North Pole HQ

Call Santa, write to him and peek inside the North Pole

Santa’s log cabin at night, deep in snow, with fairy lights round the roof, a wreath, a stack of presents by the door, a snowman, a lamp post and a reindeer beside a wooden sleigh.

A Christmas app for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV. Your child can talk to Santa on the phone or a video call, write to him in the Mail Room, open his Advent Calendar and follow his sleigh on Christmas Eve.

There are no ads, no tracking and no accounts, in the free version as well as the North Pole Pass.

See what’s inside

Coming soon to the App Store

Everything starts at Santa’s cabin

Open North Pole HQ and you’re outside Santa’s cabin in the snow, with smoke curling from the chimney. The big green button calls Santa, and the four below it open the Mail Room, the North Pole Cams, the Advent Calendar and the Sleigh Tracker.

Everything for grown-ups, from your children’s names to a call from Santa at a time you choose, sits behind a PIN, so little fingers can’t wander into it.

The North Pole HQ home screen on an iPhone: the sparkle logo, Santa’s cabin in the snow, a green Call Santa button with snow on top, and round buttons for Message Santa, North Pole Cams, Advent Calendar and Sleigh Tracker.

Call Santa, or let Santa call you

Santa Speed Dial puts your child straight through to Santa, on the phone or face to face on a video call. He says their name, mentions the things they love and asks them questions, then waits for them to answer before he carries on.

He listens for when your child has finished talking, never for the words. The microphone can only tell when someone’s talking, not what they’re saying, so everything Santa says next suits whatever they told him.

With the North Pole Pass, Santa can ring them instead. Choose a phone or video call and a time in the grown-ups’ area, put the phone down nearby, and it rings. If you’d like to hear a call again later, switch on Keep call recordings and each one is kept on your phone, as sound only.

Each child gets one free call every Christmas, and the Pass has unlimited calls. On Christmas Eve, while Santa’s out delivering, calls are patched through to the sleigh.

Santa on a video call, smiling, in his workshop with shelves of toys, fairy lights and a fire behind him.

Well now, I had a feeling you might ring. Hello! This is Santa.

Write to Santa in the Mail Room

Your child types a message and Santa writes back, full of news from the workshop, usually with a question to keep the chat going. His replies are written on your phone, so nothing your child types ever leaves it.

Santa never promises presents. If your child asks for something, it goes in his big book, and he never knows what will turn up until Christmas morning.

Chats are saved on your phone and in your own iCloud backup, for your child to read again. The free version has 5 messages a day, and with the Pass your child can write as much as they like.

  1. Your child:do you play video games
  2. Santa:Not me! My favourite game is snowball races with the reindeer, though I usually fall over first. What’s your favourite game?
  3. Your child:can I have a bike for christmas
  4. Santa:What a wish! It’s written in my big book. I can’t say what will turn up, as the magic never tells me. Do you like snow?
An example of Santa’s replies, word for word from the app.

Peek inside the North Pole on Santa’s cams

Four cams look into Santa’s world: Santa resting by his fire, the elves busy in the Toy Workshop, the reindeer in their stable and the letters piling up in the Mail Room.

Each one opens full screen with its sound on. Swipe, or move your phone, to look around the room, and pinch to look closer.

Santa’s Fireside is free, and the North Pole Pass opens all four. On Christmas Eve, his armchair sits empty while he’s out delivering.

  • Santa resting in his red armchair by the fire, with a plate of biscuits, stockings on the fireplace and a Christmas tree.Santa’s Fireside
  • Elves at work along the benches of the Toy Workshop, with shelves of teddy bears and presents all round.Toy Workshop
  • Reindeer resting in their stalls on fresh hay, each with a name plate, and snow falling outside the open door.Reindeer Stable
  • Elves sorting piles of letters in the Mail Room, with sacks of post, a round window and a big map of the world.Mail Room

An Advent Calendar with Santa behind every door

From 1 December, a new door opens every day. Tap it and it swings open, and Santa pops up with a joke or a fact about life at the North Pole, with his words on screen.

On Christmas Eve he says goodnight, and on Christmas Day there’s one more message from him. Until 1 December, the elves are busy filling the doors.

The free version opens the first door your child chooses, and the Pass opens all 25.

The Advent Calendar on an iPhone: 25 red and green doors with stitched edges and little pictures, the first six open, today’s door shown as a glossy red door in a gold frame, and door 25 in gold.

Follow Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, the Sleigh Tracker follows Santa around the world on a map of the night. Watch the presents delivered add up, see his next stop and how far he is from your home, and hear Santa tell you what he can see as he flies.

He reaches your town at midnight, and a bedtime reminder can make sure everyone’s tucked up in time. You choose your town in the grown-ups’ area: it stays on your devices, and we never ask for your location.

Until then, the elves are polishing the sleigh in its shed, and the countdown shows the sleeps until Christmas, in the app and in a widget for your Home Screen and Lock Screen.

