Volunteering With NORAD Tracks Santa – Christmas Eve 2018

THIS IS THE EMAIL THAT MADE MY YEAR:

Greetings!

It’s the time of year again to get ready to track Santa with NORAD! Thank you for expressing interest to the NORAD & NORTHCOM Public Affairs Office in volunteering for the 2018 NORAD Tracks Santa Call Center. This is the notification email that the sign-ups to volunteer are available. We’ve just updated the available time slots to increase your opportunities. Remember, they go on a first come, first served basis.

Good luck, and we luck forward to seeing you on Dec. 24th.

This was it. I was going to track Santa with NORAD. Finally, after years of tracking him on my computer I was going to the operations center.

I should probably back up and explain a bit more for you about NORAD and its involvement with Santa.

Back in the 50’s, Sears & Roebuck decided to create a Santa hotline and printed in in the local paper. Except they misprinted the number. It didn’t go to the Sears hotline. It went to the Commander of CONAD (until Canada and the US joined to create NORAD), Colonel Harry Shoup. His phone rang and he picked it up to find a child on the other end expecting to speak to Santa! He played along and a tradition was born.

I learned about NORAD and this tradition several years ago. Since then, I’ve watched the website (and used the app) to track Santa and I post updates on my Facebook page for my friends around the world that Santa is near. I love it so much that I even started using my own hashtag #ShaeTracksNoradTracksSanta

When we planned the itinerary this year I began to wonder, could we stay in Colorado at Christmas? If so, could I volunteer to answer phones for NORAD? A friend sent me the information I might need to reach out to Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs where NORAD is located. I sent an email and was added to the list so that I could receive an invite to volunteer.

Volunteering consists of answering phone calls on Christmas Eve at the Operations Center. So when I received the email above I signed up my mom and myself to volunteer. We’re extroverts, so answering the phone isn’t a problem for us. Being more introverted, Stephen and my stepdad decided to give it a miss.

When you arrive you’re given a briefing. There are also snacks and water available for volunteers and you’re invited to bring something for Toys for Tots.

There are 2 hour blocks available with approximately 150 slots to fill for each of those blocks. They start early in the morning on Christmas Eve and the last “live” shift finishes at midnight MST. There’s an automated answering service from midnight to 3am when calls dramatically drop off.

There are 2 rooms with about 75 phones in them. Large wall maps keep the Santa Trackers updated on Santa’s exact location throughout the night. How does NORAD track Santa you ask? Using the technology that usually tracks the heat signatures of missiles, NORAD turns it to find the heat signature from Rudolph’s nose, and they’re able to follow the sleigh’s progress around the world.

Calls come in from around all around the World. Calls were most common from the US and Canada but there were some from Europe too! Volunteers are given a “playbook” to review before they arrive so they can be familiarized with it beforehand. It has a basic script, answers to common (and not so common) questions and a tally sheet to record where the families are calling from.

I chose to book us in for a time I thought might have heavy calls but also might struggle with volunteers since it was during dinner time, 6pm MST which is 8pm on the East Coast of the US. From the minute we sat down to the minute the next shift arrived at 8pm MST, the phone did not stop ringing. It was incredible. The script is there to help you and makes sure you know not to make promises on presents to kids since you’re representing NORAD, but you are encouraged to be creative and have fun with your answers even if they aren’t in the script.

I had a lot of cute calls. Lots of adults calling on behalf of bunches of kids trying to find out where Santa was and when he’d be at their house. The NORAD answer for that is this:

According to our radars Santa is currently in X and on his way to Y. Only Santa knows his route; we just watch as he goes so we can’t let you know the exact time when he will turn up at your house. But we do know from almost 60 years of tracking Santa that he tends to arrive between 9pm and midnight when all the children in the house are asleep. So it’s really important that you get to bed as soon as possible.

Here’s a video of me in action:

Throughout the evening the calls became more and more support for moms, dads and grandparents who just wanted excited kids to head to bed. I also got asked how much he weighs and what size clothes he wears. But one call was my favorite and will stay with me forever. It went a like this:

Me: Hello, NORAD tracks Santa, this is Shae, how can I help you?

Mom on behalf of child (MoBoC): Hi, we have 4 questions for you.

Me: Oh, ok. I’m ready.

MoBoC: (indistiguishable child talk in the background – she relayed the entire call back and forth between me and said child) What are Santa’s favorite cookies?

Me: Well, what are your favorite cookies?

MoBoC: Chocolate chip.

Me: Oh! Those are an excellent choice. Who doesn’t like chocolate chip? Yes, you should leave those if you have them.

MoBoC: Ok. Follow up question. How many should we leave out?

Me: Well, how many cookies do you think is healthy for one person to have after dinner?

MoBoC: Two.

Me: Oh, I was thinking 15 but you’re right lets go with two that seems more reasonable.

(Lots of giggles on the other end)

MoBoC: Ok question #2. How many carrots should we leave out for the reindeer?

Me: Well, all 9 are out with Santa (explains how we track Rudolph’s nose), so even if you don’t have 9 carrots, I’d break them up into 9 pieces so each one gets a bite.

MoBoC: Should we leave water out for the reindeer.

Me: Well actually, the reindeer get most of their water intake from the vegetables left out this evening and they absorb water through their fur as they fly through the clouds, so water for them is nice, but not necessary.

MoBoC: Ok, what should we leave out for Santa to drink?

Me: Well, what do you think might be a good drink for Santa?

MoBoC: Water

Me: What!? Is that what you like to dip your cookies in??! (Giggles ensue on both sides of the line) I was thinking milk.

MoBoC: He doesn’t like to dip his cookies.

Me: Me either it makes them all soggy. Yuck.

MoBoC: He was thinking water because we drink a lot of water in our house.

Me: Well, it might not go as well with cookies but Santa probably won’t get a lot of it tonight so it could be really good to rehydrate him. Excellent choice.

MoBoC: That’s all our questions. Thank you Merry Christmas!

Me: Merry Christmas and thank you for calling NORAD, bye!

That whole interaction took maybe 3-4 minutes. We try to keep the calls short since there are so many trying to get through. I had one house shout “We got through!” when I answered once.

All of a sudden a mass of people swarmed through the door. The next shift had arrived. I was happy to rest my voice for a minute but so sad that the 2 hours had gone in the twinkle of a eye.

Mom and I got up, took a few photos and got buttons saying “Official Santa Tracker 2018.”

It was the best time. We’ve done a lot of different things on Christmas Eve over the years. Quite a bit of volunteering, playing a little Santa ourselves and candle light church services. But this was something totally different. We both left laughing, touched by all the calls, and overwhelmed by the number of volunteers and calls. There were about 75 people just in my room answering non-stop phone calls. It was insane. But oh, so much fun.

I hope one day in the future I might be able to go back and volunteer again. Even if I can’t though, I’ll always treasure the night that I got to track Santa with NORAD.