March Christmas Party - 9 Months Until Christmas!

[00:00:00] This is a Bramble Jam Podcast Live from the North Pole, it's time for Christmas morning.

[00:00:18] The Daily Show where everyday is Christmas.

[00:00:22] Here your host, Bram, and Scott!

[00:00:30] Well, hello everybody!

[00:00:35] It's your good friend, Bram.

[00:00:37] Merry Christmas, it's a Christmas party and what would a Christmas party be without my

[00:00:42] friend Scotty, Scotty, Merry Christmas to you?

[00:00:46] Merry Christmas, Bram, how are you?

[00:00:48] I'm doing just swell, it's so exciting.

[00:00:51] Anytime we get to land on the 25th of the month, I get a little pep in my stamp.

[00:00:57] That's right.

[00:00:58] I really need to record a second version of the intro so I can say, and also Shannon

[00:01:03] because Shannon's here with us today.

[00:01:05] Hey!

[00:01:06] I'm so excited to be here.

[00:01:09] Fresh off her birthday last week which was wonderful.

[00:01:12] What are you 22 now?

[00:01:13] Oh yeah, nice and young.

[00:01:16] I wouldn't want to be 22 again.

[00:01:18] No.

[00:01:19] No that sounds horrible.

[00:01:20] No, now that you mention it, I'm fine with being in my 30s and that's fine.

[00:01:24] I don't know what all the hubbub was about when my parents were like, oh no, I'm always

[00:01:29] 29.

[00:01:30] I'm like man, I love getting older.

[00:01:31] Aside from getting out of bed in my backbings or everything else is great.

[00:01:36] Yeah, don't worry Shannon, I can tell you in the 10 years or so the being in your 40s

[00:01:40] is fine.

[00:01:41] Oh I mean, I'm sure it is.

[00:01:42] I mean I will be the big 40 next year so...

[00:01:45] Okay.

[00:01:46] I've got one solid year left in my 30s.

[00:01:49] It's going to be good.

[00:01:50] One more year to make one more big mistake because you can't make mistakes when you're

[00:01:54] in your 40s.

[00:01:55] That's my understanding.

[00:01:56] Oh you can, I do it on a daily basis.

[00:01:59] Good.

[00:02:00] I think about how many, let's see that's like 12 more Christmas party episodes before Shannon

[00:02:04] is 40 so that's great.

[00:02:05] Wow, count down.

[00:02:06] That's exciting.

[00:02:07] What?

[00:02:08] I was about to say what if the Christmas party lands on your birthday but that's not how

[00:02:11] days work and so the parties are always the 20th year, your birthday is always what,

[00:02:16] the 20th?

[00:02:17] Yeah, that's right.

[00:02:18] That's right, it is.

[00:02:19] Yep.

[00:02:20] So close enough.

[00:02:21] Well we'll still celebrate.

[00:02:22] Well the Christmas party will never land on your birthday.

[00:02:24] But no, it will not.

[00:02:25] Well how do a birthday party then?

[00:02:27] Scotty, I'm very excited today because it's some March Christmas party.

[00:02:32] You know we've got a couple of these under our belt now.

[00:02:35] We're heading into spring.

[00:02:37] The sunlight is shining and for a lot of people, I know, I know for a lot of people Scotty,

[00:02:43] a lot of Christmas lovers that can potentially be a hardship but I am going to choose to find

[00:02:50] the joy in it and say it gives me more hours in the day to celebrate Christmas.

[00:02:55] How about that?

[00:02:56] Yeah, that works.

[00:02:57] I saw that last week is the spring equinox and that means the days are getting longer

[00:03:03] which is a little rough for me.

[00:03:04] I really like those dark cold gloomy days of winter but that's okay because we have

[00:03:09] to get through it in order to get to Christmas.

[00:03:12] That's true.

[00:03:13] Speaking of Christmas, Scotty, I think we should do the countdown.

[00:03:16] Absolutely.

[00:03:17] I want to go to the world.

[00:03:22] Nine months until Christmas!

[00:03:27] Single Digies everybody, I know we don't have a lot of double digit months because of

[00:03:32] the fact that there's only 12 months but the fact that we're in the singles it shows forward

[00:03:37] progress.

[00:03:38] It feels like it was just 10.

[00:03:40] I know.

[00:03:41] I love it.

[00:03:42] I love it.

[00:03:43] You know, the days are getting closer.

[00:03:46] Closer and closer you know what I mean?

[00:03:48] I was putting the notes together last night and flipping the 10 to 9 from the last dock

[00:03:52] and I thought wow this is actually going by really fast.

[00:03:55] That's right Scotty.

[00:03:56] That's why we do this right here.

[00:03:58] This crazy little thing we call Christmas morning.

[00:04:00] It is.

[00:04:01] I know we got a lot in store for today's episode so let's not delay.

[00:04:05] What's up first Scotty?

[00:04:07] First is going to be Christmas traditions.

[00:04:09] Okay.

[00:04:10] Oh, Christmas traditions.

[00:04:16] I love them.

[00:04:20] Wow.

