The Santa countdown begins...

I remember when I was 8 years old standing in the middle of our living room, gazing at our Christmas tree. I dared not blink, fearing that the twinkling tinsel, gleaming lights, and the pile of festively wrapped gifts would all be gone when I opened my eyes again. Once I finally hopped into bed, still wide-awake and staring at the ceiling, I listened to every gust of wind, every creak of the rafters, wondering if Santa had landed on our roof. “Where is Santa now?” I thought. “When will he be here?” Eventually, sheer mental exhaustion ushered me off to sleep.

The spirit of the season and a wondrous curiosity electrify many people's imaginations during the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve. That’s why Google has teamed up again this year with NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, to bring you the NORAD Santa Tracker.

NORAD provides aerospace warning and control for North America 365 days a year. On Christmas Eve, they turn their attention to Santa, tracking his yearly gift-delivering journey from the North Pole. The Santa Tracker itself goes live at 6am EST on December 24th. In the meantime, you will find the unique history of the Santa Tracker, holiday-themed games (a new one released each day) and updates from the North Pole at www.noradsanta.org, the official NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Check it out, and don’t forget to bookmark the site so you can come back often throughout the month. And, of course, be sure to visit on Christmas Eve to follow Santa as he makes his way toward your area. You can track him in both Google Maps and Google Earth, and can also view videos of his flights over several landmark cities, captured by special "Santa cams." Here are some highlights from last year's Santa Tracker:



(Visit www.noradsanta.org for more information.)

Happy holidays to all, and to Santa... a good flight!

Posted by Jeffery Martin, Geo Product Marketing Manager, child at heart