June Christmas Party - 6 Months Until Christmas 2026 (Feat. Joe Fulton/Christmas Aficionado)

[00:00:02] This is a Bramble Jam Podcast. 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] Ho ho ho and Merry Christmas. Welcome to another episode of Christmas Morning. It's a Christmas Party episode and it's not just any Christmas Party episode, Scotty. It's the halfway to Christmas Christmas Party. Halfway to Christmas we made it, Brand, somehow by hook or by crook we did it. It's hard to get a little excited because it's still summer. Agree to disagree, Scotty. I am psyched out of my mind, brother. Halfway to Christmas? Very exciting.

[00:01:02] You like calling it what? I just call it Half-mas. Okay, well I think that's weird. Weirder than Leon Day? But you said it though like, of course everybody's gonna call it this. That's what I meant. I just call it Halfway to Christmas. I don't have a moniker for it. I don't like calling it Leon Day. I understand why people do that. It's Noel backwards. Half-mas. Some people call it Reindeer Day. What is that about? We thought that was a good idea.

[00:01:27] Maybe our guest here today will be able to help us nail down what this is called. Yes. Now, Shannon could not join us this month because of scheduling conflicts. It's the witch convention if you can believe it. How come? Yeah. Is that the witch convention? She had to be there too. It's a whole thing. So, of course, I reached into my Rolodex brand, my big circular one and said, who can we get to join us? And I thought, how about the crispiest aficionado, Joe Fulton? Joe, thank you for coming and joining us today.

[00:01:54] Well, hello, hello. I'm sorry I'm not as pretty as Shannon, but you know, it'll be okay. Just how about you using cousin Chad's well hello hello? You sounded a lot like you've been hanging out with Chad too much. Way too much. Yeah. He stole that from me. Oh, really? Yes. I've been doing hello hello on podcasts for a long time. But truth be told, we actually stole that from somebody else. So, okay. Well, I will let Chad fight this fight.

[00:02:24] It seems, Scotty, like we have a ton to get to. But first, I think we should get the countdown out of the way. All right. Let's get the countdown out of the way. And then we'll talk about how much we have this week. Okay. Six months until Christmas. That felt good. Finally, one I didn't have to look up while I was doing the notes. I know you knew this one. I knew this one.

[00:02:53] Oh, we've totally forgot to ask Joe. Do you have a preference? Half-miss, Leon Day, Reindeer Day, any of the sort? I hate that Leon Day. I've never understood it. I've never understood. I don't know anybody that likes it. I don't know how it has infiltrated this weird little quarter of the internet that we have. I'm going to blame Tim Babb from Canada. Can't wait for Christmas podcast because he's the one that really seems to be behind the Leon Day charge.

[00:03:19] But who am I to say that you can't celebrate Christmas however you want to? Like, who put me in charge? Nobody. That's who. That's right. No, no, you're right. It's six months. Or halfway. That's the best thing to do. It's halfway to Christmas. Everyone understands that. Yeah, it marks that like demarcation point of, hey, you've actually made it halfway through the year, which does blow my mind because it feels like we just celebrated Halloween. But here we are. So I'm all over this. But you know me.

[00:03:48] I'm an October 1st boy. So we passed that halfway point a long time ago. Absolutely. 100%. Yes, we have a lot to get to today, Scotty. I think we just need to dive into it. Joe, would you mind reading our first email from Mike Big Spectacle True Lock? All right. Merry Christmas, Bran, Scott, and the hardworking elves of Christmas morning. Today, my wife and I are in Branson, Missouri, enjoying another one of our vacations. And of course, she found a great year round Christmas store called Kringle's Christmas Shop.

[00:04:17] I'll interrupt real quick, too, to say this was sent to us on the 4th of June this month. I forgot to read that part. Sorry. With it being a Christmas store, you know what happened when I walked in the door? Mm hmm. It was to hear the cheers and whistling from the staff when I played the countdown. My wife, Sean, even told them that was the right response because she rocks. This store had a lot of decorations from a couple of artists, an amazing collection of shiny brights that I haven't seen in a while, including a shiny. Is that shiny bright?

[00:04:45] Is that bright or bright? It's either shiny or shinny, but I'm going to go with shiny. We'll say shiny, bright garland. Yeah. Not related to rainbow bright. Completely different thing. Which I didn't know excited and shiny Brit tree toppers pictures are included. But when we left, we saw a second Kringle's Christmas Shop. So, of course, I got my phone ready to play the countdown again and walked in. This was such a smaller shop. And you can tell that this one employee of the shop was not ready for this level of excitement.

[00:05:12] Which is just a really nice way of saying it went over like a fart in church, right? Right. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. The store was neat. It only had two things in the store. Thomas Kinkade prints and this made me think of Scott, various villages and houses and accessories. Everything in both of these stores were fairly priced. I bought a nice figure to go for Christmas decor and Sean says she started on her Christmas shopping. I would recommend these places if you're in a Branson area.

