Santa Claus Is Trying To Retire

In this video, Chris Sisley of  @ChristmasTimeintheCity   stops by to take a look at some of the things he noticed about Christmas this year. From the awkward family gatherings to the commercialization of the holiday, we take a light-hearted look at the festive season. What was new this Christmas that has stood out or fallen short. Sure Christmas 2022 is still 11 days from now, but it’s not too early for hot takes and nonsense.

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Transcript

Todd: 0:14

Well, hello everybody and welcome back to Christmas Clatter on this 14th day of December. I tried to say that earlier, talking to the people in the livestream, and I thought it was like, We're 13th or 11th? I can't remember. I thought it was not near as close to Christmas or a few days clo away from Christmas. But holy cow. Like I told them, it's like, uh, if at this time of year it hasn't slowed down for yet, I don't know if it will unfortunately, cuz the days and the time is just getting away. There's less and less time to get things done. But hopefully you guys are ready and prepared just to soak it. And to soak it in. Um, there's a few housekeeping things, uh, I want to get to real quick. Off the top next week will be the last, uh, live stream here on YouTube before Christmas on Wednesday. And we're just gonna kind of keep it lighthearted and, uh, we're gonna do a q and a episode. So if anybody has any, uh, questions for me about anything. Leave them in the comments, either on this live stream or on any of the social media posts, or send me a direct message or email@toddchristmasclatter.com. Uh, there's lots of ways to get ahold of me, so if you have a question for me, just let me know. I'll be putting out the call on the social media as directly as well. So that's what we'll be doing next week. We're just gonna keep it, uh, fun and light. I may steal from Tech Troublemakers Christmas special last night and do. Trivia with a little bit of a giveaway. Um, it sounds like a lot of fun. And, uh, so we'll, we'll do that next week. And then for YouTube, that will be all, um, the stuff for before Christmas, however, on the podcast. Part of, uh, Christmas clatter. There will be one more episode. It will be our special Christmas episode, which we'll release on the 23rd of Christmas with our special Christmas message. That is also gonna be the 100th episode of the podcast. So, um, if, if you're just here on, um, YouTube and you need a little bit more Christmas clutter before Christmas. Then hit the podcast up, uh, for a, for a podcast only episode there. And, uh, that's, that's gonna be a lot of fun. Uh, 100 episodes. I, I cannot believe it. Um, wow. It just kind of just kind of gets me. And then thinking about turning five years old this Christmas clouder in May. This, this floors me that it's been been that long since, uh, I've been doing this, but. Yeah, it's, uh, I can't believe it, but thanks everybody that's always been out there supporting me and helping me out and keeping me going and, uh, sticking through all the craziness and the ups and downs. I really appreciate it. So that's for the show. Is there anything else for the show? It seems like there was another show announcement I was gonna make. Uh, nothing I can think of right now. I am working on the 101. Essential Christmas song playlist. I went ahead and decided to do that on Spotify. If you go find it on Spotify, it's got like 12 songs in right now, cuz I, I worked on it just enough just to kind of get it started. So, um, but I don't know if I'll have that before this Christmas or not. I'm not gonna press to get it done. Um, with work and everything, I'm just not gonna, you know, I'm going to get done the things that I have already started and those things, other things can wait, uh, for then. But, uh, yeah, we got a lot going on. We also have a giveaway. We gotta select a name tonight. If you guys remember, uh, Ken Smith joined us last week and we talked about collecting things and Christmas things and you know, what to look for and what's out there. And it was a fun episode and anytime I get together and talk with Ken, it's a lot of fun. And we decided to give away, um, three of the seven Firestone Christmas album. If you're watching on, uh, YouTube, you can see 'em over my shoulder. That's four of them. And, uh, we didn't wanna give you the whole collection because we didn't want you to go out there and find the others for yourself and enjoy the hunt of collecting. And also a funko pop. I'm gonna give away one of my Christmas funko pops, the Santa Claus, um, Tim Allen's original Santa Claus, uh, Funko Pop, uh, you know, just to kind of, you know, get that collecting bug going and. And we had a, a forum for everybody to fill out, and we gotta draw a name to see who the winner is. I like the form because now I have everybody's name and everybody's address, so no one needs to get ahold of me, and I don't need to get ahold of anybody because, um, unfortunately YouTube comments are full of scammers trying to collect email addresses and those kind of things. So, Let's pick a name, guys. I entered every name here on this will and, uh, I will, uh, tap it. I will click the will, it will spin and randomly choose a name. So that's the fairest way I, I knew how to do it. So the, the will has been just spinning here ever so slowly. And so I'm gonna give it a tap. It will spin, and then it will select us unnamed. So let's see what we have. Oh, Dan, Dan I bub You are a winner of the, uh, vinyl records and you will be receiving the Funko pop. I'm not sure if you're in the chat. I know sometimes you come in just a little bit behind for whatever reason. That's fine. But just know I will be alright. Have your address. So I will be getting this. As soon as possible. And, uh, thank you so much for, you know, always being around here and, uh, for entering. So Dan, congratulations. Yeah, Arne ass trickle in your name. I saw that name going slow by. I thought Ar Arne's gonna win another one. But, uh, I guess it wasn't, uh, on the will this time. So congratulations Dan. Well done. Good sir. Well done. That is, that is a lot of fun. That is a lot of fun. I need to give away more. What else can we give away? We'll, we'll find something to give away for sure. But, uh, let's get on to our guest. I have a guy that is definitely, I called, uh, Alonzo the other day, a first ballot Christmas cla Hall of Famer. I think we got another Christmas first ballot, Christmas cla Hall of Famer. This guy's been, been around the a a while doing the Christmas podcast scene. He's always so much fun to talk to and always so gracious with his time and his help, I've always found that he has really great insights and. Just has a a, a great ober observant mind and I really appreciate him. And I re I, I think I've told him this before, but I remember when him and his wife launched their podcast, Christmastime in the city. It was like the first or second episode when I saw it there. And I listened to him both and I remember, uh, messaging Brian Earl and was like, Hey, these guys are good. And once they get their podcast legs under 'em, they're gonna be really good. And they are really good and they make a great podcast. He's moved on too, they do still do Christmas time in the city, but he is moved on to do some production work for the Christmas Countdown podcast and all kinds of wonderful things. So instead of me just sitting here, yak about him, let's bring, uh, Chris Cecille up, uh, and talk about our Christmas observations. Hey man, how are you? Hi, Todd . Got you a little off guard. I had to sneak a quick drink in there too. I don't mind me drinking out of my official Hallmark channel mug.. That's great. That's great. That's right. The, the, the Countdown podcast is, has got the Hallmark gig going on with them this year. That is fantastic. We are making the

