Air Force General Glen VanHerck, NORAD's commander: "24 hours a day, 365 days a year, NORAD defends North America by tracking airplanes, missiles, space launches and anything else that flies in or around the North American continent. As we have since 1955, this Dec. 24th we are once again ready for our no-fail mission of tracking Santa."

NORAD is the most reliable name in Santa tracking. On the job since 1955, when a young child from Colorado Springs accidentally called in (he meant to call a number advertised by a local department store), they've been following Santa's journey using their radar technology ever since.

NORAD began to track Santa Claus in 1955, following an accidental phone call made to the agency by a young boy interested in in speaking with Kris Kringle.