Father Christmas and his team of reindeers will today whizz across the world delivering presents to children.
And courtesy of the NORAD Santa tracker, which follows his journey every Christmas Eve, you can chart his progress as he visits all corners of the globe.
For nearly 70 years, families worldwide have watched his whistlestop tour before he returns home to his toy factory in the North Pole.
To keep track of Santa follow our live updates below and join in the conversation in our comments section
Santa reaches Pakistan!
Santa Claus has now reached Karachi in Pakistan on his voyage across the world.
It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, but the big man still has a huge amount of people to deliver presents for.
What time is Santa arriving in the UK?
Flying conditions are forecast to be good for Santa across the globe after he left the North Pole at 9am.
He has already reached Thailand and Cambodia as he makes his way across Asia.
Santa touches down in India
Santa has touched down in India for the first time on his long-haul journey.
With a population of just under 1.5 billion, there are a lot of presents to hand out!
Santa gets closer to Europe
Santa is nearing the continent of Europe, having just touched down in Kazakhstan.
Does Santa have a fighter jet escort?
While Santa is on his own for most of the journey he is joined by a military escort while flying over some parts of the world.
Santa delivers 1.8 billion presents
Santa has officially delivered 1.8 billion presents – that’s just less than a quarter of the world left to go.
Old St Nick has a long night ahead of him…
Santa sails across southeast Asia
Santa is now flying over southeast Asia, first arriving in Malaysia.
He could be stocking up on more presents, as the country is home to three of the world’s ten largest shopping malls.
Watch: Relive the moment Santa passed over New Zealand
Santa revisits an old holiday spot…
Exitingly Santa is now heading Christmas Island – where it’s Christmas every day of the year (not really).
He’s sure to feel at home as he plunges down those chimneys to leave presents for all the boys and girls.
Rumour has it the island is where Santa spends his summer months – and that’s how it got its name!
G’day! Santa goes Down Under
Santa is just arriving in Perth, Australia after stopping in Neewman. He’s heading towards the Australian coastline where he will deliver more presents to the children of the world.
It’s currently almost 11:30pm and 19C – but it will rise up to 28C by tomorrow.
More than 1.5 billion parcels delivered
As Santa reaches Indonesia, he has also passed a major milestone of his own.
He has now delivered more than 1.5 billion presentws to children all around the world.
But he still has a long way to go if he’s going to make all his drop-offs by morning.
Watch: NORAD volunteers answer calls from children with questions about Santa
Deja vu!
You’d be forgiven for having a momet of deja vu as Santa returns – again – to China to continue his present-giving.
Because night comes first in the eastern parts of the world and last in the western parts, he must fly repeatedly north to south, gradually travelling from the east to the west of the globe.
That’s why some of the worl’s largest countries – such as China, Russia, India and the United States – will be visited repeatedly throughout the day and night.
Santa returns to the beach – but not for a rest
Santa is returning to sandy islands now but sadly he won’t have time to stop for a well-earned rest.
He’ll be reaching the Phillipines in arond five minutes, where it’s almost 11pm.
From there, he’ll continue south until he reaches Indonesia.
Santa treated to wonders of the world in epic voyage
Santa is being treated to all the wonders of the world tonight as he continues delivering gifts.
He has been flying over the Great Wall of China – which is so large than experts can even point it out from space.
He might get to see all the destinations he’s ever dreamed of – but this is work, not leisure for him remember.
Father Christmas heads to China
Santa has been over China for some time now, delivering lots of presents.
As the most populated country in the world, Father Christmas will tick lots of stops off on his list here.
Santa’s elves tell us he is right on schedule, so there should be no issues with delivering in the UK and US later today.
Santa reaches South Korea
Santa has just arrived in Jeju City in South Korea and is heading onto nearby Jusan.
He’s already delivered a whopping one billion parcels to children all around the world.
He’ll be coming to the UK in around ten hours time.
‘Mirthful’ volunteers shown taking calls
Norad organisers have shared footage of ‘mirthful’ volunteers taking calls after clocking on at their base in Colorado Springs.
The @NoradSanta account on X, formerly Twitter, posted the clip along with the caption: ‘It’s early in Colorado Springs at the #NORADTracksSanta Operations Center, and our mirthful volunteers are busy taking calls, answering important questions from you!’
In response to someone suggesting that Santa was ‘much faster than a nuclear missile’, the account said: ‘Santa is definitely not a missile, but he DOES travel faster than starlight!’
Gift parcel delivery passes 800,000
More than 800,000 gifts have now been delivered, the tracker reveals.
The updated total came after Santa was spotted over the suitable-named Santa Rita in the Pacific Ocean territory of Guam.
Next stop was due to be Kimbe in Papua New Guinea, followed by that same nation’s Port Moresby, after travelling through New Zealand.
Across the Pacific Ocean and onto Japan
Santa has spent quite some time flying over the Pacific Ocean, and is now approaching the eastern coast of Japan.
He dropped off presents at the Kuril islands before heading back up to Russia.
He’ll be reaching Nogril soon.
Santa leaves New Caledonia for Vanautu
Santa has just finished delivering gifts to children in New Caledonia, to the east of Australia.
He’s now headed for Vanautu. There are lots of small island groups in this area – keep an eye out for the Solomon Islands coming up soon too.
Santa heads to Fiji
Santa’s heading north again as he continues his trip around the world.
