Santa Claus is coming to town!
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They’re only slightly cursed.
Firefly gave this oone a good go, but seems to be very caught up on the Westernized representation of the big, jolly Santa Claus. I do like that the classic Russian architectural feature of the onion dome has become his hat, though.
What is a Santa tracker?
It’s quite basic compared to other trackers, lacking a lot of polish and website design.
Don’t ask us to interpret the magic.
After all, it’s not even Christmas Eve yet in many parts of the world.
Trust us it’s the best possible way to prepare for the big day.
Right then, on with the show…
I should really introduce myself at this stage very rude of me to not do so.
So I’m Marc, and I’ll be your guide for the next hour or so.
And look, we have a photo of him enjoying just that kind of feast.
Firefly gave this oone a good go, but seems to be very caught up on the Westernized representation of the big, jolly Santa Claus. I do like that the classic Russian architectural feature of the onion dome has become his hat, though.
Okay, it’s not really a photo,obviously it’s an image we generated using Adobe Firefly.
Looks pretty accurate though, right?
They’ve got a candid behind-the-scenes shot of him preparing to take flight.
I thought there’d be more gifts than that, to be honest.
So, what else is available on NORAD?
Well, quite a lot actually.
There’s the HQ, where you might learn about NORAD and its mission and history.
And of course there’s The Arcade… where you’re able to play Santa-themed games.
Guess which one I’m trying first?
I’ll back in a few hours, ready for lift off.
Marc here again for a couple more hours as we approach lift-off time.
It’s enough to get even the hardest-hearted Grinch into the festive spirit.
Look, we all know Santa lives at the North Pole.
But we also know that penguins are southern-hemisphere creatures.
They don’t live in the North Pole.
So, what can you expect to see once Santa takes off?
Our suggestion: follow both and get double the fun.
(You’ll find the links just above this post.)
Just poke the menu button in the top left to see the games gallery.
According to NORAD, Santa will be on his merry way in less than an hour.
As everyone knows, that’s fast reallyfast.
Don’t tire out those reindeer, Santa!
- Distance: The Earth’s circumference is roughly 24,901 miles (40,075 km).
Therefore, the actual distance he covers is much greater.
That’s about 10,000 times the speed of sound!
Here’s what Adobe Firefly AI thinks he might look like right now, as he plans his route.
There’s now just 7 minutes until Santa takes off, according to NORAD.
Exciting!This just in: Santa is preparing for lift-off!
Before he begins his epic gift-giving voyage around the world, Santa needs to do his final checks.
Presents?…He forgot the presents.
That’s what last minute checks are for!
And no, friend those aren’t all for you.
That’s what we like to hear.
Maybe Santa needs to buy them some new computers for Christmas?
OK, NORAD is back up sort of.
It’s showing an image of Santa preparing again.
Maybe he won’t actually take off for a little while?
I’ve just tried it on my Nest smart display and can confirm that it’s great fun.
My favorite isQuick Draw although I’m not very good at it.
How does it work?
Well the robot asks you to draw something, then tries to guess what it is.
It’s like Pictionary, but with a robot rather than your family all shouting at you.
NORAD has games too, in its Arcade section.
They are… how do I say this kindly… not quite as impressive as Google’s.
This one is actually pretty fun.
There’s about 20 minutes to go until Santa takes off, according to Google.
Anyway, Santa mentioned something pretty neat if you’re into Christmas trivia.
Nearly 100 years ago in 1927, Santa got his official pilot’s license from the US government.
Meanwhile the NORAD Santa Tracker is still showing a picture of Father Christmas packing up presents.
And he’s off (at least on the Google tracker)!
We can confirm that Santa is now heading over the Arctic Ocean and has already delivered nearly 900 presents.
St Nicholas is good at this, right?
It’s now Christmas Day somewhere… did you know the earliest time zone on planet Earthis UTC+14:00?
And it didn’t even officially exist until 1994.
Santa’s next stop, according to Google, will be Provideniya in Russia.
The pictures it has of the region show a very pretty if slightly isolated little town.
We’re hoping the reindeer get Christmas Day off.
Gifts delivered count: 11,000 and rising fast.
That’s probably more than even Amazon can manage!
Santa is about to reach Anadyr, in Russia.
And very pretty it looks too.
Our AI-generated image above gives you a great idea of what that must look like.
Santa has now just arrived in the Marshall Islands after his trip around eastern Russia.
Current delivered present count: 2,716,121!
NORAD has now changed its message to say that “Are you ready?
Santa will takeoff within the hour!”
Santa is now on his way to Apia, in Samoa, which looks absolutelygorgeous.
Santa has arrived in New Zealand!
John-Anthony here, taking over for the next couple of hours.
I wish the two trackers would agree, but hey ho!
Oops, I wrote that last post at the wrong time!
NORAD’s tracking is now up and running!
There he is in all his glory…
Did you know Rudolf was almost called Reginald?
If anyone can be in two places at once, it has to be Santa Claus.
“But just before launch, they found a glitch.
It beat Home Alone, which held the record previously.
However, if you adjust for inflation, Home Alone takes the prize comfortably.
Speaking of Christmas movies, my favorite has to be Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Japan’s Christmas culture is fairly unique, too.
If you’re stuck for dessert tomorrow, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve tried thislast-minute air fryer Christmas cake recipeand were mega impressed by the results.
to get to deliver all those presents on time?
Which tracker is more accurate?
Who knows, I hope it’s NORAD’s more liberal approach to gift-giving.
Bonza, Santa’s arrived in Australia according to Google!
I’ll be your Santa guide for the next few hours.
Hi Alan, and thanks for once again spreading some Christmas cheer!
Though Ill be quite content with theSony WH-1000XM5Ive asked for.
