Reid Hoffman loves AI. So much so that, for Christmas, instead of fuzzy socks or wool sweaters, he gave his friends and family an AI music album.
The LinkedIn cofounder and Greylock partner, who Forbes estimates has a $2.5 billion net worth, recently told Wired he generated silly Christmas songs using AI and pressed them onto records.
“There’s a song on ugly sweaters and all of this kinda stuff,” he said. “As opposed to the ‘Holly, Jolly Christmas,’ you know, something that actually has some humor. Almost like what ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic would do if he was doing a Christmas album.”
To create the Christmas music, Hoffman said he used two different AI agents: one to write the lyrics and another to compose the music.
It’s not clear which AI tool Hoffman used to generated the songs. His current firm, Greylock, doesn’t list any of the major music-generating apps — like Suno, Udio, or AIVA — in its investment portfolio.
But, whichever tool he used, Hoffman said he was impressed by the result.
He said he told everyone who received the gift that it was AI, but when he played it for his wife, she couldn’t tell it was computer-generated.
The Christmas surprise comes as Hoffman has been talking about AI while promoting a new book published with journalist Greg Beato titled “Superagency: What Could Possibly Go Right with Our AI Future.”
In it, the two argue that AI doesn’t need to be a dystopian technology destined to displace workers or lead to human extinction, as some more pessimistic about the technology have warned.
Hoffman argues that AI skeptics are falling into the same trap that has gripped tech cynics in the past, including existential complaints during the rollouts of the printing press, electricity, and the internet.
“My push for people is if you are not using AI in a way today that isn’t seriously helpful to you, you are not actually trying hard enough,” he told Wired. “Now, of course it’ll transform jobs, and there’ll be a bunch of pain in that transformation. But the way that you as an individual can avoid that is to be engaged.”
The US is no different, and there are many American traditions that baffle the rest of the world.
Hiding a pickle ornament and drinking eggs are some of the most interesting US Christmas traditions.
Christmas is the time for gift-giving, spending time with family, reflecting on the year, and … running around bars dressed up as a drunk Santa?
Like any other nation, the US has its own holiday traditions that might seem confusing to people from other countries.
We’ve chosen five Christmas traditions that are as American as fireworks on the Fourth of July and turkey on Thanksgiving.
Some Americans hide pickle ornaments in Christmas trees, but no one can really agree on how this tradition got its start.
Pickle ornaments.
Matt McClain for the Washington Post/Getty Images
Many Americans have a pickle ornament for their Christmas tree. Traditionally, the ornament is supposed to be hidden somewhere on the tree, and the first child to find it receives an extra present, but it’s unclear where this tradition started. One website, Why Christmas, points to two potential origin stories.
The first legend goes that two boys were killed by an evil innkeeper, who put their bodies in a pickle barrel, but a passing Saint Nicholas was able to magically revive them.
The other suggests that a German-born soldier in the American Civil War was imprisoned, and begged for one last pickle before he died. A guard took pity on him and gave him a pickle, which miraculously sustained him.
Another theory posits that the pickle ornament got its start in Germany, per The New York Times, though few people there have heard of it. It is more likely that it was a marketing stunt invented by those importing glass decorations from Germany.
Popcorn is another decoration seen on American Christmas trees.
Marie C Fields/Shutterstock
While Christmas trees as we know them are said to have originated in Germany in the 16th century and brought to German settlements in Pennsylvania, the popcorn garland is an American thing.
As Christmas trees were a relatively new idea, people had to get creative with their décor. Apparently, recently transplanted German Americans favored using fruits and nuts, thus turning to popcorn, which was ubiquitous.
Per The Daily Meal, this practice was originally meant to help feed birds during harsh winters.
However, the rest of the world might have a hard time understanding why everyone’s favorite movie theater snack would appear on a Christmas tree.
Drinking egg yolks is an American tradition that people from other parts of the world just don’t understand.
Eggnog.
