NORAD Santa Tracker: How to track Santa Claus this Christmas Eve - what time will he visit the UK?

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Christmas Eve brings with it the chance to track Santa Claus movements across the globe as presents are delivered to millions of children.

The NORAD Santa Tracker has become a main part of Christmas preparations for many, giving people across the world a chance to live-track Father Christmas’ movements on Christmas Eve.

NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) started tracking Santa Claus in 1955, then under the name CONRAD (Continental Air Defense Command). Every year since, the NORAD tracker has been used to follow Father Christmas as he drop presents across the world.

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You can track Santa Claus' Christmas Eve route with the NORAD Santa Tracker.You can track Santa Claus' Christmas Eve route with the NORAD Santa Tracker.
You can track Santa Claus' Christmas Eve route with the NORAD Santa Tracker. | AFP via Getty Images

How to track Santa Claus

The NORAD Santa Tracker is now live online. You can find the live tracker online here.

The NORAD Santa Tracker is also available in an app version for those who want to track Santa’s movements on-the-go. The app is available to download for free from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

What route does Santa Claus follow?

The NORAD Santa Tracker states that Santa Claus normally starts his present drop route at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west, following the time zones as they reach the night before Christmas location-by-location.

The first places that are usually visited by Father Christmas is New Zealand and Australia, moving onto Japan, Asia, Europe before flying his sleigh across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, United States, Mexico and Central and South America.

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NORAD Says: “Keep in mind, Santa's route can be affected by weather, so it's really unpredictable. NORAD coordinates with Santa's Elf Launch Staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots. We just track him!”

What time does Santa Claus visit the UK?

As stated above, Santa Claus may make sudden changed to his planned route but normally, he will visit homes between 9pm and midnight on Christmas Eve, placing presents under the tree ready to be unwrapped the next morning.

He even has a plan for those wanting to stay up and try to catch him placing presents under the tree. If any children are still awake when he arrives, he will move on with his route but don’ worry - he will return once all children are asleep!

And of course, it’s a long journey for Father Christmas, so don’t forget to leave out a mince pie and a carrot for Rudolph too!

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