First lady Michelle Obama took calls on Christmas Eve from surprised children hoping to learn Santa’s whereabouts.
Using the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s global Santa Tracker — located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado — Obama was able to tell kids where exactly Father Christmas was.
According to a transcript of the calls, Anthony was way more excited to watch television then to talk to the first lady.
Obama: “What are you doing?”
Anthony: “Just watching TV!”
Obama: “You’re just watching TV? But it’s Christmas Eve! Aren’t you excited that Santa is going to be coming in the morning?”
Anthony: “Yeah, but … I get to watch TV.”
She went on to tell him that Santa was currently flying over Libya — which is “on the other side of the world in a continent called Africa” — and that he had “already delivered over 3 billion gifts.”
One eight-year-old girl, Kaly, didn’t seem to know exactly who Obama was at first, but recognized her voice from her appearance on “Jessie” last year, a children’s show on the Disney Channel.
The first lady also reminded the kids she spoke to that Santa couldn’t deliver their gifts until they were asleep.
“So are you going to stay up late tonight, or are you going to get a good night’s sleep so that you’re fresh for Christmas?” Obama asked one boy.
“I’m probably going to ask my mom if I can take a pill that will help me sleep,” Peyton replied, “because otherwise I’m going to stay up all night.”
“Oh that sounds — it’s a little exciting right,” Obama responded, before wishing him a good night’s sleep and a great Christmas.
Every year, more than 1,200 volunteers man a command center to field calls and emails about NORAD’s Tracks Santa program. The program began in 1955 when a child trying to figure out where Santa was accidentally dialed the wrong number and ended up talking to a commander at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The commander obliged, telling the child where Santa was. In 1958, NORAD took over the responsibility of tracking Santa and the program has been online since 1997.
Go to www.noradsanta.org for more.
