FILE – NORAD Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey takes a call while volunteering at the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dec. 24, 2014.

FILE – NORAD Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey takes a call while volunteering at the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dec. 24, 2014.

When does NORAD's Santa tracker map begin? The map tracking Santa's trip around the world will begin Christmas Eve. Visitors can track Santa's flight from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. ET.

FILE – NORAD Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey takes a call while volunteering at the NORAD Tracks Santa center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dec. 24, 2014.

As it does every year, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Command, tracked Santa on his trip around the world on Christmas Eve so children and families could see where he was.

FILE - This image provided by NORAD — the North American Aerospace Defense Command, responsible for monitoring and defending the skies above North America — shows NORAD's Santa Tracker.

Trackers worldwide can call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) on Dec. 24 to ask live operators about Santa's location from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. PST. When does Google's Santa tracker go live?

Volunteers for the Santa Tracker phone hotline field more than 100,000 calls from children across the globe in an average year, according to the U.S. military.

NORAD’s tradition is one of the few modern additions to the centuries-old Santa story that have endured, according to Gerry Bowler, a Canadian historian who spoke to the AP in 2010.

Families can also get updates via phone from the NORAD Tracks Santa Operations Center — just call 1-877-HI-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) to talk to a NORAD operator who can tell you Santa's exact location.

Santa Claus is already hard at work, and NORAD is keeping track of where that "right jolly old elf" is right this second and this second and this second (you get the idea).

As it does every year, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Command, tracked Santa on his trip around the world on Christmas Eve so children and families could see where he was.