NORAD Santa Tracker: Follow Saint Nick From The North Pole to California on Christmas Eve

In the words of Buddy the Elf... SANTA'S COMING! But where exactly is he, you may ask? As with many things these days, there's an app for that.

If your children are getting antsy about the arrival of Santa Claus, you can point them to the online Santa Tracker, which launched earlier this month in its 60th year with help from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

For more than 60 years, NORAD has tracked Santa's whereabouts on Christmas Eve using satellites, jet fighters and secret Santa cameras. The 2016 NORAD Tracks Santa website and apps went live Dec. 1, offering a Christmas countdown, games and other activities, in addition to NORAD's iconic reports on Santa's travels on Christmas Eve.

If you're going to be out and about on Christmas Eve and want to track Santa from your smartphone, official NORAD Tracks Santa apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, according to the agency.

Here's a general timeline of what you can expect:

• Beginning at 2:01 a.m. EST on Dec. 24: website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight
• Beginning at 6 a.m. EST: trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire as to Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

And for you parents, here's a fun fact about how the Santa Tracker first began back in 1955 from NORAD:

It all started in 1955 when a local media advertisement directed children to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the Crew Commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center. Thus began the tradition, which NORAD carried on since it was created in 1958.

According to Lt. Marco Chouinard, the NORAD Tracks Santa spokesperson, more than 1,500 volunteers help NORAD track Santa over a 23-hour period on Christmas Eve.

Find out more about NORAD's tracking of Santa in this NORAD video:

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• Christmas 101: How to Make Magic Reindeer Dust

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Patch Editor Mary Ann Barton contributed to this report.