[00:05:40] Big spectacle Mike strikes again and Merry Christmas everyone. Strikes again. Brian, Mike sent in the photos. I put them on our Instagram. Very nice. I've never been to Branson. I believe you have, right? I've not. Really? No. Oh. I've never been to Branson. I've been to Kansas City. Okay. What is this place? Branson, Missouri. My dad says it's like Vegas if it were run by Ned Flanders.

[00:06:07] I do love that this place has multiple Christmas stories. That's nice. That's nice. Having two? Two in one area. Are they both named the same thing too? The Kringles Christmas Shop? It seems like it. I don't know what's going on over there. Yeah. I don't know what's going on. I've never been to Branson, so I'm not aware of it, but I'll take any town that has multiple Christmas shops. I would be very excited for it. This one with the white here, the white, what do you call this?

[00:06:35] I don't know, siding on the outside. That one looks like the one for me. Yeah. And I'm guessing that's the one that was a little more excited about Mike's shenanigans. There's a pool or a fountain. Yeah, it's for Christmas in July, so we can have our pool party. Thank you, Mike, for sending this in. Sorry that it didn't go over well at the second store, but I gave credit for your perseverance. It does seem like it doesn't go over more often than it goes over well. So that first store, the fact that they cheered is encouraging. Yeah, that's probably what keeps Mike going, right? That's right.

[00:07:05] Absolutely. I have an email from Kim Gazarek and Kim says, hey, Scott and Brian and Joe, obviously. What a better way to kick off halfway through the Christmas month with not one, but two separate instances of Christmas. The first one came when I was sorting through donations for a fundraising yard sale. I found this adorable mini tree skirt and some of the coolest nostalgic wrapping paper. The paper reminds me, that's hard to say, reminds me of my childhood while one of my favorite holiday

[00:07:32] tasks was to get the string of twinkling C6 lights out, unwound and tested. Nothing compares to the warmth of their glow and the random flashing pattern beats any LED light show today. Luckily, I still have them and was able to find replacement bulbs, but they usually stay off the tree since they're probably a fire hazard with how quickly they heat up. I'm going to go out on a limb and say, not probably. They are definitely a fire hazard. I remember burning myself on C6 lights at some point when I was a child.

[00:08:02] It happens. Kim goes on to say, and then during a Sunday drive, my husband and I stopped by our local blueberry farm for some baked goods. Well, as you do on a normal Sunday brand. You got to. While wandering around, we peruse their wall of Christmas ornaments and decor. Yes, this small town family run blueberry farm has a well stock sorted by color and themed ornament wall that stays up year round. I thoroughly enjoy the Christmas army of nutcrackers standing guard above the shoppers. Merry halfway to Christmas month, y'all.

[00:08:32] Kim's not kidding here. This is a very well stocked blueberry farm. I have been sorely misinformed about blueberry farms. Yeah, you we've been sleeping on blueberry farms as like pseudo Christmas stores. I didn't know that there was a thing there. Yeah, usually Joe, I if it says Christmas, I'll go in, but not if it says blueberry farm. I'm just going to have to expand my criteria, I suppose. Just go to every blueberry farm. Where's your Christmas? I don't find it.

[00:09:02] Kim told me there'd be Christmas here. And all I see are blueberries. Kim's in Canada, if I remember correctly. And I think Canadians just do blueberry farms differently. Yeah, that might be true. Obviously. That might be true. And I took her photos and put them on Instagram as well. Thank you for sending these in, Kim. This was great. The C6 gives me all the feels. Yeah. I swear I can feel my forearm burnt from, I don't know, having to test it. There was just something about it that was deeply unpleasant, but in the same way, nostalgic.

[00:09:31] Thank you. Absolutely. You guys like blueberries? Oh, I love blueberries. How about you, Joe? They're okay. You never went blueberry picking as a child? I have never gone blueberry picking. I've never gone to a blueberry farm. Wow. And you call yourself a Christmas fan, the Christmas aficionado. If I would have known there was a Christmas store at all these blueberry farms, I might have gone. I know. Now you know. It's never too late to turn your life around.

[00:09:57] I'm pretty sure my mom took us strawberry and blueberry picking as a way to get us out of the house because we were driving her nuts. In both of those situations, I eat as much as I put into the bin when I pick them off the trees. And we'll just leave it at this. Blueberries? Lots of fiber. Be careful when you eat an entire flat of blueberries. It's not good. It's not good. I have an email from Lance Garman. And Lance says, good morning, Christmas store enthusiasts. Hey, that's us.

[00:10:26] He says, I finally made the pilgrimage to our, quote, local Christmas bakery. And I thought some folks might be interested. By local, I mean a town 45 minutes away. It is called The Christmas Suite and it's located in Pocomoke City, Maryland on the Eastern shore. An all year Christmas bakery? Yes. Well, thank you for stealing the thunder here. Sorry. Sorry. It takes its cue from the classic Christmas bakeries of the UK in its open year round.

[00:10:52] Since it promises to really excel during the holiday season, of course I chose to visit in June. While it has lots of great merchandise for sale, especially nutcrackers and Christmas trees, it is most well known for its baked goods, especially Santa's favorite buns, like their sticky buns. I guess I'm glad they didn't call it Santa's sticky buns. That would be weird. I don't know. I think you guys either commit to the bit or don't, you know what I mean? So let's go for it.

