2020 has been a weird year, but Santa looks cleared for flight, as three services go live to track the man in red.
Whether you’re staying home or can spend time with others, if you have kids, there’s a good chance they’re planning to keep one eye open on the sky and the chimney, looking for those presents to magically materialise.
The good news is that Santa looks cleared to take off as he always does, and services in Australia and indeed around the world are set to track him and sled-load of presents, too.
Depending on how you plan to connect your kids to the stories of the man in red, if you do at all, technology can be there to help, as kids and parents alike connect not just with the stories we tell each other, but with technology, too.
There are a couple that stick around year on year, one pushing on since the 50s, while another joins us from Google, and Australia has its own take on Santa tracking this year, giving you an assortment of ways to keeping tabs on the big guy this year.
NORAD Tracks Santa
The oldest of the Santa tracking services, NORAD Tracks Santa has origins with North America’s air defence command, which has seen kids calling in to find the government department since the 50s.
Back then and through the 60s and 70s, people would arm the phones and talk to kids about where Santa was, but technology has changed over the years. These days, thanks to the magic of satellites and the internet, kids can track Santa in real time as he makes his journey from the North Pole to where they live.
Google Santa Tracker
It may not surprise you to know that the world’s biggest search engine also has a Santa Tracking program, coming in the form of the Google Santa Tracker.
A combination between a fun little assortment of online games and a Google Maps-powered Santa tracking system, the Google Santa Tracker offers more than a few options for playing with Santa-related goodness through a phone, tablet, or computer, and means there’s another method of tracking Santa when it starts to cross over into Christmas Day.
Check out Google’s Santa Tracker…
AirServices Australia tracks Santa
One we’ve not seen before, AirServices Australia promises to track Santa as well, setting a code for Santa’s flying sleigh as “Sleigh Rider One”, and sending an alert to aircraft to keep clear of the VIP.
We’re not sure what to expect on this one, but given that Australia is one of the first countries on Santa’s delivery list, AirServices Australia looks set to make the activities more apparent on Christmas Eve.
