In this Dec. 24, 2014, file photo, NORAD and USNORTHCOM Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Charles D. Luckey joins other volunteers taking phone calls from children around the world asking where Santa is and when he will deliver presents to their homes, inside a phone-in center during the annual NORAD Tracks Santa Operation, at the North American Aerospace Defense Command, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. Hundreds of volunteers are on the phones at the base, answering questions from eager kids who want to know where Santa is on his Christmas Eve travels.

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. (AP) — Hundreds of volunteers are on the phones at an Air Force base in Colorado, answering questions from eager kids who want to know where Santa is on his Christmas Eve travels.

NORAD Tracks Santa got underway early Sunday at Peterson Air Force Base. It's the 62nd year for the wildly popular program run by the U.S. and Canadian militaries.

It began in 1955 when a newspaper ad invited children to call Santa but mistakenly ran the phone number for the hotline for NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command.

Last year, NORAD Tracks Santa received nearly 154,200 phone calls and 10.7 million unique website visitors. It also snared 1.8 million followers on Facebook and 177,000 on Twitter.

The toll-free telephone number for NORAD tracks Santa is 877-Hi NORAD or 877-446-6723. The website is www.noradsanta.org.