Santa
All the information you need to know about the NORAD Santa tracker for 2014. Reuters

Amid baking cookies, pouring a glass of milk and leaving them both as thanks in advance for Santa Claus sliding down the chimney and bringing children around the world gifts and presents, many kids have asked the same question of their parents: "Where is Santa Claus and when will he be here?"

Conveniently for kids, and especially their parents who were likely struggling to come up with an adequate answer that would let their children rest easy while getting tucked in on Christmas Eve, Santa has the equivalent of a LoJack GPS tracker. It has been installed on the same sleigh that is towed by Rudolph, his red nose and his seven other fellow reindeer. Invented by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the tracking device provides up-to-the-minute location-based information in real time to let anybody curious enough know where Saint Nicholas is at all times.

As an added bonus to the live streaming footage of Santa, the NORAD Tracks Santa website offers everything from festive, seasonal music to games to even a gift shop for any last-minute shoppers who may have forgotten to pick up a present or two -- you know, in case Santa doesn't bring it himself.

For the tech savvy folks who don't want to be glued to a desktop or laptop computer trying to watch Santa's every move, you're in luck. Yep, there's an app for that. It's called NORAD Tracks Santa, which can be downloaded for Apple, Windows and Android devices.

You can also track Santa on social media, because, of course, there a Twitter account and Facebook page devoted to keeping the Santa-obsessed up to speed on Kris Kringle's every move via constant updates.

Sears Roebuck & Co. pioneered the idea of tracking Santa decades ago in 1955 by calling the North Pole resident directly. However, the print ad provided incorrect contact information, and anyone dialing the number listed had their calls answered by the Continental Air Defense Command instead. But the Christmas spirit prevailed, as workers there still told children what they wanted to hear. From there on out, tracking Santa became an official thing.