A Christmas misprint (and a tradition)
A favorite story as we slide into Christmas weekend ... and low power mode.
We're going to go on “low power mode” during the Christmas holiday, so we’ll mix in a few favorite stories. I have a good one today, and one tomorrow that might resonate for sure.
Also — if you need a very last-minute Christmas gift, may I recommend Life Story Magic? Remember to use code UNDERSTANDABLY2025 at checkout and you’ll get the Understandably reader discount!
I’ll also include a digital gift card that will go straight to your inbox! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!
Hey Kiddies!
“Hey, Kiddies!” Santa Claus said in a 1955 newspaper advertisement. “Call me direct on my Merry Xmas telephone: ME 2-6681.”
Only one problem. The corresponding phone number, 632-6681 in Colorado Springs, didn’t actually lead to the special Santa hotline that Sears Roebuck & Co. had set up.
Instead, because of a misprint, they’d run the number to the hotline for the Continental Air Defense Command, which was basically the precursor to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD.
In other words, Sears ran an ad encouraging 5 and 6-year-olds to call a number that was only supposed to ring in the event of nuclear war.
Fortunately for all involved, the “strait-laced” officer who answered the phone, Col. Harry Shoup, decided to play along.
After he figured out that the first little boy to call and ask, “Is this Santa Claus?” wasn’t a crank call, he began playing the role of Santa for the kids.
As the call volume picked up in the days leading to Christmas, he recruited other airmen who worked for him to answer phones.
“It got to be a big joke at the command center,” one of Shoup’s daughters, Terri Van Keuren, explained years later. “You know, ‘The old man’s really flipped his lid this time. We’re answering Santa calls.’”
Then one day, Shoup came in to find that one of his airmen had added a drawing of Santa’s sleigh and reindeer to the official map they used to track airplanes.
It gave Shoup an idea. And with that, as the result of a misprint, some kids’ phone calls, and an airman’s prank, the tradition of NORAD tracking and reporting Santa’s position to the media each Christmas was born.
What happened to the tradition? It’s 2025, so it’s live on the Internet, and of course there’s also an app. It should go live here once Santa takes off on Christmas Eve.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, my friends. And to everyone, for 2026, I hope all your misprints, wrong numbers and pranks lead to fantastic results.
Thanks for reading, and best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Photo credits: 1 fair use, 3 U.S. government works. Ho Ho Ho.
Merry Christmas to you and tour family Bill
When my kids were little the NORAD tracker and a nearby radio antenna made for a great story. We were trying to leave our Christmas Eve family gathering at Grandma and Grandpas, and the kids weren’t ready to go. Until we saw the Santa tracker showed him coming close, and I looked out the window to see the aircraft warning light on the antenna blinking right on the neighbors roof. A quick oh look there’s Rudolph led to all 3 instantly self loading into the minivan!
I remember this as a kid in 1962 living in southern Maine near Pease AFB in New Hampshire where my father was stationed. There/then it always snowed at christmas.
Today being Christmas Eve got me trying to recall how I felt as a 6,7,8 year old kid. It wasn’t about religion for me. It was about MAGIC! I can still conjure that feeling if I close my eyes and try realllly hard.
Whatever you believe, I hope today is as magical for you as it was for me.
Happy Solstice!