NORAD Santa tracker 2021 LIVE: Find out where Father Christmas and reindeer are now

Father Christmas has just delivered some festive cheer to the people of Nogliki on the far eastern seaboard of Russia.

From a stand-by perspective, this may be exactly what they've ordered.

Right now it is -20C in Nogliki, where great flat expanses of snow surround the few houses and shops.

The town is almost entirely reliant on the oil industry for its wealth and recently lost one of its key train lines.

The Mirror would like to wish a very happy Christmas to the people of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Spread out across more than 600 islands and occupying 2,600,000 km2 of water, Micronesia is widely considered to be one of the most logistically challenging stops for FC.

As is to be expected, he navigated the island chain with ease and now moves on to the Kuril Islands.

Father Christmas has now delivered half a billion presents.

Given that he only started his round an hour and a half ago, that is not bad going.

Father Christmas has just stopped off at one of the most remote communities in the world.

The McMurdo Station in Antarctica is an American research base that hosts several hundred scientists.

FC has reached New Zealand.

Those lucky Kiwis - who have managed to control the coronavirus by implementing strict border regimes - are among the first to get their mittens on Christmas gifts each year.

As in Australia, food comes in the form of a barbecue or beach side picnic for most, although the roast does feature for some.

Given that it is summer in New Zealand right now, classic Christmas carols don't make a huge amount of sense.

Instead Te Haranui, Christmas in New Zealand, A Kiwiana Christmas and Sticky Beak the Kiwi are favourites.

Like in the UK, the build up to Christmas in Samoa is long and joy-filled.

During the 13 days before Samoans sing Christmas carols, hand out cads and perform dramas in the village of Vaitele-Uta.

Christmas day begins with church for most.

After church families will open presents, eat food, and play game such as kilikiti or volleyball.

Christmas trees are not the classic pine, but often banana or palm.

Christmas on the Marshall Islands are a little different from those in the UK.

Right now, as Father Christmas nears, the weather is hovering around 30C.

The Marshallese will spend the day enjoying a fusion of Christian and indigenous cultural activities.

Huge baskets of food are exchanged and the entire day is spent watching various local groups, called jeptas, perform original songs, dances, and skits.

Preparations for the great day begin months in advance.

Santa will soon drop presents off a handful of people living on Wake Island.

Also known as the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, the atoll is used as a strategic base by the Americans.

It doesn't have an indigenous population, but military personnel often get posted to the island paradise.

FC should make light work of those few on the good list.

Although FC is delivering presents to Russian children as we speak, they may not be able to open them for another 13 days.

Russian Christmas takes place on our version of January 7, as the orthodox church still goes by the Julian Calendar.

During the Soviet era, Christmas and all other church holidays were banned in Russia - although though many people continued to celebrate them in secret.

Russian families like to tuck into a meal consisting of from grains, seeds, nuts, honey, and sometimes dried fruit.

Father Christmas has already made his way over the Artic Sea and the eastern edge of Russia.

He may have taken off just 12 minutes ago, but already he has dropped more than 70million presents through chimneys.

A remarkable pace.

His next stop is Magadan in Russia.

The Santa Tracker is live.

Mr Christmas and his merry band of hoofed helpers are currently flying out of the North Pole.

Stay with us for a blow-by-blow rundown of his journey across the globe.

While we await the departure of Father Christmas - who is expected to have sorted out his sleigh by 11am - it is worth noting other festive offerings on Mirror Online this morning.

Two parents have opened up about the mammoth task of getting Christmas ready for their 14 children.

The British public at large have had their say on the perfect Christmas day.

And the RAC has offered some hot tips for those looking to drive home smoothly this Christmas.

Exactly how busy Father Christmas will be this evening is difficult to quantify.

Today, there are more than 2.2 billion children on Earth.

However, many families do not celebrate Christmas and do not expect a visit from Santa Claus, instead opting to celebrate non-Christian traditions at different times of the year.

What we can be certain of is where there is a tactically placed stocking, there will be a visit from Father Christmas.

It seems the big man is still loading presents onto his sleigh at his North Pole workshop.

Understandably, fitting toys for billions of children into a modestly sized vehicle takes time.

We are bearing with Santa and primed to give you updates when we get them.

The Norad Santa Tracker appears to be slow in getting started this year.

The good people at the US's Continental Air Defence Command are well versed in plotting his course across the world, so one can assume the delay in temporary.

Google, relative new comers to the tracking game, have FC taking off at 10am GMT.

Father Christmas is on the go.

The merry maker and his troop of trusty reindeer have set off from Lapland in the North Pole.

They will head to the Pacific first thing, crossing over the international date line to reach those already celebrating the early hours of Christmas.

Whether it be a mince pie, glass of brandy or carrot, a lot of people will be leaving treats out for Father Christmas and his reindeers tonight.

Doing so is an old tradition that is linked to the feast day of Saint Nicholas, which is actually on 6 December.

Children would leave food and drink out for the saint and family would exchange them for gifts overnight.

The little gifts are thought to be linked to early Christmas trees which emerged in Germany and were known as paradise trees.

Instead of baubles and Christmas angels, the Germans would deck the branches with festive snacks.

If there are no hold ups during his route, Santa normally gets to Britain around midnight GMT if flying conditions are good.

Far from one of his first stops, the UK has to wait a while for his arrival.

First comes Oceania, Asia, Eastern Europe and much of Africa, before the white-bearded gift giver arrives at your house.

He'll start in the South Pacific, with his first stop to the Republic of Kiribati.

Father Christmas is about to embark on a mammoth journey from the North Pole to the home of every child across the world.

While the big man will not start visiting British homes for another 16 hours, those in parts of the Pacific are all tucked up in bed ready for his arrival in the coming hours.

Once he's visited earlier Christmas celebrators such as New Zealand, he will wend his way past Australia to south east Asia.

We will be with him and his reindeer for every step of the way.