Theres plenty of fun to be had on Elf Alans websites - check that to check them out!
Now, this is potentially easily explained;naturally, Santa’s gear is pretty high-spec.
According to the NORAD website, Santa can move faster than starlight using just basic 9 Reindeer Power.
I wonder if he’ll grab anApple Vision Proand do the whole shebang remotely one year?
Santa has landed in Korea!
And it’s an official public holiday, so they really get to enjoy their day.
The Christmas delicacy of choice is sponge cake covered in whipped cream and strawberries the fruit of love!
Want something to watch this Christmas but tired of the same old Hallmark Holiday movies?
Christmas isn’t widely celebrated here, but there are small communities that do.
So while things are different in Mongolia, they’re quite familiar, too.
Having visited Eastern China, NORAD has Santa on his way to the Phillippines.
People will often stay up all night on Christmas Eve to see in the big day!
So really, really heavy.
As Santa leaves Australia, NORAD says he is currently passing over Christmas Island!
In Russia, Santa is known as Ded Moroz, or Father Frost.
He travels with Snegurochka a snow maiden who is said to be his granddaughter.
and eat bagels and jam.
According to NORAD, Santa’s now heading for India.
Branches from mango trees serve as Christmas trees, adorned with baubles and homemade decorations.
I wonder if the North Pole has drone regulations, too?
There are a few little games to play and activities make it a fun event.
It’s 5PM somewhere, I guess.
And it didn’t even officially exist until 1994.
With a population of under 120,000, Santa didn’t have too many presents to deliver here.
Time for more fun facts!
It’s had a pretty storied history since, too.
Firefly gave this oone a good go, but seems to be very caught up on the Westernized representation of the big, jolly Santa Claus. I do like that the classic Russian architectural feature of the onion dome has become his hat, though.
Not quite the Christmas gift people were expecting.
While we wait, let’s head to ChatGPT for a fun little quiz.
2:Which country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree?
5:Which British monarch delivered the first Christmas Day message to the nation over the radio in 1932?
Stick around for the answers!
Let us know how many you got correct!
1:In what year was “Silent Night” first performed?
Currently, Google shows Santa heading toward Antarctica, while Norad shows the sleigh last seen in Djibouti.
Like other Slavic countries, some in Ukraine refer to Santa as Old Man or Father Frost.
In fact, the gift tally is swiftly approaching 3,000,000,000.
Of course, Adobe Firefly had its own interpretation of Santa in Russia.
Seemingly, Santa’s decked out his sleigh with some festive and quite jolly holiday lights.
These automations can help take off some of the mental load.
Lucky for you, we’ve made a quick guide for how to set these up.
Well, most Christmas observers here actually celebrate on the 7th of January on Coptic Christmas Day.
And next on Santa’s countries to visit, according to Google, is Lithuania.
In fact, the sleigh should be arriving there any minute now.
Lithuania should be renamed to Lithu-hay-nia, because straw and hay form a big part of Christmas culture.
First off, and I hope youre sitting down for this one - it was originally a Thanksgiving song.
I hear you, its a shock to me too.
Right now, Google shows Santa in Turkey, while NORAD shows the sleigh currently in Mozambique.
“One fascinating Christmas fact is the origin of the candy cane.
Over time, the candy canes evolved into the red-and-white-striped treats we are familiar with today.
Germany truly is the home of Christmas, apparently.
Stay tuned - we’ll be giving some more Germanic facts when Santa reaches Europe in the next hour.
Norwegians have been celebrating all month with markets and merriment.
And, of course, theres plenty of feasting in Norway too.
A long-standing Norwegian Christmas tradition is eating lutefisk, a dried fish treated with lye or lut.
The Advent Candlestick is a Swedish tradition of counting down the Sundays before Christmas.
“Bienvenue, Pere Noel,” cries the children of France as he soars across the French airspace.
France’s Christmas traditions vary a fair bit, which isn’t surprising given its size and multiculturalism.
To thank him all these years later, French children leave a boot or shoe for him.
Good children will receive gifts, and naughty little ones just get coal.
In Spain, people go all out and celebrate Christmas through January 6, the Three King’s Day.
He probably would have enjoyed some flamenco rhythms that influenced the ones over the south of Spain.
Just like France, Spain settles down to a special Christmas Eve meal.
This is Nochebuena, meaning good night.
Its a real-life Grinch story.
Wikipedia even claims that it’s the best-selling Christmas ringtone from back when people paid for ringtones.
Its weird and just a little cringe-inducing, but its a great family day out.
So have a happy Thanksgiving dinner for Christmas, friends!
According to NORAD, Santa is currently in Dublin, Ireland, and has already delivered over 4,514,039,241 presents!
Impressive, and up next is Cork, Ireland.
Santa is getting closer!
Right now, NORAD has Santa past the African continent and flying over Brazil.
The NORAD Santa web site is a blast to use.
I can feel it!
Santa is close to Buenos Aires, according to NORAD.
Are you trying to sleep through Christmas Eve instead?
Spoiler alert: the Santa scare doesnt often work all too well, but healthy sleep habits will help.
In Spain, people go all out and celebrate Christmas through January 6, the Three King’s Day.
He probably would have enjoyed some flamenco rhythms influencing the ones over the south of Spain.
Santa is officially in the United States!
According to NORAD, Santa Claus is now visiting Puerto Rico!
After Puerto Rico, Santa is sure to hit the Bahamas.
Have fun, everyone!
It’s happening, folks, Santa is on his way to my house!
And probably yours as well, if you live in North America.
At last, Santa is reaching the US shores, heading for the East Coast first and foremost.
As he passed above my house, I was actually able to grab footage of Santa flying by!
It’s ablurry video but worth a look.
