Track Santa's Journey Around the World In Real Time!

In the "old days" before the Internet, kids around the world had to fall asleep on Christmas Eve just trusting that Santa Claus would show up at their house in the middle of the night to fulfill their wishes. Not so for today's web-savvy kids.

There are variety of websites available to track the Jolly Old Elf's journey around the globe using modern technology, allowing children to pinpoint his exact location at any given time.

But the most trusted site – Norad Tracks Santa – is operated by the governments of the United States and Canada. And, surprisingly, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has been tracking Santa's whereabouts since 1958!

According to the website, NORAD uses four high-tech systems to track Santa: radar, satellites, Santa cams and fighter jets. Call up NORAD's "How we track Santa" page for an in-depth explanation of the technology behind the tracking.

NORAD gives a nod to children who insist on watching Saint Nick's real-time journey in 3D by pointing out that the agency combines the data it collects on Christmas Eve with the power of Google Earth.

The NORAD Santa tracker website also provides kids with a variety of fun games to play and videos to watch, as well as Santa-tracker apps for smart phones.