The countdown to Christmas has begun - and that means Santa Claus is hard at work getting presents ready for good little boys and girls.

And with NORAD Tracks Santa, on Christmas Eve you will be able to follow his magical journey around the world as he delivers gifts across all the different time zones and continents.

What is NORAD Tracks Santa?

NORAD is the air force tasked with defending US airspace - the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Every year NORAD tracks Santa and his reindeer across the world on a map - even giving a running total of the number of gifts successfully delivered.

NORAD has done this since 1955, when an advert encouraged children to telephone Father Christmas – but gave the wrong number.

When Colonel Harry Shoup realised what had happened, he quickly told his staff to check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south of the North Pole and give the children who called updates on his current position.

The NORAD Santa Tracker

The tradition has continued, with volunteers staffing call centres on Christmas Eve and answering around 70,000 phone calls from more than 200 countries.

The powerful NORAD North Warning System checks the radar closely for indications of Santa Claus leaving the North Pole and tracks him using its satellites.

What else is on the website?

As the Santa tracker doesn't come to life until Christmas Eve, noradsanta.org, has a bunch of festive fun to entertain little ones on the run up to Christmas.

Features include:

  • A vitrual tour of Santa's workshop in the North Pole;
  • A selection of Santa's favourite festive songs
  • New games in the arcade daily;
  • Information about Santa, his sleigh and his magical traditions;
  • Movies about Santa and NORAD;
  • A gift shop stocked with Santa and NORAD goodies;

  • More information about NORAD and its work.