[00:04:21] That's an improvement.

[00:04:22] I really think you've been working on that, haven't you?

[00:04:24] I've been working a lot of this.

[00:04:26] It woke up very early this morning in the practice.

[00:04:28] Oh fantastic.

[00:04:29] Shannon would you mind reading us an email from Rebecca Porter?

[00:04:33] I sure would.

[00:04:34] Okay.

[00:04:35] Hello and Mary Christmas.

[00:04:36] I know you have a lot of emails for the Christmas party but I wanted to send you a little information

[00:04:41] about something specific to March.

[00:04:45] In about 2009 my brother invented a new holiday that he calls Clean Slate March.

[00:04:51] The theory is that by the time March rolls around people have mostly given up on their

[00:04:57] New Year's resolutions and they need a chance to try again.

[00:05:00] So on March 1st you get to make a new possibly more realistic set of resolutions.

[00:05:06] To celebrate my brother, not celebrating her brother but maybe we're celebrating her

[00:05:12] brother also.

[00:05:13] I don't know.

[00:05:14] Well, we celebrate her brother, but she's not.

[00:05:15] He would host a party and hand out silly resolutions at the door.

[00:05:19] Stuff like I resolved to not make a loud announcement wishing everyone a happy Clean Slate

[00:05:25] March and they had to break those resolutions before the party ended.

[00:05:30] Oh, from?

[00:05:31] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:05:33] For me March is one of the hardest months because it feels so far from Christmas and there

[00:05:38] aren't really any holidays except my birthday.

[00:05:42] That I look forward to.

[00:05:44] That I look forward to.

[00:05:46] Not a sports person so March madness does nothing for me.

[00:05:49] Oh well, it's nice to find a reason to celebrate and to have a reminder that it's okay

[00:05:54] to make mistakes and you don't have to wait for a new year to try again.

[00:05:59] Hopefully it can bring the Christmas morning people a little bit of joy too.

[00:06:03] Merry Christmas and thank you for all the joy you bring every week.

[00:06:07] What do you think of this, Bram?

[00:06:08] I think that's very nice.

[00:06:09] I do want to just let everybody know I'm not here brag but I did resolve to having two

[00:06:13] smoothies a week and I am still doing that in March so I don't need a Clean Slate.

[00:06:19] I'm actually perfect.

[00:06:21] But I appreciate this.

[00:06:23] I think it's very nice.

[00:06:24] I have many resolutions down so I like the idea.

[00:06:29] This is fun.

[00:06:30] Yeah, Shannon, I'm sure you're the one that goes to the gym out of the three of us.

[00:06:35] Has the gym gone back down to a normal level of attendance?

[00:06:38] I mean it never really got I tried but it never really got to the point where I was going

[00:06:46] like that consistently.

[00:06:49] I know it's I have a my day job.

[00:06:52] It's awful out of me so yeah but this is the kind of thing where you could say instead

[00:06:56] of resolving to go to the gym every day, I'm going to resolve to go twice a week or something

[00:07:01] a more realistic resolution.

[00:07:03] So I love this idea.

[00:07:05] It's a lot of fun and I like giving people a permission structure to say okay that didn't

[00:07:09] work.

[00:07:10] Let's come up with something more realistic so thank you Rebecca for sure.

[00:07:13] That was really neat.

[00:07:14] I love that.

[00:07:15] I love that.

[00:07:16] What's next Scotty?

[00:07:17] We're going to move right along to Christmas memories.

[00:07:20] Oh shoot okay.

[00:07:22] All right, how about this boy here we go.

[00:07:25] I remember the time when I was a boy and I had good memories.

[00:07:32] I don't know that was a bad one guys.

[00:07:34] Okay, the kid will be perfect.

[00:07:39] I resolved to make better songs the rest of the year.

[00:07:45] That's a great resolution.

[00:07:46] I'm going to read this email from Judy Fargeon.

[00:07:50] You guys be ready for this one.

[00:07:51] This is something okay.

[00:07:53] Hi brands got in Shannon.

[00:07:55] I debated sending this email because it sounds out there and it is from the beyond.

[00:08:01] Well hold on, I can do that better.

[00:08:04] From the beyond.

[00:08:05] Wow wow.

[00:08:06] Wow.

[00:08:07] Wow.

[00:08:08] You're like that.

[00:08:09] Yeah.

[00:08:10] Production value on this show through the roof.

[00:08:11] My husband Vinnie passed away suddenly 17 years ago when we were young and life was full

[00:08:17] of our future.

[00:08:18] I still miss him terribly and I've emailed you before at Christmas saying how you guys

[00:08:22] keep my spirit alive.

[00:08:23] I wait for every new episode with great anticipation and have my morning coffee listening

[00:08:28] to you.

[00:08:29] I truly believe our loved ones stay with us when they pass over and I have received so

[00:08:33] many signs from my Vinnie over the years.

[00:08:36] Each year when Valentine's Day rolls around is a really hard day for me.

[00:08:40] This year I went up early to his grave, placed fresh sunflowers for him which he loved growing

[00:08:45] every summer and asked him for a Valentine's sign.

