There is a very specific type of energy that fills a house on Christmas Eve. It’s that restless, “is he here yet?” vibe that makes it impossible for kids to stay in bed. In my house, the game-changer for that pre-Christmas chaos has always been the Santa Tracker.
It’s one of those rare modern traditions where high-end technology meets pure, old-fashioned wonder. Most people are familiar with the two big players: NORAD and Google. The NORAD story is actually my favorite because it started by total fluke. Back in 1955, a Sears ad accidentally printed the wrong phone number for a “Santa hotline,” and kids ended up calling a top-secret military air defense command center. Instead of hanging up, the colonel on duty had his team check the radar for the “Big Red One,” and a tradition was born.
Today, it’s a massive digital operation. While NORAD uses “satellite imagery and jet interceptors,” Google’s version feels like a vibrant, interactive advent calendar. Throughout December, it’s a village full of mini-games and coding activities, but on the 24th, it transforms into a real-time dashboard. You can see the sleigh moving across a 3D globe, watch the “gift counter” climb into the billions, and even see the weather at the North Pole.
For parents, it’s the ultimate tool to finally get the kids to sleep—”Look, he’s already in Paris, you better get in bed!” But for everyone else, it’s just a fun, communal way to feel connected. It’s technology doing what it does best: taking a global audience and making the world feel just a little bit smaller and more magical for one night.