Some users with brand-new affordable Apple Watch and HomePod variants have encountered difficulty in their set-up or configuration while trying to connect them to their personal or home systems. This is thought (somewhat understandably) to a seasonal overload of the OEM's servers, although the timing is still a bit unfortunate.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/New-Apple-Watch-SE-and-HomePod-Mini-owners-report-a-Christmas-Day-2020-set-up-failure-in-their-new-devices.512285.0.html