Chris: 8:29

medium bucks over at

Todd: 8:31

Christmas Countdown . Hey, medium bucks is still better than zero bucks. That's true, that's true. Yeah. So, well, let's just start there, man. You start at, uh, you and Chris started at Christmastime In the City is a Christmas podcast to kind of celebrate all things Christmas and New York, together, New York City and. And you guys had a lot of fun doing it. And then the next thing I know, you're just, you're sitting there with headphones on and, uh, directing a couple of guys working down a countdown list. Just give us the bird's idea of how that happened.

Chris: 9:02

Well, I guess from the beginning, I, we, my wife and I started Christmastime in the city. Our little one was just starting to sleep through the night, so we found ourselves with a lot of free time around eight o'clock. and it was around October, so, so we figured maybe it was a good opportunity for us to maybe do some sort of podcast. And then, uh, your was pretty new and I think, uh, tinsel Tunes had just kind of started not too long before as well. And we're, we're, we're listening to those and we're like, we could definitely do that. And obviously I listened to Brian and, uh, Lee Cameron and, um, Can't wait for Christmas with Tim. And so like, it just made sense for us to try to do a Christmas countdown. No, not a Christmas. Not a Christmas countdown.. We didn't do Christmas countdown. It made it made sense for us to do a Christmas podcast. And then, uh, last year we were trying to figure out ways to incorporate guests in the podcast and we ended up, I ended up reaching out to Eric Peterson, who's the one of the hosts of Christmas Countdown. He was also on Kevin Keff, himself on a m c, and he also performed as Buddy the Elf at Madison Square Garden. He has a lot of Broadway connections and stuff, so, uh, he felt like a really good guest. And then through him we had the other host of Christmas Countdown, and then after that we all just kind of kept in. and we, uh, did another PO podcast called, uh, parenting Countdown in March of this year, and did that for a little while, but then once Christmas kind of like reared its head in July, we were ba we were hunkered down and directed, uh, solely at Christmas content and it's been awesome working with them.

