Santa! Quick! Where is he??? NORAD knows? What?

If you call this number, 877-HI-NORAD, someone will answer and give you an update. How did the military in the United States and Canada start this, now operated by some 1,500 military personnel and volunteers? They didn’t.

In 1955, someone at Sears got a brilliant idea. Why not run a Christmas ad and include a phone number for Santa! Well, the problem was, it was a real phone number. And it was NORAD’s. That’s the North American Aerospace Command! The first phone call came in and the military person who answered was a little flummoxed. But it didn’t take long for them to figure out what was happening and they played along.

That was 63 years ago. As technology has advanced, so has Santa tracking. From TV to computers to cell phones to any electronic device, everyone can track Santa and his reindeer as they fly through the starry night sky.

This year, Santa started at the International Date Line, headed for New Zealand and Australia. Then on to Asia. Next came Europe, then South America and North America. And finally, with a deep “Ho, ho, ho and a Merry Christmas to All!” he and his reindeer headed home to the North Pole, exhausted and ready to start making toys for Christmas 2019.