HOW NORAD'S SANTA TRACKING OPERATION BEGAN

Thanks to a newspaper's misprint in 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command - designed to track aerial and space threats to the continent - received a call from a little boy hoping to speak to Father Christmas.

The misprint in 1955 came in a Sears Roebuck ad for readers in Colorado Springs, which is near Norad's headquaters at Ent Air Force Base.

It told children to give Santa Claus a call 'any time day or night' on his private phone, but accidentally gave the number ME-2-6681, which connected to the NORAD 'hotline'.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has tracked Santa Claus's journey around the world since 1955, when Colonel Harry Shoup (right), received a phone call from a little boy who had seen a misprint ad (left) for Sears and wanted to speak to Kris Kringle