How your kids can see Santa's sleigh in the sky for three minutes on Christmas Eve
![This is how children can see Santa's sleigh in the sky for three minutes this Christmas Eve [Image: Getty]](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/CH0N7erMGuJANHullj_iRg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02NzY-/https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2019-12/b98bd280-24cf-11ea-bb6d-f91b05eb3a40)
If you’ve got Christmas-mad kids in the house, showing them Santa’s sleigh in the sky will leave you with some big smiles.
On Christmas Eve you can see Father Christmas and his cargo - also known as the International Space Station (ISS) - flying high above you.
It will only be visible for three minutes - and you’ll have to forgo a festive lie in, as it will become clear from 6.06am on December 24th.
Since it’s early, you’ll need to tell the little ones that Father Christmas is simply delivering presents to other parts of the world, and will drop by later.
READ MORE: NORAD Santa Tracker 2019 - How to follow Father Christmas' journey with your children
And remember, you’re looking out for a flash of light - rather than a dozen reindeers.
For your best chances to spot it, try looking south-west in the sky.
It’s also a good idea to check the weather forecast since if it’s a cloudy day it won’t be visible.
However, there’ll be a second chance on Christmas Day morning - when you’ll need to tell the kids Santa is on his way home.
READ MORE: Christmas supermarket opening times: Hours for Tesco, Asda, Aldi and more
This time you’ll need to be up at 6.53am, and there’ll be a four-minute window.
The ISS revolves around the earth 16 times a day.
NASA explain that you can "watch the International Space Station pass overhead from several thousand worldwide locations.
"It is the third brightest object in the sky and easy to spot if you know when to look up."
READ MORE: The amount of calories in your Christmas dinner
They add: "Visible to the naked eye, it looks like a fast-moving plane only much higher and traveling thousands of miles an hour faster!"
To give you the best shot, you can download the ISS tracking app or head to NASA's Spot The Station.
Alternatively, your kids can track Father Christmas’ journey using the NORAD Santa Tracker.
The site provides a minute-by-minute update of wherever Father Christmas is at any one time so families can predict when Santa might be arriving at their home.
READ MORE: Insider tips and tricks for shopping the Boxing Day sales online
It’s the go-to method of finding out where Father Christmas is in the sky at any one time.
The easiest way is to check the site where there’ll be a map which will update every hour or so, each time it turns midnight in a different time zone.
Last year, people were able to track Santa’s journey from 8am GMT on 24th December.
