Merry Christmas Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,016 words…3.8 mins
🗞 Today’s Special Edition: Presidential Christmas Tales from the White House, A Royal Christmas Duet, Putin’s Christmas Note To Trump, NORAD Tracks Santa - Mar-a-Lago Edition, Nvidia Swallows Groq
Wishing you all joy, happiness and a very Merry Christmas!!
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Left: The first official White House Christmas tree (1889); Right: Firefighters fighting the fire in 1929
🎄Mischief and Mercy – Presidential Christmas Tales from the White House
Behind the grand columns and historic halls, American Presidents and their families have woven joy, rebellion, and even a touch of drama into the season's traditions. These tales remind us that even in the highest office, Christmas is about family, fun, and unexpected surprises.
Here are some of the most fun and memorable Christmas tales from the White House:
❄ Andrew Jackson's Indoor Snowball Fight (1835):
Known as "Old Hickory" for his tough exterior, Jackson hosted a grand "frolic" for his grandchildren, the household children, and even the staff's little ones. The highlight? An epic indoor snowball fight – but with a clever twist: soft cotton balls instead of real snow, to keep the historic floors pristine. Games, dancing, and a lavish dinner followed, turning the executive mansion into a winter wonderland of pure delight.
🎄 The First Official White House Tree (1889):
Fast-forward to 1889, when Benjamin Harrison made history by bringing the first official decorated Christmas tree into the White House. Placed in the Second Floor Oval Room (now the Yellow Oval Room), it glowed with candlelight and sparkled with toys and ornaments, all for the delight of his grandchildren. This sparkling evergreen marked the beginning of a cherished tradition that continues to this day.
🎄 Archie Roosevelt's Secret Christmas Tree (1902):
But not every president embraced the tree right away. Theodore Roosevelt, a passionate conservationist, initially avoided cutting down trees for Christmas decorations and didn't have one in the White House. His young son Archie defied this by sneaking in a small tree, hiding it in an upstairs closet, decorating it with candles and gifts, and surprising the family. TR was amused and allowed it, helping kickstart the modern White House tree tradition.
🧑🚒 Herbert Hoover's Christmas Eve Fire (1929):
During a children's staff party, a fire broke out in the West Wing executive offices. Hoover calmly continued hosting (cigar in hand) while staff and firefighters handled it. No one was hurt, but the party went on with carols overpowering the sirens. The next year, the Hoovers invited the kids back and gifted them miniature wrought-iron replicas of the fire engine that responded.
🦃 Tad Lincoln and the Pardoned Turkey:
And then there's the story that gave us one of our most beloved modern traditions: the presidential turkey pardon. During the Civil War years, Abraham Lincoln's spirited son Tad befriended a turkey named Jack, destined for the Christmas dinner table. When the time came, Tad burst into a cabinet meeting, pleading for the bird's life. Moved by his son's compassion, Lincoln granted an official "pardon" —considered one of the earliest roots of the modern turkey pardon tradition.
💡Bottom line: From cotton snowballs to secret trees, from flickering candles to spared turkeys, these presidential Christmases show how the holidays have brought light – and a little mischief – to the nation's highest home. May these stories inspire your own traditions as we close out another festive season.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte delivering a surprise mother-daughter piano duet for Christmas
🎹 A Royal Christmas Duet
HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte delivered a surprise mother-daughter piano duet that opened ITV’s Royal Carols: Together at Christmas broadcast on Christmas Eve 2025.
The pair performed a four-hand rendition of “Holm Sound” by Scottish composer Erland Cooper on a Steinway grand at Windsor Castle’s Inner Hall, with Catherine on the left hand and Charlotte on the right.
💡 In a voiceover, Catherine framed Christmas as kindness, connection, and quiet love—a theme echoed hours later as the family appeared together at Sandringham on Christmas Day.
📜 Putin’s Christmas Note to Trump
President Vladimir Putin sent a Christmas telegram to President Donald Trump offering holiday wishes.
The Kremlin confirmed delivery, stressing no phone call or direct talks are planned.
The note lands as Russia reviews U.S. proposals on a Ukraine peace framework
💡Why it matters: Moscow framed the message as routine diplomatic protocol, echoing earlier guidance from aide Yury Ushakov that seasonal greetings remain standard even amid tensions.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
The First Lady and The President fielding calls from kids across the U.S. from Mar-a-Lago
🎅 NORAD Tracks Santa, Mar-a-Lago Edition
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump marked Christmas Eve 2025 by joining NORAD Tracks Santa from Mar-a-Lago, fielding calls from children across the U.S.
The program—now in its 70th year—has tracked Santa’s global journey since 1955, powered by NORAD volunteers and holiday goodwill.
Trump mixed cheer with signature riffs—assuring kids there’d be no “bad Santa,” praising “clean, beautiful coal” to a Kansas caller, and calling a Kindle-seeking 10-year-old “high-I.Q..”
He also tossed in election claims, praised GDP numbers, and joked that a dropped call with service members might have been the work of “the enemy.”
📺 Why it popped: The 20-minute call blitz—Trump on speaker, Melania on headset—went viral across YouTube and major outlets, blending a Cold War–era ritual with modern, unmistakably Trumpian flair.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
💰Nvidia Swallows Groq—Without Buying Groq
Nvidia is spending about $20B—its largest-ever move—to acquire Groq’s AI chip assets, while framing it as a non-exclusive licensing agreement.
Groq’s founders and senior leadership join Nvidia; the company technically lives on, minus key IP.
⚡Groq’s low-latency inference tech, built by ex-Google TPU engineers, plugs straight into Nvidia’s AI factory stack—tightening its grip on real-time AI workloads and neutralizing a rising rival without a formal takeover.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
The NORAD Tracker
NORAD tracks Santa's flight every year. This whimsical tradition began in 1955 when a Sears ad misprinted a "call Santa" phone number, routing kids to a military command center.
The colonel played along, and now NORAD provides real-time "Santa updates" online and by phone.