NORAD Confirms Santa Delivered 8.23 Billion Gifts in 2025

Provided by VaruHub.com

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — NORAD has confirmed that Santa Claus successfully completed his 2025 Christmas Eve mission, delivering an estimated 8,231,970,628 gifts worldwide, according to a post-holiday update from the agency.
The operation marked the 70th consecutive year the North American Aerospace Defense Command tracked Santa’s global journey, blending advanced defense technology with one of the most recognizable holiday traditions in the world.
How NORAD Tracked Santa in 2025

NORAD officials said Santa’s sleigh was monitored using a combination of military-grade systems typically used for real-world aerospace defense.

Tracking methods included:
• Infrared satellite sensors, which detected the distinctive heat signature emitted by Rudolph’s red nose
• E-3 Sentry aircraft, providing real-time airborne observation
• Ground-based radar systems, confirming Santa’s speed, altitude, and route

NORAD reported Santa’s sleigh remained on schedule throughout the night, with no significant travel disruptions.

Santa Sightings Across the Globe

Throughout Christmas Eve, NORAD confirmed Santa sightings in multiple regions, including:
• Kyrgyzstan, as Santa crossed Central Asia
• Near the International Space Station, briefly entering low Earth orbit
• Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson in Alaska, one of NORAD’s key monitoring locations

Officials said Santa’s route closely matched historical flight paths observed in previous years.

Millions Track Santa in Real Time
Public engagement remained a cornerstone of the program. Volunteers at Peterson Space Force Base in Colorado Springs answered thousands of calls through the official Santa hotline, 1-877-HI-NORAD, providing live location updates to children and families worldwide.

Meanwhile, VaruHub.com partnered with NORAD to provide their map of Santa’s location throughout his flight on our website.

NORAD reported millions of users accessed the platform during Christmas Eve.

A Holiday Tradition That Began in 1955,
The Santa tracking program began unexpectedly in 1955, after a misprinted newspaper advertisement directed children to a military operations phone number. Rather than correcting the mistake, officers provided Santa updates, creating a tradition that continues nearly seven decades later.

Today, NORAD Tracks Santa remains one of the organization’s most recognizable public outreach programs.