How to call Santa (for free) this Christmas

By Alex Choros

Last updated 20 November 2024

Telstra is once again offering free calls to Santa via its payphone network to celebrate Christmas. Until December 24, every Telstra payphone has a direct line to Santa where children can call up and tell the jolly fella what's on their Christmas list.

In order to call the big guy, dial #HO HO HO (#46 46 46) from any Telstra payphone across the country. Telstra has been offering its Santa service for a few years now, but this time the telco is also rolling out kid-sized payphones in certain locations.

"This year, we’ve made it even more special for Australia’s littlest callers to connect with Santa by introducing the first-ever kid-sized Telstra payphone – made just for Aussie kids," wrote Executive Amy Childs on the Telstra blog.

"Specially designed for our small callers who might find regular handsets hard to reach, these mini payphones will be set up in select Telstra Stores in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane until Christmas Eve, giving kids their very own special way to reach the North Pole."

Last year, over half a milion calls were made to Santa from Telstra payphones.

Telstra made its payphones free in 2021, and started offering free WiFi access at over 3,000 payphone sites in August 2023. And free is a lot better than paying international call rates if you're trying to dial the North Pole. Oddly, the Arctic doesn't tend to be a standard inclusion on phone plans with unlimited international calls.

If you’re looking for other ways to engage your kids in the holiday spirit, then check out Google’s Santa Tracker. On Christmas Eve you’ll be able to track Santa’s movements around the globe, and there are a couple of online puzzle games to play in the lead-up.

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