October Christmas Party - 2 Months Until Christmas

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

[00:00:05] I'm from the North Pole. It's time for Christmas Morning, the daily show where every day is Christmas.

[00:00:22] Here are your hosts, Brand and...

[00:00:28] And also Shannon.

[00:00:32] Well, well, well, hello everybody. It is great to be back here today on a Christmas Party episode of Christmas Morning.

[00:00:40] It's the 25th and we're here! I'm Brand. Scott's here. Scott, hi!

[00:00:45] Hello, Brandon. How are you?

[00:00:47] I'm doing so good. So good.

[00:00:49] I'm doing great. You know why I'm doing great?

[00:00:52] Why's that?

[00:00:53] Because this is going to be the best party episode we have ever done.

[00:00:56] Wow!

[00:00:57] Money back guarantee on that.

[00:00:59] Money back guarantee, everybody. You heard it here first.

[00:01:02] And part of the reason is because Shannon's here. Hello, Shannon.

[00:01:05] Hello! I'm so excited to be here, as always. And you guys have so much pep in your step.

[00:01:10] I feel like I need to chug my coffee in order to get on your levels.

[00:01:15] We're just trying to like, get ready. We're going to go daily soon.

[00:01:18] We're, you know, we're getting excited. We're bouncing. We're bouncing.

[00:01:22] Yeah, this is a fake it until you make it kind of situation, Shannon.

[00:01:26] And people can't see Shannon right now, but I can see Shannon.

[00:01:29] She is wearing the coziest looking white sweater that I've ever seen.

[00:01:34] If you lay down in snow, we wouldn't be able to find you.

[00:01:36] Oh no, she'd be gone.

[00:01:37] I feel like, you know, Mrs. Claus might have something like this in her closet also.

[00:01:41] Wow!

[00:01:42] Yeah, that is true.

[00:01:43] Part of the reason that this is going to be a wonderful episode is it's very cooking and food heavy.

[00:01:49] I love that.

[00:01:50] It's the food heaviest episode we've ever done. So I hope you've got some good intros for us lined up.

[00:01:56] We will find out.

[00:01:58] Why don't we start with the countdown?

[00:02:00] Let's do it.

[00:02:05] Two months until girls!

[00:02:10] Woohoo!

[00:02:11] Shannon, two months. What are we going to do with two months?

[00:02:14] Ah, I feel like there's not enough time. I have so much to do.

[00:02:18] I know.

[00:02:19] I know it was just Arbor Day. How is it all? Just two months?

[00:02:23] Arbor Day. We all know what Arbor Day is. Don't act like you don't.

[00:02:27] I was going to say.

[00:02:29] Isn't it like May 5th?

[00:02:31] Sure.

[00:02:32] Somewhere around there. I don't know.

[00:02:33] No.

[00:02:34] That's right.

[00:02:35] Two months though.

[00:02:37] Oh, that actually is giving me a little bit of anxiety that, hey, I got gifts to buy.

[00:02:42] I've got things to think about.

[00:02:43] And I was going to make a lot of gifts this year for friends.

[00:02:46] Well, I better get on it. Otherwise, everyone's getting a hearty back slap.

[00:02:50] Yeah.

[00:02:51] April 25th.

[00:02:52] Okay.

[00:02:53] Well, I was close enough. I was in the neighborhood.

[00:02:55] I went to Shannon's big Arbor Day party this year, you know?

[00:02:58] It was awesome.

[00:02:59] Oh, yeah. Uh huh. I invited everyone.

[00:03:01] Six months until Arbor Day!

[00:03:03] Woohoo!

[00:03:05] Let's go.

[00:03:06] Arbor Day.

[00:03:07] The Arbor Day podcast.

[00:03:09] The Halloween party is just the beginning, everybody.

[00:03:12] Every holiday is getting it.

[00:03:14] Let's get through the Halloween party and then we can start thinking about the other holidays that are coming.

[00:03:19] Rayn, our first segment today is going to be Christmas memories.

[00:03:22] Okay. So here's what happens.

[00:03:24] So I had a white elephant Christmas party and I was given the Creed greatest hits on vinyl.

[00:03:32] That's pretty cool.

[00:03:33] So I have Creed's greatest hits set up and ready to go. I have the speed at 45 though, and I'm going to play a short little 45 sample of Creed and sing over top of it.

[00:03:44] It's Christmas memories you said?

[00:03:46] Yeah.

[00:03:47] Okay, here we go.

[00:03:48] Huh?

[00:03:51] Christmas memories!

[00:03:53] Christmas memories!

[00:03:55] Okay, that actually came out better than I thought it would, Shannon.

[00:03:58] That was great.

[00:03:58] That was great.

[00:04:00] That was great.

[00:04:00] Would you read this email from Matt Strahl?

[00:04:03] This is one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time.

[00:04:07] And Matt is a double-decker.

[00:04:10] We all know Matt and I think you will do the best reading this one.

[00:04:14] Aw, I love Matt.

[00:04:15] Get your Kleenex and your hankies out, folks.

[00:04:17] All right. Hey, Brand, Scotty, and Shannon. After the holidays, I tend to leave my tree and decorations up longer than most people.

[00:04:25] Hear, hear.

[00:04:25] Not only does it bring me joy to have them up and on display, but I'm also incredibly lazy and it's just easier to leave them.

[00:04:32] Again, hear, hear.

[00:04:34] This year, as I was preparing for the delayed dismantling of my Yuletide glee, I learned that friend of the show, fellow double-decker, and long-distance love-of-my-life CC was going to visit for the first time.

[00:04:49] And I was so excited.

[00:04:51] We'd talked countless times about how one day we'd get to spend time together in a warm and cozy room that was decorated for Christmas.

[00:04:58] While watching the holiday films we shared a passion for and enjoying all the holiday fun that couples who live closer to one another get to experience every December.

[00:05:08] So like a brightly wrapped Christmas gift, my procrastination presented the opportunity to have exactly that.

[00:05:15] The fact that it would happen in June didn't matter one bit.

[00:05:19] Operation Summertime Christmas with CC was a go.

[00:05:22] Her reaction after walking in to find the tree, the lights, and all the rest of the out-of-season winter wonderland on display was priceless.

[00:05:31] And a memory that will live rent-free in my brain for as long as the powers that be allow.

[00:05:37] We may not have gotten our Christmas in December or even July like a lot of other couples yet, but we had a wonderful Christmas time in June and it was perfect.

[00:05:46] Thanks for reading.

[00:05:48] Matt, that was beautiful.

[00:05:50] Brand, is it dusty in here or is it just me?

[00:05:53] It's fine.

