Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian's father Chris reveals how he cut down budget on Christmas in unique way

Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian's father, Chris has shared a unique Christmas tradition of taking his family to cut a tree from the farm for substantiality. The co-founder of Reddit and investor in several brands welcomed his father Chris on an episode of the Business Grandpa Podcast. While touching on several topics, the father-son duo discussed a unique Christmas ritual that Chris encouraged the family to engage in.

When Ohanian asked Chris about the reason he took his family from the city to a farm to cut their own Christmas tree, he shared:

"We moved to Maryland from New York City in October of '86 and so in short order, within four or five, six weeks, it was time you had a Christmas tree. And once I realized you could go to these farms, cut your own and get a really substantial looking tree much cheaper than what we were paying in New York City, for trees from a greengrocer as I previously mentioned, might not have a long lifespan. You're getting a really fresh tree that you've cut yourself." [06:00]

Chris added:

"I was like, 'Oh my god,' you know, 'I know I'm looking somewhere different than Manhattan or Brooklyn or Queens. So it was a fun outing, a little bit of an adventure I've always enjoyed the Christmas holiday for the most part. Christmas can be a mixed bag of emotions with expectations et cetera, particularly for children. And getting of the tree, setting it up, the trimming of it I always thought was one of the more enjoyable."

Serena Williams's husband gets his business mindset from his father, who worked as a business owner and a travel agent.

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Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian receives parental guidelines from his father Chris

Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian speaking at Sportico's Invest in Sports New York - (Source: Getty)

Now a $150-million valued entrepreneur, Serena Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian started humbly by working at Pizza Hut, even doing odd jobs like washing dishes and helping with cooking. Besides asking for his father's opinion about his career choices, he also wished for parental guidelines for raising their daughters, Olympia and Adira.

In the Business Grandpa Podcast episode mentioned above, Chris lauded his son for his dedication during his teenage years and highlighted the importance of being calm with his kids:

"I can tell you something in this case. I remember when you were to pizza. That was a great job for a teenager. You know they (kids) will come up with something and certainly your response as a parent could go off and you would say, 'I don't know what the hell you're thinking about.'

And obviously, the kids are gonna receive it like, 'Oh god,' and then they wanna go in the opposite direction. So see you try to not be too strong in a negative way, even if you might feel that, you try to survive through it." [41:45]

The tennis star's husband has been a lead investor in several business ventures, especially supporting women in the sporting domain. His newest brainchild, Athlos, hosted its debut track event in September 2024.