NSC Photography/Shutterstock
According to The Spruce Eats, eggnog has its roots in posset, a punch with ale, raw eggs, and figs, served warm. British monks drank posset all the way back in the 13th century.
It eventually crossed over to America, where it was renamed eggnog. Its first known use dates back to 1775, according to Merriam-Webster.
Eggnog typically consists of egg yolks beaten with sugar, milk, and/or cream and your choice of alcohol. Rum, whiskey, and sherry are all acceptable options.
While eggnog might not seem that strange to Americans — even George Washington had his own recipe — it’s a hard sell to the rest of the world, who might not find drinking eggs appetizing, let alone when mixed with rum.
Getting drunk dressed as Santa is one festivity that’s spread to other parts of the world.
REUTERS/Seth Wenig
SantaCon’s roots are believed to be in ’70s Danish performance art, according to Vox, but it eventually crossed over to San Francisco in the ’90s, as a protest called Santarchy.
A secret society called the San Francisco Suicide Club was dedicated to pranking the city and generally causing chaos for fun. One of their events, Santarchy, began with members dressing as Santa, sneaking into bars and parties, and inciting mayhem.
Over the years, it became a giant pub crawl. One of the biggest SantaCons takes place in New York City every year, and has been advertised as a charity event.
According to Newsweek, the NYC SantaCon raised over $400,000 in the five years leading up to 2018 by asking participants for donations. The money goes to charities across the city, such City Harvest, The Secret Sandy Claus Project, and The Food Bank for New York City.
Mostly, though, it’s a drunken, debaucherously good time.
Raging bonfires help Santa find his way to homes in Louisiana.
Fireworks explode over a row of fires during the Festival of the Bonfires December 24, 2005 in Lutcher, Louisiana. It is said in Louisiana that the fires from the Cajun tradition help show Santa Claus the way to homes in the area on Christmas Eve.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Christmas bonfires are a Christmas Eve tradition in Louisiana, where tree-shaped bonfires are lit up on the levees that keep the Mississippi River under control.
It’s a Cajun tradition, Cajuns being the descendants of French Canadians driven from French colonies in Canada by the British in the 18th century. The bonfires are said to help Papa Noel (Santa Claus) find his way in the dark.
Hundreds of raging fires up and down the Mississippi River might not be everyone’s idea of an idyllic Christmas Eve.
When my kids were little, we embraced the magic of Santa Claus. Christmas morning meant lots of presents to unwrap, some from mom and dad, and plenty from Santa. Still, we valued giving our kids experiences, as well. When grandparents and other relatives asked for holiday gift ideas for our kids, we’d always suggest things like a membership to our local zoo or movie theater gift certificates — gifts that would provide us with time together as a family instead of sending more stuff into our house.
Our gifting style changed when my kids stopped believing in Santa. Sure, we’d give our kids a few actual presents to open on Christmas morning, but we also upped the emphasis on choosing experiences over gifts. From cruises to road trips, we started turning our focus to what we could do together to create memories over the holiday season, away from material things.
We give our kids experiences, but they still get a few things from their wish lists
The author’s kids have always gotten gifts, but over the years, they’ve gotten fewer presents and more experiences.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
My teenagers are now 15 and 17, and while they look forward to the items from their Christmas list that do end up under our tree, they also like finding things to experience together as a family. And it’s not always the gift of travel we bestow upon them; there’s also magic and memories to be found in the things we do together at home.
As my kids have gotten older, they’ve begun to appreciate our holiday traditions, such as assembling gingerbread houses, hopping in the car to see Christmas lights, and going to a holiday-themed theater production together just as much as they appreciate a new pair of sneakers or a video game on Christmas morning.
Travel is one of the experiences we most love giving our teens
The author enjoys traveling with her family as part of their holiday gift.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
Still, travel remains a gift we love giving to our kids over the holidays. This year’s holiday trip was a trek from our home in Florida to New York City, where we stayed in a hotel within walking distance of Central Park and Times Square, saw a Broadway show every night, and ate some seriously good NYC treats all over the city.
