Santa Tracker live – how can I follow him online?

It’s Christmas Eve, and as the holidays slowly begin, it’s a time to come together and find joy in the simple things – and one of those is the constant question of ‘When Is Is Santa Claus coming?’

While it’s great to not be glued to the screen right now (unless you’re watching one of the best Christmas movies), there are a few good Santa trackers you can use to find out where the jolly man in the red suit is and when it’s best to go to bed.

What is a Santa Tracker? The clue is in the name – it’s either an app or just a website where you can see where he is in the world and – depending on the platform – you can watch a live feed of his activities, play games, read updates from his elves, or even listen to (and perform on) special Christmas radio stations.

There are a few Santa tracking apps out there, but I’ve been tracking the whereabouts of this gift-giving speedster for nearly a decade, and these are the ones I’d recommend to get the best insight into his whereabouts – and find fun ways to count down the hours until he arrives at your door.

Google Santa Tracker

Although this isn’t the longest running tracker, it is one of the most popular and the one that me and my kids use first. Partly because it comes online so early in the Christmas season, but also because it offers the best games to keep the whole family interested when the desire to think about what Santa might bring becomes too great.

There’s a cute video showing how Santa got ready this year (spoiler – that was him late Apparently he got up when his hat fell on his alarm clock, and then he didn’t wake up until the very last minute!) and you can play tons of mini-games, from the simple ones that you play by tilting your device to ones that help you learn the basics of programming through the magic of the elves.

And the main event, of course, is the map of where Santa is currently – with photos and local guides wherever he is, selfies on the beaches and a live update of how many presents are being delivered (a testament to how magical he is, considering he can do around 12,000 per second) – which is a great place to start if you just want to know where he is.

Visit the official Google Santa Tracker website – he’s already on the way.

NORAD

NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command — began tracking Santa Claus decades ago. It actually grew out of a mistake a Colorado Springs newspaper made on Christmas Eve in 1955. A hotline phone number that gave children the opportunity to call Santa Claus was misprinted in the newspaper, instead showing the number of NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Aerospace Defense Command (CONAD).

Suddenly, the company found itself on the receiving end of a flood of calls from excited children waiting to speak to Santa. The operators who answered the calls were kind enough to play along and enthusiastically report on Santa’s location throughout Christmas Eve. The misprint led to an annual tradition, with the advent of the Internet opening new opportunities for the service.

And it’s still possible to call 1-877-HI-NORAD on Christmas Eve to find out about Santa’s whereabouts – there are lots of good people on the other end of the line waiting for your call!

You can test NORAD’s tracker online or via mobile apps for Android and iOS. It can also be accessed via its website.

LiveLast updated on December 24, 2025 at 3:16 am