Father Christmas and his team of reindeers will today whizz across the world delivering presents to children.
And courtesy of the NORAD Santa tracker, which follows his journey every Christmas Eve, you can chart his progress as he visits all corners of the globe.
For nearly 70 years, families worldwide have watched his whistlestop tour before he returns home to his toy factory in the North Pole.
To keep track of Santa follow our live updates below and join in the conversation in our comments section
23:23
Santa and his reindeer enjoying milder conditions in Europe
Santa is getting closer to the UK and has enjoyed some good conditions on his trip.
He made it close to the UK but has still not made his visit just yet
23:09
Ideal flying conditions over South Africa
The Met Office has said it is ‘ideal flying conditions’ for Santa as he flew over South Africa earlier this evening
23:03
Santa over the Sahara
Father Christmas has just flown over Timbuktu after completeing a section over the Sahara Desert.
We hope those reindeer had their shades on!
22:56
Santa returns to Africa
After touring most of Europe, Santa has popped back to Africa to visit more stops in Algeria, Morocco and western Africa.
He is currently on his way to Ain Salah in Algeria
22:43
Santa sails over Spain
Santa is currently flying over spain as he continues his whistle-stop tour of Europe.
In Spain, well-behaved children are visited by not one, but three men. These men are known as Los Reyes Magos, or the three wise men.
22:23
More than 4million presents delivered tonight!
Let’s give Santa a round of applause. He has now delivered four million presents tonight!
What an achievement
22:16
Santa returns to Germany
Weihnachtsmann, as he is known in Germany, has set off for munich, before a switch over to Switzerland.
Traditionally Santa does not drop down chimneys in Germany.
Instead, the Christkind or Christkindl, an angel-like creature with blond hair and wings, brings gifts to families on the eve of Christmas.
21:53
Santa’s European tour continues as he edges closer to the UK
Santa has now visited most of eastern europe, stopping off in Germany, Poland.
He has now stopped off in Sweden, where Santa is seen traditionally as a dwarf-like creature.
With each country ticked off the list, and indeed checked twice, he edges ever closer to the UK. He will be here soon!
21:43
Santa reaches Hungary
He may be hungry for some milk and cookies, but now Santa has reached Budapest in the country of Hungary.
Howver in Hungary, children get presents from Santa on 6th December, which is St Nicholas Day. So we is probably just passing by this evening.
21:35
San-ta Marino
The man in the jolly red hat has taken a quick stop off at one of the smallest countries in Europe.
It was a short stop off at the country which is just 61 square kilometres, smaller than most UK cities.
21:26
Santa begins to cross the Mediterranean Sea
Santa has now taken a trip across the Med into europe, stopping in Malta before he heads towards Rome in Italy
21:21
Santa delivering presents to Africa
Santa has been seen over the skies of Libya, Algeria and Chad in the last few minutes, as helooks to complete deliveries of presents to the continent of more than one million people!
20:14
How does Santa cross the world in one night?
According to NORAD, Santa is able to travel the glove as he ‘somehow functions within his own time-space continuum’.
The agency said: ‘Santa does not experience time the way we do. His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa, it might last days, weeks, or even months.’
18:31
More than 2 billion presents delivered
The present count is in as Santa continues travelling land and sea to deliver gifts.
According to reports, he has delivered more than 2.5 billion presents so far.
18:14
Santa reaches Pakistan!
Santa Claus has now reached Karachi in Pakistan on his voyage across the world.
It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, but the big man still has a huge amount of people to deliver presents for.
17:45
What time is Santa arriving in the UK?
Flying conditions are forecast to be good for Santa across the globe after he left the North Pole at 9am.
He has already reached Thailand and Cambodia as he makes his way across Asia.
16:48
Santa touches down in India
Santa has touched down in India for the first time on his long-haul journey.
With a population of just under 1.5 billion, there are a lot of presents to hand out!
16:34
Santa gets closer to Europe
Santa is nearing the continent of Europe, having just touched down in Kazakhstan.
Very nice!
16:23
Does Santa have a fighter jet escort?
While Santa is on his own for most of the journey he is joined by a military escort while flying over some parts of the world.
16:12
Santa delivers 1.8 billion presents
Santa has officially delivered 1.8 billion presents – that’s just less than a quarter of the world left to go.
Old St Nick has a long night ahead of him…
15:54
Santa sails across southeast Asia
Santa is now flying over southeast Asia, first arriving in Malaysia.
He could be stocking up on more presents, as the country is home to three of the world’s ten largest shopping malls.
15:37
Watch: Relive the moment Santa passed over New Zealand
15:31
Santa revisits an old holiday spot…
Exitingly Santa is now heading Christmas Island – where it’s Christmas every day of the year (not really).
He’s sure to feel at home as he plunges down those chimneys to leave presents for all the boys and girls.
Rumour has it the island is where Santa spends his summer months – and that’s how it got its name!
15:26
G’day! Santa goes Down Under
Santa is just arriving in Perth, Australia after stopping in Neewman. He’s heading towards the Australian coastline where he will deliver more presents to the children of the world.
It’s currently almost 11:30pm and 19C – but it will rise up to 28C by tomorrow.
15:16
More than 1.5 billion parcels delivered
As Santa reaches Indonesia, he has also passed a major milestone of his own.
He has now delivered more than 1.5 billion presentws to children all around the world.
But he still has a long way to go if he’s going to make all his drop-offs by morning.
15:09
Watch: NORAD volunteers answer calls from children with questions about Santa
15:00
Deja vu!
You’d be forgiven for having a momet of deja vu as Santa returns – again – to China to continue his present-giving.
Because night comes first in the eastern parts of the world and last in the western parts, he must fly repeatedly north to south, gradually travelling from the east to the west of the globe.
That’s why some of the worl’s largest countries – such as China, Russia, India and the United States – will be visited repeatedly throughout the day and night.
14:44
Santa returns to the beach – but not for a rest
Santa is returning to sandy islands now but sadly he won’t have time to stop for a well-earned rest.
He’ll be reaching the Phillipines in arond five minutes, where it’s almost 11pm.
From there, he’ll continue south until he reaches Indonesia.
14:35
Santa treated to wonders of the world in epic voyage
Santa is being treated to all the wonders of the world tonight as he continues delivering gifts.
He has been flying over the Great Wall of China – which is so large than experts can even point it out from space.
He might get to see all the destinations he’s ever dreamed of – but this is work, not leisure for him remember.
14:32
Father Christmas heads to China
Santa has been over China for some time now, delivering lots of presents.
As the most populated country in the world, Father Christmas will tick lots of stops off on his list here.