[00:11:19] Some of the specialty treats you can order and have shipped include the candy cane crush cinnamon roll, the Grinch cheesecake, which is pistachio cream, the sugar cookie, cinnamon roll sundae, and signature hot cocoa mix. And yes, they do have savory items for those trying to avoid the sugar. I got the fat Santa sandwich while visiting. I particularly enjoyed the nutcracker sweet display and all the cookie jars for sale. See the attached photos, which I also put on Instagram.

[00:11:48] It's definitely worth a visit. If you're ever in the area, you can order items directly from their website and follow them both on Facebook and Instagram. The website is ChristmasSweet.Store. And Joe, I put all of these photos on our Instagram last night and tagged the Christmas sweet store as well. This looks like a place that I need to visit next time I'm in Pocomoke City, which has never happened in my life.

[00:12:13] Scott, this sounds like a place where you should take this out of the episode and then we email them. We ask for a sponsorship and then we'll talk about their store. Yeah, I need the fat Santa sandwich delivered to me ASAP and I looked it up and it appears to be some sort of bologna sandwich. The candy cane crushed cinnamon roll looks so good. I don't know like how they, by the time it gets here, will it still be enjoyable? I don't know. Oh, I mean, we'll have Joe do it.

[00:12:41] Well, actually you guys are both about equidistant from Maryland, aren't you? I'm only about four hours away from it. You're only four hours away? Why are you still here? Well, I want to finish this. You should be taking this call from the car. Grab a bag of blueberries and make the journey. Joe, what's your favorite Christmas sweet? Or not favorite, but what do you lean towards when you're trying to decide? How about that? Maybe that's a more fair question. Pretty much any cookie.

[00:13:08] Any Christmas cookie for the most part is something that I have to hit. Although I think maybe this candy cane crushed cinnamon roll is now going to be my favorite. Are you looking at this picture? I'm looking at this picture now. Oh my God. Brian, we know that you're not as big on the cookies anymore since the incident. So you're going to go for the cinnamon rolls and Joe's going to go for the cookies. I haven't let that slow me down. I had four Christmas cookies this morning because Aaron made them for reasons that we don't need to get into, but it worked out great.

[00:13:36] I like the nutcrackers on the counter here. Update. I am six hours away from them. I didn't realize they were way deep down in Maryland, but still six hours. Yeah. It's the Eastern shore, which is the boonies, right? You've made longer drives for lesser things. Pretty much. Yeah. You went to cousin Seth's coffee shop. Yeah. I didn't drive though. Okay. Well, okay. Yeah. I was going to question your, your dedication, but yes. I hope they respond to us on Instagram brand.

[00:14:05] I tagged them and I would like to visit this store. My CEO has a beach house in Maryland. So maybe I can figure out a way to make this all happen on the company dime. I got to be honest with you, a six pack of candy cane crush cinnamon rolls for 2394. That's kind of a steal. That's a good deal. But thank you for sending this in Lance. This looks absolutely amazing. And I love to find out about something like a year round Christmas bakery. I didn't know that existed. Fantastic.

[00:14:36] Joe, would you mind reading our next email from Simon in sunny South Africa? Sure. How's it guys? I haven't sent you guys an email on Christmas fortnight. South Africa is sometimes a little behind on the stuff that happens or trends, but as long as last, we have finally Amazon prime prime day. Anyone? I can't wait. Now that Amazon is at its full power here. I'm just browsing and I saw a very familiar name that is well known to you guys. Hallmark.

[00:15:02] I click on the hallmark band name and the low behold there. It was older Christmas ornaments from Harry Potter all the way to my favorite. How the Grinch stole Christmas. I always wondered how hyperventilating felt like seeing those memes. And then I knew sort of, I went through them and I was in heaven seeing all these amazing ornaments from Hallmark finally available on our shores. Now I'll have to save up to get my first set of Disney Christmas ornaments for my Christmas 2026.

[00:15:31] I've attached a few screenshots of my favorites and you guys can make do the math to see how expensive or cheap they are here in South Africa. Have a lecker week. So brand I, I took the screenshots here. The prices are all in Rand, which is the South African currency. Sure. And I looked up the current exchange rate because nothing's too much work for this show. Uh, it's one us dollar equals 16.4 Rand.

[00:15:57] So if we took something here like the Disney, the Hallmark Disney Mickey Mouse on snow tube Christmas ornament, which is 697 Rand. It's about 46 bucks. Is that right? Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't go out of my way to pay $46 for a Christmas ornament, but if it's one that really had some kind of special meaning or was important to me, Joe, I would do that. And you are a Hallmark ornament aficionado as well. Is that correct? That's is very correct. Yes.

[00:16:25] I have way too many of these. So if I just came up to you and said, Hey, $46 for Mickey on a snow tube. What's your first instinct? That's too expensive. It seems high. Yeah, it does. Okay. Yeah. It seemed high. That would most likely be probably around $28 here. Uh, normally. Could you be a little more precise if you don't mind? I I'm just guessing. I that's just a number. And that's eyeball on it. Well, how about Eeyore at 601 Rand? Let's see.

