Michelle Obama Serves as Santa’s Helper on Christmas Eve, Takes Calls for NORAD

Michelle Obama shirked her first lady duties on Christmas Eve so she could help the man in red. That’s right–Michelle Obama was one of Santa’s helpers on Christmas Eve. First Lady Mi...
Michelle Obama Serves as Santa’s Helper on Christmas Eve, Takes Calls for NORAD
Written by Kimberly Ripley
  • Michelle Obama shirked her first lady duties on Christmas Eve so she could help the man in red. That’s right–Michelle Obama was one of Santa’s helpers on Christmas Eve.

    Manning the phones for NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command), located at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, Michelle Obama talked with some of the children calling in to learn Santa’s whereabouts.

    In Hawaii for Christmas, Michelle Obama shocked some children–and their parents, too–when they learned they were talking to the first lady on Christmas Eve. Some of the kids, however, had no idea who she was.

    Reminding the children that Santa couldn’t deliver their gifts until they were asleep, the first lady likely made life a bit easier for parents of overly excited children.

    NORAD Tracks Santa started back in 1955, when a child trying to figure out where Santa was dialed a wrong number and ended up talking to a commander at the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs. The commander told the child where Santa was, and a tradition was made. NORAD took over the Santa-tracking responsibility when it was formed in 1958. The program has been online since 1997, and its website–noradsanta.org–gets requests from children from around the world.

    This year marks the sixth in a row that Michelle Obama has taken part in the exciting holiday tradition.

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