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When Christmas Eve arrives, the two best-known ways to follow Santa are NORAD Tracks Santa and Google Santa Tracker. Both offer a festive way to follow the journey, but they are separate services and may show different locations or features.
Where is Santa right now?
According to the official NORAD Santa FAQ, Santa is currently at the North Pole, where he lives with Mrs. Claus, the elves, and the reindeer. He is preparing for the annual Christmas Eve journey.
NORAD says it begins tracking Santa when he leaves the North Pole on December 24. That means there is no genuine NORAD live flight route to follow during the rest of the year. Google’s Santa Tracker also shifts into its Christmas Eve journey experience during the holiday season.
Track Santa with NORAD
NORAD Tracks Santa is the longstanding official tracker operated through the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Santa program. It combines a website, mobile apps, phone assistance, and seasonal digital channels.
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How to use the NORAD tracker
- Open noradsanta.org on December 24.
- Use the countdown, North Pole Village, or live map once the flight begins.
- Return to the map during the day and evening to see Santa’s reported progress.
- Use the official NORAD app, when available in your device’s Apple App Store or Google Play store, as another way to follow the journey.
NORAD’s latest confirmed holiday announcement, released for the 2025 season, said the website opened its North Pole Village on December 1. The pre-flight experience included a countdown, games, films, music, a web store, and other holiday content. That announcement listed support for English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, and Korean. Those details are useful as a guide to the program, but they should not automatically be treated as confirmed 2026 features.
Call NORAD to ask where Santa is
The NORAD Santa phone number is 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). For December 24, 2025, NORAD listed live operators from 4:00 a.m. until midnight Mountain Standard Time. It also introduced a web-based calling option that year. After live operators finished, the automated phone system and website continued tracking until 3:00 a.m. on December 25.
Those are the latest confirmed hours, not a guaranteed 2026 schedule. If the same opening time is used in the United States, it would correspond approximately to:
| U.S. time zone | Approximate opening on December 24 |
|---|---|
| Eastern | 6:00 a.m. |
| Central | 5:00 a.m. |
| Mountain | 4:00 a.m. |
| Pacific | 3:00 a.m. |
Check NORAD’s current holiday announcement before relying on these times for 2026. The official website, rather than an unofficial countdown page or social-media post, is the safest place to confirm the current schedule.
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Track Santa with Google
Google’s official tracker is santatracker.google.com. Before the flight, its Santa’s Village typically offers games, activities, and preparation-themed experiences. On Christmas Eve, it becomes an interactive journey showing where Santa is headed and how many presents he has delivered.
How to use Google Santa Tracker
- Open santatracker.google.com in a modern web browser.
- Visit Santa’s Village before Christmas Eve for games and other activities.
- Return on December 24 to open the live journey and map.
- Use whatever location, video, delivery-count, and arrival-estimate features Google provides in the current year.
The most recently observed 2025 version included a live map, Santa’s next stop, video content, estimated arrival information for locations, imagery from visited places, a gift-delivery counter, and distance-from-your-location information. Google can change the interface and feature set each year, so an older guide may describe a button or activity that is not present in the 2026 version.
NORAD or Google: which Santa tracker should you use?
| If you want… | Try… |
|---|---|
| A traditional tracker with a phone center | NORAD Tracks Santa |
| A browser-based map and interactive storytelling | Google Santa Tracker |
| Games and activities before the flight | Either service, especially NORAD’s North Pole Village or Google’s Santa’s Village |
| Help by telephone on Christmas Eve | NORAD, subject to the confirmed annual schedule |
| A visual experience on a smart display | An Alexa-compatible display may be useful, subject to current availability |
NORAD and Google do not use one shared public tracking feed. They run separate experiences, and their maps may show different locations at a particular moment. A difference between the two does not necessarily mean that one page is broken. Treat each as its own festive presentation of Santa’s journey.
How does NORAD say it tracks Santa?
NORAD presents Santa tracking as a playful extension of the aerospace-warning systems associated with its regular mission. Its explanation has three parts:
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- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart devices like lights and thermostats, even while you're away.
- See more with the built-in camera – Check in on your family, pets, and more using the built-in camera. Drop in on your home when you're out or view the front door from your Echo Show 5 with compatible video doorbells.
- See your photos on display – When not in use, set the background to a rotating slideshow of your favorite photos. Invite family and friends to share photos to your Echo Show. Prime members also get unlimited cloud photo storage.