[00:05:54] I'm fine.

[00:05:55] That was beautiful.

[00:05:56] It was very sweet.

[00:05:57] Matt, thank you for sharing that with us, letting us be part of it.

[00:06:01] We know you, we know CC, and it's just so sweet.

[00:06:06] It gave me goosebumps when I read it and I couldn't wait to read it.

[00:06:09] I've been sitting on it for like a month or so knowing that it was going to be perfect for this party.

[00:06:13] So thank you for doing that and thank you for reading it, Shannon.

[00:06:16] You did it justice, I would say.

[00:06:18] That was so sweet.

[00:06:19] So sweet.

[00:06:19] So sweet.

[00:06:20] What a good way to start.

[00:06:21] Yeah, exactly.

[00:06:22] Yeah, a good way to start.

[00:06:23] Speaking of good ways to start, you want to fire up the old Creed album again and get into Christmas traditions?

[00:06:28] Maybe this one will go a little more smoothly.

[00:06:30] All right, let's see what it is.

[00:06:31] Christmas traditions?

[00:06:32] Christmas traditions.

[00:06:33] Okay, great.

[00:06:33] Here we go.

[00:06:36] Christmas traditions!

[00:06:41] Dang.

[00:06:43] Usually our good friend Lenora Gilbert makes her appearance at the end of the show.

[00:06:48] Well, we're going to do it a little early and we're going to start with hers because she wanted to share a tradition of watching the BBC series, A Ghost Story for Christmas with us.

[00:07:00] Hey everybody!

[00:07:01] It's Lenora here, your Christmas freak on the street from Arizona, where it's finally cooling down at night.

[00:07:07] The spooky season is upon us, which reminds me to tell you about a fun Christmas tradition I participate in.

[00:07:14] It is watching the BBC series called A Ghost Story for Christmas.

[00:07:18] The original series, Chilling Tales, ran from 1971 to 1978, with more stories being produced after 2005.

[00:07:27] I watch one or two a year.

[00:07:29] I just watched the one called A Warning for the Curious.

[00:07:33] It was about an archaeologist on the hunt for a long lost treasure and he became haunted by a shadowy figure.

[00:07:40] Telling ghost stories was a popular tradition in Victorian Britain.

[00:07:44] Yule season has always been a time of remembrance, reflection and a time of ghosts on those dark, cold nights sitting around the fire.

[00:07:53] The oral tradition morphed into book reading with the invention of the steam powered printing press and Charles Dickens with A Christmas Carol packed full of ghosts.

[00:08:04] This propelled the stories through into our modern age.

[00:08:07] The BBC series can be found on YouTube by searching BBC ghost stories for Christmas.

[00:08:14] So turn down the lights, pour yourself a nice cup of tea and start with one called The Signal Man.

[00:08:21] It's an adaptation from Charles Dickens story.

[00:08:24] Happy Bermans everyone.

[00:08:26] Have either of you ever watched a ghost story for Christmas?

[00:08:29] This was new to me.

[00:08:30] No.

[00:08:31] No, I don't know anything about that.

[00:08:33] It sounds like the perfect October watch though.

[00:08:36] I gotta be honest with you.

[00:08:37] Yeah.

[00:08:38] And you are a spooky boy brand.

[00:08:40] I like a spooky.

[00:08:42] I like a spooky.

[00:08:43] Ah, me too.

[00:08:44] It didn't sound like super scary cause I don't do scary, but I could do this.

[00:08:49] I think.

[00:08:50] Yes.

[00:08:50] Yeah, I think so.

[00:08:51] I think maybe we should watch it together.

[00:08:53] Scotty, you and I come on over.

[00:08:54] Okay.

[00:08:55] I'll leave now.

[00:08:56] Shannon, do you like the spooky, scary stuff?

[00:08:58] Yes, I do.

[00:08:59] I'm also a spooky person.

[00:09:01] I like ghost stories.

[00:09:02] This time of year, I'm listening to lots of ghost stories, lots of spooky podcasts.

[00:09:08] What's your favorite spooky podcast, aside from the Halloween episode of Christmas morning

[00:09:13] that you're going to be on?

[00:09:14] I have a few.

[00:09:16] Rattled and Shook is fun.

[00:09:20] Radio Rental is fun.

[00:09:22] And Spooked is really good.

[00:09:24] And then there's also the Night Owl podcast.

[00:09:26] Have any of you, have you listened to any of those?

[00:09:28] No, I don't know about any of those.

[00:09:30] Oh my gosh.

[00:09:31] They're all great.

[00:09:32] They're all great.

[00:09:32] Okay.

[00:09:32] Listen.

[00:09:33] Yeah.

[00:09:33] There is one that I like Shannon from the people over at Crooked Media.

[00:09:37] They have a podcast called Ruined, where one person loves spooky, scary movies and the

[00:09:43] other is totally afraid of them like me.

[00:09:45] So the one who loves them explains the movie to the other and ruins it for her.

[00:09:51] That's actually great.

[00:09:51] I also don't like spooky movies.

[00:09:53] I prefer real life stories.

[00:09:56] Really?

[00:09:57] Oh my goodness.

[00:09:58] Fictional horror.

[00:09:59] Horror.

[00:09:59] I like fake scary.

[00:10:01] You know, like it's just cutesy Halloween stuff.

[00:10:04] My wife likes to watch those baking shows and lately they've just been going for gross

[00:10:08] on the, like the Halloween baking championship.

[00:10:10] I like the cute stuff.

[00:10:12] Oh really?

[00:10:12] Just like slimy eyeballs.

[00:10:14] Yeah, exactly.

[00:10:15] Like make the guts more gutsier or something.

[00:10:18] I don't, I don't like that.

[00:10:19] I don't need that.

[00:10:19] Well, the Christmas baking competitions will be here before you know it.

[00:10:22] I love them.

[00:10:22] I save those so I can watch them all year.

[00:10:25] Good background.

[00:10:26] Good background.

[00:10:27] Shannon, I'm going to take the next email because you are the star of it.

[00:10:30] Okay.

[00:10:31] What?

[00:10:31] No way.

[00:10:32] Stop it.

[00:10:33] This email is from Lance Garman.

[00:10:35] Lance says, good morning, Shannon and the other guys.

[00:10:37] Oh, well, I love the eggnog discussion during the September Christmas party.

[00:10:42] It seems like we missed a golden opportunity.

[00:10:45] Shannon has been a bartender around Christmas, but she was not asked about Christmas cocktails.

[00:10:51] What is her favorite one over the years, both to make and to drink?

[00:10:55] Do we know the latest trends in Christmas cocktails?