Santa’s sleigh in its wooden shed, with an elf polishing its side by lantern light.
Santa flying in his sleigh, holding the reins, with a sack of presents behind him.

North Pole HQ on Apple TV

On the big screen, the whole family can watch the North Pole Cams, open the Advent Calendar together and follow the Sleigh Tracker on Christmas Eve.

Santa’s Voicemail is just for Apple TV. Santa rang while you were out and left your family a video message, with your children’s names in it. The first one is free, and with the Pass there’s a new one every day in December.

Calls and messages stay on iPhone and iPad, as the TV doesn’t listen. One North Pole Pass covers all three, and your family’s details come across through your own iCloud.

Santa in his workshop, smiling straight out of the screen, with toys on the shelves and a fire behind him.

There are no ads, no tracking and no accounts

That goes for the free version as well as the Pass. Your family’s details stay on your own devices and in your own iCloud, where we can’t see them. Our privacy notice has the detail.

  • Santa listens for a pause, never for words

    On a call, the microphone only tells when someone’s talking, on your phone. Nothing your child says is understood, kept or sent, and calls are only recorded if you switch that on.

  • Messages never leave the phone

    Santa’s replies in the Mail Room are written on your phone, so nothing your child types is sent anywhere. Saved chats stay on the device and in your own iCloud backup.

  • Your family’s details stay at home

    Names, ages, interests, your town and your PIN stay on your devices and in your own iCloud, so your iPhone, iPad and Apple TV all know them. We never receive them.

On a video call, your child’s picture appears on their own screen and is never recorded or sent. The cams use your phone’s motion sensors only to move the picture, on the phone.

Everything opens with the North Pole Pass

The free version has a little of everything. The Pass opens the rest for the whole family: unlimited calls with Santa, video calls and calls from Santa at a time you choose, all four cams, every Advent Calendar door, unlimited messages to Santa and a new voicemail every day in December on Apple TV.

£2.99 for the first year

then £4.99 a year

The Pass is a yearly subscription through the App Store, and the first-year price is for new subscribers. It renews at £4.99 a year unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the year ends, and you can cancel any time in your device’s Settings, under Subscriptions. Family Sharing is included. Prices are for the UK, and the App Store shows yours before you buy.

Coming soon to the App Store

The free version and the Pass, side by side

Santa never mentions money to your child. Anything that needs the Pass looks closed in the story, with frosted doors and cams that are offline, and a quiet “For grown-ups” link leads to the PIN.

What the free version and the North Pole Pass include
FeatureFreePass
Calls with Santa1 each ChristmasUnlimited
Video callsNoYes
Scheduled Santa callsNoYes
North Pole Cams1All 4
Advent doors1All 25
Messages to Santa5 a dayUnlimited
Apple TV voicemail1One a day in December
Sleigh Tracker and countdownYesYes

Questions about North Pole HQ

The help page has more answers, from setting up a call to cancelling the Pass, and how to get in touch.

Which devices does North Pole HQ work on?

iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later, and Apple TV with tvOS 17 or later. It’s one app on the App Store, so the North Pole Pass covers all three, and Family Sharing is included.

Calls and Message Santa are on iPhone and iPad, because they need a microphone and a keyboard. The cams, the Advent Calendar, the Sleigh Tracker and Santa’s Voicemail are on Apple TV.

Does Santa hear what my child says?

No. On a call, the microphone only tells when someone’s talking, not what they’re saying, so Santa knows when your child has finished and carries on. It all happens on your phone, and nothing your child says is understood, kept or sent anywhere.

Because Santa never knows the words, everything he says next suits any answer. If you’d rather he didn’t listen at all, switch off Let Santa listen in the grown-ups’ area, under Calls, and he leaves a little gap for your child to answer instead.

Will Santa say my child’s name?

Santa says any name we’ve recorded, and there are more than 1,000 of them. For other names he says “my friend”, with the name written on screen. When you type your child’s name in the grown-ups’ area, it tells you straight away whether Santa can say it.

What can we use for free?

One call with Santa for each child every Christmas, with room for 5 children; Santa’s Fireside cam; the first Advent Calendar door your child opens; 5 messages to Santa a day; and the Sleigh Tracker and countdown. On Apple TV, Santa’s first voicemail is free too.

The North Pole Pass opens everything else for £2.99 for the first year, then £4.99 a year. There are no ads in either.

Will Santa promise my child a present?

No. Santa never promises presents, in calls or in messages. If your child asks for something, he writes it in his big book and says he never knows what will turn up until Christmas morning, so nobody’s let down.

Does Santa talk about religion?

No. Santa is for children of all faiths and none, and he never brings up religion. If a child asks him about God or Jesus, he says that families believe different things and that a grown-up they trust can tell them more. A family that doesn’t celebrate Christmas is just as welcome.

Can more than one child use it?

Yes. Add each child in the grown-ups’ area with their name, age and the things they love, and whoever’s calling chooses their name before Santa answers. On the free version there’s room for 5 children, each with their own free call every Christmas, and the Pass has room for everyone.