- Radar: NORAD says the North Warning System, comprising 49 radar installations across northern Canada and Alaska, watches for signs that Santa has departed the North Pole.
- Satellites: NORAD says satellites equipped with infrared sensors look for Rudolph’s bright red nose.
- Aircraft: NORAD describes Canadian CF-18 and U.S. fighter aircraft escorts as part of the Santa-tracking tradition.
This is NORAD’s official, intentionally whimsical explanation. It should not be confused with a conventional commercial GPS-transponder service or with a publicly verifiable aircraft-tracking feed.
What route does Santa usually take?
NORAD says Santa generally begins near the International Date Line and travels west. The traditional route moves through areas including the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America.
The route can vary. NORAD also says it cannot predict exactly when Santa will reach a particular home. Historically, its guidance suggests that Santa reaches many countries between approximately 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24, usually while children are asleep.
That is a traditional broad window, not a guaranteed household arrival time. Google may display an estimated arrival for a location, but an on-screen ETA should likewise be treated as a tracker estimate rather than a promise.
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- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart devices like lights and thermostats, even while you're away.
- See more with the built-in camera – Check in on your family, pets, and more using the built-in camera. Drop in on your home when you're out or view the front door from your Echo Show 5 with compatible video doorbells.
Other ways to ask where Santa is
Families who want a hands-free option can try the NORAD Santa skill on Alexa, if it is available in their market and during the current holiday season. Amazon’s Alexa documentation has used the skill as an example of what an Echo Show can do: outside the flight, it may show Santa on vacation; on Christmas Eve, it may display a map and report where Santa is delivering presents.
An Echo Show 5 smart display can be convenient for families who want to ask Alexa where Santa is and see information on a screen. You do not need to buy a device to use the free NORAD website, Google tracker, phone line, or official apps, and the Alexa skill’s availability and behavior should be rechecked before Christmas 2026.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why does NORAD track Santa?
The tradition began in 1955 after a child attempting to telephone Santa reached the Continental Air Defense Command because of a misprinted phone number. Colonel Harry Shoup reportedly played along and asked staff to check Santa’s location. When NORAD was created in 1958, it inherited the tradition.
NORAD says it has reported Santa’s location every December 24 since then. Google’s separate Santa-tracking project dates to 2004 and developed its own village, games, map, and route experience rather than simply reproducing NORAD’s presentation. More background is available from NORAD’s official history page and Google’s historical explanation of its Santa Tracker.
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- Use the domains noradsanta.org and santatracker.google.com.
- Be cautious of pages that imitate the official trackers or ask for unnecessary personal information.
- Do not assume a 2025 operator schedule, app feature, language list, or partner channel is automatically active in 2026.
- If a feature described in an old article is missing, use the current official interface; seasonal services often change their design.
- For children, explain that the maps are a Christmas tradition and interactive storytelling experience, not a guaranteed minute-by-minute delivery appointment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Santa flying right now?
Not according to the seasonal schedule described by NORAD. As of August 10, 2026, Santa is at the North Pole preparing for Christmas. NORAD’s live flight tracking begins when he launches on December 24.
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What is the official website to track Santa?
Use noradsanta.org for NORAD Tracks Santa and santatracker.google.com for Google Santa Tracker. These are separate official services.
What time does NORAD start answering calls?
The latest confirmed schedule, for December 24, 2025, listed live operators from 4:00 a.m. to midnight Mountain Standard Time. NORAD’s exact 2026 operator hours should be confirmed in its 2026 holiday announcement.
Can NORAD tell me exactly when Santa will arrive at my house?
No. NORAD says Santa’s route can vary and that it cannot predict the precise time he will reach a particular home. Its historical guidance places many arrivals between about 9:00 p.m. and midnight on December 24, usually when children are asleep.
Why do Google and NORAD sometimes show different locations?
They are separate tracking experiences, not one shared public feed. Their maps and timing may differ, so neither service promises that its display will match the other second-for-second.
The Bottom Line
The short answer: As of August 10, 2026, Santa is at the North Pole preparing for Christmas. On December 24, follow the journey at NORAD Tracks Santa or Google Santa Tracker. Use NORAD for its traditional phone-and-map experience, Google for an interactive browser journey, and treat all arrival times as estimates rather than guarantees.
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