[00:16:53] 601 divided by 14.6. This makes great podcasting here for another $41. Yeah. I think there's a bit of a premium going on if I had to say. Yeah. Yeah. No, these are, these are some expensive prices and some of these ornaments are from previous years. Like these are not like the most current ornaments. That has to be why they're a little more expensive, right? Yeah. Either that or it's because the demand has built up over the years of not having them available and they're really trying to capitalize on that.

[00:17:21] So Simon, my advice to you, give it a few months. Yeah. Let those early birds pay the premium and then you can swoop in and get the deals. That's my. Or just contact Joe and make him an offer. You can't refuse. Well, here's the, here's the thing you could tell that it's older. First off it says Mickey ornament up above above says 2023 and it's 1,008 ran. So that's, that's a lot. Oh yeah.

[00:17:47] That is a 2023 like specific Mickey's laying on the year 2023. So that's about $70 us. Is that a good price for a, for a classic ornament though? It's 2023 considered classic. Well, I mean, it's not considered current. I can tell you that. Yeah. Simon, congratulations on having this available to you. I know it's exciting to finally be able to do this stuff. I would wait on the prices to come down a little bit. They seem a little high. Yeah. Brand, we have an email here.

[00:18:17] We have an audio clip from Jessica Trinidad and she sent us a story about the time that their cat destroyed their Christmas tree. Oh, all right. Let's give that a listen. Hello morning people and Merry Christmas to you. This is Jessica Trinidad. And I'd like to tell you about the time that our Christmas tree was almost murdered by our cat. I was in high school and I was in the family room watching TV one evening. And suddenly there was a loud crash from the dining room.

[00:18:43] The dining room at the house I grew up in was this kind of center hub of the home. So that's where everybody ran out to see what had happened. And what we saw was the very large family Christmas tree on the ground, like on its side. And the cat hanging desperately, clinging to the roof of a bird cage.

[00:19:09] And then of course the parakeet inside the bird cage losing its ever loving mind. Cat swinging on the roof of this cage, bird losing its mind, tree on the ground. I see the whole thing. My sister Wendy sees the whole thing. The two of us burst into laughter because it looks freaking hilarious. Mom does not laugh. And when we see that mom is not laughing, we stop laughing. Mom quickly extricates the cat from the bird cage and then assesses the damage. And she starts to cry.

[00:19:40] Now, my mom is very private with her emotional expression. And I saw her cry a handful of times in my life. And this was one of them. What had happened was many of the ornaments that had broken were family heirlooms and things that were just were precious to her and have been passed down to generations. One of the things also that broke was the top tree topper, which was this kind of blown glass stylized Santa Claus. So mom was extremely distraught.

[00:20:09] And so Wendy and I were quite worried. We grabbed our things and we told mom we'd be right back. And we dashed off to the local drugstore, which at the time was a save on. It's a CVS now. And we went into the Christmas aisle and pooled our funds together. And we had a lot of money together, which for me, you know, in my first job getting minimum wage was an entire paycheck. And nearly one for Wendy as well.

[00:20:38] She was a little older and better employed, but, you know, still a student as well. And we got as many ornaments as we could afford. And we brought them back to mom. She had already set the tree right and already started cleaning up the mess. And she had also composed herself. She was very pleased with the ornaments we brought her. And then that was that. However, the tree topper still remained to be replaced.

[00:21:02] I had gone to a Christmas boutique pop-up store earlier in the month and saw this angel tree topper, which is so pretty. And she had this porcelain head and she had red hair. And I thought back to that and remembered it and realized, yeah, this will be perfect for mom. Because my mom always carried red hair and was quite beautiful and stunning in it. So I pulled together the next paycheck and got that tree topper.

[00:21:31] And that was my Christmas gift to mom that year. And she was very pleased with it. And now I am the proud owner of that tree topper. So that was the year that our cat almost murdered the tree. And my sister and I got to be grown ups and take a little bit of care of our mom. I hope that everybody is doing well and give all your loved ones an extra hard squeeze. Merry Christmas. Much love.

[00:22:00] Jessica, this was a very sweet story. And I was moved by how you and your sister didn't have the funds, but still pooled them together to try to make your mom a little less upset. And I thought that was very sweet. But anybody who knows Jessica knows that that would be part and parcel with how she does things. She is a very sweet person. So great story. Thank you for sending that in. I'm thankful that now that I have cats in the house, they have not destroyed my Christmas stuff.

[00:22:29] I've so far lucked out. The way that we did it with our two new orange cats, new a couple years ago, was I put the artificial tree up, but didn't put anything on it for a couple weeks. And that way we could monitor them. They could get it out of their system. And we were less likely to have a big disaster. And so far, so good. There you go. Good thinking. I have to tie my tree to the wall. Wow. Oh. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:22:56] Because he decided his, when he was a kitten, he decided I'm going to climb all the way to the top. And then it just all came down. Garfield style. Well, I think the real question is, did you anchor the string? Yeah. Well, I just tied it to the wall and that seems to help. You just had an eyelet just hanging out on the wall and you were like, here we go. Yeah. Yeah. It's enough. Okay. Okay. Cool. Because then I can grab them before it falls. 100%. How about we do this, fellas? We're having a good time. We've got a lot more to get to, and I think we need to take a break. We'll come back.