He’s currently on his way to Fiji, where it’s around 00:15am.
Epic delivery journey continues
Santa is approaching Antarctica where he’ll be paying a visit to all the hard-working scientists away from their families for research this Christmas.
After that, he’ll turn back north and continue delivering in warmer temperatures again.
He’ll be back in Queenstown, New Zealand in just over five minutes.
Next stop, Antarctica!
Santa is now heading south all the way down to Antarctica, where he’ll be delivering some very special gifts.
He’s visiting the Mcmurdo research station, operated by the United States.
He’ll arrive in about ten minutes.
Touchdown in New Zealand
Santa Claus has touched down in New Zealand just moments ago.
He started by delivering presents to children in Auckland, and he’ll later visit Wellington beforwe heading back up north.
Whistlestop tour continues in Samoa and Tonga
We just caught sight of Santa visiting the island of Samoa, as he continues his journey south towards New Zealand.
He is now on his way past Tonga and has delivered more than 250million gifts.
Spotted: Rudolph leading the way through the darkness
As Santa’s sleigh passed over island of Nauru a minute ago, Norad’s satellites gave us an excellent overhead shot which showed Rudolph leading the reindeer through the darkness of the night.
His bright red nose was easily visible, meaning Santa will have no problem finding his way tonight.
Santa leaves Russia to head south
Santa’s now left Russia – for now – and is still heading southn on a course that will eventually take him to Australial and New Zealand.
His next stop is Majuro, in the Marshall Islands.
Santa making good progress over Russia
Santa is currently heading south towards the village of Esso in eastern Russia.
He’s scheduled to arrive in around five minutes.
There have been good flying conditions so far with no weather or travel delays, so it’s so far, so good.
More than 62 million gifts delivered
As Santa heads towards Magadan, also in eastern Russia, he has already delivered a huge 62 million presents.
There’s no rest for him and no let-up in his demanding schedule.
But don’t worry – he’s had plenty of practice.
Santa to make first stop of his trip
Santa’s first stop will be Uelen in Russia.
He’s currently on his way there and will be leaving presents in children’s stockings, shoes and all other items depending on the local tradition.
BREAKING: Santa spotted leaving North Pole
Here’s our first look at Santa on his way around the globe as he brings festive cheer and happiness to every child in the world.
He’s currently still over the North Pole, but ahs already delivered some gifts on the way.
And off he goes!
Santa has just taken off from his home in the North Pole.
He’s going to be delivering presents to 2.4 billion children in just 24 hours.
It’s a huge task, but we’ll be with him every step of the way. We’ll bring you his first stop-off shortly.
Santa prepares for take-off
We’ve just heard from our elf sources in the North Pole that Santa is now getting ready for take-off.
Stay tuned for all the latest updates…
Excitement builds ahead of Santa’s big moment…
After weeks of waiting, meeting thousands of chilren and overseeing the production of billions of gifts, Santa must be getting excited for his big moment.
It may take 364 days of preparation, but his dedication to his craft is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Santa to take off ‘within the hour’
Norad’s latest update is that Santa will take off within the next hour.
His final preparations are almost complete, and the world’s satellites are ready to update us the whole way.
Santa tracker: What to expect
Once Santa sets out on his journey, we’ll get live updates about where he is, what country he’s flying over and what time it is.
There’s even a special onboard camera so we can watch his progress live.
Here’s a few snaps from last year’s journey.
How many children is Santa delivering to?
Santa’s job is always a hard one, and this year is no different.
According to children’s charity Unicef’s latest estimate, there are more than 2.4billion children under 18 in the world.
That’s a whole lot of presents!
Satellites ready to track Santa as countdown begins
Norad’s satellites and radar technology are now all ready to track Santa as he delivers billions of presents in just one day today.
We’re now just waiting on the big man himself to give the go-ahead – and then we’ll be letting you know where he is throughout the day,
Here he is getting ready!
How can I find out where Santa is?
As well as following our Santa tracker here, any children wishing to find out how his journey is going can call Norad themselves.
There are 1,000 of Santa’s helpers ready and waiting to update them on his progress.
Santa tracker is part of 70-year tradition
Norad’s Santa tracker is a 70-year tradition that began when a child accidentally phoned a top secret US military base at the height of the Cold War and asked to speak to Santa.
The command’s director of operations Colonel Harry Shoup answered the call. On the other end was a child’s voice asking: ‘Is this Santa Claus?’
After the initial phone call in 1955, it became clear a department store had accidentally printed the wrong number on an advert telling children to phone Santa.
With the phones ringing off the hook, staff were instructed to answer them as Santa Claus so as not to disappoint the children – and the Santa tracker began,
Santa makes final preparations
Sant’s elves have told us (and NORAD) that he is just making final preparations for his journey ahead of setting off from the North Pole.
The final presents are being loaded onto his sleigh and he’ll be heading off as soon as all the safety checks are complete.
Weather conditions ‘good for flying’
After a rocky few weeks of weather in the UK and around the world, there’s good news early this Christmas Eve.
Weather conditions are said to be good for flying, meaning there are no anticipated delays to Santa’s trip.
In the control room, everything seems to be under control – with Santa getting some helpful route assistance from the US.
Welcome to our Santa tracker 2024!
Good morning and welcome to MailOnline’s 2024 Santa tracker! We’ll be bringing you all the live updates as he jets around the world today, helped by his team of trusty reindeer.
