October Christmas Party - 2 Months Until Christmas 2026

[00:00:02] [SPEAKER_05] This is a Bramble Jam Podcast.

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_04] I'm from the North Pole. It's time for Christmas Morning, the daily show where every day is Christmas. Here are your hosts, Bran and...

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_05] Well, well, well, hello everybody and Merry Christmas. It's great to be here today on the 25th of October for our final Christmas party episode of the year, which sounds sad until you realize that it's about to be an everyday party, Scotty.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, there's gonna be plenty of Brian and Scott to go around so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[00:00:54] [SPEAKER_05] That's right. Don't worry. Don't worry. But we are also very lucky today, Scotty, because Shannon is once again joining us. Hello, Shannon.

[00:01:03] [SPEAKER_02] Hello, guys. Welcome to having me.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_05] Welcome to having you. Yes.

[00:01:10] [SPEAKER_03] It's great to see you, Shannon. And I did not screw up this month and give you about 11 minutes notice to record. So we are thrilled to have you here.

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_02] No, it's okay. It's okay. I'm a little under the weather. So I may say things that don't make sense. Like, welcome to having me. Welcome to having me.

[00:01:26] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, sponsored by NyQuil.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_02] DayQuil.

[00:01:28] [SPEAKER_05] Yeah, that's why I say things sometimes that don't make sense. It has nothing to do with just not being good at talking. You should try our new DayQuil Kringle. That's right. No, I think Kringle is the perfect. Like you do your DayQuil, you eat a Kringle, you have yourself a real good day.

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_03] And Shannon, I have a Kringle here for you in the freezer.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_02] Oh my gosh, you're amazing. I just put an order in last night and because I could not decide. So I decided to get the single serve pack of holiday special Kringles.

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_05] There you go. That's the way to do it. That's what I'm saying.

[00:02:09] [SPEAKER_02] And I'm gonna be able to try like all the delicious Santa Cinnaberry. Yes, right. I don't know. Like there's a bunch of them. Pecan.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_05] And you use the promo code CMOCT26 to get 10% off that entire order. I sure did. I sure did. Absolutely. Yeah. So you're about to be real good is what you're saying.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_02] 100%. 100% better.

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_05] Scotty, we got a lot to get to today, but I think none more important than the countdown. Yeah, let's do the countdown. Two months until Christmas!

[00:02:45] [SPEAKER_03] I mean, ain't nothing wrong with that. No, two months is great. And Shannon and I have not gone around Denver looking at all of the Christmas stuff. No. We've never done that before, so I don't know why we would start now. But one of the things that I have as a tradition every year is I go visit Shannon at the Christkindle Market. And I hope you're doing that again this year, Shannon.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_02] I will be there.

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_05] Fantastic. There you go. I got this thing back out. It was on my other desk that I don't use as much anymore, but this...

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_03] Oh, the countdown calendar that was made for us. Yeah, that's gorgeous.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_05] Real nice wood. It's great. I love this. Oh, fantastic. We got a... The mailbag, Scotty, is pretty darn full, which is exciting because that means people are listening and that they're excited about Christmas. So should we see what the people are saying?

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_03] You know what's difficult about this for me is I'm an inbox zero guy. I always leave my inbox empty. Sure. But when we get emails throughout the month for the party episode or the upcoming Halloween evening episode, I leave those. I don't move them. I guess I could, but I'm hunting around and I sometimes miss things. So it's great when we have the party episode because it gets all of those things out and onto paper. So, yes, we have a nice episode today.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_03] It's not going to be quite as long as some of our earlier party episodes, but we also have a Halloween episode coming next week. So don't worry. There's plenty of us to go around. Shannon, would you mind reading our first email from Mike, Big Spectacle True Lock? Sure.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_02] Merry Christmas, Brandon, Scott, and the other merrymakers at Christmas morning. I remember hearing from a previous episode of Christmas morning that you guys brought up board games, more specifically Christmas versions of Monopoly. One thing that you guys need to know about me, Sunday night is game night. I head over to my best friend's house, not a Christmas enthusiast, Tsk Tsk, who has transformed his basement into a game room.

[00:04:41] [SPEAKER_02] And inside the game room are shelves of board and card games, an estimated total of 50 games.

[00:04:47] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, those take up space too. That's an undertaking. Once you start collecting, Brandon, it's a slippery slope.

[00:04:53] [SPEAKER_02] One of those games was a gift to me that has become my favorite of the bunch. And it's one that we play from September to January. The game is called Santa's Workshop by Rio Grande Games, featuring the art of Keith Ferguson. The goal of the game is as follows. It's December 16th and you have a team of elves that has to make toys to get them on Santa's sleigh. Players of the game, two to five players, has to take turns, one elf at a time, to collect coal, to transform it into materials,

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_02] and collect assembly tokens to make requested toys from the mail room. You can also have individual elves to attend classes to enhance their skills and attend to the reindeer for bonuses.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_06] Mm.

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_02] Every three days, you turn in your assembled toys to collect the cookie reward promised on the toy request. When you reach the 24th of December, Christmas Eve, and you turn in the last of your completed toys, the player with the most cookies wins. If you get a chance, grab this game. It's a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the game is out of print and the only place I found it available is eBay. Pictures of the game are included. Way to bury the lead!

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_05] I know, you really set this up. I was gonna buy it.

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_02] Grab this game if you get a chance, but it's not available.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_05] Let me tell you why everyone should get this game. You can't get it.