In past years, we’ve gone on a 10-day cruise around the Caribbean and taken a 3-hour road trip to spend a few days exploring Miami. Wherever we go and however we get there, traveling helps us tuck away cherished memories of time together, and hopefully, it will teach my kids how important it is to experience the world with people you love.
We also consider holiday-season day trips part of our kids’ Christmas gifts
They also do day trips, including the holiday show at Universal Orlando.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
Living in Central Florida, we have lots of great day trip options, too. Often, we go on the same adventures every single year, like heading to Universal Orlando to see their Grinch-themed holiday stage show or taking a drive to do an airboat ride (a very Florida way to see nature, waterways, and yes, alligators). On these trips, we often let them bring a friend or partner along for the day, teaching them to choose time together with the people they love over spending a lot of money on gifts.
In fact, I was touched this year when my son was telling me the things he’s planning to get his girlfriend for their first Christmas together. Sure, there were some very sweet presents in the mix, but he also asked for my help in presenting her with the gift of an experience they can do together after the holidays. Seeing them pay our family traditions forward in their own ways is pretty heart-warming.
I’m so happy my family simply enjoys being together over the holidays
The author’s kids enjoy spending time with each other and their parents over the holidays.
Courtesy of Terri Peters
My teens truly seem to love our family tradition of focusing on experiences more than presents during the holidays. Not only has it built us a treasure trove of memories (and family photos) throughout the years, but it’s given them a solid foundation of understanding that life isn’t about getting the next big material possession on your wish list; it’s about experiencing everything life has to offer with the people you care about most.
As a mom, I love seeing my kids open the gifts I’ve picked out for them on Christmas morning just as much as the next parent. Still, I’m OK with there being fewer presents under the tree as long as I know we truly enjoyed one another’s presence during the holiday season.
As Christmas approaches, Walmart is giving shoppers something pretty much everyone can use: a little more time.
Imagine you’re just arriving to Christmas Eve dinner with your in-laws and your niece says she’s been wanting a talking plush Bluey doll.
You find it in your Walmart app, place the order in a tap, and by the time dessert is ready, your gift is at the doorstep. (You can even get the whipped cream you forgot to bring for the pie, too.)
Such last-minute shopping options are becoming increasingly possible as major retailers make a big push into ultrafast delivery.
Case in point: Walmart told Business Insider exclusively that its shoppers will be able to place store-fulfilled express delivery orders as late as 5 p.m. local time on Christmas Eve — a full hour later than last year.
“More people are using Express Delivery to get their items faster, and December is when it truly shines,” Walmart’s chief e-commerce officer David Guggina said in a statement. “No one delivers for customers like Walmart, from the first Holiday deal to the final gift on Christmas Eve.”
The retail giant can now reach 95% of US households in three hours or less, and the company has said that more than a third of shoppers opt to pay extra for three-hour-or-less delivery.
Those express delivery numbers jump by 2.5X in December compared with the year’s average, the company said.
The company also told Business Insider that it recently rolled out a new “Get it Now” option in the Walmart app, which shows shoppers an estimated number of minutes to receive an item, and lets them place the order in one tap.
Walmart said earlier this month that it fulfilled its fastest Black Friday order in 10 minutes, with big increases in both the volume and speed of deliveries fulfilled from its stores.
But Walmart isn’t the only player in the ultrafast delivery game: Amazon and Target are also racing to offer last-minute fulfillment options on Christmas Eve.
Target says customers can get orders within two hours via curbside or in-store pickup, or opt for same-day delivery for a $9.99 fee, with stores closing at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
And Amazon will show an “Arrives before Christmas” message on items that can be delivered as late as Christmas Eve via delivery or one of the company’s 25,000 pickup locations.
Correction, December 9, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated the delivery category that more than a third of Walmart shoppers opt to pay for — it is three-hours-or-less delivery.
