What Visitors Can Do on the Official NORAD Tracks Santa Website

Updated

The Official NORAD Tracks Santa website (noradsanta.org) is a free, seasonal holiday destination where visitors can follow Santa's Christmas Eve journey, explore countdown and interactive content, and learn about NORAD's long-running Santa-tracking tradition. It is designed primarily for families and children, and is most useful in the weeks leading up to and including December 24.

Track Santa's Journey

The centerpiece of the site is the Santa tracker, which shows Santa's progress as he travels around the world on Christmas Eve. Visitors can:

  • Follow the live route — see where Santa is reported to be at a given moment during his Christmas Eve flight.
  • Explore the map — browse locations along the route rather than only watching a single position.
  • Check in throughout the evening — the tracker is built for repeated visits as the night progresses, which suits families tracking Santa together before bedtime.

The tracker is the reason most people visit, so if your goal is simply to see where Santa is on December 24, this is the feature to open first.

Countdown and Holiday Interactives

Outside of the live tracking window, the site offers seasonal content that keeps the experience engaging in the run-up to Christmas:

  • A countdown to Santa's departure, useful for building anticipation with children.
  • Games and interactive activities tied to the holiday theme.
  • Festive media and learning content about Santa, his reindeer, and the tracking tradition.

These features make the site worth visiting before Christmas Eve, not just on the night itself. Parents looking for a low-stakes holiday activity can use the countdown and games as a recurring ritual in December.

Who It's For

Audience What they get from the site
Families with young children A shared, age-appropriate way to build excitement and track Santa together
Curious adults Background on how the NORAD Tracks Santa tradition began and how the program works
Teachers or group organizers Seasonal content and activities that can be used in a holiday-themed session

The tone is family-friendly throughout, so the site works well as a supervised activity for children rather than an information resource for serious research.

The NORAD Tradition Behind the Site

The site is the public face of NORAD's Santa-tracking program, a tradition in which the North American Aerospace Defense Command lends its name and imagery to a holiday service. Visitors who want context—why a military organization tracks Santa, and how the program became a cultural fixture—can find that background on the site itself. Understanding this tradition helps explain why the tracker is framed the way it is and why the site carries official branding.

Practical Tips for Using the Site

  • Visit on December 24 for the main event. The live tracker is the core experience; other content is supporting material.
  • Plan for repeat check-ins. The route updates over the course of the evening, so returning to the page is part of the fun.
  • Use it as a family activity. The countdown and games are best enjoyed with children rather than as solo browsing.
  • Treat it as seasonal. The site's focus is the Christmas period, so expect the experience to center on December rather than year-round content.

In short, noradsanta.org is a holiday entertainment and tracking site: use it to follow Santa on Christmas Eve, to count down and play in the preceding weeks, and to share the NORAD tradition with children.