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_03] I put the photos that Mike sent us on Instagram so you could check them out. I did look online. If you go to Board Game Geek, or just search the name of this game, you can find pictures of it, and you can find reviews, and you can even find YouTube videos of people playing it if you want to check it out. I really like the artwork. Yeah, it's very cool. When I first saw the email from Mike, I thought it was Clue, because the board game kind of has a multi-room feel where it looks like Clue. But if you look closely, it's not like that at all. I enjoyed what Mike had to say. I didn't watch any gameplay videos.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_03] I might watch it this weekend or something when I'm trying to fall asleep. I like that idea that you turn coal into toys, Bran. That's fun.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_05] I'm looking at some of these pictures, man. This is a cool-looking game.

[00:06:51] [SPEAKER_03] It's got fun art. I would love to play this with Mike. That would be so fun. Me, you, Mike, Shannon, that's a good day. We could do this at Bramble Fest.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_02] I am not a big, like, a lot of the geeky games, I guess you would say. Like, the stuff that's really in-depth are, like, not my thing. Oh, yeah. I just don't have the attention span. But this, this would be fun.

[00:07:11] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, my brain doesn't do well with, like, explaining rules for 15 minutes. Uh-uh. Like, you know, it's like the old 1930s cartoons running through my head while someone is explaining rules to me.

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_05] I'm so thankful that, like, people started doing the instructions, like, on YouTube. Yes. Where you can, like, and see it. It helps me so much more than just, like...

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_03] I have a terrible time sitting down with a page of rules and trying to turn that into something. Yeah. Well, I do want to check this thing out. I did see that there are some used copies available. And they looked reasonably priced. They were under, like, $40 or $50. So if you really wanted one, you can pick one up. And it might be something fun for kids.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_06] Yeah.

[00:07:49] [SPEAKER_03] Well, I mean, adults too. But I do think kids could play it is the point. It's not like Settlers of Catan or something where a kid wouldn't be into it.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER_05] I think it's cool. Absolutely.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_03] So thank you for sending this, Mike. I had no idea this even existed. And this actually leads into our next email, but it's not really an email because it's from me.

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_05] Yeah. I like that you put this in the notes, Scotty, and you said, from Scott, in parentheses, me. Just in case.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_03] I was on Instagram, doomscrolling as I normally do. As you do. And I came across an ad for a game called Spirits of Christmas. And it was a Christmas Carol themed game. And that really caught my attention. And the thing that really caught my attention is that it's for one to four players. So you can play it solo. And Shannon, you know me. I don't have a lot of people over my house besides you and my family. So being able to play it myself was big. So I reached out and said, hey, this looks really neat.

[00:08:44] [SPEAKER_03] And they graciously sent me a review copy. Oh, he's an influencer, folks. I recorded this as an audio segment because I want to send it to Jack at the Total Christmas podcast because he does his What the Dickens segment on almost every episode. And the game is a lot of fun. And I wanted to spread the love a little bit. So here's my review of the game. I was scrolling through Instagram recently and saw an ad for a Christmas Carol themed game called Spirits of Christmas by Humble Bard Games. It caught my eye.

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_03] So I reached out to them and they generously offered me a review copy. So when I tell people that I like to play solo games, they usually ask, why would you want to play a board game alone? For me, it's the same reason that I might play solitaire. It keeps my hands busy and my brain just engaged enough. I also can't sit still during Hallmark Christmas movies and I get antsy sitting there and just staring at the TV. So last night I watched Never Kiss a Man in a Christmas Sweater while I played Spirits of Christmas.

[00:09:42] [SPEAKER_03] A quick note, the game can be played with one to four people, but I only played the solo variant. There are some great YouTube videos out there if you want to see how it plays with more people. When you play the game, you'll have this row of eight scene cards for each of the three chapters of the book. These scene cards are made up of shadow scene and utility cards. Scrooge's bedroom card sits in the middle above this row and the goal is to move Scrooge

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_03] along the row and play matching virtue cards in your hand to clear all the shadow scenes before you run out of shillings or legal moves. Once you clear all the shadow scene cards, you can move on to the next game chapter. You start the game with 15 shillings and five spirit cards that have one of three virtues printed on it. Compassion, charity, and contentment. There's also a number on the top of the spirit card that says how many spaces you can move when you play that card.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_03] And by the way, it's 15 shillings because that was Bob Cratchit's weekly salary and I love that detail. In the middle of the table, there's a circular action wheel called a rondelle. It has four quadrants on it. Move, trade, draw three, and play cards. And there's a little spirit token that sits on the wheel and you slide the token to the action you want to take on your turn. Each action costs you one of your 15 shillings and if you run out of shillings before you complete the chapter, you lose.

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_03] Each turn, you'll choose an action and you'll pay your shilling for it. To move, you pick a virtue card that has the number of spaces you want to move on it. You have to move the full distance written on the card and you can't split the movement or backtrack. And after moving, you have to discard that card. Remember that that row is made up of utility and scene cards. When you land on a shadow scene card, it'll have a mixture of the three virtue icons on it. And you have to match each icon to one of the spirit cards in your hand.

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_03] Once you do, you play those three cards and you flip the shadow scene card over and discard the spirit cards that you used. And hopefully that card that you used for movement didn't also have the virtue that you needed on it because you had to discard it when you moved. The utility cards in the row can get you more shillings or allow you to draw more cards. You'll need to use these to stretch your resources out and clear all the shadow scene cards for the chapter. Besides moving as an action, you'll also be able to draw cards or trade cards with the counting house.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_03] At the end of each chapter, you bank points for the cards you flipped and your leftover shillings. When you finish all three chapters, you add those points up and see where you land on the solo scoring table anywhere from miserly all the way up to father Christmas. The cards themselves are beautifully illustrated with Victorian scenes and quotes from the book. You'll see all the characters you love like Tiny Tim, Cousin Fred and Fezziwig. I do have two tiny gripes.

