Dueling trackers keeping tabs on Santa

Lizzie Solano, center, and her sister Sarah take phone calls from children asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their house, during the fifth annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation, at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, at Peterson Air Force Base, in Colorado Springs, Colo., Monday Dec. 24, 2012. / AP Photo/Brennan Linsley

Updated 11:35 p.m. Eastern

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. Volunteers at a U.S. Air Force base monitoring Santa Claus' progress around the world were on track to answer a record number of calls Monday from children wanting to know everything from Saint Nick's age to how reindeer fly.

Oh, and when are the presents coming?

Phones were ringing nonstop at Peterson Air Force Base, headquarters of the North American Aerospace Command's annual Santa-tracking operation.

First Lady Michelle Obama joined in from Hawaii, where she answered phone calls for about 30 minutes.

First Lady Michelle Obama reacts while talking on the phone to children across the country as part of the annual NORAD Tracks Santa program. Mrs. Obama answered the phone calls from Kailua, Hawaii, Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2012.

/ The White House/Pete Souza

NORAD Tracks Santa was on pace to exceed last year's record of 107,000 calls, program spokeswoman Marisa Novobilski said. They had already received 88,000 calls by Monday evening.

But NORAD has some fresh competition: Google has unveiled a new Santa tracker this year. As CNET reports, Google Maps engineers developed a new route algorithm that will let users track Saint Nick's journey on a special Santa Tracker page.

"Google has been tracking Santa via Google Earth since 2004," CNET's Don Reisinger notes. "This is the first time the company has launched a broader Santa Tracker tool that competes with NORAD's perennial favorite."

• CNET: Here comes Google's new Santa Tracker
• CBSNews.com special section: Holidays 2012

Volunteers started taking calls at 4 a.m. Mountain time on Monday and will keep updating until 3 a.m. on Christmas morning.

NORAD Tracks Santa began in 1955 when a newspaper ad listed the wrong phone number for kids to call Santa. Callers ended up getting the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD's predecessor, and a tradition was born.

Officers played along. Since then, NORAD Tracks Santa has gone global, posting updates for nearly 1.2 million Facebook fans and 104,000 Twitter followers.

Volunteer Sara Berghoff was caught off-guard when a child called to see if Santa could be especially kind this year to the families affected by the recent Connecticut school shooting.

"I'm from Newtown, Connecticut, where the shooting was," she remembered the child asking. "Is it possible that Santa can bring extra presents so I can deliver them to the families that lost kids?"

Sara, just 13 herself, gathered her thoughts quickly. "If I can get ahold of him, I'll try to get the message to him," she told the child.

After 57 years, NORAD can predict what most kids will ask. Its 11-page playbook for volunteers includes a list of nearly 20 questions and answers, including how old is Santa (at least 16 centuries) and has Santa ever crashed into anything (no).

But kids still manage to ask the unexpected, including, "Does Santa leave presents for dogs?"

Following is a sampling of calls received at the base:

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GIFTS IN HEAVEN: One little boy from Missouri phoned in to ask what time Santa delivered toys to heaven, said volunteer Jennifer Eckels, who took the call. The boy's mother got on the line to explain that his sister had died this year.

"I think Santa headed there first," Eckels told him.

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IS HE THERE YET?: James Solano took a call from a young girl and her father in Bangkok, asking when Santa would arrive. Solano checked the map and said it wouldn't be long.

"The dad was saying, `We've got to get to bed soon,"' said Solano, an Army colonel.

"It was kind of neat," he said. "They were very thrilled."

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SANTA KNOWS: Glenn Barr took a call from a 10-year-old who wasn't sure if he would be sleeping at his mom's house or his dad's and was worried about whether Santa would find him.

"I told him Santa would know where he was and not to worry," Barr said.

Another child asked if he was on the nice list or the naughty list.

"That's a closely guarded secret, and only Santa knows," Barr replied.

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THE REAL DEAL: A young boy called to ask if Santa was real.

Air Force Maj. Jamie Humphries, who took the call, said, "I'm 37 years old, and I believe in Santa, and if you believe in him as well, then he must be real."

The boy turned from the phone and yelled to others in the room, "I told you guys he was real!"

[Slackpenguin]

The Google Santa tracker interface sort of reminds me of the election tracker.

I like the Santa howto deliver presents presentation and the penguin that shows up on the elevator.

[RobertVBrand]

I hear Santa refused to deliver to the U.S. until they issued him a bullet proof vest.

[RobertVBrand]

I hear Santa refused to deliver to the U.S. until they issued him a bullet proof vest.

[NB62]

Just wish the NORAD fighter jets would blow Santa Claus and his reindeer out of the sky.Now that would be a great new story to receive LOL!!!!!

[larry2012]

How's your coal supply, Grinch? I'll bet you still have plenty left over from last year.

[cobalt100]

"Twas a dark and dreary night
when I saw eight reindeer in flight.
I said to my wife, let's have some fun.
Go in the house and get my gun.
So I turned on my trusty searchlight,
And shot every reindeer in sight."

That is the end of that fat, barrel-chested myth.

[anonomouser]

Santa tracking update: Santa, thinking he was landing on a rooftop in New Jersey, has crashed into the mountains in Montana. Investigators at the scene have recovered an iPad which they believe Santa was using for navigation; unfortunately he apparently chose to use Apple maps and it led to his untimely demise.

[MsBeth76]

After the horrible events in CT, it's surprising that you idiots are complaining about people who are trying to do something nice for our children. Get a life and move the hell out of the US if you don't like it!!!! Nobody wants depressed old Scrooges here anyway.

[RobertVBrand]

I hear that Santa won't deliver in the U.S. until they issue him a bullet-proof vest.

[offerPop5750179]

Oh now this is just ridiculous. Just tell them he doesn't exist for f**** sake

[larry2012]

Deeply intelligent and sensitive comment. I guess you didn't get that G.I. Joe you wanted when you were ten.

[fishtale63]

I'm stickin' with NORAD. They can tell you with accuracy if/where someone farts in Istanbul. Suck it Google!

[steveg1960]

no additional cost for this facility it is up and running 24/7/365 it is a military base you know the military never sleeps kepps the air force personnel from being to bored while theyre on duty while the rest of us are at home with our families these guys the majority of whom are without theirs and are far away from home so lighten up and say thank you to the people who keep the constatnt vigil.

[ncestra]

I'm using the new Google Santa tracker tonight and I have to say it truly sucks. Not only is it bad, but it shows Santa in a different part of the world than the NORAD Santa Tracker, so we had to just close the Google version and go with the far superior NORAD Santa Tracker. I love Google, but they really didn't do a good job with this.