🌟🎄 It’s a glorious Christmas Eve, {{first_name | friend}}. I hope your home is filled with that special kind of magic that only happens once a year, the smell of pine, the glow of the lights, and that hum of excitement in the air.
I’ll never forget when my son Ian was 8, he flat-out refused to go to bed on Christmas Eve. No amount of convincing worked. So I tried something different. I called one of America’s most serious defense organizations, that, turns out, has a very unserious Christmas tradition.
🎅 Can you guess which one it was, and what ridiculously amazing and wholesome thing they do every Dec. 24? A) NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command), B) The DoD (U.S. Department of Defense), C) NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) or D) NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)? Find the answer caroling at the end!
🎶 And don’t miss this Christmas tradition: My husband Barry goes full Father Christmas every year, putting together his annual radio special, Mannheim Steamroller’s An American Christmas. It’s one of those shows that instantly puts you in the holiday spirit. Whether you’re driving around or relaxing at home, you can hear it on more than 200 stations across the country. Catch it on your local news talk or AC station. I know you’ll love it. — Kim
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TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
No phone zone
Image: Gemini
Christmas is finally here. Soon, the table is set, the food is ready, and everyone you love is in one place. And as you look around, half the room is staring blindly totally engrossed in a screen. Bummer.
I get it. Phones are always within reach. But make this holiday one of those rare moments when being in the present matters more than anything popping up on a screen.
Here’s a simple idea to put phones down and pull real stories out of the people sitting right in front of you. I call it…
🤑 The Cost-of-Living Game
Ask everyone to place their phones face down in the middle of the table. Just for a few minutes. Then grab one phone, open ChatGPT or Gemini, and use it together.
Type this prompt:
“Give me a brief, fun cost-of-living snapshot for the year ____. Include the price of a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, a gallon of gas, a new car, a midsize home, a airplane ticket from New York to Miami and a movie ticket. Also tell me the number one song and most popular movie from that year.”
Pick a year that matters to someone at the table. Before you read the answers, ask everyone to guess one price. Gas usually gets the biggest reaction.
🪄 Watch the magic unfold
The numbers turn into stories. Someone remembers their first car. Someone else talks about a tiny apartment they loved. You’ll hear things you’ve never heard before, even from people you’ve known your whole life.
If you can, prop up a phone and quietly hit record. Not for social media. For you. Years from now, you won’t care what gas cost in 1978. You’ll care about the laughter and the voices.
If you’re spending Christmas Eve quietly, this still works. FaceTime a friend or family member, and look up the year you met. Or record yourself talking about the year you were born, and send the stories to your kids or grandkids.
👩🍳 I’m also in my kitchen
Christmas Eve is about the moments that matter, even the quiet ones. In my house, that means me making chicken pot pies for all the adults and kids, a tradition I look forward to every single year.
After dinner, we’ll pile onto the couch and watch The Polar Express. It’s one of those movies that never gets old, no matter how many times you’ve seen it.
Once everyone heads home and the house gets quiet, it’s me time. I’ll wrap the last presents and clean up the kitchen with the pope’s Mass from the Vatican playing in the background. It’s my favorite way to slow down, reflect and remember the true reason for the season: the birth of our Lord.
💝 However you’re celebrating tonight, I hope it’s filled with peace, gratitude and a little extra joy. If you’re alone, here’s a virtual hug from me. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
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DAILY TECH UPDATE
Your Christmas tree sucks up your Wi-Fi
Something big, green and bushy is in the way of fast internet. Here’s how to fix it without being a Grinch.
🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”
BEST GIFT DEALS OF THE DAY
📨 Instant e-gifts
Digital gifts go from “bought” to “delivered” faster than Santa’s sleigh.
💸 When in doubt: Amazon eGift Card ($5 to $2,000)
The MVP of last-minute gifts. One click, and boom, it lands instantly by email or text. They pick out what they want while you get all the credit. That’s a win-win.
Image: Amazon
📺 Binge now: Cover a month or two of streaming with a Hulu eGift card ($25 to $100), so they don’t have to. They’ll use it right away, probably tomorrow night.
Give an experience: This Fandango eGift Card ($25 to $100) covers movie tickets nationwide and lets them choose the showtime. Perfect for date nights and families.