[00:23:25] We'll get to some more audio messages, right, Scotty? Yeah. The whole rest of the show is songs and audio messages. So if you were tired of hearing from us, not much more of that left. All right. More of that on the way here on Christmas morning. Hello, everybody. Welcome back. I'm having a great time. We're halfway to Christmas. We're halfway through the show. We've got a good bit left though, Scotty. A lot of audio messages.

[00:23:55] Yeah. Our next email is from listener Cassie. Now you remember Cassie, Bran. You were asking for an audio clip of the Suzuki Q chord. Yes. And of course, Cassie delivered. I've taken quite the liking to this instrument. So I'm very excited to see what we got here. So the email from Cassie says, hello, Christmas morning crew. Here is your requested demo of the Suzuki Q chord. In this particular clip, I am singing Silent Night in both English and Hawaiian. Whoa. Let's give this a listen, Bran.

[00:24:25] Hello, Christmas morning crew. This is Cassie. You guys have not heard my voice before, but I am the djembe player. Today, I'm actually going to show you a demonstration of the Suzuki Q chord. Now, it was very much like the old Omni Chord in the days of, you know, when they had those old kind of synthesizers. So basically, the way it works is on the left side, you have chord buttons. The right side is a strumming pad and lots of other buttons.

[00:24:52] Now, since this is a Christmas podcast, I'm going to do a Christmas song, both in English and Hawaiian. So, without further ado, there we go.

[00:25:55] In Hawaiian.

[00:25:56] There you go.

[00:26:51] Mele kalikimaka. Merry Christmas. Mahalo. Cassie, thank you so much for doing this. I love it, Bran, when our listeners want to participate at this level. I mean, this is full commitment here. Absolutely. And the Q chord sounds great. My love of the of the Q chord has is it is alive and well. I love this instrument. Bran, I have a travel dad, Ernie Delasanti update for us. He sent us a clip about this month's Christmassy place, which is Santa Fe, New Mexico of all places.

[00:27:22] Oh, okay. Hey, Christmas morning people. Travel dad, Ernie Delasanti here. In each party episode, I'll be bringing you a Christmassy place worth putting on your list of Santa. This month, Santa swapped his sleigh for sunglasses because we're heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico. You might be thinking, Santa Fe? In June? Christmas vibes? Absolutely. Imagine Santa on vacation. He straighted the red suit for a straw hat, swapped the reindeer for a nice pair of hiking

[00:27:52] boots, and somewhere along the way decided green chili belongs on everything. That's Santa Fe. This is one of those places that reminds you Christmas doesn't have to look the same everywhere. Sure, you're not going to find snow-covered rooftops in June, but what you'll find is a city that's packed with the kind of warmth, tradition, and charm that Christmas is really all about. One of the first things you'll notice is the smell. If you've ever experienced pignon wood burning in the southwest, imagine a fireplace

[00:28:20] decided to become a perfume. It's warm, comforting, and somehow instantly makes you want to sit down with a cookie and a Christmas movie. And here's where Santa Fe gets interesting. When most of us picture Christmas, we think of snowy villages, giant trees, and twinkling lights. Santa Fe has its own version. Every December, the city glows with thousands of luminarias, little lanterns that line rooftops, pathways, and adobe walls. Instead of dazzling displays trying to outdo each other, it's this soft, warm glow that feels

[00:28:50] almost magical. And if you've never heard of the Farrelito Walk on Canyon Road, go ahead and add that to your Christmas bucket list. Every Christmas Eve, thousands of lights illuminate the streets while people stroll through the historic district enjoying music, art, and the atmosphere. It's one of those experiences where everyone who's been there says the same thing. You really have to see it for yourself. And that's what I love about Santa Fe. It doesn't try to be anybody else's Christmas. It doesn't try to be Europe. It doesn't try to be New England.

[00:29:19] And simply celebrates Christmas in its own way. You can wander through historic plazas, explore galleries filled with handcrafted ornaments and folk art, and discover decorations that blend Christmas traditions with Native American and Hispanic influences. It's the kind of place where you come home with stories instead of souvenirs. Alright, let's be honest. You'll come home with souvenirs too. My suitcase has never met a Christmas owner and they didn't want to adopt. Now, for a little Christmas adjacent fun, you can even find Bisciotto baking experiences

[00:29:48] and demonstrations throughout the area. Bisciotto's are New Mexico's official state cookie. And they're absolutely Christmas worthy. Sweet, spiced, and traditionally flavored with cinnamon and anise. They're exactly the kind of cookie you'd leave out for Santa if Santa spends winter in the southwest. And while June might seem like an unusual time to talk Christmas in Santa Fe, that's the point. This is one of those places that reminds us Christmas isn't just about snow. It's about traditions. It's about family.

