Santa is spotted on NORAD's tracker wearing a mask as he delivers presents

First Lady Melania Trump is spending Christmas Eve answering calls from young Americans to the NORAD Santa Tracker, as Saint Nick makes his way toward the United States. 

Proud parents shared a video of their daughter speaking to the First Lady as she asked if they had left anything out for Santa’s arrival. 

‘I don’t get it,’ the little girl answered.

NORAD thanked Melania as she continued the annual tradition on her last Christmas Eve as First Lady. It is not known if President Donald Trump will be joining her. 

The video was shared shortly after Ivanka Trump trolled the president in a tweet recalling the time he asked a seven-year-old caller to the NORAD Santa Tracker if he believed in Saint Nick. 

The first daughter shared a clip from the 2018 phone call with a little boy named Coleman, as the president surprised young callers checking in on Santa’s path to their house. 

‘Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven, it’s marginal, right?’ Trump asked the seven-year-old, which Ivanka repeated in her tweet with laughing emojis. 

‘Merry Christmas to all!’ she added.   

Santa arrived to the U.S. at around 10pm, starting off in Florida and Georgia before heading for the Carolinas and Delaware. 

He has been spotted on NORAD’s tracker wearing a mask as he flies over the world delivering presents to all the boys and girls who made it on the good list this year.  

As he flew into North American airspace, Santa was escorted by two Canadian CF-18s to help him along the way. He will later be accompanied by F-15s, F-16s, and F-22s as he crosses the nation with help from the Secret Service. 

If you want to make sure you’re tucked up asleep when Santa comes down the chimney, you can track his whereabouts on the official North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker.

Proud parents shared a video of their daughter speaking to the First Lady as she asked if they had left anything out for Santa's arrival. 'I don't get it,' the little girl answered

Proud parents shared a video of their daughter speaking to the First Lady as she asked if they had left anything out for Santa’s arrival. ‘I don’t get it,’ the little girl answered

NORAD thanked Melania Trumpo for continuing on the annual tradition

NORAD thanked Melania Trumpo for continuing on the annual tradition

Santa Claus is pictured wearing a mask as he does his rounds on Christmas Eve

Santa Claus is pictured wearing a mask as he does his rounds on Christmas Eve

Father Christmas set off from the North Pole and took to the skies early Christmas Eve with his sleigh laden full of gifts for children all over the world.

One of his first stops was Russia and he then headed on to Australia, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand and China.   

He had clearly been working hard having already delivered over 4.4 billion presents delivered with many more to go.  

Since 1955, NORAD has been tracking Santa’s whereabouts on Christmas Eve using its satellites and radar. 

For the rest of the year, NORAD is responsible for protecting America’s planes and airspace but, every Christmas Eve for the last 65 years, it puts its important work on hold for another matter of global importance – that Santa safely delivers all his presents on time. 

Ivanka Trump trolled the president on Christmas Eve with a 2018 video of him talking to a seven-year-old caller to the NORAD Santa Tracker. Trump asked the young boy Coleman 'Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven, it's marginal, right?'

Ivanka Trump trolled the president on Christmas Eve with a 2018 video of him talking to a seven-year-old caller to the NORAD Santa Tracker. Trump asked the young boy Coleman ‘Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at seven, it’s marginal, right?’

It is not known if Trump will be answering the Santa tracker phones as he did in 2018

It is not known if Trump will be answering the Santa tracker phones as he did in 2018

‘The same assets we use in our aerospace warning and aerospace control missions 24/7/365 are used on Dec. 24 to track and escort [Santa],’ the agency tweeted Thursday. 

NORAD activated the tracker Thursday morning just as Santa waved goodbye to his elves at his toy workshop and set off wearing his mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

The agency reported ‘good weather for flying’ as he jumped up on his sleigh before making one of his first stops in Provideniya, Russia. 

Santa then enjoyed some warmer weather over the Marshall Islands and Samoa, where he mistook the famous Alofaaga Blowholes, where sea water funnels through the rock and shoots upwards into the sky, for snow shooting upward, Norad reported.

Next up was New Zealand before he made a special stop at the International Space Station for the first time this year after the FAA issued him a ‘special commercial space license’.

Santa used his StarSleigh-1 space capsule powered by the Rudolph Rocket to make the detour to give the astronauts on the space station their presents.  

