how to spot a reindeer

It's hard to spot Santa and his reindeer, because they travel fast and far. Here are a few things you can do to improve your chances.

Steps

  1. Make sure you know what a reindeer looks like. Study pictures of reindeer and keep them handy on Christmas Eve.
  2. Learn how to watch the night sky. Sometimes you can see Rudolph's nose glowing as Santa whisks by on his sled, but you have to look really hard. Once you find Rudolph, though, you can usually see the other reindeer following behind.
  3. Listen. You might hear the jingling of sleigh bells or - if you're really lucky - the reindeers' hooves on your roof. Read "The Night Before Christmas" to get an idea of how the hooves might sound.
  4. Learn the names of all Santa's reindeer. If you actually get close, you might want to call them by name, just like Santa does. The names of Santa's reindeer, in addition to Rudolph, are Dasher, Dancer, Donner, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Prancer and Blitzen.
  5. Get online on Christmas Eve to track where Santa and his reindeer are as they sweep across the skies. When you know Santa is in your area, you might have a better chance of seeing the reindeer.
  6. Add a few extra cookies for the reindeer when you leave a snack out for Santa. You just might get lucky and hear Santa feeding them while they wait on your roof.

Warning

  • Don't be too sad if you don't spot a reindeer. They are so quick that not many people are able to find them.

Adapted from ehow.com.