NORAD Santa Tracker 2025 live: Father Christmas begins his annual journey around the world

Watch live as Santa Claus begins his annual journey around the world, delivering presents ahead of Christmas Day.

Father Christmas and his reindeer, Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, will begin their journey in Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland.

As Saint Nicholas he makes his way through his naughty or nice list, parents and children around the world can watch him make his impressive journey.

Tracking the epic flight is the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The command centre monitors everything in the skies above the US and Canada but during Christmas, is given an extra important job.

The tradition first began in 1955 when a child mistakenly rang a Colorado military command asking to speak to Father Christmas – after a local newspaper ran an advert by a department store containing a incorrect phone number.

Air Force Commander Harry Shoup, who was manning the phones that Christmas Eve, quickly spotted the mistake and reassured the child that he was in fact Santa Claus and he was on his way.

More and more calls continued to come in that night, so Commander Shoup designated a duty officer man the phones. Ever since, the command centre has operated a special mission dedicated to tracking Father Christmas on the big night.