X

Google Assistant is ready to give you holiday updates from the North Pole

Get breaking news from Santa's Village.

Erin Carson Former Senior Writer
Erin Carson covered internet culture, online dating and the weird ways tech and science are changing your life.
Expertise Erin has been a tech reporter for almost 10 years. Her reporting has taken her from the Johnson Space Center to San Diego Comic-Con's famous Hall H. Credentials
  • She has a master's degree in journalism from Syracuse University.
See full bio
Erin Carson
screen-shot-2019-12-04-at-10-23-26-am.png

Google's Santa Tracker site is back.

 Google/Screenshot by CNET

For kids and those who are still kids are heart, there's a now a way to keep up with the latest happenings at the North Pole this holiday season. You can ask Google Assistant: "Hey Google, what's new at the North Pole?"

Google rolls out its Santa Tracker site every year with games and a countdown until Christmas set in Santa's Village. In a blog post Wednesday, cheekily penned by one "Dimplesticks the Elf, Chief Elf Correspondent, North Pole Newscast," Google said the Google Assistant query will queue up a "daily North Pole Newscast alongside other minty-fresh NPBC programming like PMZ, the Reindeer Report, and Good Sleigh Today." 

The post also highlighted some additions to Santa's Village, like a game called Snowbox where kids (or you -- we're not here to judge) can build a "wintery scene." You can also ask Google Assistant, "Hey Google, give me a Santa joke" and "Hey Google, call Santa." 

Of course, Google isn't the only place to keep track of Santa. Since way back in 1955, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been keeping a whimsical eye on Santa as he makes his Christmas Eve journey around the world. Amazon's Alexa can also help you get in the holiday spirit.

Watch this: Coolest toys of 2019 with high-tech tricks

Originally published Dec. 4, 7:39 a.m. PT.
Update, 10:55 a.m.: Adds background on other Santa trackers.