Long before Santa arrives at many houses, children and parents keep a close eye on the travels of his sleigh.

With the help of volunteer NORAD Santa-trackers, more of the same is expected this year. According to Joyce Creech, project leader for NORAD Tracks Santa at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, the group is readying for a high volume of calls and e-mails in 2011.

“We expect our numbers to be very high this year,” she said.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has been tracking Santa every year since 1955. Through the years, the tracking service has expanded its reach to Facebook, Twitter, and the Web at www.noradsanta.org and television.

This year, there is also a Santa-tracking app for smart phones, which was developed by visionbox.

Last year, NORAD Tracks Santa volunteers answered 80,000 phone calls on Christmas Eve, Creech said. They also answered 7,000 emails.

NORAD Tracks Santa already has had more than 754,000 “likes” on Facebook this year, compared with 716,000 through Christmas Eve last year. Twitter numbers also are up, with 60,000 followers so far this year.

But, Creech said, the heart of the operation still lies with the more than 1,200 volunteers that answer calls in shifts on Christmas Eve. The volunteers, Creech said, get their information by checking big-screen computer monitors that indicate Santa’s exact location.

While tracking Santa can be hard work, Creech said it is rewarding for the volunteers to help the children keep up with St. Nick.

“It’s just so precious to hear the little sigh or (only) breathing on the other end, and you realize how nervous they are,” Creech said.

NORAD Tracks Santa has added 20 phones this year, bringing the total to 120, and four more laptops, for a total of 23. The phones will be answered from 5 a.m. Central Time on Christmas Eve until 4 a.m. Christmas Day.

Creech said the rising numbers are probably a reflection of how much people look forward to the season, and how much of a tradition calling NORAD has become for many families.

“You can tell that it really brings people joy, and especially kids,” she said.