[00:10:58] Is there going to be a drink of the year for 2024?

[00:11:01] Now, Shannon, I did not prepare you for this.

[00:11:04] Sorry, but I didn't want you to feel like you had to do a whole lot of research or something.

[00:11:08] I just wanted to spur the moment answer for you.

[00:11:10] So do you got anything for us?

[00:11:12] Okay.

[00:11:12] My favorite Christmas cocktail to make and I've made it, but not as a bartender more when I was an office manager.

[00:11:18] I, which involved a lot of cocktails.

[00:11:21] We, I literally threw a happy hour at the office and ugly Christmas sweater happy hour.

[00:11:27] Oh, that's fun.

[00:11:28] And the cocktail was called the mistletoe cocktail.

[00:11:32] And it is basically like a, you know what a mule is?

[00:11:36] Yep.

[00:11:37] The big copper mug.

[00:11:38] Yeah.

[00:11:39] It just is like vodka and ginger beer and lime.

[00:11:42] And that's basically what it is.

[00:11:44] But you muddle cranberries and sugar at the beginning.

[00:11:48] And then you add a sprig of, I'm forgetting.

[00:11:52] Is it rosemary or one of those?

[00:11:54] Rosemary.

[00:11:55] Thank you.

[00:11:55] Rosemary.

[00:11:56] Yes.

[00:11:56] Add a sprig of rosemary at the end, but it's basically that.

[00:12:00] And it's actually really good.

[00:12:02] That's one of my favorite.

[00:12:03] And then if you get like, I mean, you could probably play with it and do instead of vodka, you could probably do a nice gin, maybe a different kind of ginger beer for fun, for funsies.

[00:12:12] If you like, you could probably play it up, you know, because they've got all kinds of mules.

[00:12:16] They've got whiskey mules.

[00:12:17] They've got tequila mules.

[00:12:19] I don't know what kind of cocktails will be popular this year.

[00:12:24] I'm sure they'll find something fun and fancy.

[00:12:27] My favorite thing when I'm working, I do a lot of these outdoor events this time of year because I'm an event bartender and hot chocolate is always great.

[00:12:35] And you just add a little bit of that cinnamon whiskey or peppermint shops or Bailey's Irish cream.

[00:12:41] I mean, you can't go wrong with any of those.

[00:12:42] Oh, it's my favorite time of the year.

[00:12:44] It's delicious.

[00:12:45] It's delicious.

[00:12:45] It's the best.

[00:12:45] I like a peppermint.

[00:12:47] I like like a peppermint chocolate.

[00:12:49] Yeah, those are good.

[00:12:50] Sometimes.

[00:12:51] Oh, you know what?

[00:12:51] You know what I want to make though is I want to make a play on an old fashioned, but I want to do like something for the holidays.

[00:12:58] This time of year, I would maybe do like a pumpkin spice one.

[00:13:01] That might be fun.

[00:13:02] I love a good old fashioned.

[00:13:04] Me too.

[00:13:04] We're having fun over here.

[00:13:05] It's five o'clock somewhere.

[00:13:07] Yeah.

[00:13:07] And actually thought of you yesterday, Brand, because every other day I have to drink this awful mushroom coffee.

[00:13:12] Yeah, I'm sure you've heard ads for them on other podcasts.

[00:13:15] They're disgusting.

[00:13:16] They're not a sponsor of us.

[00:13:18] They never will be a sponsor of us.

[00:13:19] But the reason I bought it was because I was shown I was targeted in an Instagram ad for diabetics and it said, hey, this helps with your blood sugar.

[00:13:27] And it frickin does.

[00:13:29] And it just helps regulate it a little better.

[00:13:32] So I have to suffer through it because of the benefits.

[00:13:34] Yeah.

[00:13:35] You know, you treat it like coffee.

[00:13:37] You mix it with hot water.

[00:13:38] So I mix it with the sugar free peppermint mocha creamer and a little extra peppermint.

[00:13:44] And I can I can mostly, you know, power it down that way because it still feels fun and Christmassy at least.

[00:13:50] So not a cocktail.

[00:13:51] But I like where you're going with these ideas, Shannon, especially those hot chocolates.

[00:13:55] Yeah, no, it's a lot of or, you know, it'd be good.

[00:13:58] I want to make a like a mulled wine.

[00:14:00] Oh, that would come on over.

[00:14:02] We'll make some mulled wine.

[00:14:03] Well, I'll set up still in the garage.

[00:14:05] You don't wait.

[00:14:06] You don't use a still.

[00:14:07] Actually, I would love to make some brandy, but I don't want the ATF showing up at my door.

[00:14:12] Yeah, we don't want that.

[00:14:13] We don't want that.

[00:14:14] But I'm going to be working the Chris Kindle market in Denver this year.

[00:14:18] So all the German, you know, the mulled wine and I can't remember the German name of it.

[00:14:23] Oh, you got to tell me when that is.

[00:14:25] We will come and see you.

[00:14:26] Okay.

[00:14:26] I mean, I won't.

[00:14:28] You were talking.

[00:14:29] I'm sorry.

[00:14:30] Me and my wife and daughter.

[00:14:31] I got it.

[00:14:32] I figured it out.

[00:14:33] I was like, I don't think I can call my job.

[00:14:36] I thought Brian was going to look different.

[00:14:39] It looks like a blonde woman.

[00:14:41] But it's fine.

[00:14:42] It's fine.

[00:14:43] Yeah.

[00:14:44] What else we got, Scotty?

[00:14:46] We've got an email from Ben Race.

[00:14:48] Could you read this one for us, Shannon?

[00:14:50] I sure can.

[00:14:51] This is a long one, everybody.

[00:14:53] Pull up a chair.

[00:14:54] Dear Scott, Shannon, and Bran, ever since I was a child, I've loved Christmas.

[00:14:59] Some of my best childhood memories include competing with my siblings to see who could put the most

[00:15:04] little plastic ornaments on our family's ceramic tree, lighting candles under our Christmas pyramid, the Advent wreath, huge family gatherings, midnight mass, and so much more.

[00:15:16] As I grew into adulthood and started a family with my amazing wife, we began developing our own traditions to celebrate the season.

[00:15:25] Nice.

[00:15:25] Two non-negotiable ones for me are, A, after Thanksgiving, Christmas music only and as often as possible, and B, I'm wearing a Christmas sweater whenever I can.

[00:15:37] Love that.

[00:15:38] A few years back, I found I had lost the spirit and joy of Christmas, kind of like Bran.

[00:15:42] Oh, come on.

[00:15:43] I'm sure I could think.