[00:08:49] You see where this is going yet?

[00:08:51] I came home, made my coffee, sat down to listen your podcast so grateful to have a new Wednesday

[00:08:56] episode to lift my spirit.

[00:08:58] When the February 14th news came on, brand out of the blue said, Judy, love ya!

[00:09:05] Well you can imagine my reaction.

[00:09:07] When Scott asked, who's Judy?

[00:09:10] And brand replied, I don't know a Valentine?

[00:09:12] Scott asked for more context.

[00:09:14] Brand once again repeated, Judy.

[00:09:16] I almost dropped my coffee.

[00:09:18] My Vinnie had found a way to get a message through to me.

[00:09:22] I believe Vinnie knows I listen all the time to your podcast and he always had the personality

[00:09:27] of finding a way to get things done.

[00:09:29] I have saved and replayed that segment over and over and I shared it with my friends

[00:09:33] and family.

[00:09:35] That one is amazing because there's just no explanation for some things except love.

[00:09:39] I can't even tell you the joy and happy tears you brought me this Valentine's day.

[00:09:43] Whether it's real or just my belief, I thank you for delivering my most special message

[00:09:48] from beyond.

[00:09:49] You guys are truly earth angels.

[00:09:51] Sincerely Judy from Loudonville.

[00:09:53] Isn't that sweet?

[00:09:54] That's so sweet.

[00:09:55] It is very sweet and I gotta be honest, I don't remember this episode nor do I remember

[00:09:59] saying this.

[00:10:00] Oh I remember.

[00:10:01] Totally.

[00:10:02] I was gonna say there's a chance that it's just on Judy's need but there's a few.

[00:10:07] You were actually wasn't you, it was Larry the elf.

[00:10:10] Oh, it was Larry of course.

[00:10:12] Amazing.

[00:10:13] This email gave me chills.

[00:10:14] I love it.

[00:10:15] That is so sweet.

[00:10:16] Thank you Judy.

[00:10:17] Thanks for sharing that.

[00:10:18] And Judy love you.

[00:10:20] It's very nice brand.

[00:10:23] Shannon would you read this email from Brandon Sears and our Brandon?

[00:10:27] You're going to love this one.

[00:10:28] I can't wait.

[00:10:29] I want to preface this by saying this was sent on December 15th last year and it was

[00:10:34] during the daily episodes.

[00:10:35] It's my anniversary.

[00:10:36] It's a good day.

[00:10:38] Nice.

[00:10:39] I'm telling you.

[00:10:40] It's not going on here, lot of signs.

[00:10:41] A lot of signs.

[00:10:42] Wow.

[00:10:43] You'll see why in a minute we didn't have time to read this during the daily episodes

[00:10:46] and it's very very photo heavy which is hard on a podcast but I will post all these photos

[00:10:51] so take it away Shannon.

[00:10:53] Hi Brandon Scott.

[00:10:54] Good journey.

[00:10:55] Last night.

[00:10:56] Last night my wife and I ventured out to see another house here in Ottawa, Ontario.

[00:11:03] The house is all decked out to resemble the Griswold family home.

[00:11:07] I was able to speak to Sean Turcott, the man behind the madness and this is apparently

[00:11:13] his fourth year of transforming his home for the holidays with every year being a different

[00:11:19] movie.

[00:11:20] I've sent along a few photos to share with the listeners.

[00:11:23] Oh my gosh.

[00:11:26] Yeah.

[00:11:27] This is tough.

[00:11:28] We're going to have to paint a word picture and I would encourage everybody to go to our

[00:11:32] Instagram feed and look at these photos.

[00:11:34] Brian, look at this.

[00:11:36] It's amazing.

[00:11:37] This is over the top of my entire schedule.

[00:11:40] And I got to be honest with you there's a lot of like props here.

[00:11:43] We got an RV.

[00:11:44] We got an old station wagon with the tree on top.

[00:11:47] We got all these cutouts.

[00:11:49] Wow.

[00:11:50] This was just for one year.

[00:11:51] He does a different movie every year.

[00:11:53] That's insane.

[00:11:55] That's what it said.

[00:11:56] Oh, it does say that you're right.

[00:11:57] Which is wild to me because this seems like something that somebody would work on a little

[00:12:01] bit every year adding a proper to.

[00:12:04] Yeah, I'll get it over here this year.

[00:12:05] He got a bunch of props just for this year.

[00:12:08] What does he do with them?

[00:12:09] That's amazing.

[00:12:10] I mean there's a full RV here.

[00:12:12] Yeah.

[00:12:13] You got a station wagon.

[00:12:15] It looks like the truster.

[00:12:16] It's got the wood panels on the side.

[00:12:18] It's amazing.

[00:12:19] What do you do with these?

[00:12:21] When this was over, I have no idea.

[00:12:23] He has some cardboard cutouts.

[00:12:26] He's got all sorts of stuff.

[00:12:27] He's got to have like neighbors or people that in the community who know what he does and

[00:12:34] are probably willing to help him out.

