As of this writing, there are three prevailing theories about the “Santa Is Cu…” cliffhanger:
In a recent Instagram Live, when a fan asked, “Will you ever tell us what Santa is?” Zimmery simply smiled, held up a candy cane, and said: “Ask not my grandpa.”
Then she ended the stream.
It started as a throwaway line in a skit about awkward family holiday dinners. In the video, Zoey is seated next to a man in a red sweater with a white beard—classic Santa archetype. The family whispers, "Go sit on Santa’s lap." Zoey turns to the camera, deadpan, and says, "Not my grandpa. We don’t claim him."
The comment section exploded.
Why? Because Zoey tapped into a specific, unspoken anxiety of the modern holiday season: the de-sanctification of the Santa figure. For older generations, Santa is a deity of joy. For Zoey Zimmer’s audience (20-somethings navigating life, dating apps, and student debt), Santa is a stranger who breaks into your house.
"Not my grandpa" became a battle cry for distancing oneself from awkward, obligatory family performances. It’s about setting boundaries. It’s the lifestyle equivalent of saying, "I love you, but I’m not hugging you if you haven’t gotten a flu shot." Zoey Zimmer reframed the debate: Just because someone wears the red suit and has the beard doesn’t mean he gets the keys to the kingdom. Not My Grandpa - Zoey Zimmer - Santa Cock Is Cu...
So, how does one actually live out the "Not My Grandpa / Santa Is Cuffing Season" lifestyle without alienating their entire family? Zoey offers a three-step guide in her paid newsletter (excerpted here with permission):
1. The Decorative Detachment Take the "grandpa" out of your aesthetic. Toss the needlepoint stockings. Burn the ceramic gnomes. Zoey’s lifestyle line (launching this November) features "Cuffing Season" ornaments: Santa handcuffs, a man in a red suit holding a martini, and a Christmas tree shaped like a bicep. "You can honor the vibe without honoring the blood relation," she says.
2. The Dialogue When your actual Grandpa asks why you didn’t sit on the mall Santa’s lap, Zoey recommends the "Smile and Redirect." Say: "I’m saving myself for the real Santa, Grandpa. The one who delivers after midnight." Your grandpa will be confused. Your cousins will high-five you.
3. The Entertainment Diet Zoey curates a "Not My Grandpa" watchlist: Die Hard (Santa is a hostage, not a hero), Bad Santa (the authentic anti-grandpa), and The Night Before (Seth Rogen as the reindeer). For the "Cuffing Season" vibe, she recommends Love Actually (but only the parts with the porn body doubles) and literally any Hallmark movie where Santa is played by an actor under 40.
Just when you thought you understood the “Not My Grandpa” universe, a new clip emerged. In it, Chloe (Zoey Zimmer) is sitting by a fireplace, holding a half-empty mug of hot cocoa. She leans toward the camera and begins to say:
“Santa is cu—”
Then, the video cuts out. The word is never finished.
What was she going to say?
The internet erupted. Entertainment blogs called it “the Lost finale of TikTok.” Lifestyle columnists debated whether it was a commentary on the commodification of childhood wonder. Meanwhile, Zoey Zimmer has remained silent on the phrase—except for one cryptic post: a photo of a letter addressed to “The North Pole,” signed “Not His Granddaughter.”
The incomplete sentence “Santa Is Cu…” has become the ultimate Rorschach test for holiday entertainment. Gen Z uses it to mock the over-commercialization of Christmas. Millennials use it to express existential dread about becoming their parents. Boomers, confused, simply ask “Cu… what? Cupid?”
Unlike many viral stars who shy away from the chaos, Zoey Zimmer (23, NYU Tisch graduate, and self-described “therapist of the family”) has leaned in. In a rare lifestyle interview this week with Vulture’s entertainment vertical, Zimmer explained that she started posting as her character Chloe full-time on a burner account called @notmygrandpa_official.
“The line was supposed to be about found family and grief,” Zimmer said, laughing over Zoom from her Brooklyn apartment, which she has decorated with a Franken-tree (half Christmas, half Hanukkah). “But then someone edited my face onto the Grinch, and I thought, Oh, this is the role I was meant for.” As of this writing, there are three prevailing
Zimmer’s genius move was to stay in character. For the past month, her TikTok feed has consisted of Chloe navigating the holidays:
The result is a masterclass in character-driven lifestyle content. Zimmer has blurred the line between a one-off indie film role and a persistent, interactive holiday persona. She is not playing Zoey. She is Chloe, the girl with a fake grandpa and very real holiday trauma.
And that brings us to the third, most confounding piece of the puzzle.
By [Author Name] – Lifestyle & Entertainment Editor
Every holiday season, the entertainment industry tries to predict the next viral moment. Will it be a Mariah Carey resurgence? A heartwarming Hallmark trope? In 2024, however, the universe delivered something far stranger and far more brilliant: a blend of deadpan Gen Z satire, a fictional grandfather named “Not My Grandpa,” actress Zoey Zimmer, and a fragmented meme simply known as “Santa Is Cu…”
If you have scrolled through TikTok, Instagram Reels, or even X (formerly Twitter) in the last 72 hours, you have seen the face. You have heard the line. But unless you are deeply embedded in the lifestyle corner of the internet where irony meets genuine emotional storytelling, you might be asking: What is actually happening? In a recent Instagram Live, when a fan
Let’s break down the three pillars of this bizarre, heartwarming, and utterly addictive new piece of holiday pop culture.