🎮 Level up: A membership to Xbox’s Game Pass ($19 to $75) gets gamers access to hundreds of titles across console, PC and the cloud. Just press “start.”
Glam without guessing: An Ulta Beauty eGift Card ($15 to $250) lets her pick the makeup, skin care or hair care she wants. Impossible to mess up (pun intended).
💝 Want more winners? Check out other gift-card options here, not in-store. Thieves are swiping codes off racks, leaving you to foot the bill for their shopping spree.
DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Tomorrow’s Christmas Day, so here’s a quick way to look better in photos. Never face the camera straight on. Turn your body about 45 degrees, shift your weight to your back foot and lean your torso slightly forward. Ta-da, a more confident pose. Brought to you by 20+ years in broadcasting.
No fireplace? No problem: Put a crackling fireplace video on your big-screen TV to add a bit of coziness to the room. This one has no music, so you can cue up your own playlist and let the carols run in the background. All the atmosphere, none of the ash.
🎁 Save your butt if you forgot a gift: Maybe you ignored this yesterday, but I’ve got your back. Pick up an Amazon gift card and print the details or email it to them. Want it to feel less last-minute? Put the card in a small box, then place that box inside a bigger one. Wrap it up and let the fun be in the unwrapping.
Assistant kitchen helpers: Smart speakers like the Amazon Echo can run multiple timers at once. If you name each timer, you’ll know what’s ready to come out of the oven. Say, “Alexa, set a 20-minute timer for the potatoes” or “Set a 45-minute timer for the chicken.” Burned food and naughty list avoided.
👀 Family coming over? Lock your computer to keep your files safe. You never know if little Timmy might get curious while dessert is being served. On Windows, press the Windows key + L. On a Mac, hit Control + Command + Q.
🚗 Oh, crap, you have to run to the mall: There’s no time to scramble around looking for your car after fighting the crowds. Before you head inside, open Google Maps, tap the blue dot (your location) and select Save parking. Have an iPhone? Say, “Siri, remember where I parked my car,” and you’ll get a pin in Apple Maps.
🏡 Preserve memories before they fade: Add something special to those Christmas envelopes. Open ChatGPT and Use voice mode. Say, “I want to create a story about the house I grew up in. Please listen, then turn it into a vivid first-person story for the grandkids.” Print it out or read it to them tomorrow. This one sticks.
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: Kim Komando
I remember my fun uncle Marty snapping this photo at my grandmother’s house in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey. He was a steelworker, spending his days hundreds of feet in the air on bridges around New York City.
From left to right, that’s me, my mom, my grandmother and my aunt Evelyn. There was always a party at Granny’s house. Singing, dancing, laughter. I can still hear her belting out Patsy Cline like it was yesterday. Gosh, I miss her, and my mom so very much.
LOGGING OUT …
🍪 Why is it so easy to track Santa on Christmas Eve? Because he always accepts cookies. (It’s ok if you use this one and not give me credit!)
The answer: A) NORAD. Yes, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. When Ian and I called, one of Santa’s “engineers” got on the line and said, “I see Santa approaching Phoenix in 62 minutes. You should head to bed right now.” That was all it took. Ian didn’t argue. Not one bit.
Since 1958, NORAD has been tracking Santa’s sleigh every Dec. 24, and it’s been a tradition in our home ever since Ian was born. Even now, we still check in to see where Santa is along his journey. It never gets old.
🎅 Pass this list of ways to track Santa to anyone in your circle with kiddos at home. They’ll owe you big-time.
On Dec. 24, dial 1‑877‑HI‑NORAD. Someone will answer and tell your family where Santa is located.
Hit the website noradsanta.org for fun games, a countdown, 3D tracking maps
and Santa cam videos.Have an Echo? Say, “Alexa, ask NORAD Tracks Santa where Santa is.” Easy!
A lot of people don’t know about Rudolph’s wife, Olive. But she’s mentioned in the song: “Olive, the other reindeer.” (lol)
Tonight, as the world slows down and the lights twinkle a little brighter, I hope you find yourself exactly where you’re meant to be, surrounded by the people, the music, and the simple magic that makes this night feel like no other. Merry Christmas Eve.— Kim
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Photo credit(s): Gemini, Amazon, Kim Komando
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