[00:12:35] I would imagine.

[00:12:36] I want to take my rusty RV for a few weeks.

[00:12:39] I would think, yeah.

[00:12:40] Maybe he's got like the auto place down the road or you know a lot.

[00:12:44] It's like I got a station wagon back here somewhere.

[00:12:46] Here you go.

[00:12:47] He's got the chair with the exploded cat underneath it.

[00:12:50] He's got a prop of the diving board with, I don't remember the name of the actress who played

[00:12:55] the hot brunette lady on it.

[00:12:58] It's just amazing.

[00:12:59] It is.

[00:13:00] Yeah.

[00:13:01] I gotta do more research here.

[00:13:02] I'm intrigued by what's happened.

[00:13:04] If anybody knows Sean Tercott and can get him in touch with us, Christmas morning podcast

[00:13:08] at gmail.com.

[00:13:09] We would love to talk to him.

[00:13:10] I love that.

[00:13:11] That's fantastic.

[00:13:12] I want to see what else he did.

[00:13:13] Like what are the other movies?

[00:13:15] Oh true.

[00:13:16] I want to see some more pictures.

[00:13:17] So yeah, exactly.

[00:13:18] He probably has to find movies that feature a green station wagon in our restaurant.

[00:13:23] The very, the very, the very, the very, the prop list for sure.

[00:13:27] Yeah, there you go.

[00:13:28] Yeah, absolutely amazing.

[00:13:30] Please check them out on our Instagram feed and hats off to you Sean Tercott.

[00:13:34] Absolutely great job.

[00:13:35] Fantastic.

[00:13:36] If someone can get us in contact, we'd love to talk with him.

[00:13:39] Let's do this.

[00:13:40] Let's take a quick break.

[00:13:41] We'll come back.

[00:13:42] We'll get to more Christmas party shenanigans here on Christmas morning.

[00:13:49] Welcome back everybody.

[00:13:50] It is a Christmas party.

[00:13:53] What would a Christmas party be, Scotty without some Christmas decorations?

[00:13:58] It would be nothing.

[00:13:58] Exactly.

[00:13:59] And the last one kind of goes into decorating decorations.

[00:14:03] So the last one was a bit of a gray area.

[00:14:05] A good transition into our next segment, Christmas decorating.

[00:14:08] What do you got for us, brand?

[00:14:09] I love lights.

[00:14:13] I love trees.

[00:14:15] I love ornaments and please make me some hot chocolate.

[00:14:24] Please.

[00:14:27] Shenan they're getting interesting.

[00:14:29] Wow.

[00:14:30] I kind of yeah, okay never mind.

[00:14:33] We're always going to move right on.

[00:14:35] That was let it be.

[00:14:36] Oh.

[00:14:37] Oh.

[00:14:38] Really bad.

[00:14:40] If you have to explain it all good, all good.

[00:14:42] Let me say here I have an email from Nicholas and Nicholas has been writing us for a very

[00:14:48] long time.

[00:14:49] Great listener, very prolific email to us.

[00:14:52] He has started to sign his emails Saint Nick and I really like that.

[00:14:57] That's bald.

[00:14:58] That's awesome.

[00:14:59] I like it.

[00:15:00] It's awesome.

[00:15:01] This is also an older one here.

[00:15:03] He says Merry Christmas Fellas.

[00:15:04] I wanted to send these pictures in from a flea market, find in Royal Oak, Michigan.

[00:15:09] My wife and I love vintage decor.

[00:15:12] So these 70 inch paper canes.

[00:15:14] Now in his email it said 70 foot and I think that was just a typo so I'm assuming it's

[00:15:19] 70 inch because that makes more sense.

[00:15:22] The 70 inch paper canes will be displayed on our door this upcoming Christmas.

[00:15:26] This also is from December.

[00:15:28] The next photo is just two unused Christmas greeting cards from the early 90s.

[00:15:32] We love to send out these old style Christmas cards to our friends and family and we always

[00:15:37] attach a movie quote from our favorite Christmas movies.

[00:15:40] Now I'm going to put these two pictures on our Instagram.

[00:15:43] I wanted to include this one today for two reasons.

[00:15:46] One, he sent it back in December and we weren't able to get to it.

[00:15:50] Two, Shannon you are a big vintage find person so I really wanted your take on this.

[00:15:56] Oh yeah, I love I love vintage Christmas stuff.

[00:16:00] I also came across some really old like 50s, 60s Christmas cards.

[00:16:06] And I actually have a lot of times back in the day they would just sign like the whatever

[00:16:13] family so like I actually have reused and sent them to people and like because there

[00:16:20] are these amazing like vintage Christmas scenes like the cards are pretty cool if you know

[00:16:26] what I'm talking about.

[00:16:27] So I've done something similar.

[00:16:29] And now what you're talking about.

[00:16:30] Yeah, now do you cross out the old name like from the new or do you just say it from

[00:16:35] the new man's and also Shannon?

[00:16:37] Well, yeah, I honestly like I've only done it a few times where I had the names on there

[00:16:42] and I would just like circle it and be like you got to love the old vintage cards.