Todd: 10:30

Oh yeah, that's good. They got a great podcast over there. All kinds of wackiness at times and it's, it's always a lot of fun. Yeah, it is a lot of fun. They, they kind of came outta nowhere and was like a rocket out of the, you know, just kind of just one of those that just kind of was a rocket because they just had a great format. It's like, man, I should have thought of that. So, But, uh, I, I say that a lot. It's like, I should have thought of that, but, uh, yeah,

Chris: 10:55

I have a lot of moments like that. Like, oh, I should have thought of that. Like, exactly the same situation. Yep,

Todd: 10:59

yep, yep. Well, I'm glad you, uh, you heard me struggling on my podcast and thought, oh, I could do that. At least , I'm like, I'm here to be inspiration. But, uh,

Chris: 11:13

Well, I mean, if it wasn't for your podcast, and like I've said before, Dwayne's, I don't think I would've started a podcast, and I don't know where I would've been right now. Yeah. Cause I'm ba I'm more or less doing podcasting full-time at this point and doing production. I, I just finished editing. and doing sound design for, uh, children's audiobook that Danny Jordan, one of the hosts of Christmas Countdown, put out about an, uh, inclusive group of kid superheroes with disabilities, and they use the disabilities to overcome and to help people out. And so I, I worked on, uh, his first audiobook and we're gonna, we're starting out the second audiobook pretty soon as well. So, been doing all kinds of stuff that I don't think I would've done had it not been for a Christmas podcast.

Todd: 11:53

Yeah. Yeah. That, that's crazy. That's, that's, that's a actually amazing, because it, when you start a podcast and not make this a podcast ec eccentric show, but you have to learn so many different things that you didn't think you would have to learn. Mm-hmm., you know, that doesn't, doesn't seem evident. You know, when you're just putting it together and, and then it's like, oh, well this is a lot, you know, especially when you get your mind wrapped around it, you're like, this isn't near as hard as people think it is. You., but you still kind of. Yeah, not spill all your secrets because you still want some people to think, well, I'm the only one they can do it because Yeah.

Chris: 12:31

You know, little do I know that it just more or less just using like, pretty good editing software does most of this stuff for, for you, so. Thank you, Hindenberg. Yeah, I've upgraded from Audacity and I, I would recommend everyone upgraded from Audacity. Audacity has just got too much going on. You don't need all that stuff. But again, this is not a podcast podcast, so we'll

Todd: 12:51

move on. Right. Yeah. Well, it's not a podcast podcast at all, but. This is what happens when a couple of podcast guys get together. You start talking gear and software and stuff and, and, uh, for those that don't know, uh, Chris and I have a, a regular chat. Not that we do it every day, but we're pretty in touch with each other on, on a fairly regular basis and keep track of that. kind of thing. So it's a, it's always interesting. So we're, we're here to talk about Christmas observations. Original. The original thought was to talk about the movies that came out this year. But with your schedule, my schedule, we didn't get to see near enough to where we felt confident covering them all. So I, I, we, we broaden the horizons and just kind of like, Since we're both eyeball deep in in Christmas, that, that we felt like we could make some observations on the season this year, now 11 days out. So hope, hopefully not a lot will change because of some, some things drastically change. That means there's some probably kind of disaster or something somewhere, you know, and we don't want that to happen. But, uh, let's start off with the movies. Um, which of the new like Christmas movies slash specials did you get to see this?

Chris: 14:02

So far I've seen, I watched The Guardians of the Galaxy, the thing on Disney Plus, and that was fun. It's, uh, you can tell, it's obviously they're obviously just kind of trying to do one up and do a little better than the Star Wars Christmas special. I think they, they crushed it. Yeah. Um. Yeah, I really enjoyed that. It was just a fun time. And then I also watched, I, I want to say begrudgingly watched the Christmas or the Santa Clauss. Mm-hmm.. Cause I didn't feel like I was gonna have enough time. And then my wife and kid were outta town for a few days and it just kind of kept looking at me on the, on the, on the TV menu. So I went through and I just finished, I think the last episode aired today. And, uh, it was okay. It wasn't horrible. I, I, I, I feel like the franchise had a lot to do to earn me back as a, as a viewer after the third movie. And I wonder if having a six part TV series was the right call. I don't know. A normal circumstances, I wouldn't have been able to watch it at all. Yeah. I was able to, and I mean, I don't wanna give any spoilers away or anything, but I think we're done with stories where Santa Claus is trying to retire. I, I, I, I prefer my Santa Claus to be pumped about his.

Todd: 15:11

Yeah. Yeah. We don't need this, uh, take this job and shove at Santa Claus anymore. Yeah. You know? Yeah. That one, that one was low on my list to get to for one thing is I really like Santa Claus. I think I've seen the second one once. Yeah. I don't think I've seen all of the third one at all. And so it was just kinda, it's like, you know, should have just stopped at. You know,

Chris: 15:39

maybe just been really careful. I mean, two wasn't horrible, I guess, but I mean, Uhhuh. It's the same sort of story over and over again, which is kind of a bummer. But yeah, one was great. I saw two maybe once or twice, and I saw parts of three. And then I, like I said, I begrudgingly saw all six parts of this new one over the last two

Todd: 15:57

days. Yeah. Yeah. We watched, um, we did see the Guardians, the galaxy. I always make it a point to see anything M C U mm-hmm. and really, really liked it. Thought it was fun. Um, thought it was a little bit more heartwarming than I thought it was gonna be at the be, you know, origin. and uh, had some parts in there that kind of got to me mainly cuz I'm a big, probably M C U fanboy. Yeah. We did watch, we did watch spirited.

