My granddad had a white beard, so he was designated the family Santa every year.
He dressed up in the cheapest dollar-store Santa suit — made of some shiny red plastic material — with an ill-fitting fake beard that drooped because the elastic had stretched. He used a black trash bag as a sack.
Even when I was 6 years old, I knew it was him, but I had to pretend otherwise for the sake of my younger brothers (who now dubiously claim that they, too, knew it was him all along).
One year, the charade went horribly wrong when granddad unexpectedly burst into the living room in his crinkly red suit and petrified one of my brothers, who peed himself in terror, poor thing.
I just texted my brothers, asking which one wet himself, and one replied: "Obviously it was YOU."
If you have little ones — or are still young at heart — you can track Santa as he traverses the globe, courtesy of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, aka NORAD.
There are a few options, and the animated tracker — with video of Santa — is quite charming, despite originating from inside the recently renamed Department of War. The back story is interesting, too.
Here’s how to track Santa on all your Apple devices.
Also in today’s newsletter:
A few years ago, desperate to post something — anything! — on the Cult of Mac website during the Xmas lull, one of our writers wrote a festive poem about Apple Park. The rhymes are painfully forced, but that’s part of the fun!
These are the best shows on Apple TV in 2025. I can concur that Seth Rogen’s The Studio is a riot and is genuinely very funny. And Lee Pace as the baddie in Foundation is a performance for the ages.
Happy holidays, everyone! I hope everyone has a great and festive break!
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
A message from the Cult of Mac Deals team
Cult of Mac’s buyback program
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Tweets of the day
Wallpaper of the day
One more thing ...
If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there’s room to hear more subtle things – that’s when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It’s a discipline; you have to practice it.
Today’s poll
Did you ever piss yourself when you saw Santa?
Results from yesterday’s poll: Is easy earbud pairing EU "meddling" or good for consumers?
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