster than to track Santa as he travel all around the globe on his annual journey of thousands and thousands of miles?
For the last 58 years NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command more usually associated with monitoring airspace for security purposes — has been letting children keep up to date with Santa’s progress around the world. These days NORAD has been joined by Microsoft, to follow the red-suite gift-giver.
Steve Lake, Product Marketing Manager, Internet Explorer Marketing said: “This has been a fantastic experience for us. We’ve been honored to partner with NORAD to bring their 58-year tradition of delighting children across the world by tracking Santa Claus on the web in a richer and more immersive way. NORAD Tracks Santa is a special part of the holidays for many families around the world and there are many people working behind the scenes to spread the magic of the holidays this time of year.”
Santa’s sled will be loaded up with presents at 11PM tonight, and this is when the tracker goes live. Visit the NORAD Santa Tracker on your Surface or other touchscreen device and you can use finger gestures to scroll around and zoom in and out of a 3D globe. There are camera at key locations around the world so you may even be able to catch a glimpse of the man himself!
The NORAD Tracks Santa website is home to more than just the tracking tool. There are also festive games and movies to keep kids entertained right up until Christmas morning– and of course it’s not just for kids!
Check out the video below too see how NORAD’s role in keeping the Christmas spirit alive has developed over the years.
Merry Christmas!