Chris: 16:23

Oh, I saw spirited as well. I totally forgot

Todd: 16:24

about that. Yeah. Yeah. Well that says a lot . Yeah. Yeah. So, but, uh, spirited was fine., you know, and, and it could have been really hilarious if they would've focused. Um, it could have been. Really great at points. I think it ran a little too long. The runtime was, uh, um, a little long and kind of by the end of it I'm like, can you please get this thing

Chris: 16:57

over with? Yeah. Like we all see where it's going. Maybe we can just speed it up a little bit. Yeah.

Todd: 17:01

and there's just, I am not a big musical fan, although I do enjoy a good musical. I enjoy

Chris: 17:08

like, well, that's the key word. You enjoy a good musical. Todd: Right. You know, the Greatest Showman. I like Sure. I like, I like both, uh, Mary Poppins movies, you know, but this had way too much singing in it. My, here's my rule for a musical. If you're like singing about mundane stuff, like sweeping, like sweeping a. I'm out , you know, it's like, think about something that matters in, in, you know, in the, in the movie. And, uh, but yeah, it was kind of like, uh, And a little bit more focus would've really made it. I do appreciate the fact that they kind of took the idea of the Christmas Carol kinda like Scrooge and kind of turned it on itself and something sort of different with it. So I I, I appreciate that. And there, I'm sure their intentions were great, but I, I feel like. The, when Ryan Reynolds specifically started singing, I was waiting for him. Like, I know he is not Deadpool and everything, but you wanted to kind of like acknowledge how goofy this is and there was really no acknowledgement. It was just kind of like, all right, so he is gonna sing and that's his singing voice too, so you're ready for it. Yeah. Same sort of thing with Will Farrell. Like, he starts singing and you're like, okay, I guess that's him singing and we're gonna hear a bunch more. Yeah. Like I said, it's fine. It's, it's, it's fine. I, I appreciate anyone that would go out of their way to make any Christmas content.. Todd: Yeah. Yeah. I, I liked it. It's almost kind of like they had the idea of it was really great, I thought was really great. Um, but it's almost like they got Brian Reynolds and, and Will Ferrell for like 90 days and so they're like, we gotta do it now, you know, and just kind of worked it out as they went along. And, uh, and then try to find ways to keep them on screen together at all times, which is what you would do if you had both of them. And, uh, yeah, I was looking for a little bit more, uh, tongue in cheek. I was hoping being a musical would actually get to see, like Will Ferrell with a cowbell at one time. I think that would've been hilarious, you know, so , but that, that didn't happen.. Have you, have you had a chance to see a Christmas story? Christmas yet? No. We talked a little bit about it before. I didn't go into too much detail cuz it's, I'm still a little sour about it. I'm trying, I have to be very careful about the way I phrase things. Cause I don't want to get the, uh, hallmark channel's lawyers on me. So, no, no, no. Um, yeah. One of the hosts of my of Christmas countdown as an actor. I won't say who, which one, cause I'm trying to be vague, but it's pretty obvious which one it is. And he was on a TV show with someone who's in the Christmas story story, and we were trying really hard to figure out a way to get her to come on to promote., not necessarily to promote, but to just be on the podcast. But there was no really, uh, workaround. Hallmark was pretty, uh, uh mm-hmm adamant that we make sure that we just have, uh, hallmark stars on, which is fine. They were fun to talk to as well. But, uh, I haven't seen Christmas story story yet. I'm sort of waiting. I've heard really, really good things about it, so I'm really excited to watch it. I almost watched it the other day, but my, uh, my wife and kid were out of town, so I wanted at least wait for her to.