[00:16:46] Oh, I love that.

[00:16:47] Yeah, now kind of lean into it a little bit.

[00:16:49] Now, Brad, I wasn't on Shannon's Christmas card distribution list this year.

[00:16:53] No, no one was because I actually didn't send out cards.

[00:16:59] Yeah, except for a couple of people.

[00:17:01] But that's it.

[00:17:02] So sorry guys.

[00:17:02] You could have left that last part out next year.

[00:17:05] Next year.

[00:17:06] Except for like 25 people.

[00:17:08] Sorry, you were going to my list.

[00:17:10] But how do you set one with an old name on it?

[00:17:12] I would actually think that's endearing in touching it wouldn't it's not like when you

[00:17:16] give somebody a book and it's obviously a like a former library book or something that

[00:17:21] it has a special touch to it meeting like this was special to somebody at some point.

[00:17:25] And now I'm re I'm reusing it.

[00:17:27] I think that's so cool.

[00:17:28] Yeah, Brian, that picture on the left with the candy canes that mouse looks so familiar

[00:17:34] to me.

[00:17:35] Is it from something or is it just a style of decoration that just would have been popular?

[00:17:39] Listen, no one knows mouse is more than I can say that I recommend you are a man.

[00:17:43] You are a man.

[00:17:44] I apologize for yeah.

[00:17:45] That's what they call me.

[00:17:47] One of our eagle eyed listeners.

[00:17:49] I'm certain we'll go to our Instagram look at this and say Scott you dummy.

[00:17:53] You don't have to say that part.

[00:17:54] That is obviously the mouse from blank.

[00:17:57] I would love to know because it looks so familiar.

[00:17:59] It's a cute mouse very very cute.

[00:18:01] Great fine.

[00:18:02] If it starts showing up in your dreams and haunting you Scott let us know.

[00:18:06] It could be haunted that's why I don't buy used things.

[00:18:09] Oh, I know that now is from my wild weirdest dreams.

[00:18:13] Yeah.

[00:18:14] Exactly.

[00:18:15] Shannon would you mind reading the next email from Beth Ann McGross Smith?

[00:18:17] And I love Beth Ann so absolutely and not only not only does she say hello she's a list

[00:18:25] our name she just says to my favorite Christmas morning hosts.

[00:18:29] So you know that's excellent.

[00:18:31] Yeah, that's a bad and that's a big pool.

[00:18:33] That's right.

[00:18:34] That's right.

[00:18:35] That's right.

[00:18:36] That's right.

[00:18:37] She didn't want to leave anybody out and she's also maybe maybe she's trying to get on

[00:18:41] this podcast.

[00:18:42] Oh, all right.

[00:18:43] We're not talking about boy.

[00:18:45] We're not talking about.

[00:18:46] We're not talking about.

[00:18:47] We're not talking about say about the bell.

[00:18:49] We are talking about boy meets world later today though.

[00:18:52] We are talking about boy meets world later.

[00:18:53] Okay.

[00:18:54] I think the bass side had a Christmas episode.

[00:18:56] No, oh, maybe we could do that one at the Christmas party this year.

[00:19:00] At the Bramble Festival season.

[00:19:01] Don't even tell me.

[00:19:02] Okay.

[00:19:03] Okay.

[00:19:04] Take it away Shannon.

[00:19:05] Okay.

[00:19:06] So from Beth Ann I've had something I wanted to share for a Christmas party for several

[00:19:10] months but specifically wanted to save it for the March episode.

[00:19:14] I am sentimental to a fault and I love things that are symbolic or steeped in tradition.

[00:19:20] Whether it was planning my wedding naming my children or even how I decorate for Christmas

[00:19:25] I want things to have a purpose and have meaning.

[00:19:29] For many years we had a cheap tree skirt that certainly didn't evoke any particularly

[00:19:34] exciting feelings in me.

[00:19:36] It was nothing like the quilted skirt around my childhood tree.

[00:19:40] So imagine my delight some years back when my mother made quilted tree skirts for mine

[00:19:45] and my brother's families to use each year.

[00:19:48] My tree skirt is beautiful and I adore it mostly because it is something my mother made

[00:19:53] for me.

[00:19:54] When I have to put it back in the box at the end of each Christmas season, I feel disappointed

[00:19:59] to see my mother's handiwork being tucked out of sight but then when we pull it back

[00:20:04] out each year I get a huge jolt of joy to see it again.

[00:20:08] Similarly we struggled in the Smith House to find a perfect topper for our tree.

[00:20:13] We tried multiple things through the years to no avail.

[00:20:16] Being made me feel as giddy as the white angel that had been atop my childhood tree.

[00:20:22] And then, as my parents started getting older and started spending Christmas morning at

[00:20:26] the homes of their adult children, my mom made the decision to stop putting up a Christmas

[00:20:31] tree in her home.

[00:20:33] I asked if I could have her angel and she said yes but was surprised as to why I would want

[00:20:39] it.

[00:20:40] I told her that it was something I was prepared to fight my brother over if needed because

[00:20:45] I love it so much.