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_03] One of them is that chapter three in the game is labeled the ghost of Christmas future. Dickens calls that spirit the ghost of Christmas yet to come. I know that I'm an annoying, uh, actually, guy about this point. And I understand that through the Mandela effect, most people just call it the ghost of Christmas future. So it's not that big a deal. The other thing is that the card for Scrooge's fiance is labeled Isabel, but she's never called that in the book. She's always just Bell. To be fair, it was almost certainly short for Isabel, but it's a minor quip.

[00:12:51] [SPEAKER_03] I really enjoyed playing this and I'll definitely be doing it again. You can find the game at humblebard.com and it's currently on sale for $34.99. And they're offering listeners a 15% discount with the code CHRISTMASMORNING, ALL CAPS, ALL ONE WORD. They said they'll also include a special playable promo card that they usually save for special events. Shipping inside the U.S. is $3.99 and it's $6.99 in the UK.

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_03] I want to say a big thanks to HumbleBard Games for, first, for making a great game and for the review copy, and also for the deal that they're offering us. I hope everybody checks it out. Merry Christmas. So a lot of fun. Check it out. And I'll put the link to HumbleBard Games where you can find it in the link section of our website brand. Very cool.

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_05] I'm going to start sending us clips too. I didn't know that was an option. I'm just going to, I'm going to send you like my shopping list. Just play this so that I remember later on to pick up milk.

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_02] Your letter to Santa. How about that?

[00:13:50] [SPEAKER_05] That is actually not a bad idea. We should start putting our letters to Santa.

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_03] Letters to Santa would be a fun thing to read.

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_02] That would be. How about letters to Mrs. Claus?

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_05] Oh, you know what? As we get ready for our dailies, that's not a bad idea. If your child is writing a letter to Santa, of course, mail it off. But maybe before you mail it off, if you're open to us reading it on the show, we'd love to receive those. And maybe that'll help them get what they want from Santa. You know, Santa's a big listener. He calls in every Christmas Eve.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_03] When my daughter would put the letter to Santa in the box at the mall where you go to see Santa, one of us would distract her and then the other would reach back in and grab it so that we could keep it for posterity. So we have a bunch of them. There you go. So, so much fun to look back on.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_02] Do you think Mrs. Claus could be a part of that segment?

[00:14:36] [SPEAKER_03] Mrs. Claus reading, listening. There you go. Things would be, I mean, the show is just coming together. Show prep, folks. This is good.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_02] We don't do much of it. So.

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_05] ChristmasPointingPodcast at gmail.com. This is actually a really good idea. Shannon, could you read our email from Benjamin Hall?

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_02] Sure thing. Hello, Christmas friends. Probably my favorite Christmas season snack is Chex Mix. Ooh. There's lots of recipes out there and I love them all.

[00:15:06] [SPEAKER_03] That wasn't Shannon saying that. That was Benjamin saying that, but I'll agree. I love them all too.

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_02] I personally do love them, but it was Benjamin. My wife got an early jump on the season and made the first batch of Chex Mix already. I figured, what's Chex Mix without some eggnog? Oh. I make my eggnog by the cup in a cocktail shaker. Anyway, it's a Tuesday afternoon in mid-October. I'm three eggnogs and two bowls of Chex Mix in. I'm singing Christmas carols and writing you guys.

[00:15:37] [SPEAKER_03] I love this.

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_02] Here's my one cup shaker recipe for eggnog. Half ounce simple syrup, half ounce maraschino liqueur, two ounces of bourbon or brandy, and one whole egg. Add this to a shaker and dry shake. Add ice and three ounces of milk to the shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a glass, top with ground nutmeg and orange zest. It's a pretty easy recipe to play with and make it your own. Chai concentrate is a tasty addition or maybe some vanilla. Those sound delicious.

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_03] I like this a lot, Shannon, but I do want to give a note here because I read this and I thought, wait a minute, is this safe? And the answer is maybe. So I added a note to our notes here, Shannon, about the safety of this so nobody gets sick and emails us. Could you read the safety note?

[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_02] The main safety issue is the raw egg. This recipe uses a whole egg that never gets cooked. So the risk is salmonella. It's low for any single egg, but it is real and it matters more for pregnant people, young children, older adults, and anyone immunocompromised. The two ounces of liquor in a single serving is nowhere near enough to reliably kill bacteria. The alcohol sterilizes eggnog idea only holds up for batches that age for weeks at fairly high proof. And even then the evidence is mixed. May I input something? You know, they do.

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_03] Absolutely. You are the official mixologist of the Christmas morning podcast.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_02] You could get an egg replacement. It's called aqua de faba and it is made from chickpeas.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_03] Made from chickpea? You're not really selling it that hard.

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_02] No, but it's not something you would taste. But it basically does what the egg does is it adds that foam that the egg is giving. But like you also don't have to use a whole egg. You could get a little thing of just the egg white like in a carton. They sell in a carton that a lot of bars use. But yeah, bars often do egg white cocktails. So it should be OK. But I think he's he's suggesting you do the whole egg. So I don't know.

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_03] You can buy pasteurized eggs in the store and do away with the salmonella risk. I'm not making light of it if somebody gets sick from something like that, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. It's probably not going to kill me. I make cold set Bernays sauce with raw egg and I love it. And yeah, I'm taking my life into my own hands.

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_02] Scotty doesn't want to get sued today.

[00:18:00] [SPEAKER_03] You imagine finding Scotty in his chair, half drank eggnog in the cup. Yep. Gone. Christmas blanket on my lap. Movies just playing. He died doing what he loved. Drinking eggnog. That's right.

