Santa Tracker 2018: How To Find Santa's Location With NORAD, Google

Christmas Eve is here and many want to know Santa Claus' location after he left the North Pole to deliver presents around the world. There are several ways to track Santa this year and it starts from Monday.

There are two dominant websites to track Santa's whereabouts. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, has been tracking Santa every year since 1955. NORAD uses satellites, radar tracking sites, fighter pilots and “Santa cams” to track Santa all around the globe on Christmas. Hundreds of volunteers dressed in Christmas hats and military uniforms will take calls on Monday from children around the world, who want to know when Santa will be coming.

Last year, NORAD Tracks Santa drew 126,000 phone calls, 18 million website hits, 1.8 million followers on Facebook and 179,000 more on Twitter.

To reach the Santa trackers click here or call 1-877-Hi NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or e-mail noradtrackssanta@outlook.com. Meanwhile, those with an Amazon home product and the NORAD Tracks Santa skill can ask Alexa for the location of Santa on Christmas Eve.

NORAD's commander, Air Force Gen. Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy, will also take a turn answering the phones Monday.

"This is my first NORAD Tracks Santa," O'Shaughnessy, who took command in May, said. "I'm really excited."

The other option to track Santa will be Google Earth. Google’s Santa Tracker, which was first launched in 2004, keeps tabs on Santa’s location the night before Christmas. There will be a countdown to Santa’s journey and the tracker is scheduled to go live on Monday, available online as well as in the Android App and on Chromecast.

For this year, there is another feature, which is an updated Call Santa. This year, “Hey Google, Call Santa” will put you in touch with an elf operator that directs you to Santa Claus rehearsing a holiday concert. Santa Tracker is available online here. This year, Santa tracking will also make an appearance in Google Maps Location Sharing.