[00:20:47] When my parents first married, my mother made that angel with yarn and plastic canvas to

[00:20:52] go atop their very first Christmas tree.

[00:20:55] And she and my dad just celebrated 43 years of marriage this month on March 14th.

[00:21:01] Happy anniversary!

[00:21:03] To use it now for my own family is truly an honor and a privilege.

[00:21:08] Thank you so much for sharing the joy of Christmas with all of us each week.

[00:21:13] Love you guys so much and I cannot wait to see you in July at Bramble Fest.

[00:21:17] Yeah, it's very nice.

[00:21:19] I love that.

[00:21:21] And also shout out to Beth Amigraf for letting me have her grandma's old Christmas village.

[00:21:27] Wow!

[00:21:28] She's very nice.

[00:21:29] I love that.

[00:21:30] Yeah!

[00:21:31] And also if I could get the angel when you're done with it.

[00:21:34] We're going to post the photo on Instagram with all the other photos from today.

[00:21:39] I like this one a lot.

[00:21:40] Well Shannon, this one resonates with me a little bit because we had a Christmas tree

[00:21:44] topper that was nothing special.

[00:21:47] And I'm not saying that Beth Amigraf is not special.

[00:21:50] It's special to you but if somebody else looked at it they'd be like what's the big deal

[00:21:54] with this?

[00:21:55] We had this...

[00:21:56] Right.

[00:21:57] So you think her angel looks like crap?

[00:21:58] I did.

[00:21:59] No, you didn't.

[00:22:00] Wow!

[00:22:01] But I can tell you that my family tree topper was crap.

[00:22:03] It was a piece of cardboard shaped like a star with aluminum foil over it.

[00:22:08] If you looked at it you'd be like why do you want that?

[00:22:12] Well I want it because that's what I remember growing up.

[00:22:15] So this one makes sense to me.

[00:22:18] Did someone make that?

[00:22:19] What was the story behind it?

[00:22:21] I'm assuming my dad made it because we didn't have anything else to put on the top of

[00:22:24] the tree.

[00:22:25] Oh, okay.

[00:22:26] And I would love to have it but I'm sure my wife would be like what?

[00:22:29] I'm not putting that on my fabulous tree so I'm not even going to ask.

[00:22:33] You could make a new one reminiscent of the old one.

[00:22:36] I was thinking of that.

[00:22:37] Now that I'm doing all this woodworking and stuff maybe I could do that.

[00:22:41] That's how can you put wood on top of a tree?

[00:22:44] Is it going to weigh it down?

[00:22:45] It's a fake tree so I'll be fine.

[00:22:48] Yeah, alright.

[00:22:49] Brian can you introduce this to Christmas TV and movies?

[00:22:52] Guess if I have to.

[00:22:54] I love TV as I do.

[00:22:58] TV is for me and you.

[00:23:00] That was great.

[00:23:01] It'd be kind of cool if you could figure out how to make those more Christmasy but

[00:23:04] I do appreciate the enthusiasm.

[00:23:07] I have a clip from Joe Fulton, the Christmas Efficientado.

[00:23:11] Brian, he sent us a review of the Boy Meets World episode called Santa's Little Helpers.

[00:23:17] Corrine DePango wants Sean and Angela to admit that they secretly love each other but

[00:23:21] will they reunite at Christmas?

[00:23:22] Listen to my review and recap starting now.

[00:23:26] Mr. Fini singing Christmas carols is filled with the spirit decorating the university

[00:23:30] student union with a small Christmas tree only to have the janitor throw it in the trash

[00:23:34] citing university policy.

[00:23:36] What are you doing?

[00:23:38] University policy?

[00:23:40] Happy non-denominational holidays.

[00:23:43] Eric dressed as Santa announces he got a job as a mall Santa paying $12 an hour and allowing

[00:23:47] him to sit on his butt all day just like Mr. Fini.

[00:23:51] Eric also signed up Rachel to work as Mrs. Claus and Jack to work as an elf but he only

[00:23:56] gets $5 an hour.

[00:24:07] Corrine invites Sean to spend Christmas with his family while Topanga invites Angela

[00:24:11] to spend Christmas with the Matthews family as well.

[00:24:14] Turns out that Sean and Angela each confided in Corrine and Topanga that they still have feelings

[00:24:18] for each other but they decide not to interfere and let them tell each other.

[00:24:22] Meanwhile Eric, Rachel and Jack are working in the mall when one little boy takes a liking

[00:24:42] to Rachel's Mrs. Claus and in a scene that can only happen in the 90s, Pinches Rachel's

[00:24:47] butt as he walks away.

[00:24:57] A group of orphans comes to visit Santa, leaving Eric to discover he loves to bring joy to

[00:25:02] the kids and wants to make sure that all the orphans have a good Christmas.

[00:25:06] He sends Jack and Rachel to go buy toys for all the kids using Santa's dad's credit card.

[00:25:10] Eventually they run out of toys with Eric taking items from around the house including

[00:25:24] his mom's toaster oven and gifted breast pump.

