It’s Christmas Eve, which means Santa Claus is making his way across the globe on his sleigh, pulled through the sky by his trusty band of flying reindeer. They all have plenty of miles to cover over the next day, and thankfully there are a few simple, free ways to keep track of where Santa is right now.

Tuning into Santa’s movements the night before Christmas has never been easier thanks to services available for your smartphone, PC or TV.

So, with the minutes counting down to Christmas Day, here are four of the best ways to track Santa today and see how long you have to wait until he’s ready to deliver those gifts.

Google Santa Tracker

View here on phone, tablet or computer

Google has run its festive fun filled Santa Tracker website for several years, and it’s better than ever. If you and the little ones want to visit before Christmas Eve, it has a lot of fun videos and games to play. It’s best viewed on a tablet or computer screen.

From the Code Lab game where you can use your finger or the mouse on your computer to clip together wintry pictures of various creatures.

For older kids there’s also a fun game called Present Bounce where you must place conveyor belts in the right place to get the present to fall into the sack.

But come Christmas Eve, visit the site and you’ll be able to see on a map exactly where Santa is in the world, so you can make sure you’re all tucked up in bed by the time he arrives in your area.

NORAD Tracks Santa

View here on phone, tablet or computer

Download the app for Android

Download the app for iPhone or iPad

Each year the lovely folks at NORAD, (that’s the North American Aerospace Defence Command), hand over their state-of-the-art satellites to make sure millions can watch where Santa and his sleigh is heading next.

This service has actually been around for more than 60 years, and before the internet you could phone up and hear where the man in red was. In fact, NORAD still runs this service, but it’s US only! 

The best way to tune in is on the NORAD website on a big screen, but there are also iPhone and Android apps you can download and use for free.

Plane Finder app

View here on phone, tablet or computer

Download the app for Android

Download the app for iPhone or iPad

This app for iPhone and Android is one of the best apps during the rest of the year to track flight paths of all commercial and private aircraft all over the world, including to help you track your upcoming flight itinerary, but on Christmas Eve Plane Finder also helps you see where Santa is.

Though Plane Finder offers a subscription, it looks like the kind folks there are offering the Santa tracker for free, so all you have to do is download the app onto your device.

You’ll be shown where the big guy is currently jaunting off to, plus you’ll get to see just how many planes are out there and see when Santa and his reindeer stream past them through the skies.

Sky TV

Free with Sky

If you pay for a Sky TV subscription, you can easily see where Santa is in the sky on December 24. All you have to do is press the voice button on your Sky remote and say “Santa tracker”, and the service will flash up on your screen for you to view.

It works on Sky Q, Sky Stream or Sky Glass and you can also find it in the Apps section of the Sky Menu.

Sky said its Santa tracker starts on 23 December with a map of the live location of Santa and his reindeer. His mammoth trip across the globe begins at 10am sharp on Christmas Eve!

You can also access this tracker by grabbing your Sky remote control, pressing the voice search button and saying one of a number of other phrases including “Where’s Santa?”; “Where is Santa right now?”; “Follow Santa”; or “Is Santa coming tonight?”.

A full guide will then appear on your TV screen.

Here are some other things to ask your TV if you fancy getting festive.

• Santa, tell me your favourite Christmas cracker joke
• Santa, how does your Christmas day end?
• Santa, what are you doing now?
• Santa, what do you do in the summer holidays?
• Santa, what is your favourite music?
• Santa, how many elves do you have
• Santa, when will you get here?
• Santa, am I on the naughty list?
• Santa, how many mince pies have you eaten?
• Santa, will you come for Christmas dinner?
• Santa, what present am I getting?
• Santa, am I on the nice list?