They are even counting St. Nick’s calories and here’s hoping his suit has extra strong elastic. “When Santa leaves the North Pole on Christmas Eve, he only weighs about 260 lbs.

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.

A more recent addition to the Santa tracking mix, Google's Santa Tracker has been going since 2004, combining the power of Google Maps with the savvy knowledge of where Father Christmas is.

The Santa tracker site receives millions of visitors from around the world each year, according to NORAD, and volunteers typically answer more than 130,000 calls.

NORAD isn't the only one tracking Santa. Google's Santa tracker also goes live Dec. 24 when Santa makes his first stop in far eastern Russia around 5 a.m. ET., the website states.

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.

Keep watch for Jolly Old St. Nick on NORAD's official website and festive Santa Claus tracker. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

While Google's Santa Tracker is live well before Christmas Eve, Norad only begins on 24 December each year – with many millions of people waiting in great anticipation.

NORAD’s Santa Tracker is on. He’s on a deadline, is wired up, and every turn and drop off is monitored by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Colorado Springs.

You can watch Santa Claus' progress as he makes his way around the world on the NORAD Santa Tracker website. Make sure you leave some milk and cookies out, too. smeighan@dispatch.com @ShahidMeighan ...