Every December, I’m reminded of something important.
Christmas is remarkably good at absorbing whatever tools the era hands it, without losing its heart.
Candles became fairy lights. Letters became emails. Phone calls became video calls. And now AI, apps and algorithms are quietly finding their way into stockings, rituals and family traditions.
This week on Radio 3 Hong Kong, Phil Whelan and I are having a light-hearted, curious look at some of the more playful, unexpected and genuinely charming ways technology is showing up around Christmas. Nothing heavy. Nothing breathless. Just small, human signals that make you smile.
For listeners who asked, here’s the full list with links, names and a little extra context.
Grab a cuppa. Or something stronger. It is Christmas, after all.
1. NORAD Santa Tracker
The original Christmas tech ritual. A Cold War defence system turned into a global bedtime story. Kids track Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve, parents track nostalgia, and the rest of us marvel at how something so old-school still works so beautifully.
2. AI-Generated Letters From Santa
👉 https://www.celebrateally.com/christmas/letter-from-santa
Parents enter a few details and Santa writes back with uncanny specificity. Favourite toy, pet’s name, school year. Magical for kids. Mildly unsettling for adults. A very modern Christmas paradox.
3. “Talk to Santa” AI Chatbots
👉 Available on the App Store and Google Play (search “Talk to Santa AI”)
Kids can ask Santa questions in real time. About reindeer, presents, or whether broccoli is still compulsory. It’s less about belief now, more about shared theatre.
4. Live AI Santa Video Chats
A real-time AI Santa you can actually talk to. Multiple languages. Very polished. Perfect for families spread across time zones.
5. AskSanta.ai Gift Suggestions
Not sure what to buy? Ask Santa. AI-driven gift ideas based on interests, age and budget. Helpful, fast, and far less stressful than wandering a shopping centre on Christmas Eve.
6. Elfster (Digital Secret Santa)
Secret Santa without the paper scraps and confusion. Wish lists, anonymous questions, reminders. It’s been around for years and quietly solves a lot of festive friction.
7. AI-Curated Christmas Playlists
👉 Spotify or Apple Music
Instead of “Best Christmas Songs Ever”, you now get playlists tuned to moods like “cosy but not sad” or “background while cooking”. Christmas music becomes emotional infrastructure.
8. Algorithm-Picked Christmas Movies
👉 Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+
Let the platform choose the movie that fits your evening. Sometimes it’s cheesy. Sometimes it’s perfect. Either way, it saves 40 minutes of scrolling.
9. Virtual Christmas Markets
👉 Found on VR platforms and YouTube (search “virtual Christmas market”)
European Christmas vibes without the airfare. More about atmosphere than shopping, especially popular with expats missing home.
10. Smart Christmas Lights
👉 Philips Hue holiday scenes
Lights that change colour palettes depending on the celebration. Christmas this week, Lunar New Year soon after. Tech quietly adapting to multicultural households.
11. AI Leftover Recipe Generators
👉 Various food apps and websites
Tell the app what’s in your fridge and it suggests something edible, festive and vaguely impressive. Less waste, more creativity, fewer arguments.
12. Christmas Spending Dashboards
👉 Most major banking apps
Real-time “festive blowout” tracking. Helpful, slightly guilt-inducing, very 2025.
13. Digital Christmas Cards
👉 Various e-card platforms
Animated, narrated, sometimes AI-generated. Less bragging, more vibe. The Christmas letter becomes a mood update.
14. Santa Filters and AR Effects
👉 Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok
Kids see cartoon Santa. Adults see a Santa who looks like he’s had a long year and needs a nap. Same myth, different life stage.
15. AI Gift Receipts
👉 Emerging feature in online retail
Receipts that suggest donating, regifting politely, or repurposing. A quiet rise in post-gift ethics.
16. Digital Unwrapping Rituals
👉 Zoom, FaceTime, WhatsApp
Families opening gifts together across borders. The wrapping paper matters less than the shared moment.
17. Christmas Wellbeing Prompts
👉 Headspace, Calm
Not meditation marathons. Just gentle nudges like “step outside” or “you’re allowed to leave early”. A very modern form of self-care.
18. AI Translation for Christmas Messages
👉 Google Translate and AI language tools
Helping families send messages that feel warm, not robotic, across languages and cultures.
19. Personalised Family Trivia
👉 Kahoot, Quizlet
Turn family history into a game. “Who burnt the turkey in 2018?” Technology as memory-keeper.
20. Digital Memorial Candles
👉 Various online memorial sites
Quiet spaces to remember those not at the table this year. One of the most tender uses of technology I’ve seen.
A Small Human Signal Beneath It All
Globally, around 130 million babies are born each year, yet many countries, including Hong Kong and Australia, are seeing fewer children per family. Families are smaller. More spread out. More mobile.
So it makes sense that Christmas technology is less about novelty and more about coordination, connection and care.
The tech is louder.
The rituals are softer.
And the real focus hasn’t changed at all.
Thank You, and Merry Christmas
A big thank you to Phil Whelan and everyone at Radio 3 Hong Kong for another year of curious, generous conversations.
And to listeners, readers and those who’ve stopped me in airports, inboxes and cafes this year to say “I heard you on radio” or “that made me think” — thank you. That matters more than you know.
However you’re celebrating, I hope your Christmas has enough laughter, enough quiet, and just enough surprise.
Merry Christmas, and here’s to choosing forward together in 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What does the arrival of AI in festive traditions reveal about the pace of cultural change?
That technology adoption no longer stops at the boundary of cultural ritual. Traditions that seemed immutable — the handwritten card, the family photograph album, the personally chosen gift — are being augmented or replaced by AI-assisted alternatives faster than the cultural conversation about whether that is desirable has been able to develop. This is not unique to AI; it is the pattern of every major communication technology — photography, recorded music, digital messaging — each of which arrived in the middle of existing cultural practices and changed them before the culture had decided whether to welcome the change.
Q: Is there something lost when AI assists with the most personal aspects of festive communication?
The question is worth sitting with, rather than answering quickly in either direction. The handwritten card had meaning partly because of the effort it represented — the time taken, the personal selection, the imperfect handwriting. An AI-generated message can be more eloquent and more personalised in its content than most handwritten alternatives, but it represents a different kind of effort. Whether that difference is meaningful depends on what we believe communication between people is fundamentally for — the efficient transmission of sentiment, or the expression of the time and attention given to another person. Both are legitimate values; they produce different answers.
Q: What does this moment in festive technology reveal about the broader human-AI relationship?
That the questions about AI are ultimately questions about human values — about what we want to preserve, what we are willing to delegate, and where the boundaries of genuine human presence lie. The festive season concentrates these questions because it is a period specifically designed to express human connection. The choices people make about how to use AI in their most personal communications are a reasonable proxy for the choices they will make in their professional and civic lives as AI capability continues to advance.
Q: Can Morris Misel speak on AI and human values, technology and cultural change, and what the arrival of AI reveals about what we care about for your leadership, association, or community audience?
Yes. AI and human values are core keynote topics for any audience navigating technology change. Book at morrismisel.com.