Santa seen flying over Brazil at around 7.30pm ET on Christmas Eve

Santa seen flying over Brazil at around 7.30pm ET on Christmas Eve

Fiji and the Solomon Islands were next to get their stockings filled before it was back to the colder climes, with a stop in Yakutsk, Russia, and a hot cup of cocoa to set him back on his way. 

Santa headed back south again and was sighted flying over the Sydney Opera House before he was on to Japan, the Philippines and China.

There was no shortage of fuel to keep Father Christmas’s energy levels up as he enjoyed more than one billion cookies left out for him by children in China. 

He delivered presents to sleeping boys and girls Wuhan at around 10 a.m. ET. 

Sleigh bells were then heard echoing through the skies above Jakarta, Indonesia, before the reindeers were spotted maneuvering round the tallest building in the world – the Burj Khalifa in the UAE – just before midday.

Norad reported that it had been a smooth ride as he carried on spreading festive cheer to families in Tanzania and Moscow before a quick pit stop in Helsinki where Santa and Dasher enjoyed some downtime ahead of taking to the skies once more. 

By around 5 p.m. Santa had made it to Europe where he enjoyed the views over Venice as boys and girls were fast asleep below before being spotted over Big Ben in London. 

And by 7.30pm he was flying over South America where he stopped off for a dance on the Azores islands,  

Santa received his COVID-19 vaccine this week to make sure he can visit homes safely this year. 

He was also granted special clearance to travel as an essential worker on the biggest day of the festive season.

Dr. Anthony Fauci reassured children Saturday during a Sesame Street special with CNN that he had personally vaccinated Mr. Claus ahead of Christmas Day. 

‘I took care of that for you because I was worried that you’d all be upset,’ Fauci said. 

‘A little while ago, I took trip up there to the North Pole. I went there and I vaccinated Santa Claus myself.’

Fauci added that Santa had been checked and was fully safe for travel. 

‘He can come down the chimney. He can leave the presents,’ Fauci said. 

‘You have nothing to worry about. Santa Claus is good to go.’ 

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday granted Santa and his sleigh ‘special operating authority’ to make deliveries throughout the US. 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo granted Santa a travel waiver Monday making him exempt from the state’s mandatory quarantine rules to ensure he can still get all his presents delivered on time. 

Cuomo said Santa must still wear mask to help him do his job safely and prevent the spread of the virus.   

‘I think you will still be able to recognize him even though he’ll be wearing a mask because he does have a fairly distinct outfit that he wears,’ Cuomo said. 

If you want to make sure you're tucked up asleep when Santa comes down the chimney, you can track his whereabouts on the official North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker (above)

If you want to make sure you’re tucked up asleep when Santa comes down the chimney, you can track his whereabouts on the official North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) Santa Tracker (above)

Santa received his COVID-19 vaccine this week to make sure he can visit homes safely this year

Santa received his COVID-19 vaccine this week to make sure he can visit homes safely this year

‘I don’t think there will be any issue in identifying Santa this year. 

‘He’ll be able to do his job but do it safely because he’ll be wearing a mask.’ 

Melania Trump will also be answering calls from American children on Christmas Eve as they check in on Santa’s whereabouts. 

‘First Lady Melania Trump, as is her tradition each year, will work with NORAD to track Santa with children around the country as he travels around the world delivering presents,’ Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff for East Wing, told DailyMail.com in a statement.

Melania Trump is at Mar-a-Lago with President Donald Trump, where the first couple will be spending the holiday season with other family members.

It’s unclear if President Trump will join her in the calls, which are made on Christmas Eve as children track Santa’s journey while they wait for their presents.

He and Melania delivered their final Christmas message on Thursday, praising the frontline health workers but failing to acknowledge the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic.

The nearly three minute video – posted to each of the Trump’s Twitter accounts -begins with President Trump telling the Christmas story from the bible, calling it the ‘greatest miracle in human history’.

Children can now tune in on the Norad Santa website to watch him and his reindeer fly round the world. 

You can also call in to Norad from 6 a.m. ET to ask Santa’s Little Helpers at the base about his journey using the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723). 

Fewer operators will be on hand this year due to the pandemic but fear not – you can still get a message with information about Santa’s location. 

Amazon Alexa users can also ask their smart devices for updates on Santa’s location by simply asking ‘Alexa, where’s Santa?’ while OnStar subscribers can push the OnStar button in their cars for updates.    

source: dailymail.co.uk