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_02] Sounds like an episode of mistletoe murders. Am I right, boys?

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, it does. But I do like this idea, Benjamin. Just if you're one of those pregnant people, young children, older adults or anyone immunocompromised, use it your own risk. Otherwise, go nuts, I guess. Or go A. That's right. Or just drink the bourbon. Bourbon and cherry is wonderful together, I'll tell you.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_05] Throw it back.

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:18:33] [SPEAKER_05] I do like going to liquor stores this time of year. Just seeing the fun, the different beverages that they have out.

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_03] I like the gift boxes. Uh-huh. They'll put the glasses and all that stuff together. You could also get eggnog flavored syrup. Yeah. And just add a little cream to your thing and mix it up that way. If you really just want the flavor and not all the work. I totally get it. Yeah. We have an email from Ernie Delasanti and Travel Dad Ernie sent us an audio story about this month's Christmassy place. So let's give it a listen.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_00] Let's go. Hey, Christmas morning people. Travel Dad Ernie Delasanti here. And each party episode, I'll be bringing you a Christmassy place worth putting on your list as Santa. But this month, we have a problem. Today is October 25th. Halloween is six days away. Christmas is two months away. And I'm taking you to a place called Christmas City, USA. Except today? Today they're having a Halloween parade. Yes, Christmas morning people. We have stumbled into a holiday identity crisis. Welcome to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_00] Now, Bethlehem has been doing Christmas for a while. And I mean 1741 while. The town actually had its name on Christmas Eve when the Moravians who settled there named it Bethlehem. So these people didn't just jump on the Christmas bandwagon. They were driving the wagon. Then in 1937, somebody apparently looked around and said, you know, Bethlehem at Christmas isn't quite obvious enough. So it became Christmas City, USA. And Bethlehem is absolutely committed to the bit.

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_00] There's a giant illuminated star of Bethlehem sitting on South Mountain overlooking the city. And when I say giant, it's 91 feet tall. Yes, 91. That's not a Christmas declaration. That's air traffic control. So what do you want it? You're cleared for landing. Jimmy B4. And that's why I love doing Bethlehem today. Because right now, Christmas City, USA belongs to Halloween.

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_00] Today is Bethlehem's annual Halloween parade. So somewhere in Christmas City, you've got witches, ghosts, superheroes, and inflatable dinosaurs marching around. While that giant Bethlehem star is sitting on the mountainside thinking, Enjoy it kids, my shift starts soon. Because once Halloween packs up, Bethlehem goes full Christmas. You've got historic Main Street decorated for the season. Horse-drawn carriage rides. Christmas markets. Moravian stars and candles glowing in the windows.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00] Basically, if somebody accidentally bumps into their high school sweetheart while carrying a cup of cocoa, Well, you know what happens. They even have something called the Live Advent Calendar. Starting on December 1st, people gather downtown every night, a door opens, and there's a new surprise waiting behind it. They made the Advent Calendar life-sized. I'm used to opening little cardboard doors and getting a Lego or a piece of chocolate. Nah, Bethlehem said we're gonna need a building.

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_00] And that's what I really like about this place. It's Christmassy without feeling like somebody dumped 40,000 lights on a shopping center and yelled, Bestob! There's history here. There's tradition. And apparently there's also a brief period every October when the ghosts and goblins take possession of Christmas City. So, Halloween, I'll make you a deal. You can have Bethlehem today, have your parade, bring the pumpkins, get the skeletons. You got six days. Because Christmas morning people know what's coming next.

[00:21:54] [SPEAKER_00] The candles come out, the Moravian stars go up, Christmas City wakes up, and suddenly we're not the weird ones for talking about Christmas anymore. But now everybody else is catching up. And that's this month's Christmassy place, guys. I'm Ernie Delasanti, your travel dad. Hope it's one worth putting on your list of Santa. And Halloween? Enjoy October 25th. We're gonna need the city back soon. Hey, this time I'm not gonna say I'll see you next month, cause Christmas is getting closer and travel dad's going weekly.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_00] I'll see you next week with our very first holiday postcard. See you then.

[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_03] Thank you, Ernie. Now, Brian, Ernie's gonna join us again for the Halloween evening episode with a spooky place. Isn't that fun?

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_05] I don't know if I, I don't like Ernie when he's spooky.

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_03] Spooky Ernie. He's also gonna join us for the dailies. Once a week, he's gonna send us a quick audio postcard. That's right.

[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_05] Maybe you're in the mood to try something new this holiday season. Ernie's gonna have you covered.

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, absolutely. Shannon, I'll read this one to give you a break. This is from Jenny Burton. Jenny says, Dear Christmas morning pod, I wrote in last year talking about my Christmas photos that I do with my pets every year. This year I wanted to share another fun tradition that I do. I have Irish wolfhounds and Scottish deerhounds, which are rather large dogs. Finding cute Christmas pajamas that fit my girls without needing some sort of alteration and that don't cost an arm and a leg can be difficult.

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_03] So, a couple of years ago, I started buying my own cute Christmas and winter themed flannel and fleece and making simple Christmas pajamas, or really jackets, that fit my pups and are easy to wash. I find it best to start with a piece of fabric that is as long as your dog. Well, I guess you have to bring the dog to the store that way, Brian. Right, yes. Can you give me this much? I lay the fabric over my dog's back and up their neck. I place a safety pin at the points where I need the neck hole to go. Remove the fabric from the dog and then simply cut a hole big enough for them to put their head through.

