It was 190 years ago when Twas the night before Christmas was first published in the Troy, New York Sentinel newspaper. Back then, kids were snug in their bed, waiting for Saint Nicholas while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads. Now kids have iPads, iPods and Macs and can track Santa as he makes his way from the North Pole to their chimneys. To help today’s generation, here are a few apps and online resources that’ll make finding Santa a cherished memory for kids and parents alike.The most popular Santa tracker is hosted by the U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The annual Santa Tracker has been tracking Santa since 1955, when an incorrect phone number for Santa accidentally routed all calls to Colorado’s Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center. Instead of hanging up, the duty officer at CONAD went with the flow and started providing Santa updates when calls about jolly Saint Nick came pouring in.
That was then and this is now, and this year’s version is hosted on the web. Keeping with the global time zones, the online tracker at www.noradsanta.org is slated to go live at 8PM EST, with official updates starting shortly afterwards. You can check it out on your Mac or iOS device. There’s also a companion YouTube channel and a Twitter account that’ll provide timely updates as Santa makes his way around the globe. If you own an iOS device, you can track Santa using the official NORAD app. It’s an iPhone app, but you can still use it on an iPad.
Not to be outdone is Google, which is hosting its own Santa Tracker. Google used to partner with NORAD, allowing Santa to be tracked using Google Earth. For the past two years, NORAD has been partnering with Microsoft instead of Google. Rather than leave all the fun to NORAD, Google decided to launch its own Santa tracking website that’s filled with Santa updates and mini-games. There is no iOS app, but the Google Santa tracker website works in the mobile Safari browser.
Do you plan on tracking Santa with your tots? How will you do it?
