NORAD Celebrates 60 Years of Tracking Santa

On Christmas Eve, my two brothers and I were so wound up we just couldn’t seem to go to sleep. Mark Bortnem (U.S. Air Force) from 4 Wing/Canadian Forces Base will help him finish his Canadian route.

Emma Nemish, 6, guessed 100 miles per hour. The technology on some toys is just too hard to re-create. “He can go faster than a whale!”

As she said that, all of the other girls’ eyes widened in amazement.

North American Aerospace Defense Command shows Santa is still at the North Pole, but it’s not long before he takes off.

For many, the first time they ever hear about NORAD is this time of year, when the military organization grabs the spotlight and awakens the child in us all with updates-passed along via social media or the local TV weatherman-about Santa’s travels starting Christmas Eve.

NORAD’S Santa Tracker is up and running for Christmas 2015. There is no official confirmation if Santa will be giving Rudolf a night off this year. I like using the notion that “Santa is watching” as a means of evoking good behavior. We exchange ideas, and they update us on the changes, because in our political climate now, things change somewhat on what we’re allowed to do, say or not do.

Emma is a big fan of the Christmas clock countdown. “Then he’ll probably hit Alaska and take a much needed vacation in Hawaii before heading home, which I think he deserves”, Nawrocki says.

The kids crowd around Anna to watch a video on the history of the Santa Tracker on the smartphone app. There we were, him focused on his career and me providing the back-up, and then we had a few dramas to deal with like that bullying episode with the reindeers and Rudolph.

Q: How many people do you see in any given day?

This is a cute site for younger kids, since they can input their name and postal code to find out if they made it on Santa’s nice list this year. I wish that they wouldn’t be, but you know inside that they are going to be. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. All so they know when to set out the milk and cookies when Jolly Ole’ St. Nick comes to town.

And the next morning, “it’s all gone”, Kailey said.

Jolly Santa is tracked by NORAD’s radars and the volunteer team who aim to bring Christmas closer to children worldwide. There are also volunteers from Google, Verizon and Air Canada, with the programme funded through corporate sponsorship.

Dakota Blankenship readies phones, computers and decorations in a conference room at the North American Aerospace Defense Command Monday, December 21, 2015 in preparation for for NORAD’s 60th anniversary of tracking Santa.