NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, plays a pretty big role during the holidays. The organization tracks Santa on Christmas Eve and delivers live updates to children around the world on where Santa is and where he’s heading next. To this day, I still love watching the live updates just as much as I did when I was a wee lad. Now a new generation of children can get their Santa fix via Windows 8.

NORAD has released its Santa tracking app on Windows 8 and Windows Phone just in time for the holiday season. The app not only tracks Santa, but has a number of activities that parents can enjoy with their children on and around Christmas.

NORAD Tracks Santa is ready to begin the countdown to December 24th. Join us as we begin the countdown to Santa’s journey. Watch Santa traverse the globe in real time on Christmas Eve as he distributes gifts to all the world’s children! Learn about how and why NORAD tracks Santa. Watch videos about Santa’s journey and hear special holiday greetings from each of our Commands.

Alongside the newly released Windows 8 and Windows Phone apps, the app is also available on iOS and Android. It’s mostly the same app with the only exception being that the iOS and Android apps include a game called Thin Ice.

You can grab the Windows 8 and Windows Phone app in their respective stores. If you happen to be with Android or iOS, just hit up the App Store or Google Play. It’s worth a download, especially if you have kids that haven’t yet lost the magic of Christmas to the jaded cynicism of the world.

[h/t: The Next Web]