It’s December 24th, which means that if you have children or you’re visiting family with children for Christmas, they are probably asking about Santa. Thankfully, Google is here to help you out with its annual Santa Tracker, which is online once again for 2024.
Inspired by the long-running NORAD Tracks Santa service, Google launched its Santa Tracker in 2004. Twenty years later, the tracker is still up and running, following Santa and his reindeer as they travel the world and make stops to drop off presents. As Google notes on its site, Santa makes his first stop of the journey in far eastern Russia.
Of course, the tracker itself is just one small part of the experience. Google has also loaded its site with videos of Santa at the North Pole, a virtual Yule log, and enough goofy games to keep any kid busy for an hour or so. My personal favorite is Santa Selfie, which lets you shave, style, and decorate Santa’s long white beard to your heart’s content.
You might even learn a thing or two along the way. Google features contributions from its Local Guides at every stop, giving you a glimpse of cities all around the world. Plus, you can brush up on your coding skills with Code Lab and Code Boogie, learn holiday phrases in other languages with Translations, and test your geography knowledge in Map Quiz.
Google has also brought the holiday cheer to Google Assistant. If you have a compatible device, you can ask Google Assistant what’s happening at the North Pole for a daily North Pole Newscast, ask for a Santa joke, or even call up the big man himself.