[00:15:46] You caught him mid-bite, too, of what looks like a fistful of pancakes.

[00:15:51] It's so good.

[00:15:52] Oh, darn it.

[00:15:52] I wish I'd seen that.

[00:15:54] I'm sure I could think of lots of reasons why, but that's not important.

[00:15:57] The important part is that's when I found your podcast and I haven't stopped listening.

[00:16:04] It might sound cheesy, but you reminded me that I don't need cold weather and lights and music to keep that joy.

[00:16:10] Oh, thanks, Ben.

[00:16:11] In addition to my day job, my family lives at and helps run a small Christian youth camp in Southern Illinois.

[00:16:17] Everything here is donation and volunteer run.

[00:16:20] It's important to us that everyone can afford our camps so nobody has to pay for them.

[00:16:25] Naturally, fundraising is important and one of those fundraisers is our biennial yard sale every April and October.

[00:16:32] This is the first year I'm running Point on it and as I began to go through our donations, I found box after box of Christmas decor.

[00:16:40] An entire Christmas village and then some.

[00:16:43] Could I have left the stuff in boxes and slapped some price stickers on them?

[00:16:48] Sure.

[00:16:48] Did I crank up the Christmas music, open every box, plug in every light and arrange the pieces?

[00:16:54] Absolutely.

[00:16:55] Absolutely.

[00:16:56] Outside, it has been a warm early October, but in front of those tables, sleigh bells were ringing.

[00:17:02] Merry Christmas.

[00:17:04] Ben has included some photos of the stuff here and I will post both of them.

[00:17:08] But Bran, the second one here with the Christmas village and all these figurines.

[00:17:14] This is amazing.

[00:17:15] It's very nice, but I got to be honest with you.

[00:17:17] I thought the story was going to take a turn.

[00:17:19] I thought he was going to say, I could have put stickers on them, but instead I just took them home.

[00:17:24] So he's a better man than me.

[00:17:26] Totally.

[00:17:26] No, no, no, no.

[00:17:28] Ben wouldn't do that kind of thing.

[00:17:29] If I showed up at this fundraiser, it would be a shut up and take my money kind of thing with the fistful of money.

[00:17:36] I love ceramics.

[00:17:38] There's something about ceramic stuff that I'm a sucker for.

[00:17:41] Look at the lighthouse in the back there.

[00:17:43] I love it.

[00:17:44] I love the mugs with the, is that a beard on the mug?

[00:17:47] Oh, it is.

[00:17:47] Like a nose and a mustache and a beard on the bottom of it.

[00:17:50] It's a Santa beard and nose, but then it has a stocking print.

[00:17:56] I know Santa's nose anywhere.

[00:17:59] That's Santa.

[00:17:59] Oh, for sure.

[00:18:00] That's absolutely it.

[00:18:01] I like that.

[00:18:02] I also like that they put it at the bottom.

[00:18:04] I don't like it when they put those things at the top of the mug because then you put your eye out with it.

[00:18:08] I don't like that.

[00:18:09] Have you, have you had that experience, Scott?

[00:18:11] Uh, yeah.

[00:18:12] Uh, I had some sort of cat mug that was an absolute disaster.

[00:18:16] Okay.

[00:18:17] Is, is that, is that a cat?

[00:18:19] Like kind of looks like whiskers on us.

[00:18:21] Oh, it's hard to say.

[00:18:22] We were not there, but, uh, I hope this fundraiser was a big,

[00:18:26] big success.

[00:18:27] I love what you're doing, Ben.

[00:18:29] Thank you for writing in and telling us about it.

[00:18:31] I have a feeling that this is probably already happened because now we're at the end of October.

[00:18:36] So I hope it was a big success and that you're able to do a lot of these, uh, camps for people,

[00:18:42] especially the ones that can't afford it.

[00:18:43] So thank you for doing that.

[00:18:44] And thank you for letting us know about it.

[00:18:46] Yeah, that's awesome.

[00:18:47] Fantastic.

[00:18:48] Fantastic.

[00:18:49] Hey, let's take a break.

[00:18:50] We'll take a break.

[00:18:51] We'll come back and we'll get to some more stuff.

[00:18:52] I think that's a good idea, right?

[00:18:53] Lots of cooking stuff.

[00:18:54] Oh boy.

[00:18:55] Christmas morning.

[00:19:00] We're back, everybody.

[00:19:01] Hiya.

[00:19:02] We're having a lot of fun today.

[00:19:03] It's the 25th of October.

[00:19:05] We're only two months away from Christmas and people are pumped, Scott.

[00:19:08] Woo!

[00:19:09] People are pumped.

[00:19:10] I'm pumped because this is my favorite segment because it's talking about food.

[00:19:15] So could you introduce Christmas cooking to us?

[00:19:17] Let's see what happens.

[00:19:17] Okay.

[00:19:18] Okay.

[00:19:21] Christmas cooking is happening.

[00:19:26] Wow.

[00:19:27] That was good.

[00:19:27] That was with arms wide open, by the way, in case you couldn't.

[00:19:29] No, no, no, no, no.

[00:19:30] For copyright reasons, it was not.

[00:19:31] No, that was not.

[00:19:34] Was that Larry in the background?

[00:19:36] Yeah, it was Larry.

[00:19:38] It was Larry.

[00:19:39] Gotta be honest, turning the Creed album up to a 45 speed makes it a better album.

[00:19:43] Okay.

[00:19:45] So our first email today is from Jackie Schrager.

[00:19:50] Jackie says, Hi, Scott Brand, which my phone autocorrects to Bean and Shannon.

[00:19:55] You can call me Bean.

[00:19:56] That's fine.

[00:19:57] Yeah.

[00:19:57] I was listening to the September party episode and I loved hearing the different things that

[00:20:01] people eat.

[00:20:02] So interesting.

[00:20:03] I wanted to share what I typically cook as a long time vegetarian going on 27 years strong.

[00:20:09] Most sides are vegetarian or can be made with vegetarian pretty easily.

[00:20:14] Make sure you use vegetable stock or broth or leave toppings like bacon or prosciutto on

[00:20:19] the side.

[00:20:19] But for the main dish, I love to make a vegetarian lentil shepherd's pie.

[00:20:24] I'll share the link to my recipe, which I use, which is actually vegan, though I add

[00:20:29] butter and milk to my mashed potatoes.

[00:20:31] So my method is decidedly not vegan.

[00:20:34] It features carrots, celery, onions, leeks, garlic, tomato paste, lentils, and vegetable

[00:20:38] broth cooked down with thyme and rosemary, topped with mashed potatoes, and then broiled

[00:20:43] for a nice brown topping.

