The North American Aerospace Defense Command is prepared to track Santa on Dec. 24.
This will be the program’s 68th year. NORAD, a United States and Canada bi-national organization, monitors and defends North American airspace all year.
“On Christmas Eve, NORAD has one additional special mission: Tracking Santa as he makes his way across the globe,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said.
People worldwide can call to ask NORAD’s live operators about Santa’s location starting at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 24. The phone number is 1-877-HINORAD or 877-446-6723.
People can also track Santa on the NORAD Track Santa website, Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
In 2022, NORAD answered more than 73,000 calls. Ryder said the program generated more than two million social media followers.
“Every year, more than 1,000 American and Canadian members of NORAD volunteer, and a variety of corporate contributors are proud to continue the tradition of tracking Santa,” he said.
The Call Center is located in Hangar 123 at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado.
NORAD’s Christmas Eve tradition dates back to 1955. That’s when a child, trying to call Santa, called the unlisted number of Continental Air Defense Command’s Operations Center in Colorado Springs.
The proposed budget for U.S. Department of Defense in fiscal year 2024 is $842 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