Todd: 20:16

I've heard nothing. I haven't got to see it yet. And it will be one we get watched before Christmas. Mm-hmm., I've heard nothing but good things about it. I heard a lot of people's, like, it's exactly what it needs to be. Has enough references to the old one to make people happy without just going completely off the rails. You know? And I, I have a feeling that of all the new Christmas stuff, um, that, that might be the one that actually. stands a a little bit more test of the time. You know, it seems to be the best of what we've gotten so far. I don't see any of the Santa Claus stuff, um, sticking around guardians. The galaxy will always have its M C u fandom spirited. I just don't know how, how long that's how much life that's gonna have on it. Um, Vi violent night. I hear the critics love that, but I just don't think that's gonna be a one that sticks around a whole lot. I haven't seen it yet, but I just, I know critics love it a lot. Mm-hmm., which kind of shocks me. I remember watching the trailer thinking, man, this is like real hokey and campy, but maybe cuz it's supposed to be and that's why it's good. Who knows?, you know, but, I just, you know, it's kinda like, uh, you're tired of the, uh, I'm tired of my job. Santa. I'm kind of, kind of over the, uh, I like to, uh, kill people Santa too.. Yeah. You know, so it's like, yeah, it's like, can Santa Claus just do something? Let's say, uh, like Santa Claus does, you know, Can we, can we, you know, reach out and do that? So, yeah. So with, uh, Christmas Countdown and you guys doing Hallmark, I assume you get to see a lot of Hallmark movies, or do you Uh, yeah,

Chris: 22:11

we do, um, usually a week or two ahead of time just because we record. They're doing two a week plus a Patreon episode. So we we're, I think we're like a week or two ahead at this. At this point we're almost done. We only have one more to record, but we, um, in order for them to talk about the movies, we have to watch 'em ahead of time and I, I learned after probably. the first one. Like, I don't have to watch these actually. So I stopped watching. . Todd: That's nice. Oh, that's nice. You know, that way you just, uh, they can, they can do it. Yeah. You know? Yeah. It's, it's their little cartoon pictures on the thumbnail, not mine, so they can have that fun.

Todd: 22:48

Oh yeah. Yep. We, they're always on. Um, I don't sit down and just watch 'em. I know the, the guys here in the chat, pepper Tree Village, they sit and watch just about everyone they can, plus the ones off of, , um, uh, gac, which I know you're not allowed to talk about and that's fun. I can

Chris: 23:06

talk about. I was, I'm allowed to talk about spirited or anything as well on another podcast, but, so it's an open, open season now. I'm more than happy to talk about

Todd: 23:13

anything. Okay. Alright. And, uh, so there, there were a few good ones. We did enjoy the, uh, Haul out the Holly, uh, with, uh, Lacy Chabe. We thought that was, was pretty good. Uh, one I want to see that I haven't got to. That completely shocked me when I saw the trailer was the one on qvc, I can't believe QVCs into the Christmas movie game now, you know, , it's, there's a QVC movie. Yeah, there's a qvc, uh, hallmark style QVC rom. and you can get it on the QVC app to watch it. And the trailer looks really great and hilarious and like legit, and we wanna watch it . That's so bizarre, right? It's like, have we reached full saturation of these, uh, G rated? Romcom, big city, little Town girl goes to, uh, you know, tell everybody what Christmas is all about. Or, you know, since that QVCs in the, uh, you know, in the game or, you know, and even Discovery Channel has some of them with like their reality star hosts, like, you know, they stop at the end and the, the cook's, Bobby Flay, , you know, that kinda stuff. You know, so it's like, have we reached complete, full saturation? So, yeah, it is, um, it is interesting to, to see it and it doesn't, you know, I, I ask about full saturation, but it doesn't seem like it is, you know, usually you can kind of tell when people jump to Shark, but I mean, it doesn't seem like it, it has, there must be a demand.

Chris: 24:59

Yeah, like I said, I, I appreciate anyone that's willing to make Christmas content, so if it's on QVC or Discovery or wherever else, that's awesome. If they're putting it out, nothing wrong with that. Yeah.

Todd: 25:10

Yeah. Yeah, it is. It is. So, so anything else this Christmas that is maybe not movie, uh, related? I have some like music observations to me that, that I can make, but is there anything else this Christmas that just kind of stands out to you?

Chris: 25:27

Well, a, a big part of Christmas for us. Uh, my fam, my, my wife and my kid. Now, I guess that's a, that's a family, right? That's a family of three. Yep. Yep. is, uh, it, uh, has a lot to do with where we live. We live in New York City, so even though we haven't been putting out a lot of podcasts about it, which I probably should touch on at some point, but Um-Huh. it's, it's nice to get out and go and take a look at some of the ornaments and decorations and we've had family in town, so we. Uh, bustling and running around the city and showing people around. It's there, there's a certain tour that you have to take when people come to town. Like you have to go to Bryant Park and then walk up to like Rockefeller Center and look at all the decorations on sixth Avenue and fifth Avenue. And then we've done that two or three times at this point now. So it's, uh, we've, I think we've gotten a pretty good taste of what New York City has to offer for the holidays. So it's that kind of stuff. And then like, How else is our, we went out and cut a Christmas tree down. This is like our, probably like our seventh year going out and cutting Christmas tree down in New Jersey. So that's another little thing we do, which is nice to get away from the city so we can just breathe some fresh air for a little bit as well.