[00:23:43] [SPEAKER_03] I take an extra strip of fabric in the same pattern and I stitch that piece so that I can wrap it under the chest and up the other side of the vest. I attach a piece of Velcro to that strip of fabric as well as the section of the jacket that the strip of fabric reaches. And, voila! A simple and cute Christmas set of pajamas for my girls to wear. I have made more sophisticated and difficult doggy pajamas, but this is my favorite simple pattern. My girls love their jammies and I know they're warm in the usually cold Utah winters.

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_03] If anyone wants a visual of what the finished product looks like, I'm attaching photos of my hounds and their cute fleeces from our camping trip last year. Thanks for all you do and Merry Christmas. And I took the two photos and I put them on our Instagram, even if you don't want to make this. You just gotta see these cute doggos.

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_02] Oh, the dogs are cute and then the environment is amazing. That's gorgeous. The mountains in the distance.

[00:24:34] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, these are really great photos, Jenny. I mean, no surprise, Jenny does pet photography, so they're great. And look at that sunset in that second picture.

[00:24:43] [SPEAKER_05] The jammies though, which she, that's actually, believe it or not, that is what she emailed about. Not the scenery, although the scenery is great. The jammies are great. The jammies are great. And they look, they seem like they're relatively simple to make.

[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. I love it. I'm not gonna put a whole bunch of work into something that my dog was gonna tear up or something. So, I like this. And Shannon, your dog is real small. You wouldn't need more than like a yard of fabric here.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_02] No, I could probably do this, to be honest. I might try it.

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_03] Shannon, could you read our email from Nate?

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER_02] Good day, Christmas morning pod. Good day.

[00:25:22] [SPEAKER_03] I said good day. Good day, sir.

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_02] I discovered your show a couple of years ago and it's become a part of my transition into the season. I love the show and think you guys have excellent chemistry. Oh, I agree.

[00:25:33] [SPEAKER_05] Look at us. Yeah.

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_02] As an unashamed wrestling fan since about the age of eight, my cauliflowered ear has picked up enough wrestling references sprinkled throughout a handful of your shows to suspect that you might be wrestling fans yourselves. Or at the very least, have a pretty solid level of wrestling awareness. As someone who occupies that tiny sliver of the Venn diagram, where wrestling obsession overlaps with Christmas fanaticism, I had to share my wrestle tree with you.

[00:26:02] [SPEAKER_02] It's my way of bringing a little holiday cheer to my wrestling collection in the Wrestle Cave. Adorned with official wrestling ornaments, amazing homemade finds, key chains, and my own custom-made light-up WWF logo tree topper, it's my unique way of celebrating two of my favorite things in life. Hope you enjoy, and thank you for keeping the Christmas torch burning bright all year long.

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_05] I do like to answer your question. I really like the tree topper. That thing is amazing. The fact that you homemade that, that's very impressive. And just to paint the picture here for the people that are listening that might not see the picture on social media, it is a Christmas tree. It's got a bunch of really cool wrestling-related ornaments on it. But next to it is a life-sized cardboard cutout of Bret the Hitman Hart with a Santa hat on. And as if Bret couldn't look better.

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_05] I mean, that guy with a hat, Christmas Santa hat on?

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah, this is the best looking sweaty Christmas hat wearer I've ever seen in my life.

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_05] Yeah. I also love the red and green lights that he has set up for the different wrestling belts. Looks amazing.

[00:27:09] [SPEAKER_03] It's really fun. I put this on our Instagram so you could check it out. Brian, I also sent it to you and Ryan Popola last night because you're both wrestling fans. Yes. And Ryan thought it was fantastic. It's very cool. So I wouldn't be surprised if we see more of this in the future with Ryan. I hope so.

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_05] Absolutely.

[00:27:25] [SPEAKER_03] Thank you, Nate. I have an email from our friend Alonzo. And this was unsolicited and it just arrived and I was like, oh, wonderful. And it's really good too. So Alonzo said, Christmas people, our time is now. That's true. All of our favorite stores and vendors are deep in chocolate and peppermint, pine and holly, ginger, cinnamon and clove. Many of these products are designed to be enjoyed immediately, whether they are a little Debbie Christmas tree cakes. Just ask Scotty about their shelf life. Yeah, that's true. Or holiday candles.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_05] We've already talked about this. Scotty, you're wonderful.

[00:28:00] [SPEAKER_03] Yes, those wonderful candle scents fade as candles age. So don't save them. Enjoy them while they're fresh. There are, however, lots of items that can be enjoyed throughout the year. Not just those delicious Racine Danish Kringles that you can keep in the freezer. Promo code CMOCT26.

[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_02] Ooh, what a pro.

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_03] Companies like Native, Dr. Squatch, Duke Cannon and more are putting out soaps, lotions, deodorants and other personal care products with all your favorite holiday smells. Sample one during the season and if it's a fragrance you like, stock up when the after Christmas sales hit. Other people won't necessarily notice that your body wash or hand cream is specifically a Christmas themed product, but you'll get that little jolt of holiday every day.

[00:28:39] [SPEAKER_03] Last year I bought myself a year's worth of Native's fresh mistletoe deodorant and I get to enjoy a woodsy scent and a nice touch of Christmas spirit all year long. Can't wait for the dailies. Merry Christmas, everybody. Well, thank you, Alonzo. I'm going to echo what Alonzo was saying. Brand, I bought all of the Old Spice Christmas scents.

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_05] Yeah.

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_03] I don't remember what they are specifically. I know what the art is. There's a sugar cookie. There's like a candy cane type one. And no, they don't smell like something from Bath and Body Works. They still smell like body wash that you would want to wear. Yeah. They just had that little tiny hint of Christmas and of course the Christmas art. Right. They just released one for fall that's an apple cider one. Yeah. And I really enjoy it. I have four bottles in my freezer. Not my freezer. I have four bottles in my shower.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_03] If you're not putting your body wash in the freezer.

