Spent two Christmas Eve nights working in Vietnam as a Tactical Radar Controller. Just about everyone checking in on my frequency would report a near miss...with a fat guy in red with a sleigh and reindeer. Seems like only yesterday.
In 1962, we had just come off the Cuban Missile crisis and were on edge. Then on Dec 24, the TV was interrupted for a BREAKING NEWS from NORAD, of something seen coming in over the DEW Line!
The pucker factor kicked in! Was it Russian Missiles? Is this IT!
Then they showed a poor photo of cotton clouds flying over a Santa Clause sleigh.
I have never trusted NORAD since. Too many false alarms.