Todd: 26:29

Yeah, yeah. Now, is this the first Christmas that the city's like, like completely open since all the fiasco? It was

Chris: 26:37

open last year. I don't think. I was, I was doing a lot more videos last year because I had a lot more free time last year. Right. And, uh, there weren't a whole lot of people wearing masks.. So I, I, I believe at that point they had pretty much kind of just thought that, like, this is probably teetering as to mm-hmm. sort of being over at that point. So, um, okay. But this year it's just, there's, it's a hundred percent back open hundred. It's so on the weekends, it's so busy, so

Todd: 27:06

busy. Yeah. I, I can imagine. I can imagine. I was, um, I still gotta get out there to the city for, for Christmas

Chris: 27:13

time. Well, you know, somebody, whenever you're ready for it, I've got some skates. We can go ice skating.

Todd: 27:18

I will do that. We'll go ice skating. I'll sleep on your couch. I ain't afraid you can sleep right next to my dog. Hey, that's

Chris: 27:24

done worse. Well, he snores, so

Todd: 27:27

well been, I'm used to that too. Uh, so . But, uh, um, we have a dog that snores wide awake. You know, he'll be laying on the couch. Eyes wide open, just snoring like crazy. It's the weirdest thing., you know? So, but uh, yeah, it's, um, let's talk about Christmas time in, in the city a little bit. Kinda, you know, I know you've been busy with other things and, and some of the episodes have, have, have not happened, like you wish. So, but you, you did tell me you guys got plans for, for next year and.

Chris: 28:04

Yeah, for sure. I think the way we talked about it before we came on as well about how like quickly the season kind of approached us and we had a plan of how we wanted to do it was gonna be a abbreviated the season for sure. And I, um, it just flew by and all of a sudden, it's like halfway through December now and we only had like one episode out basically saying that we're coming back. Um, and so I think, we'll, we, we'll probably have maybe one or two episodes coming out. I looked at our analytics and it looks like people are looking for us still. So we'll put some stuff out if we can this week or next week. But our aim is to next year, to have a lot more stuff going on and to be a little more active, um, in addition to being a, uh, very, very popular Christmas. Podcast, uh, producer. I'm also a stay-at-home dad, which I'm much more, uh, uh, proud to be and oh yeah. So, uh, next year he'll probably be in school or, or daycare or some type of a preschool situation, so I'll have more time to kind of. Uh, spend a little more time to focus on the podcast, but as of now, it's just been like trying to figure out what's more important and obviously going to trampoline parks with my little kid is much more important.

Todd: 29:14

Oh yeah. You gotta, you gotta soak up them years while you can cuz they, yeah, they go in a hurry. I will say

Chris: 29:19

my bones are not cur, not currently. good for trampoline parks, but I, I, I, I make, do, I do the best I can, but I feel it afterwards. Like my, oh yeah. I can, like, after the first jump, I feel all my vertebra, its like squish in. It's like, okay. Yeah.

Todd: 29:34

Yeah. It's gonna be a rough one. Well, I remember I got a few years on you and I remember it was summertime and, uh, I forgot what we were doing, doing something with the truck, hauling something to somewhere, and my boys were with. And we were all three in the, the, uh, bed of my pickup truck. And we, we got out whatever we were supposed to get out, and they like, they, like one of 'em like stood up on the side rail and jumped down and the other one jumped off the, the tailgate. And I walked to the edge of the tailgate and looked down. I thought. No, just kind of sit down and scoot it off, you know? I'm like, I'm, I'm not jumping that far. How could I could just feel it? Now you do. So I completely understand. You get to a certain age, it's like, I'm not, it's not worth the, not worth the risk on that. Hmm. Too many things can go sideways in a hurry and, and anything, but yeah, that'd be fun, you know? Uh, I, I, I don't think I've really said this on the podcast, but I, I missed, I, I released one thing the first six months of this year, and that was it. And, and, uh, and felt just terrible about it, but it's just kind of what needed to happen. And, uh, a couple months ago, I, I don't look at my analytics very often on the, on the podcast or, or anything because I can't control 'em. Yeah, I, I just don't, just don't get into the weeds. And a few months ago, I, I decided just to kind of look at. To look at 'em, just to see where things were in that first six months. When I released, like one episode, I looked at how many downloads the, the podcast grew by, and it was, it floored me. It absolutely floored me. I was like, holy cow. And it just, I was just so grateful and kind of gave me a, a, a vigor to, you know, do more because I was like, not expecting that at all. You know, it's almost like. Uh, you know, it's almost like I wasn't even gone, you know? And, uh, it, it was amazing. So it, it is cool that, uh, you know, even when you have to take a break, need to take a break, you know, the, the, the thing lives out there and people still can find it and enjoy it and things. So, but, uh, yeah, I was, um, thinking about Christmas music this year. It wasn't a great year for New Christmas music people., you know, there were a few things here or there, but nothing to me just stood out. Maybe something that you stood out, but I mean, we had some good people release albums, but they just,