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_02] If you're not eating the body wash.

[00:29:34] [SPEAKER_03] I'm rotating through them. So they're all going down very slowly and I'm starting to have a bit of a problem.

[00:29:39] [SPEAKER_02] Put them in your freezer.

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_05] Put them in your freezer. Like your batteries. I mainly am in this for the art. Like just getting to see the little Christmas is just a nice little daily pick me up.

[00:29:53] [SPEAKER_03] Absolutely. And Brandon, we got sent all that Duke Cannon soap last year and I'm still going through. I mean, that is a lifetime supply of Duke Cannon soap that I got. And they're all named fun things like Oh Fudge. That was the one I opened up recently. So this is a great idea, Alonzo. Thank you for that. Love it. And he is going to join us during the dailies once a week with some like must see things on TV. So don't worry. You'll still hear from Alonzo.

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_05] I love that. Yes. Taking over TV Scotty's job for the holiday season.

[00:30:22] [SPEAKER_03] I have an email from Jade and Jade says, hello, Christmas buddies. I thought I would share one of my most favorite Christmas memories with you. It was Christmas Eve 2024. It was just me and my mom in the house. And the only sounds I could hear were the TV in the living room and my guinea pigs moving around downstairs in their cage. My mom was looking through our baby stuff because my brother was going to become a father in the new year and she wanted to pass some stuff on to the baby. She happened to come across my old favorite baby doll. If you bounce the doll on your knee, she sings a little song.

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_03] And if you press on her stomach, she laughs. I don't think she even had a name. I think I just called her baby. I used to take her with me everywhere. And when mom placed her in my arms that Christmas Eve, I honestly don't know why, but I cried. I think it was partly because of all the memories that doll brought back and partly because we finally made it to Christmas after a rough year. We stayed up quite late that night. We drank hot chocolate and watched our favorite Christmas movies multiple times, plus some old Christmas cartoons. I'm in my 20s and I still believe in Santa Claus, so I definitely know the importance of getting

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_03] sleep on Christmas Eve. But I also know that these moments are so precious and they go by so fast. You have to make the most of them. So my advice to anyone who gets the Christmas blues is this. Drink that third hot chocolate if you want. Watch that favorite Christmas movie one more time, even if you've watched it three or four or maybe even five times already. If you're a grown up and don't have a set bedtime, stay up as late as you want. Make the magic and the joy last as long as possible. Yes, eventually Christmas will be over.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_03] The tree will be taken down and the decorations will be put away for another year. But at least you'll know you got as much out of it as you could and you'll have warm memories to carry you through to next Christmas. I wish you all the best this holiday season and hope that you are able to make many wonderful memories with those you love. How nice is that, Shannon?

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_02] That was so sweet. What a sweet email and just a really sweet reminder to enjoy the season. Thanks, Jade.

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_03] Very nice. I love that. Shannon, could you read our email from Fred Bonheim?

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_02] Through much of the year, I find that I'm often behind on these episodes and the stuff that I think of and intend to send along are often just forgotten. But after catching up recently and hearing the message to listeners not to hesitate if we don't regularly reach out, I decided to try to chime in.

[00:32:35] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. All right, Fred. Everyone be like Fred. Look at that. A little PSA at work, Scotty. There you go.

[00:32:42] [SPEAKER_02] Ooh, and he's talking about Colorado. I'm so excited. After a trip to Colorado this summer, I really understand why Scott wanted to live there. The temps were much cooler in August in the small touristy town of Estes Park. I love Estes Park. I was just there like two weeks ago. Denver was hot though. And yes, I saw many elk.

[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_03] Don't pet the elk.

[00:33:05] [SPEAKER_02] And Denver is very hot.

[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_03] It is, yeah. Everywhere is hot in the summer. But Estes Park is way up in the mountains. It's a really nice respite.

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_02] Mostly was spotting four different year-round Christmas stores in one tiny town. And to me, it really starts feeling like the Burr months once Christmas stuff starts to invade my precious Halloween territory at Home Goods and Marshalls. At this point, Halloween is already taking a backseat. But I was collecting pictures of the slow Christmas creep and when the two live... Wait.

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_03] What he's talking about is when the Christmas and the Halloween are like facing each other at the store. Oh. Like I'm sure you've seen the videos, Shannon, like of Home Depot or Lowe's where they're literally facing each other. Oh, right. And like people are pushing the buttons and it's almost like they're like talking to... They're fighting. They're fighting each other.

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_02] Oh, I understand. Hey, hey. He was collecting pictures of the slow Christmas creep and when the two live side by side. That's right. And as the temperatures cool here in New York, we've been digging out some of the fall and winter clothes. And it reminded me of some Christmas related art projects from last year that I'm sure hold no interest for anyone outside of Christmas obsessives. We keep a chalkboard year round that we change periodically. And this alternative Santa's chalk drawing I did was a particular favorite of my toddler's

[00:34:21] [SPEAKER_02] last year. So I took a photo and had it printed on some sweatshirts for the family.

[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_05] That's great.

[00:34:26] [SPEAKER_02] I'd think about selling them if two thirds of the content weren't heavily copyrighted by very litigious rights holders.

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_06] Yeah.

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_02] I also made this photo of an idea I had been toying with for a long time. A comic book or graphic novel about a dark history of Santa Claus being a barbarian conqueror who takes over the North Pole, but then is cursed to bring joy to children as a punishment. Ha! Which will likely not go anywhere, but drawing an idea for the cover got it out of my system a little. Anyway, love the show and I'll be keeping up more now as we get closer.

