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Don’t worry, kids. Despite what the TV may have said about a partial government shutdown, you can rest assured that the U.S. military is still operational for an important Christmas mission.

That’s right, the NORAD Santa tracker is still on this year.

NPR reports more than 1,500 military personnel and volunteers at an Air Force base case in Colorado will continue tracking Santa Claus and answering children’s calls about his whereabouts on Christmas Eve today (Monday, Dec. 24, 2018). The operation, a tradition going back 63 years, reassured holiday fans that the North American Aerospace Defense Command will still be on as usual.

Tens of thousands of children call or send messages to the NORAD Santa tracking team every year to get updates on when Saint Nick is coming to town. As of Monday morning, he’s already been spotted flying over Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

Here’s how to follow Santa Claus as he travels around the world, delivering presents for Christmas:

Visit NORADSanta.org to get Santa’s latest location, along with new games, videos, music, and more activities to enjoy while you watch his sleigh and reindeer on their journey. Google also offers its own brand of Santa tracking at santatracker.google.com.

For the classic approach to tracking Santa, you can call the toll-free hotline at 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) beginning at 6 a.m. ET on Dec. 24.

Twitter users can follow live updates from @NoradSanta on Christmas Eve, on Facebook, or on Instagram at @noradtrackssanta_official. Video updates will also be posted on YouTube.

 Kids can also send an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

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©2018 Syracuse Media Group, N.Y. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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