[00:30:17] It's about food, lights, wonder, and those little moments that make you stop and smile. Santa Fe just happens to do all of that with adobe walls, mountain views, and a little extra chili pepper mixed in. So if you're looking for proof that Christmas spirit can thrive in the desert, Santa Fe is ready to make its case. And honestly, I'm pretty convinced. And that's this month's Christmassy place. I'm your travel dad, Ernie Delasanti. I hope it's one putting on your list of Santa. I'll see you next month for Christmas in July. Ernie, thank you for sending this in.

[00:30:47] And I would like to declare at this point, Ernie, that I'm going to get your last name correct from here on. Because I listen to how you say it. You say Delasanti. And I've been saying Delasanti like you serve bologna sandwiches. And I don't think that's correct. So my apologies for that. Thank you for bearing with me. And if I know Ernie, he has been stewing. I would have pronounced it deli too. Joe, would you mind introducing the next segment, which is your segment?

[00:31:16] Oh, well, yes. So I sent in the review of the kids in the hall Christmas episode. Now he pronounced it differently in this show, but you'll hear me just say it shallot 2000. But I think it's chalet is how he pronounces it in the special. So Lenore Gilbert gave me that recommendation. And let's hear my review. What happens when the Queen of England's butt is exposed on the front page of the sun? Well, she seeks comfort with gay socialite Buddy and the beaver.

[00:31:45] Here's my review of the kids in the hall Christmas episode, shallot 2000. The long sketch episode opens with a series of front page news stories about the royal family ending with the sun exposing the Queen's butt cheeks through a camera hidden in a toilet. I knew I should have looked before a city. There's a new way on God's good earth I can find some privacy. Scott Thompson as Queen Elizabeth is concerned about her privacy.

[00:32:11] After looking into a snow globe, she sees an image of Canadian gay socialite Buddy Cole. The Queen rushes out in search of Buddy as we discover that a reporter has been hiding in her bedroom, informing his editor that the Queen is headed to Canada. Oh, hello there. And welcome to Chalet 2000. My northern home away from home. This is the place where I come to unwind from my haptic likeness of whatever it is I do.

[00:32:40] At the Chalet 2000, Buddy Cole's northern home, Jacques delivers a block of ice containing a frozen person discovered while ice fishing. We found this large block of ice, ironically enough, while ice fishing. This is ironic you see because when you're ice fishing, you're not actually fishing for ice, but rather fishing truly ice. For fish. Buddy decides to let the ice melt and see who or what is inside, creating a big mystery.

[00:33:08] As they are about to eat their baby seal flipper stew, the table collapses when Castor the beaver, Buddy's overweight adopted son, chews through one of the legs. I'm a doctor. Cheer up, beaver. Have some seal flipper stew. I'm a vegetarian. Only eats lucky charms and beer. The Queen arrives distraught and looks for a friend, while Castor immediately becomes attracted to him. During her bath, Buddy explains that queens need to stick together.

[00:33:37] And Queen Elizabeth shares the story of the newspaper exposing her backside. When Buddy steps away, Castor begins massaging her neck and starts making out with the queen in the tub. Suddenly, she feels something under the water, unlike anything she has experienced before.

[00:33:53] But it turns out to be that reporter who emerges from the tub and snaps a photo of the queen and Castor together. Upset, the queen runs away. Buddy hooks up the sleigh, powered by the manservants pulling it through the sky, and sets off to search for the queen.

[00:34:20] Along the way, they encounter Santa Claus, who's upset that Buddy hasn't returned his calls. Long time no see! Why don't you return my calls? I've been busy! We really need to talk! La la la! I can't hear you! La la la la! Very mature, Buddy! Very mature! The next morning, the reporter finds the queen asleep and is about to take another photo when Castor, the beaver, confronts him.

[00:34:50] Buddy then rescues the queen aboard his magical sleigh and they head back to the shallow 2,000. The queen and Castor grow closer, while the reporter is hauled away by Buddy's manservants. And suddenly, the block of ice finally melts, revealing that Rip Taylor has been frozen inside. Was it cold in there? Cold in there? It was so cold a flasher had to describe himself! So, final thoughts.

[00:35:16] I grew up watching Kids in the Hall on HBO and was excited to review this episode. Unfortunately, this Christmas episode is light on Christmas content aside from a brief Santa cameo. There were a few laughs along the way, but overall, this was not a great episode. I give it a C-. Well, that's my review of the Kids in the Hall Christmas episode Shaller 2000. Thanks to Lenora Gilbert for the recommendation. If you have a suggestion of an episode that I should cover, then let Scott know.

[00:35:45] I'm the Christmas aficionado, and remember, stay off the night. So, yeah, so, Kids in the Hall, I loved that show growing up. I would watch it on HBO. This is not a great episode of theirs, unfortunately. Very little Christmassy. And it's a long-form episode. So, usually, Kids in the Hall do short little clips and stuff. But this one, this one's like 30 minutes of a long clip of one ongoing story.

[00:36:14] And it's just not as funny. So, you would say that Kids in the Hall, their sweet spot are the short episodes. And this is not one of them. Is that correct? Yes. Short skits. Yeah. Bran, do you know who Kids in the Hall are? I hate to say this, because it does seem like a show that I would love, but I've never given it a chance. That's what I thought. Yeah, it skews older. It was slightly ahead of my time, and that's tough. But you know what? I will, I'm inspired by you.