[00:20:44] If you wind up with leftover mashed potatoes this holiday season, how does that even happen?

[00:20:49] She says, this could be a good way to use them up.

[00:20:53] And she sent a link.

[00:20:54] It's at delishknowledge.com.

[00:20:56] And you can search for Vental, Vental, vegan lentil shepherd's pie.

[00:21:01] That's a mouthful there.

[00:21:02] And she included the photo.

[00:21:04] Shannon, lentils really aren't my thing, but I really respect that there are a lot of people

[00:21:09] out there who, you know, either want to eat less meat or want to eat vegetarian.

[00:21:13] And this looks like a really good option for them.

[00:21:17] And I love mashed potatoes.

[00:21:18] I am such a sucker.

[00:21:20] Looks delicious.

[00:21:21] Not a huge lentil fan either.

[00:21:23] But I would give it a go.

[00:21:25] I would give it a red hot try.

[00:21:26] I'm a meat person.

[00:21:29] So I definitely...

[00:21:30] They're not to eat their own.

[00:21:30] I totally understand that.

[00:21:32] But I feel like some people are underrepresented at the holidays because of you, people like

[00:21:37] you and I who just put all the meats on the table.

[00:21:39] I feel like if you add potatoes to it though, and it just looks kind of like it would be really

[00:21:44] good.

[00:21:44] It looks like it would have flavor, like a lot of flavor.

[00:21:47] Yeah.

[00:21:47] And what's harder for me as a diabetic is usually going the vegetarian route adds additional

[00:21:51] carbs and makes it really tough.

[00:21:54] Like there are some vegetables I actually eat like peas and stuff.

[00:21:57] Man, they spike my blood sugar.

[00:21:59] And Jackie, thank you for sending this in.

[00:22:00] It's a good reminder.

[00:22:01] Make sure you're taking care of your guests who may not eat meat or want to eat less meat.

[00:22:06] So thank you.

[00:22:08] Shannon, I'm going to read the next email here.

[00:22:09] This one's from David Scarborough and David sent us photos of his entire family's cookbook.

[00:22:16] Now, he didn't say not to post it, but he didn't say that I should post it.

[00:22:21] And since it's a family cookbook, I'm going to hold off on that.

[00:22:25] So what I'm going to do is just talk about the dishes in here because I think there's going

[00:22:29] to be an interesting conversation about this.

[00:22:31] Do you all remember when we were talking about the Mexican food at Christmas time?

[00:22:36] I do remember.

[00:22:37] Maybe two months ago.

[00:22:38] It might have been last month.

[00:22:38] Yeah.

[00:22:39] Yeah.

[00:22:39] I think it might have been.

[00:22:40] Yeah.

[00:22:40] On the cover of the Scarborough Fair presents Mexican food from Texas.

[00:22:46] That's what's on the cover here.

[00:22:48] I have the table of contents and I want to talk about what is going into the Scarborough family

[00:22:54] Christmas because if all of these things are happening, one, you need an army of people

[00:22:58] to cook it and two, it just sounds amazing.

[00:23:00] So the main dishes are beef enchiladas, bell pepper chili rileños, chicken enchiladas, chicken

[00:23:07] and rice burritos, cheese enchiladas, chalupas, chalupas compuestas.

[00:23:15] Compuestas.

[00:23:16] Compuestas.

[00:23:16] Thank you, Shannon.

[00:23:17] Chili rileños.

[00:23:19] I was going to say that.

[00:23:20] Beef, chicken and bean burritos.

[00:23:22] A mild two bean chili, chili pie and Texas chili.

[00:23:27] That's amazing.

[00:23:28] Oh my gosh.

[00:23:28] First of all, that is a mountain of food.

[00:23:31] For sure.

[00:23:32] If you're making all of that, that is for an army.

[00:23:34] I have a friend that I used to work with whose family was from South America and their family

[00:23:40] gatherings were monstrously huge and there were like 11 people in the kitchen cooking.

[00:23:45] So it could be that.

[00:23:47] Typically at these kinds of gatherings, I'm doing all the cooking.

[00:23:50] So I cannot imagine doing all of this, but the food here, Brian, I just, I want all of

[00:23:56] it.

[00:23:56] Give me all the beef enchiladas.

[00:23:59] Just tip my head back and start pouring the enchiladas down my throat.

[00:24:02] Wow.

[00:24:03] What a visual.

[00:24:04] What a visual.

[00:24:05] Exactly.

[00:24:06] I kind of eat like a duck.

[00:24:07] I don't, I don't chew.

[00:24:08] I just swallow.

[00:24:10] Um, no comment.

[00:24:12] No comment.

[00:24:13] Um, who is that?

[00:24:14] Who is it that is that Joe?

[00:24:16] Is the Joe get the out of context clips.

[00:24:18] There you go, Joe.

[00:24:19] There you go.

[00:24:20] There you go.

[00:24:21] That one will show up in January.

[00:24:23] I'm sure.

[00:24:24] But what were you going to ask brand?

[00:24:25] Oh, I was going to say, I see there's some desserts listed and I'm confused about a fruit

[00:24:30] burrito.

[00:24:30] Is that like a fruit?

[00:24:31] Yeah.

[00:24:32] You know, like what is that?

[00:24:33] Yes.

[00:24:34] Oh my gosh.

[00:24:34] You know what?

[00:24:35] We need more information from David.

[00:24:38] I need photos.

[00:24:39] I need information, but Shannon, I just want to run through some of the appetizers and

[00:24:43] sides real quick to tostadas, taco shells, cheese, nachos, bean, nachos, ballpark, nachos,

[00:24:49] guacamole salad, and Rotel cheese dip.

[00:24:52] Now, anything with the words cheese dip in it is something I'm going to.

[00:24:55] Just give it up for the cheese dip.

[00:24:56] I mean, come on, come on.

[00:24:59] And ballpark nachos.

[00:25:01] I have a soft spot for ballpark nachos.

[00:25:04] Like you go to Sam's club and you buy the one gallon can of plastic cheese.

[00:25:09] I just, I don't know.

[00:25:09] I just love it.

[00:25:10] And then for side dishes, Spanish rice, chili con queso, Buenuelos.

[00:25:15] I think I said that right.

[00:25:17] What is it?

[00:25:18] Buenuelos.

[00:25:18] Buenuelos.

[00:25:19] Thank you.

[00:25:20] Refried beans and flour tortillas.

[00:25:22] Oh my goodness.

[00:25:24] And then the desserts, sopapillas, Mexican pralines and fruit burritos.

[00:25:28] I don't know what a Mexican praline is, but I want all of them.

[00:25:30] Sopapillas are good.

