I just wanted to share a couple of fun resources for those who need a little something for the kiddies to do, in the last minutes leading up to Christmas Day. The first is one that can be used early in the season, or closer to that special day. It is a printable letter from Santa, that can be printed & either mailed or left where your child can find it. Santa needs a little help to keep up with all his correspondence, so he depends on the grown-ups in each family to help out. There is a straight printable version in GIF format, and a customizable PDF for those parents who need to help Santa get all the details right! There are places in the letter to mention things your kids are doing well (or need to work on!) and you can mention the special Christmas Eve traditions followed in your home.
The second resource is one we’ve enjoyed for several years now, the NORAD Tracks Santa web site. On Christmas Eve the site uses NORAD’s radar stations to track Santa’s progress, as he travels the globe delivering gifts to all the good girls and boys. This service has a long history, having begun with a misprinted phone number in an advertisement that led children to call the operations hotline at CONAD rather than a local department store. When the commander directed his staff to look for signs of Santa on the radar, they did indeed find them! CONAD, and later NORAD, have been tracking Santa on Christmas Eve ever since :)
NORAD uses four methods to track Santa’s progress. First the radar sightings trigger the system around 2:00 am MTN on Christmas Eve. Then the satellite and SantaCam operations go live, allowing children to see Santa’s current position on the web site with SantaCam feed or through Google Earth satellite maps. Lastly, NORAD provides Santa with an escort through North American air space. He is met in Newfoundland and Labrador, and several pilots of Canadian CF-18 Hornets have the honour of flying alongside the reindeer while Santa is busy at his work in Canada. In the United States, F-15 or F-16 pilots share the thrill of welcoming Santa and acting as his escort. The SantaCam feed that is available on the web site comes from cameras mounted on these aircraft.
In the United States children may call & personally speak to one of the dedicated staff who make it possible to track Santa. The number is 1-877-Hi-NORAD. Service goes live at 2:00 am MTN. Outside the US, the number is 1 (719) 556-5211 – but please take note that this is NOT a toll-free number.
Our kids have had great fun watching the SantaCam videos, which are archived so kids who check in a little late can see Santa’s earlier stops. We have also called to speak to NORAD staff, who are very warm and patient when the kids get a little shy on the phone. Dojogirl always likes to tell them how her Grammy & Grandpapa both worked in the radar stations on the PineTree Line during the Cold War era.
When kids aren’t looking at the 2D & 3D maps, watching the feeds or calling the hotline, there are multimedia games to play on the web site. They can also send Santa an email or find out how many cookies Santa eats on his journey around the world. The site is available in German, English, French, Italian, Spanish & Japanese.
This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a
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Tags: Christmas, Free or Nearly Free, games, Google, holiday, hotline, just for fun, kids, maps, NORAD, radar, Santa, satellite