Chris: 32:16

was there anything that you particularly liked a lot or liked a little bit,

Todd: 32:19

or, I mean, The Backstreet Boys thing was fine at best. Sure. I was real hopeful for the Alicia Keys stuff, but I just, I mean, it was good, but it was, I. Nothing new, nothing just didn't grab me. It's almost, it almost felt forced to me. Yeah. You know, um, uh, Luke McMaster had a new song, slowmo and Christmas. He's uh, on a small label, green Hill, I believe, and he was been on the podcast before. He had a new song, Christmas and Slowmo that I liked quite a bit. That was probably my favorite new song of this.. Um, and, uh, but it, you know, just doesn't, cuz of just doesn't get the, the, the love as, you know, some of the bigger stuff. But I just, you know, I just, nothing really just, you know, settled in. That's kind of the way it is. Last year was pretty good year for Christmas songs, you know. Um, but this year just, I don't know, maybe it's just me, um, the Switchfoot Christmas album. It kind of took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting a lot from it, but enjoyed it probably more than most of them, you know? Um, but it is different. It's not your super traditional kind of Christmas. But, um, other than that I was just kind of,

Chris: 33:45

dude, they have a song called, uh, dare You To Run, run Rudolph.

Todd: 33:49

No, but they should have, dang, they, they do have a song called, um, it's. Christmas in California. California, Christmas. Mm-hmm.. And since my wife, uh, you know, grew up in California at Christmas time, I made her listen to it. It was like, is this true what they're talking about, , you know, because it's talking about being real. And she, she, she gave me the thumbs up and then I sent it to, um, Michael Crystal, Michael Christman, who lives out there. And I was like, listen to this. And he liked it too. You know, kind of gives some nostalgic to those that grew up in. Sunny Southern California. Sure. You know, during Christmas and, uh, so, but that, that one kind of, of 'em all, I think the, the, the switch foot one, surprisingly, was my favorite. However, that being said, I really enjoyed their music as a whole anyway. And not that, here's the thing with Switchfoot, they're never gonna be like the best band ever, but they're always gonna give you a solid b. You know, each and every outing, , you know what I'm saying? It's just kind of like that go-to band, that you just know what you're gonna get. You're gonna get Yeah, like train

Chris: 35:00

or something. Like, it's not gonna be awesome, but it's gonna be good. And you're probably gonna enjoy it.

Todd: 35:05

Yeah. It's gonna be well produced, well-written. It's not gonna be, you know, hokey or anything. And it's just gonna, it's gonna be a you. Just like a worth's original, just a nice, solid piece of candy that, uh, you don't get, you don't go your way to buy it, but when grandma hands it to you, you're happy, you know, so. But, uh, yeah, it's, it's like that. But yeah, just, you know, I kind of got that feeling about, you know, talking about the movies this year and the music. It's kind of like, it's just. people tried really hard and put out some neat new stuff, but I just don't see anything. The only thing this year that I think will be have any legs for Christmases in the future will be the Christmas story. Christmas and uh, and that with, you know, being locked in on one streaming service, I don't know how, how that's gonna affect that or not, you know?

Chris: 36:05

Yeah, that's a good point. You

Todd: 36:07

know? Because that's another thing I had to do this year. I, you know, I wanted to watch all this Christmas stuff, so it's like I had to get subscriptions to all these places that I don't want subscriptions to, and they took away all the free trials for here Right. At the end of the year, surprisingly, you know, so, yeah. Yeah. And, uh, Yeah, Ken, Ken didn't make mention, they did release a new vinyl Lou Armstrong Christmas album this year, which they did do that, you know. And, but