[00:25:32] That's what you get at Casa Bonita, right?

[00:25:34] I was going to say the same thing, Scotty.

[00:25:36] Yeah.

[00:25:36] I've never, I've never been.

[00:25:38] And everyone says the food there is terrible, but the sopapillas are delicious.

[00:25:41] Oh yeah.

[00:25:42] Like they're literally, it's just fried dough and it has powder.

[00:25:44] It's powdered sugar.

[00:25:45] You really can't screw up fried dough with sugar.

[00:25:48] I mean, it's with powdered sugar.

[00:25:50] Yeah.

[00:25:50] Like so good.

[00:25:51] So David, we're going to need more information here.

[00:25:54] This is our last Christmas party of the year, unfortunately, but send us a quick email

[00:25:57] that Brandon and I can read during the dailies.

[00:26:00] Just give us an update on this.

[00:26:01] Like, does all of this get made at once?

[00:26:04] You know, how many people are involved?

[00:26:07] Are there photos of these mountains of food and what's the address?

[00:26:10] So Brandon and I can pick up Shannon and we'll, we're driving.

[00:26:13] We're on our way.

[00:26:14] We're on our way right now.

[00:26:15] And also like the tortillas, the flour, like, are you making those by hand?

[00:26:19] You're making your own tortillas?

[00:26:21] Right.

[00:26:21] Oh, you've never done that?

[00:26:22] I've never done that.

[00:26:23] No.

[00:26:23] They are delicious.

[00:26:24] I've had them at restaurants that make their own, but I haven't made them myself.

[00:26:29] Yeah.

[00:26:29] No.

[00:26:30] Delicious.

[00:26:30] Very, very good stuff.

[00:26:32] All right.

[00:26:32] So thank you, David.

[00:26:33] Shannon, could you read this email from Craig Wildman?

[00:26:35] We have another heavy food related one, but this is about the UK.

[00:26:39] Hello, Bren, Scott and Shannon.

[00:26:41] No, sorry.

[00:26:42] That's not, that's not very good.

[00:26:44] It's a really bad accent.

[00:26:45] Okay.

[00:26:45] Don't worry about that.

[00:26:46] You still got me though.

[00:26:46] Just got that.

[00:26:48] Scott and Shannon, from across the pond, on the September party episode, you revealed

[00:26:55] you don't really eat turkey on Christmas day.

[00:26:58] I don't even know what a prime rib is.

[00:27:01] It's also called standing rib roast sometimes, I think.

[00:27:04] Oh, okay.

[00:27:05] Okay.

[00:27:05] Well, it's basically a rib roast.

[00:27:08] It's a rib roast.

[00:27:09] Yes.

[00:27:09] A roast.

[00:27:10] Yeah.

[00:27:11] Well, over here, it is the, it is the predominant centerpiece of a Christmas dinner.

[00:27:16] So much so that butchers will take orders from September.

[00:27:19] Whoa.

[00:27:20] The media will normally whip up a storm that turkeys will be sold out by November, thus

[00:27:24] causing mass panic.

[00:27:25] We take our Christmas dinner very seriously.

[00:27:28] So I thought I'd give you a typical Christmas day here in the UK.

[00:27:32] Okay.

[00:27:33] Once the presents have been opened, breakfast will consist of a glass of Buck's Fizz, along

[00:27:38] with your choice of food.

[00:27:39] We do croissants in my house.

[00:27:42] Oh, I love a good croissant.

[00:27:43] Croissant.

[00:27:43] Croissant.

[00:27:44] And then shoving that big old bird into the oven.

[00:27:48] On last month's Tinseltoons, we covered a Christmas album by a band that used to be

[00:27:52] called Buck's Fizz and now is called The Fizz.

[00:27:55] And I found out that a Buck's Fizz is pretty similar to a mimosa.

[00:27:59] Oh.

[00:27:59] Okay.

[00:28:00] Cool.

[00:28:01] Yeah.

[00:28:01] I'm also.

[00:28:02] Whilst that's cooking, you'll pop along to your local pub for a quick pint or two.

[00:28:08] Or ten.

[00:28:09] Then it's back home to get the rest of your Christmas dinner cooked.

[00:28:12] A typical British Christmas dinner might look something like this.

[00:28:16] Roast turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, pigs in blankets, essential.

[00:28:21] That's literally what I'm talking about.

[00:28:22] In all caps.

[00:28:23] In caps.

[00:28:24] I'm not trying to be dramatic, but he's being dramatic in a good way.

[00:28:29] Roast parsnips, red cabbage, and various other vegetables.

[00:28:33] Finally, homemade gravy.

[00:28:35] I mean, you gotta have the gravy.

[00:28:37] Yorkshire pudding can be controversial on a Christmas dinner, but most people will have

[00:28:41] it.

[00:28:41] What the heck is controversial about that?

[00:28:43] They're delicious.

[00:28:44] No clue.

[00:28:45] But I would like to know more.

[00:28:46] Okay.

[00:28:46] But I included a photo here because I love Yorkshire pudding.

[00:28:49] Is it bread pudding?

[00:28:50] No, it's kind of a pastry and they're made to shoot up in the oven.

[00:28:57] And that's why the photo looks like they're expanding out of the little cups here.

[00:29:02] But Shannon, I have never been able to make them at high altitude.

[00:29:06] I used to make them in Florida and they worked just fine.

[00:29:09] I've never gotten them to rise here because there's no yeast.

[00:29:13] I don't remember the ingredients directly, but it just doesn't work.

[00:29:15] So if anybody knows, email me, ChristmasPonyPodcast at gmail.com.

[00:29:18] Go on.

[00:29:19] So he's saying that this will normally be eaten around 1 to 2 PM traditionally.

[00:29:23] So you can be done in time for the King's speech at 3 PM.

[00:29:27] Afterwards, you may have a Christmas pudding for your dessert followed by copious amounts

[00:29:32] of cheese crackers, ham and turkey sandwiches and a beverage or two.

[00:29:37] Then it's on to Boxing Day on the 26th.

[00:29:40] You had me a copious amounts of cheese.

[00:29:43] Exactly.

[00:29:45] Boxing Day is on the 26th, which I just, I don't know why we don't celebrate it here

[00:29:49] in the U.S., honestly.

[00:29:50] We should.

[00:29:51] But that's what Craig says.

[00:29:52] We should.

[00:29:52] Christmas can be such a letdown at the end.

[00:29:54] I need an additional little like off-ramp holiday.

[00:29:57] I have so many comments on that and opinions on that, but I won't, I won't.

[00:30:00] Don't get me started.

[00:30:01] Okay.