[00:36:40] I'm inspired by what we have here, and I will give it a game. Cool. Speaking of Lenora Gilbert, I have an audio clip from her. Oh, great. It is about one of her favorite activities, which is Christmas thrifting. Let's give that a listen. Hey, everybody. It's Lenora here, your Christmas freak on the street from Arizona. Where even my shadow is starting to need sunscreen. And I'm here today to talk to you about one of my favorite Christmas passions, Christmas thrifting.

[00:37:10] I have a lot of Christmas decorations, and the reason why I do is I'm always on the hunt for Christmas items at the thrift store. Not just at Christmas either, but all year round. Some of the best things I find are arriving during the off season. Recently, I got a set of eight Christmas dinner plates, Royal Stafford from England, for about $3 a piece. And boy, was I thrilled. We have many of the goodwill type thrift stores here in the Phoenix area.

[00:37:38] And they normally have a seasonal shelf that is stocked with Christmas items all year round. I'm always hunting for vintage holiday decor. I have one tree that's all vintage ornament. And then I pick up some for other big pieces like my Christmas themed fireplace screen. And something I started this year was collecting crystal glass, bowls, plates, candy dishes. And these are items that I can leave out all year long. And then at Christmas, I can fill with shiny balls and lights and make them all seasonal.

[00:38:07] And I'm going to give you a few tips for thrifting Christmas items. So the first tip I'm going to give you is go regularly and often. I add on a thrift store or two to my regular errands, different thrift stores for different areas of the city. An example is there's a thrift store beside the Costco. So I'll visit there every, you know, Costco trip or two. So I keep it regular. And the second tip I have is pay attention to specials. Goodwill has a 20% discount coupon online.

[00:38:36] It has discounts for seniors, students, veterans. They also have colored tag discounts that they post at the door. And another thrift store I go to has 50% off sales like quite frequently. The third tip I have is have an idea what you would like to collect or find. Maybe it's a Christmas village. I saw video the other day of someone who collects pieces from different Christmas villages, spray paint them all the same color and they all match and look beautiful.

[00:39:05] Maybe you have a Christmas China set that you'd like to add to or even start one. My fourth tip for Christmas thrifting is timing. Be on the lookout for Christmas in July specials. And the main rollout for Christmas goodies starts mid to late October. So start looking for your thrift items early. Number five. My fifth tip is look for gifts that are there. There's plenty of Santa mugs, Christmas mugs, cookie jars and plates.

[00:39:34] And these can all be filled with goodies for an economical gift at Christmas. There's gift wrap and gift boxes. There's plenty of those to help you with your wrapping. Number six. My final tip is the two areas of the thrift store that I always check. The first one is the linen section. Christmas and other holiday tablecloths and placemats can be found, especially after the season. Be sure to always inspect them carefully for stains.

[00:40:00] And the other area I always check is the board game and puzzle section. Often I find brand new games for like three to six dollars and a lot of times they're even unopened. And there's always lots of puzzles that are Christmas or winter themed. And never mind Scott's theory that things from the thrift store are haunted. I've never brought home an item with a ghost in it or at least not a bad one. So anyway, happy Leonday everybody.

[00:40:30] Lenora says that I believe all thrifted items are haunted. Close, but not exactly, Lenora. All estate sale items are haunted and they have to be because an estate sale means that somebody died. Is there a chance that you go to a thrift store and pick up something haunted? Absolutely. But is it more likely at an estate sale? Also, absolutely. So I actually like Christmas thrifting quite a lot, Bryn.

[00:40:55] I like going to thrift stores because I am cheap and I love finding a good deal. I'm a bargain boy. And if I can find one, I'm all over it. You're a bargain boy. How about you, Joe? Do you fancy the thrifting? I do. And in fact, I actually just got something at a thrift store and I have it right here. Oh, what is it? Wow. Yeah, it is a Princess Leia Hallmark ornament. Oh.

[00:41:18] Now it says $10 on it, but I think this was from like a yard sale or something that somebody was trying to sell and I got it for $3. So a $3 Princess Leia. That is a fraction of a rand. Is this Princess Leia from the end of A New Hope where they were presenting the medals to the team? Or is it more of, I think she could have also been wearing something like this when we first come across her in A New Hope when Darth Vader. All right, movie guy.

[00:41:48] What the heck is this? This is the one movie that I actually watch. Yes. This is the Help Me Obi-Wan Kenobi, You're My Only Hope, Princess Leia. Yeah. Okay. Okay. All right. With the white dress. Very, very, very nice. I will always buy a thrifted ornament. Always? Ornaments never haunted. And if they are, Bran, it's haunted by somebody who loved Christmas. So great. That's the kind of encouragement I need in my life. So I'm okay with all of this. Ornaments never haunted. That's the Scotty guarantee.