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_02] And I'll send in some Halloween stuff when I get the chance in between prepping our overly elaborate costumes and attending events.

[00:35:06] [SPEAKER_03] I put the photos that Fred sent us on Instagram here, specifically Shannon, the chalkboard and the sweatshirts and the cover of Santa the Conqueror.

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_05] I really like Santa the Conqueror. It's pretty cool. It reminds me of, I don't know if either of you have seen Violent Night that came out a couple years ago. But it does have a little of this type of backstory for Santa Claus. And it's very interesting. It's a very fun movie. It's an R-rated movie. So just, you know, quite violent.

[00:35:33] [SPEAKER_02] I think they're coming out with a second one.

[00:35:36] [SPEAKER_05] Yes, Violent Night 2 this December. Yeah. Yep.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_03] Very excited about it. A little too scary for me though. I don't know. But I am looking forward to the Christmas Carol adaptation with Johnny Depp. I understand that Johnny Depp is a little problematic and I admit that I am separating the art from the artist here because A Christmas Carol is my favorite book.

[00:35:54] [SPEAKER_02] Ebenezer. Ebenezer.

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER_03] That looks scary. It looks a little scary for me, but I think I can do it. I don't know. If you were here, Bran, I'd have you come with me and you could hold my hand. I might have to call in Shannon and reinforcements. I have my family on one side, Shannon on the other, just so I'm not too scared. But yeah, but it looks really cool. And I don't know. Maybe I'm dipping my toes into the scary Christmas water. I think you can do it. I think you can do it.

[00:36:18] [SPEAKER_06] Oh, well.

[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_03] Either that or I'm going to be scarred for life by the time, like the time I accidentally watched The Ring and 20 years later, I'm still terrified of it.

[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_05] Would she do a podcast with me, Scotty, where I make you watch scary movies?

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_03] If they were Christmas themed ones, I would, Bran. Okay.

[00:36:31] [SPEAKER_05] All right. Something to keep in mind.

[00:36:32] [SPEAKER_03] And then our last entry today is from the Christmas aficionado. And Joe sent us a review of the Herman's Head episode from 1992. So let's give that a listen.

[00:36:42] [SPEAKER_01] Years before we got Pixar's Inside Out, sensitivity, anxiety, intellect, and lust made Herman's decisions inside his head. Here's the only Christmas episode for the 90s sitcom, Herman's Head, a Charlie Brown fitz her. Herman is going home to his parents' house for Christmas, but his co-worker Louise is trying to find an excuse not to go home to hers.

[00:37:07] [SPEAKER_01] Herman offers to take Louise and Hetty to their families for Christmas after he drops off Jay in Atlantic City. Herman's sensitivity debates with the other personalities about whether they should invite their boss to join Herman and his parents.

[00:37:21] [SPEAKER_07] I think we should invite Mr. Brackett to come home with us. Are you sure that's a good idea? What if something terrible happens? Oh, what could happen?

[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_08] Well, he could ruin the dinner table conversation.

[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_07] He could eat all the food. Please make the offer.

[00:37:32] [SPEAKER_08] Fine, but let's make it sound unattractive enough so he'll refuse. Let me handle this.

[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_01] They all agree, but only if the offer sounds terribly boring and something he wouldn't want to do. But Mr. Brackett loves the idea of a boring car ride and agrees to go. They drop Jay off in Atlantic City where before Herman has a chance to even pull away, Jay loses everything in 30 seconds.

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_07] Good luck, Jay. Thanks, Herman. Thanks for the ride. Sure. Merry Christmas, everybody. Merry Christmas. Be careful, Jay. You don't want to lose too much. I'm wiped out. Lost everything, Herman. You've got to be kidding. You've got to lend me some money, please.

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_01] Dropping off Louise at her parents' house, the personality is put on hard hats because Herman's bladder is about to explode. Herman and Hetty ask to use the bathroom, leaving Mr. Bracken asleep in the car. Even though it's 4.30 a.m., Louise's parents are awake waiting for her arrival. Not wanting her co-workers to meet her weird family, she tries to rush Herman and Hetty out of the house.

[00:38:34] [SPEAKER_01] Suddenly, Louise's crazy cousin Phil steals Herman's car with Mr. Bracken inside.

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_09] God, the car is gone. My cousin Crazy Phil stole your car. Why? Crazy! Why do you think we call him Crazy Phil?

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_01] Leading to a police chase, leaving Herman and Hetty stuck at Louise's parents' home. Louise is embarrassed about her family. Her dad loves to sing opera and make homemade clam jerky, and her mom tries to set up Herman with Louise's sister Martha. Herman's lust personality begins to break, and all the other personalities have to hold him back when she begins to dance in her red dress.

[00:39:13] [SPEAKER_08] What's going on? Sister is tap dancing. No kidding, that turns me on. Let's pop the sister.

[00:39:18] [SPEAKER_01] After Louise's mother tells her to bleach the hair on her arm, she tells her mom to stop embarrassing her in front of her friends. Herman tells Louise that everybody's parents embarrassed them, and she should just let it go. Herman tells Louise that everybody's parents embarrassed them, but it's a sacrifice to celebrate Christmas with family.

[00:39:36] [SPEAKER_09] So you mean my parents aren't that strange?

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_01] Oh no, no, they're out there.

[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_07] They love you very much. Is it so bad, it's not worth seeing them a few times a year?