[00:30:02] We won't.

[00:30:02] So it says, thanks guys.

[00:30:04] Merry Christmas from Craig and Craig is the Christmas guy, 365.

[00:30:08] Uh, good follow on Instagram.

[00:30:10] Can I ask you a question?

[00:30:11] Yeah, please do.

[00:30:12] He says you go down to the pub, you get some drinks.

[00:30:15] Is every pub open on Christmas Day over there?

[00:30:19] Or are there just like, do any pubs take the day off?

[00:30:22] Is it a big deal?

[00:30:23] Does everybody go to a pub on Christmas?

[00:30:25] Yes.

[00:30:26] Yes.

[00:30:27] Okay.

[00:30:27] I'm not British, but I've spent a lot of time listening to British podcasts.

[00:30:31] I just had Adam from Merry Britzmas on Tinseltoons.

[00:30:34] I've had Jack Ford.

[00:30:35] So those are my, that's my audience of two, my sample size here.

[00:30:39] Fair enough.

[00:30:39] That's more than I have.

[00:30:41] Going to the pub is a big deal.

[00:30:42] Okay.

[00:30:43] I believe there was an episode and I might've been filling in for brand.

[00:30:46] And I think I brought a news story about a British family who was trying to like, I think

[00:30:51] they were trying to replicate a British Christmas here in the U S or something like that.

[00:30:57] And they were talking about,

[00:30:58] That sounds familiar.

[00:30:59] Yes.

[00:30:59] And they were talking about going to the pub on Christmas day and how it stays open

[00:31:04] and that, or they were doing Christmas in July.

[00:31:07] I can't remember what it was, but it was basically talking about this exact thing.

[00:31:12] Okay.

[00:31:13] Like a big important deal culturally, I guess.

[00:31:16] Yeah.

[00:31:16] So you don't, you don't want, you can't, you lose money.

[00:31:20] Yeah.

[00:31:20] That's kind of fun though.

[00:31:21] Like I think of just Ted Lasso and I think of them all at the pub.

[00:31:25] Because I love Ted Lasso in that, that pub.

[00:31:27] I've never seen Ted Lasso, but I know I'm missing something good there.

[00:31:31] You are missing something good.

[00:31:32] I will be watching it at some point.

[00:31:35] Yes, you should.

[00:31:36] Yeah.

[00:31:36] All right, brand last segment.

[00:31:37] Oh, so thank you, Craig.

[00:32:06] Hungry.

[00:32:06] Okay.

[00:32:06] Oh, but I think it's more like a potato than it is a, uh, yeah.

[00:32:09] Yeah.

[00:32:09] Okay.

[00:32:09] I've had, I've had potatoes and I've had carrots.

[00:32:12] It's a white root vegetable.

[00:32:13] If I remember correctly.

[00:32:15] Yes.

[00:32:15] Okay.

[00:32:16] I honestly don't know that I've ever seen them in the grocery store.

[00:32:19] So, and if I have, they're not readily available.

[00:32:23] It's not like you walk in, there's a pile of parsnips.

[00:32:25] So if I find them this year, I'll try it as a bridge to our UK listeners.

[00:32:30] All right, brand last segment today, television and movies.

[00:32:33] All right, let's see.

[00:32:36] Television and movies.

[00:32:38] Yeah.

[00:32:39] Television and movies.

[00:32:41] Yeah.

[00:32:44] Television and movies.

[00:32:45] Yes.

[00:32:47] The celibate.

[00:32:49] Don't forget the movies.

[00:32:51] From the Christmas aficionado.

[00:32:52] That's right.

[00:32:53] So we have a clip from the Christmas aficionado, Joe Fulton.

[00:32:56] And Joe sent us a review of the How I Met Your Mother episode called How Lily Stole Christmas.

[00:33:02] Nice.

[00:33:03] Can Ted and Lily forgive each other and give Marshall an amazing Christmas?

[00:33:07] Here's my review of the Christmas episode of How I Met Your Mother, How Lily Stole Christmas.

[00:33:13] It's Christmas Eve and Marshall closes his eyes so he can't see the Christmas Eve Wonderland

[00:33:18] in his apartment that Lily has decorated until he completes his final paper for law school.

[00:33:23] I have one last paper due at 5pm today so until then I will be at the law library at school and I'm not to be disturbed for any reason.

[00:33:30] Dude, open your eyes or you're going to hurt yourself.

[00:33:32] No.

[00:33:32] No.

[00:33:33] Christmas Eve Winter Wonderland is my reward for finishing my paper.

[00:33:36] Baby, do I smell your sinfully cinnamon cookies?

[00:33:38] Yes.

[00:33:40] Damn me and my heightened other senses.

[00:33:41] Lily finds their old answering machine that was unplugged during her and Marshall's breakup.

[00:33:47] They plug the machine back in and listen to the last message where Lily hears a message from Ted calling her a Grinch.

[00:33:53] But I didn't say Grinch.

[00:33:55] I said a bad word.

[00:33:57] A very, very bad word.

[00:34:01] Oh, fudge.

[00:34:03] But I didn't say fudge.

[00:34:04] It's a euphemism for a word that's not allowed to be spoken on Christmas morning podcast and probably any other time.

[00:34:12] So Ted refuses to apologize to Lily because he feels Lily was a Grinch for what she put Marshall through.

[00:34:19] After some convincing from Robin and Barney, he attempts to make things right with Lily only to discover that she stole all of the Christmas decorations.

[00:34:28] She took the decorations.

[00:34:30] She took the decorations.

[00:34:32] What a Grinch.

[00:34:33] That time I did say Grinch.

[00:34:35] Not wanting to disappoint Marshall, Ted heads to Stanton Island to stay with his super religious cousin Stacy and her family.

[00:34:43] Lily returns the decorations just in time for when Marshall comes home.

[00:34:47] Turns out Marshall was not working on his paper but secretly picking up Lily's Christmas present,

[00:34:52] a vintage mint in a box, easy bake oven on a recommendation from Ted who remembered that Lily never received that gift as a child.

[00:35:00] Only the best present for the best girl ever.

[00:35:02] It took me all day to track it down.

[00:35:04] You thought you were writing a paper.

[00:35:06] No, I blew that off.

[00:35:07] I'll get an extension.

[00:35:08] School's not important.

[00:35:09] Ted is depressed, staying with his cousin Stacy's family.

[00:35:13] Alright, don't tell your mom, but I got you guys some presents.

[00:35:16] Like the gift of God's love?

[00:35:19] No dude, real presents.

[00:35:21] Feeling bad about how she behaved, Lily, Marshall, Barney and Robin drive to Stanton Island to rescue Ted.

