It’s almost Christmas, which means it’s time for Santa-related postings. In one of my recent postings, I looked at Telstra’s #HO HO HO free-calls to Santa from payphones event and discovered where it is actually being run from. But perhaps there are other Santas around the world to call too … and thanks to having an account with a VoIP provider that offers reasonable international calling, I decided to give them a ring.

Other Santas “Can’t Answer the Phone” but Telstra’s Santa Can!

In the last posting, I detailed how the Telstra Santa handles calls. It is basically a phone menu tree with an interactive voice response (IVR) system used to select an appropriate response from (usually) three choices.

After scraping Google for all the “call Santa” numbers I can find and calling them, one of the key patterns I can see is that all other Santas are somehow too busy to answer the phone because they’re too busy helping the elves. This is a conspiracy, I tell you! But on a more serious note, they are all based on a voicemail box greeting, nothing interactive sadly.

But there is also a trend towards monetised “get a custom call from Santa” services and app-based video calls with Santa. That feels a little sad, but perhaps reflects the age we are in.

As a result, this is a compendium of all the “call Santa” numbers that I could find in 2022 across the world that are still active. There are some numbers listed online that are no longer active and connect to other legitimate customers, so I have refrained from listing them to avoid potential nuisance calls. I’ve taken the effort to record their greetings and upload them here, to document and preserve these services which may soon vanish as voice calling falls out of vogue. The message, where in English, has also been transcribed.

Spark NZ’s Santaline

The first service comes from Spark in New Zealand. Branded “Santaline” and apparently being in operation for over 30 years, it can be reached at +64 800 222 222. Within New Zealand, this is a free-call number.

Recorded Call Audio: +64-800-222-222

“Ho, ho, ho, ho! Hello there! It’s me, Santa. I can’t come to the phone right now. Mrs. Claus is helping me comb my beard. Hah. It’s gotten a little messy and I need to tidy it up in time for Christmas. I can’t wait to load up the sleigh on Christmas Eve and take my big trip all the way around the world. So when you hear my sleigh bells ring, leave me a message and tell me what you’re wishing for.”

The Santa Hotline

The next service is The Santa Hotline which operates out of the USA. They have a wide array of numbers in many area codes, allowing local-call access in many parts of the US:

Austin +1-512-904-7499
Atlanta +1-678-288-7400
Boston +1-617-399-6700
Cleveland +1-216-588-0900
Colorado Springs +1-719-622-7100
Dallas +1-214-615-3000
Denver +1-720-306-2070
Idaho +1-208-621-2599
Las Vegas +1-702-507-9100
Los Angeles +1-213-807-6565
Maryland +1-240-841-2560
New York +1-646-568-4141
Phoenix +1-602-792-0010
Salem +1-503-549-8400
Salt Lake +1-435-538-7070
San Antonio +1-210-881-3200
San Jose +1-408-540-1450
San Diego +1-619-996-5900
Santa Monica +1-310-961-5650
Seattle +1-206-934-1414
Tacoma +1-253-883-2540
Tucson +1-520-300-8800
Worchester +1-508-743-6460
West Virginia +1-304-816-4434

I sampled a few of the numbers and found all to be operational and to have the same message:

Recorded Call Audio: +1-512-904-7499

“Thank you for calling the Santa hotline. Please wait while your call is being connected to the North Pole. Ho ho ho, you’ve reached Santa. We’ve been very busy this year getting all the Christmas toys ready. Because all of you boys and girls being so nice this year – the Elves, Mrs. Claus and myself are working extra hard. Ho, ho, ho! All the reindeer are eating extra meals, and flying extra laps so they can pull my sled, which will be heavier than ever with all those toys onboard. So, be sure to leave a message with your Christmas list after the beep, and remember, I’ll be checking the list twice, so be extra nice. Have a Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho!”

TalkToSanta.com 517-HI-SANTA

Another service out of the US, this one is rather “commercialised” as it is affiliated with an online service offering live calls and is really advertising to kids. I wouldn’t recommend this one, although the number is rather memorable as 517-HI-SANTA (+1-517-447-2682).

Recorded Call Audio: +1-517-447-2682

“Ho ho ho ho. This is Santa Claus. You’ve reached my voicemail because I’m in the workshop helping the elves or out checking on the reindeer. As you can imagine, it is getting very busy right now at the North Pole. I am sorry I am not able to take your call, but at the tone, please leave me your Christmas wishlist. Ho ho ho ho ho. Oh, and one last thing, ask your parents to book a live video call with me at the North Pole by going to my official website at www.talktosanta.com, www.talktosanta.com. I will see you very soon, ho ho ho ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!”

NORAD Tracks Santa

This one isn’t quite a Santa line, but it is Santa-related. This one has been around for a while but I’ve never tried it myself. I’m not sure if it’s really affiliated with the US North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) as it operates out of a .org domain. The number is another memorable one – 1-877-HI-NORAD (+1-877-446-6723) and is even toll free for access within USA meaning you could also access it via SkypeOut for free or various free SIP Toll-Free Terminations (which are getting rarer by the day). You will get the following message if you call their number before Christmas Eve –

Recorded Call Audio: +1-877-446-6723 (pre-Christmas Eve)

“Thank you for calling the NORAD Track Santa operations centre. Please call back on December 24th to get updates on Santa’s location or visit our website at www.noradsanta.org.”

I guess I’ll just have to call back on Christmas Eve and update this post!

YouMail Calls to Santa

This is another one running out of the US (as they mostly are) and can be accessed through +1-949-617-2682.

Recorded Call Audio: +1-949-617-2682

“Ho ho ho ho ho, you’ve reached Santa. I’m busy getting my reindeer and sleigh ready for Christmas this year, but why don’t you leave me a message after the jingle bells with what you’d like for Christmas and I’ll make sure to add it to my list. Oh, and Merry Christmas!”

The FreeConferenceCall.com Santas

Perhaps the most generous of all providers is FreeConferenceCall.com which operates a bunch of Santa hotlines across different countries and in different languages. The list of numbers is q