[00:42:18] It's the Scotty guarantee. If you buy an ornament and it's haunted, I will get you your money back. Well, and also it's a Star Wars ornament. So if it's haunted by a Star Wars fan, that can't be bad either. Well, Star Wars and Christmas. I mean, this is the kind of haunting I'm going to be doing later on in my life. That's true. That's true. We have an emailed poem from Jack Underfurth. Very good. Now, Bran. Yep. I screwed up last month. What? This was already in the chamber last month and I completely blew it.

[00:42:48] I just went right by the email and missed it. And I sent it to Jack and said, I'm so sorry. And he said, hey, it's all good. You're... That's not what he told me, man. He... Live it. He sent us the poem called To Mrs. K. On Her Sending Me An English Christmas Plum Cake at Paris by Helen Maria Williams.

[00:43:17] What crowding thoughts around me wake, what marvels in a Christmas cake. Ah say, what strange enchantment dwells enclosed within its odorous cells. Is there no small magician bound and crusted in its snowy round? For magic surely lurks in this, a cake that tells of vanished bliss, a cake that conjures up to view the early scenes when life was new.

[00:43:43] When memory knew no sorrows past, and hope believed in joys that last. Mysterious cake whose folds contain life's calendar of bliss and pain. That speaks of friends forever fled, and wakes the tears I love to shed. Oft shall I breathe her cherished name, from whose fair hand the offering came.

[00:44:08] For she recalls the artless smile of nymphs that deck my native isle, of beauty that we love to trace, allied with tender, modest grace. Of those who, while abroad they roam, retain each charm that gladdens home, and whose dear friendships can impart a Christmas banquet for the heart. Great poem, Jack. The title, it needs work. It really does.

[00:44:34] Yeah. Alan, let's get together. Let's think about how we can shrink this title down a bit. Uh, cause the title was almost as long as the poem, so. We could have called it Plum Cake. Oh, there you go. That's good. Wouldn't that be perfect? That's good. I have one more very special item this month. Okay. This is from Randy Franklin. Now, Randy emailed in and said, hey, I'm a singer-songwriter from Charlotte, North Carolina.

[00:45:00] And he wanted to submit his song Tinsel for one of our music battles. And I said, well, Randy, we only do band camp in there for no particular reason. I mean, YouTube would be just fine, but we've... We've pledged our allegiance at this point. The point here is that Randy sent in this great song by his band. I said, well, I can't use it for a music battle, but can I play it on our party episode? Uh-huh. And he said, absolutely.

[00:45:28] So, I thought I would carry us out after the outro today with the full song with Randy's Blessing. So, this is the song Tinsel from Randy Franklin and the Sardines. Thank you so much for sending it in. Randy, I hope everybody enjoys it. That's obviously going to come after we do the outro. Anything else to add, Brandon, our halfway to Christmas episode? This was a lot of fun.

[00:45:52] I am fully in the Christmas spirits and very excited for Christmas in July. Very excited to hang out with everybody at Bramble Fest. Very excited for us to go daily October 1st this year. No, no. That was not agreed upon. Sometimes I try to slide it in and see how it goes. Why not celebrate the Burr months and start September 1st daily? Now? Yes! Yes! I mean, why don't we just go daily from July 5th on?

[00:46:22] Okay, brother, don't tempt me with a good time. You know I'd do it. Because, Brandon, it wouldn't be as special. That's why. And I'm actually thinking maybe we go daily on Thanksgiving. So, you keep pushing and I'm going to push the other direction. That's one of the dumbest things you've ever said. Well, I guess that's fair. Joe, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to come and join us this month. I'm always happy to see you. I don't think we're going to see you at Bramble Fest. Don't tell Chad that.

[00:46:52] Well, actually, there will be some... My presence will be there in video form. Because I have been working on a video to send for you guys to play for the July party episode. Okay. Is it going to have another naked butt in it? Well, if it did, it would be covered by your face. So, that would be... Of course. You know, make sure that... Well, yeah. I mean, that checks.

[00:47:15] I am going to be covering, on a request from Matt, He-Man and She-Ra Christmas special from 1985. Okay. Now, I believe when I... Back when I did the podcast Jingle Jank with Jay, I think we put some songs from this on there, but I've never watched the whole thing. We'll have some clips maybe from it? Oh, you will. Okay. I'm not familiar with this special nor the songs. So, I'm excited about this.

[00:47:40] Well, don't get your hopes up on the songs, but I do know that Joe's video is going to be excellent. He only does things one way. Yeah. That's right. The best way. So, Joe, thank you for coming and being with us. Always happy to see you. And we love having you here. Thank you so, so much. Well, thanks for having me, guys. This was so much fun. If you are coming to Bramwell Fest, go ahead and submit. Let us know if you'd like to come on stage and share some Christmas stuff with us. We'd love for you to do that. Christmas morning podcast at gmail.com.

[00:48:09] Scott, anything else for the people? Nope. Just enjoy the song by Randy Franklin and the sardines. That's right. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. When December feels cold and gray, and you're not quite feeling the holiday, I've got a cure

[00:48:37] for your blues indeed. Cause I know just what you need. We're bringing back tensile. We're bringing back tensile.

[00:49:32] We're bringing back tensile.

[00:49:33] We're bringing back, we're bringing back tensile.