In case I forget to mention it between now and then, please bookmark the NORAD Santa site and make sure some time between now and Wednesday night that you have Google Earth installed. (There are also some fun activities that you and any Little People in your household can enjoy between now and then.)

NORAD, the North American radar defense system, has been tracking a certain red-suited airborne visitor for many years. One year, a department store near NORAD headquarters set up a telephone line for children to call about Santa. But the number was misprinted in the newspaper (these things happen) and NORAD began getting calls by mistake. Ever since then, they’ve taken on the responsibility of updating children about Santa’s Christmas Eve progress — first by phone, now on the web and even on mobile phones.

The integration with Google Earth in the last few years makes it even more fun to see where Santa is at any given moment.