[00:25:28] The last orphan Tommy tells Eric what he really wants for Christmas are parents.

[00:25:33] This makes Eric reflect on what he is supposed to do and why any little kid grow up without

[00:25:38] a parent.

[00:25:40] Eric decides that he can be responsible for the happiness of one boy.

[00:25:43] He brings Tommy home to have Christmas with his family and vows to act as a big brother

[00:25:47] moving forward.

[00:25:48] Yeah, Tommy and I met when I was Santa.

[00:25:50] He thought I was really Santa.

[00:25:52] Now I know he's Eric.

[00:25:54] Yeah, he said we could still hang out though.

[00:25:57] Eric said we can hang out on weekends.

[00:25:59] Yeah, I'll be like he's got a big brother.

[00:26:01] Well, he's a good one Tommy.

[00:26:03] Sean and Angela begin to get close and they kiss under the mistletoe.

[00:26:07] As the family lights to Christmas tree.

[00:26:10] Confused, they go and talk but Sean isn't ready to commit and Angela ends their relationship.

[00:26:16] The episode ends with Mr. Feeney reading a Christmas Carol where Cori and Dupango can

[00:26:20] tell by the body language that Sean and Angela did not get back together.

[00:26:25] So final thoughts.

[00:26:27] In the later seasons the show made Eric the comic relief and in this episode gave him

[00:26:30] some heart which makes this episode so good.

[00:26:33] Unfortunately, the Sean and Angela story is not much fun and ends the episode on a

[00:26:38] day.

[00:26:39] I give this episode a B. That's my review of the Boy Meets World episode Santa's Little

[00:26:44] Helpers from season 6.

[00:26:45] What Christmas episode should I review next?

[00:26:48] You can easily find that episode on YouTube.

[00:26:50] If you watch it let me know what you think.

[00:26:52] I'm the Christmas Efficient Auto and remember stay off the night list.

[00:26:58] I'll be the first to admit I've never seen Boy Meets World.

[00:27:00] I was too old for it.

[00:27:01] I was way too cool for myself when this came out.

[00:27:04] So I'm not familiar with it.

[00:27:06] I do understand brand that it was one of those shows that hit exactly the right time for

[00:27:11] you.

[00:27:12] Shannon, did you watch this one or were you just phasing out of it at this point?

[00:27:15] I watched this one absolutely and also I have a bone to pick with you Scotty.

[00:27:20] You always say you're too old for stuff but then stuff that was around in the 70s.

[00:27:23] You have no idea what it is.

[00:27:25] What a jerk.

[00:27:26] I was too young for stuff for Rota.

[00:27:29] Oh excuse me.

[00:27:30] I watched Nick at night, Mr.

[00:27:33] When I was growing up, Nick at night had I loved Luciana.

[00:27:37] It didn't have friends on it.

[00:27:38] Seems like you guys need to take this one off there.

[00:27:40] Listen, brand.

[00:27:41] I would only try to eat it.

[00:27:42] You do it.

[00:27:43] Maybe we can get those gigantic rubber punching fists.

[00:27:48] Yeah, yeah.

[00:27:49] It's going to fight over.

[00:27:50] Yeah, unfortunately it would get unfunny real fast.

[00:27:55] But Joe that was great.

[00:27:56] Thank you.

[00:27:57] I don't want to see this now.

[00:27:58] And brand, you'll be happy to know that now I'm aware that Topanga is a character.

[00:28:02] Topanga is a character.

[00:28:04] Legendary character.

[00:28:06] I can actually picture her.

[00:28:07] I do, I am aware of the show even though I've never seen it.

[00:28:10] Even if you don't know the show, you know Topanga.

[00:28:14] Yeah.

[00:28:15] Yeah, I know who it is.

[00:28:16] Thank you Joe for doing that.

[00:28:17] I really appreciate you sending that one in so much fun and brand.

[00:28:20] We'll just have to see what he comes up with next month.

[00:28:22] Now I didn't ask him to do that.

[00:28:24] I believe you just casually mentioned it and he came through.

[00:28:27] So that was great.

[00:28:28] I love that.

[00:28:29] Thank you, Joe.

[00:28:30] And the last one today is from Jessica Trinidad.

[00:28:32] Do you mind reading it, Shannon?

[00:28:33] Oh, it's not an audio clip this time.

[00:28:35] Well, I do have a quick audio clip but start reading first.

[00:28:39] Okay.

[00:28:40] Okay.

[00:28:41] You'll understand.

[00:28:42] Hello morning people.

[00:28:44] I really wanted to send this as a voice recording since its family lore

[00:28:48] and family lore is always best told and not written.

[00:28:52] However, I'm still recovering from Leran Gytis.

[00:28:55] Okay.

[00:28:56] And my voice currently sounds like a cross between a strangled goose

[00:28:59] and the voice of the guy who said Bruce in Frosty the snowman.

[00:29:03] All right.

[00:29:04] Let me interrupt you right here.

[00:29:05] I have a clip.

[00:29:06] My voice is totally podcast ready, right?

[00:29:09] Right?