[00:35:27] Lily stops Ted from apologizing and admits that she is a bit of a Grinch.

[00:35:31] Unfortunately, Ted's young nieces and nephews hear that word and begin to chant it.

[00:35:36] But first, Lily, I owe you an apology.

[00:35:38] Oh, for the love of God, are you as sick of apologies as I am?

[00:35:41] Yes.

[00:35:42] And I promise I will never ever call you a, you know, again.

[00:35:46] Ah, it's okay.

[00:35:47] I was kind of a Grinch.

[00:35:49] What's a Grinch?

[00:35:51] Mom, what's a Grinch?

[00:35:54] Grinch! Grinch! Grinch! Grinch!

[00:35:57] So, final thoughts.

[00:35:58] This is one of my favorite Christmas episodes, a highlight of the series and one I revisit every year.

[00:36:04] I identify with the character of Marshall and his love of Christmas.

[00:36:08] And the best part is that the humor goes over the kids' heads.

[00:36:11] Unless your kids go to public school.

[00:36:13] I give this episode an A+.

[00:36:16] I'm the Christmas aficionado and remember, stay off the naughty list.

[00:36:21] And don't say that word.

[00:36:23] Shannon, you were clapping during that.

[00:36:25] I'm taking it that you're a big How I Met Your Mother fan?

[00:36:28] Oh my gosh.

[00:36:28] I love How I Met Your Mother.

[00:36:30] And I'm actually doing a rewatch right now.

[00:36:32] So that was perfect timing.

[00:36:34] Oh!

[00:36:34] But I honestly, I haven't seen that episode in a very long time.

[00:36:37] But I love all the holiday episodes of How I Met Your Mother.

[00:36:41] They're all fantastic.

[00:36:42] A great program.

[00:36:43] Great program.

[00:36:43] Yeah, my wife loves it.

[00:36:45] I liked watching it with her.

[00:36:47] Love Lily.

[00:36:48] Boy, she's right up there with Lacey Chabert.

[00:36:49] All right.

[00:36:50] Say no more.

[00:36:51] All right.

[00:36:51] Literally, say no more.

[00:36:53] You're not allowed to.

[00:36:54] Literally.

[00:36:55] Oh, I should stop here at this point.

[00:36:57] Yes.

[00:36:57] You shouldn't mention that Lacey's beauty is the basis of several world religions.

[00:37:02] No.

[00:37:03] No?

[00:37:03] Okay.

[00:37:04] Well, we'll stop right there then.

[00:37:07] Do not write her any fan mail.

[00:37:09] No, no, no.

[00:37:09] They reject all mail from my address automatically.

[00:37:12] Yes.

[00:37:13] We will be getting a call from prison.

[00:37:15] Would you come get me if I was in jail, Shannon?

[00:37:18] It depends.

[00:37:19] Well, it depends on what for Scotty.

[00:37:21] Exactly.

[00:37:23] Like Shannon would Shannon's closer brand, but I'm glad that we both had that reaction.

[00:37:28] Yeah.

[00:37:28] I mean, like if you peed on a wall.

[00:37:30] Yeah.

[00:37:31] I'd come get you.

[00:37:31] Sure.

[00:37:32] Absolutely.

[00:37:33] That's the first thing that comes to mind that I would do wrong.

[00:37:36] I think, well, I think it's something that everybody's done, right?

[00:37:38] I mean, well, this is going down the tubes.

[00:37:41] If anybody else out there would be willing to get me from jail, if that happened, which

[00:37:44] has never happened.

[00:37:45] Thank you very much.

[00:37:47] It looks like I can't count on Shannon or Brynn.

[00:37:49] We just want to say thank you to Joe Fulton because he is fantastic.

[00:37:56] And these clips are always the freaking best.

[00:37:59] Shannon's right.

[00:38:00] Please go to YouTube and search for Christmas aficionado.

[00:38:03] Joe does an amazing job with his videos and they're absolutely worth a subscribe.

[00:38:08] You should totally do it.

[00:38:09] Thank you, Joe.

[00:38:10] Appreciate it.

[00:38:11] Great follow.

[00:38:12] And it's so it's such a great follow that we can't possibly follow it up.

[00:38:17] So we're going to be done.

[00:38:17] I think we're going to hang it up today.

[00:38:19] What a wonderful Christmas party it was.

[00:38:21] That's it.

[00:38:22] We're actually hanging it up for the year here.

[00:38:24] Yes, but don't worry, everybody.

[00:38:26] That doesn't mean less Christmas morning.

[00:38:28] The good news is when the Christmas party stop more Christmas morning comes.

[00:38:32] So it's every day becomes a party in a sense.

[00:38:35] There ain't no party like a Christmas morning party because the Christmas morning parties don't

[00:38:40] stop.

[00:38:40] You said it, Shannon.

[00:38:42] Shannon, I believe you have Mrs. Claus in your contact list.

[00:38:47] Can you make sure she's going to come by for a couple episodes during the busy season?

[00:38:52] Oh, she is ready.

[00:38:55] She is ready.

[00:38:56] Okay, good.

[00:38:56] Yeah, good.

[00:38:57] Glad to hear that.

[00:38:58] Well, thank you both.

[00:38:59] It has been fun.

[00:39:00] I think this was my favorite one of the year, but that's selfishly because it's about food.

[00:39:04] It was great.

[00:39:05] It was great.

[00:39:05] And the good news, everybody.

[00:39:07] Shannon's going to be back next week on Halloween for a Halloween evening party.

[00:39:12] It's a little spooky.

[00:39:14] Yeah, we have so many emails.

[00:39:16] It's going to be a very long episode, but I'm so excited about it.

[00:39:20] Almost like we should have done more than one.

[00:39:22] And I apologize.

[00:39:23] Oh yeah.

[00:39:24] It is almost like that.

[00:39:25] But you know what?

[00:39:26] We're coming up on the last week of October and we're still not sure how the whole thing

[00:39:30] is going to come together.

[00:39:31] It's going to be great.

[00:39:31] We'll figure it out.

[00:39:32] It's going to be great.

[00:39:33] It's going to be great.

[00:39:33] Yeah, sure.

[00:39:34] It'll make sure it's a success.

[00:39:35] That's right.

[00:39:36] We'll be back next week with more things until then.

[00:39:38] Merry Christmas.

[00:39:50] You're about to hear some ads that help pay for our trip back and forth to the North Pole.

[00:39:54] Feel free to listen.

[00:39:56] Feel free to bail now.

[00:39:57] But either way, thanks for being here.

[00:39:59] Ho, ho, ho.