It's nearly time for Santa and his nine gorgeous reindeer to begin their tour of the country.

He has a lot of presents for well-behaved children and grown ups in his sleigh.

Santa will take to the skies on a whistlestop trip around the UK – he is so speedy that sightings are rare.

In case you miss him, why not keep a lookout for the International Space Station, which is visible over the Shotley peninsula this December.

It will appear as a bright dot shooting in the skies above, so you can tell the kids that it is Father Christmas himself.

Sightings over the Shotley Peninsula.

The following ISS sightings are possible from Dec 19 through Tuesday Dec 29. If the weather is good, 'Santa' will look like a shooting star or brightly lit, fast-moving plane.

The optimum viewing time is usually within a couple of hours of sunrise or sunset when the sun reflects off the space station and contrasts against the darker sky.

There are plenty of opportunities to spot him this year, but you'll need to be an early bird and catch him in the morning.

Two of the best chances are on December 23 and Christmas Day, just after 7am when he will be visible for a full five minutes.

So get your compasses out and go find him. For a full guide on how to spot the space station, visit Nasa's website here.

Not long to go until the big day

Facts about the International Space Station

The International Space Station is a Nasa research facility and the largest man-made object in the sky.

It orbits our planet every 91 minutes.

At 357ft end to end, it's almost as long as a football field and weighs 925lb, the equivalent of 320 cars.

The space station draws its power from an acre of solar panels and has a crew of six astronauts living there.

It moves at four-and-a-half miles per second, or 17,500 miles per hour, at an altitude of more than 200 miles above the earth.

Meanwhile, the Great Conjunction (or the Star of Bethlehem) appears in our night skies on December 21 (read more here)

Please get in touch if you spot the space station over the Shotley Peninusla

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