[00:29:10] Right?

[00:29:11] Right.

[00:29:12] Right.

[00:29:13] Right.

[00:29:14] Yeah.

[00:29:15] Right.

[00:29:16] Right.

[00:29:17] So here's the story.

[00:29:18] This is from my stepdad's family.

[00:29:20] But he was my dad for all of my memory.

[00:29:23] I see myself as having two dads and so no.

[00:29:27] So sorry.

[00:29:28] I was trying to prep in the outro here, some of the app and then it hit the case.

[00:29:37] So sorry.

[00:29:38] I run a cliche and that was actually better than his intentional.

[00:29:42] Oh my god.

[00:29:43] All right.

[00:29:44] This is good.

[00:29:46] This is good.

[00:29:47] This is good stuff.

[00:29:48] Good stuff.

[00:29:49] I see myself as having two dads and so everyone in the story were my true relations.

[00:29:55] In World War II, my uncle Danny enlisted in the Navy.

[00:29:59] He was the family's eldest but still just barely 18.

[00:30:03] And so my grandma Smith was extremely worried about him.

[00:30:07] They had had a hard time during the depression and had endured a lot of personal loss.

[00:30:12] And so seeing a son off to war was quite frightening.

[00:30:15] While he was at basic training, he sent home a letter and a V-disc with a song that he

[00:30:20] wanted his family to hear.

[00:30:22] V-discs were record albums made for service members during the war.

[00:30:27] At that time, records consisted of one song per side.

[00:30:31] Uncle Danny had heard a song he liked a great deal called White Christmas.

[00:30:36] He sent the record to his family without naming the song he wanted them to hear, assuming

[00:30:41] that they would play the A-side of the disc.

[00:30:44] Well, they did not.

[00:30:45] They accidentally played the B-side first and the B-side was I'll Be Home for Christmas.

[00:30:52] Oh gosh.

[00:30:54] My very stoic, very German grandmasmith burst into tears and was completely inconsolable.

[00:31:01] That evening Uncle Danny called home to see if they had received the record and asked

[00:31:06] what they thought.

[00:31:07] He got an earful from his dad and from his brother, my dad, about breaking his mother's

[00:31:13] heart.

[00:31:14] He realized his mistake and explained that it was the other song he wanted them to hear.

[00:31:19] My dad always told this as a really funny story and my mom always laughed as well.

[00:31:24] I always felt really bad for grandmasmith.

[00:31:27] However, I acknowledged that you had to be there is a very important part of stories

[00:31:31] told, especially during particularly hard times.

[00:31:35] I have a pretty dark sense of humor but even still I truly admire my dad's ability to

[00:31:39] navigate all of his hard times with a smile even through tears.

[00:31:44] P.S.

[00:31:45] Uncle Danny survived the war unscathed.

[00:31:48] He lived a long happy and very successful life.

[00:31:51] He lives on as one of my favorite people in the universe.

[00:31:55] Hug your loved ones friends.

[00:31:58] Love Jessica.

[00:31:59] I love that so much, I love that story.

[00:32:02] That is really nice.

[00:32:03] The P.S.

[00:32:04] came through as a Facebook message to me.

[00:32:06] She said, oh my god, I forgot to tell you he's alive.

[00:32:08] That's really helpful.

[00:32:09] That's really helpful.

[00:32:10] It gave me a permission structure to chuckle at the story because of it.

[00:32:16] Jessica, you have a way with words we would have loved to hear your wonderful voice but

[00:32:20] thank you for taking the time to write this.

[00:32:23] This is something I can only imagine what it's like to hear this story told so many years

[00:32:29] later.

[00:32:30] I think the story would have hit a little bit differently if she had been reading it with

[00:32:33] her current voice.

[00:32:34] That's right.

[00:32:41] That's for sure.

[00:32:43] Little Slava.

[00:32:44] While we did it everybody, we have Christmas party to now as the time to put your drinks

[00:32:50] in the sink, take off your sweater and get out of here.

[00:32:53] I don't know.

[00:32:54] I was trying a new thing and I didn't like it after I did it.

[00:32:57] Scott, you try.

[00:32:58] You try.

[00:32:59] You try to send people up.

[00:33:00] Thank you for joining us for this party episode.

[00:33:03] Everybody, it was so great to hear these stories.

[00:33:05] Shannon, these were amazing stories.

[00:33:07] It was very email heavy this month but I knew number one, I knew you read them beautifully

[00:33:13] and you did.

[00:33:14] Thank you.

[00:33:15] Just like you always do.

[00:33:16] It was just great to hear these.

[00:33:17] I love that these episodes are centered around the listeners and their memories.

[00:33:21] Thanks everybody for participating.

[00:33:23] Start thinking about April.

[00:33:24] We'd love to hear from you.

[00:33:26] Shannon, I can't wait to see you again in April.

[00:33:27] I can't wait to see you guys.

[00:33:29] Cheers.

[00:33:30] Cheers to you.

[00:33:31] And until Wednesday, we'll be back with our regular schedule program.

[00:33:34] Merry Christmas.