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER_01] They sit down the dinner of turkey jerky where Herman hopes his parents are okay. Cut to Crazy Phil and Mr. Bracken sitting at Herman's house and thanking the police for allowing them to have dinner before booking Phil. And the episode ends with Jay outside the casino ringing the bell, begging for change, because he lost all his money again playing slots. So, final thoughts. Herman's head was ahead of its time.

[00:40:09] [SPEAKER_01] It was a unique concept of the show that allowed the audience to experience what Herman was thinking through the personalities in his head. Luckily, we can't hear what other people were really debating in their head. And that would be scary. I give this episode a B-minus. Well, that's the only Christmas episode of Herman's Head from 1992. It's going to be featured in my new video coming soon, The Year in Christmas 1992.

[00:40:34] [SPEAKER_01] And because this is the last party episode of the year, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. I'm the Christmas aficionado and remember, stay off the naughty list.

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_03] I loved Herman's Head growing up. Brand, what were you doing in 1992?

[00:40:52] [SPEAKER_05] I was being born.

[00:40:55] That's what I thought.

[00:40:55] [SPEAKER_03] I was birthed in January of 92.

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_05] I was birthed, yeah.

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_03] And Shannon, you were under probably 10 years old or so at the time, so you probably didn't watch a lot of Herman's Head. This was a show that was well before your time, but it was a lot of fun. And Joe, you really brought back some memories with this one. I think I'm going to have to at least pull it up on YouTube and just scrub through it. Sometimes watching the old stuff, Shannon, it just doesn't hold up and it's really hard to watch. And then it spoils my memory of things. So sometimes I stay away from it.

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_03] But I think I want to scrub through, you know, especially the scenes where you're inside Herman's Head. Thank you, Joe, for doing that. And I texted him after he sent it to me. I said, wow, you really reached deep on this one.

[00:41:39] [SPEAKER_05] I will say we've been doing this show for how long have we been doing it? Six years, five years. I don't think I've ever heard this episode in the TV listings.

[00:41:49] [SPEAKER_03] No, not at all. I don't think anybody plays this show. I really don't.

[00:41:52] [SPEAKER_05] Okay. Well, that's a shame.

[00:41:53] [SPEAKER_03] I mean, I hadn't thought about it in decades. Even just the name. I heard it and I was like, oh yeah. You're inside someone's head? Yeah. If I remember, Brian, Yardley Smith was one of the characters inside the head. And that's the voice of Lisa Simpson. I thought that. It was a fun show, but it was just a, it was a, at 92, I was a sophomore in high school. So it was the perfect time for me.

[00:42:15] [SPEAKER_05] All right. This sounds fun. So I guess I'm going to binge Herman's Head.

[00:42:19] [SPEAKER_03] So definitely check out The Christmas Aficionado on YouTube. Joe does a wonderful job with all his stuff. I think we've all been on either a show or podcast with him. Is that right? That's right.

[00:42:30] [SPEAKER_02] And he was also in the New York Times article.

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_03] That's true. He wasn't in the New York Times.

[00:42:35] [SPEAKER_02] Wow. Yeah, he was.

[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_03] Absolutely fantastic. That was our last party episode of the year, Brian. Don't be sad though. We got a lot coming up.

[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_05] Well, it's our last Christmas party episode, but we do have a Halloween evening episode coming out. Oh, you're right. On the 30th, I believe to give you guys, everybody enough time, get it in, maybe listen to it the night before Halloween, get you fully ready.

[00:42:58] [SPEAKER_03] Shannon, is Helga going to be available?

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_02] Helga has been waiting for this the entire year.

[00:43:05] [SPEAKER_03] Oh, good, good. She came to Bramble Fest and that was a lot of fun. And I just need a little more Helga this year.

[00:43:11] [SPEAKER_02] Yep. She'll be ready with her broomstick.

[00:43:15] [SPEAKER_05] I know she's hard to pin down, but it's good. I'm glad, I'm happy that we have her on the schedule.

[00:43:20] [SPEAKER_03] It's true. We do have a good amount of content, but we can always use a little more. So if you have Halloween traditions or memories, or even just that kind of weird thing where you like Halloween and you like Christmas and you don't know how to settle those two things in your mind, write in. I'm sure you are not the only one in our audience who does. So it's a lot of fun and we would love to hear from you. Christmas morning podcast at gmail.com. It could be audio. It could just be story. It could be pictures, whatever you'd like.

[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_05] That's right. And then it is the start of the daily episodes and we need your stuff, your emails. That's right. Your Christmas letters to Santa, your traditions, all that stuff. Christmas morning podcast at gmail.com. You help keep the dailies moving. So send some stuff in and we'll be back real soon, Scotty, with our final regular Wednesday episode. And we'll find out who won this year's battle.

[00:44:13] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. Shannon, did you hear that there's a three way tie?

[00:44:16] [SPEAKER_05] Ooh.

[00:44:16] [SPEAKER_03] It's 12 to 12 to 12. And whoever wins next week is the champion for the year. So big, big doings.

[00:44:23] [SPEAKER_02] Can't wait to hear.

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_03] And thank you for coming and joining us today, Shannon. And I hope I'll see you when we see Helga next week. I know you're her manager, so.

[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_02] We'll see. But if not, this is the end before the dailies. And then. That's right. Yeah. I'm excited to listen. We are so close to Christmas. So excited.

[00:44:42] [SPEAKER_05] Absolutely. Very close. Come on back next time for some more fun. Until then. Merry Christmas.

[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_03] You're about to hear some ads that help pay for our trip back and forth to the North Pole. Feel free to listen. Feel free to bail now. But either way, thanks for being here.

[00:45:07] [SPEAKER_06] Ho, ho, ho. Woo.

[00:45:08] Theなんだ