Phone lines ready for 2012 NORAD Tracks Santa

    Volunteers are pulling on their Santa hats, phone lines are set, and tracking screens are ready — NORAD Tracks Santa is primed for its 57th annual goodwill mission.

    Santa trackers start taking calls early Monday, telling children — and some adults — when Santa is due at their house. The last shift won’t end until nearly 24 hours later.

    The number is 877-HI-NORAD or 877-446-6723.

    Updates will be posted online, on Facebook and Twitter.

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    The operation is based at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

    NORAD Tracks Santa began in 1955 when a newspaper ad listed the wrong phone number for kids to call Santa. They wound up calling the Continental Air Defense Command, NORAD’s predecessor.

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