NORAD tracks when Santa Claus is comin’ to town

Volunteers at the North American Aerospace Defense Command are monitoring Santa Claus as he makes his fabled Christmas Eve flight.

Technology and social media have become key to the annual effort, and NORAD Tracks Santa has already attracted a record 1.5 million Facebook “likes.”

NORAD volunteers will spend Wednesday answering phone calls and emails from children wondering when Santa Claus is comin’ to town. The helpers also post on Facebook, Twitter and www.NORADSanta.org to provide updates on the storybook journey.

The 59-year-old program began with a typo in a Colorado Springs newspaper ad that had kids calling a high-level military hotline asking for Santa.

Last year, volunteers took 117,000 phone calls and answered 9,600 emails.