Chris: 36:42

yeah, that's more my speed. I think. I don't, yeah, I don't love contemporary Christmas music. Right. I think you, you, you mentioned it a little earlier, uh, earlier, I think some of them just don't sound genuine or authentic sometimes. Right? Like you hear like how much money Mariah Carey makes every year. And in my head, like I just hear like these people, like other groups, like being like, well, we should do that too. So we can have like this, like sustainable income that every year our album we put out. Five years ago, or 30 years ago and just continues to chart. So like in my head like that, and it's cynical, I know it's whatever, but mm-hmm., I prefer older music. Just cause I, and I'm also like always striving for, uh, the Christmas feels of like my, like, Like adolescence or growing up, I'm, I'm always like trying to like relive like opening presence at my grandparents' house and like the vibe, vibe and the music that was playing there. So, um, I'm, I'm constantly like trying to like, recreate that. So I, I listen to a lot of more like, um, Crooners and like older music

Todd: 37:45

and stuff. So yeah, I completely get that. Everybody, that nostalgia plays a big part. Mm-hmm. and that's why those, those songs live on, have lived on for so long. And, you know, it, it blows my mind to know that in my lifetime some of these songs will turn 100 years old, you know? Yeah. And, uh, and, and it, it's, it's crazy. And. I think that's why I like the Switchfoot album so much cuz they, they didn't try to be, you know, anybody but Switchfoot doing Christmas music, you know, and, and that's why the Alicia Keys thing felt forced. It didn't sound like, it sounded like she was trying to be Yeah, she's a great pianist and things, but it was just felt like lounge singing jazz, forced and just didn't fit, you know? Um, I think that's why. Mariah Carey's original Christmas stuff worked so well. Is it? That was Mariah Carey at the time. You know, and I think that's what people need to do when you make Christmas music. Just be yourself. Don't try to, don't try to act like you're, you're Bing or Frank or, or Andy. Just do what you do musically. That's one of the reasons why. It didn't make my list, but one of my favorite songs is, uh, sleigh Ride by tlc because it's TLC doing Sleigh Ride. It's not them, you know, trying to, you know, be anybody else. And it's just a lot of fun. But yeah, I think you make a good point. It's, it's when the, the, the musical artist tries to be somebody different is when that really falls short. That's what happened to the g um, gym. What's it? Not the Gin in Blossoms. Was it? What was, I had that Christmas album at last year that was terrible. Oh gosh. I wanna say, was it Jim? Jim Blossoms?

Chris: 39:35

I don't think it was The Gin. I saw the Jim Blossoms in July. And don't, they weren't pushing the Christmas album.

Todd: 39:40

No, it was, uh, the guy, the guys that did the, um, Iris and Oh, the Googo Dolls. Google Dolls. That's cool. Google Dolls. Yeah. That album. Ooh. Yeah. Yeah. I didn't like it. They, they tried to not, they weren't, they weren't the goo dolls. They just, yeah. I don't, so, yeah. So that, that is, that is an excellent point. That is an excellent point. So everybody, uh, listening here on the podcast and hearing in the chat, oh, now Chris, Chris has not asked me to do this at. This is something I am doing, uh, on my own Accord. Uhoh. Chris is, Chris is participating in a Polar book, bear Plunge on New Year's, uh, for charity, for co, for Coney

Chris: 40:30

Island. Yeah, the neighborhood of Coney Island. I think a lot of people, when they think of Coney Island, they think of like the roller coaster and like the amusement parks and stuff, but Cogn is an actual. And then the, uh, amusement parks like, uh, Luna Park or Astroland and, uh, the Cyclone Rollercoaster all are within Coney Island. And Coney Island's a really cool place, but a few blocks inland. It just kind of like deteriorates like a lot of places that have, uh, lately you see like a lot of just rundown places. And so through the Polar Bear Club, they, uh, have been, uh, feeding money to nonprofits to kind of. Uh, help education programs and help, like childcare and stuff to kind of get the, uh, neighborhood kind of back up to where it used to be. And, uh, yeah, the, I did the polar bear plunge last year and it, it wasn't super cold, but it was still absolutely horrible. Yeah. And, uh, I, I did it reluctantly. My worry now is that it's gonna be really cold this year, and I've already like, committed myself to do it. Mm-hmm., so I was saying that. Uh, the other day that, uh, if more, and I, I'm not trying to, like, we, we joked about this being like a a, a Jerry Lewis telethon. Yeah. But, uh, I feel like the more people that kind of support, even if you're not fi um, supporting financially, it'll, there's more encouragement that will probably convince me to actually get up on New Year's Day and drive out to Coney Island and jump into the frigid water. Uh, but yeah, it's for a good cause. And I'm, this is the second year we've been doing it and I'm pretty pumped to be a part of it. And then I'm looking forward to getting out there and kind of just like shaking off 2022. partying afterwards. It's a really cool scene. Afterwards, I guess there's like, uh, people dancing on the beach and everyone's having a good time and everyone's just kind of freezing. You'd think that like when you get out of the water, that that's the worst part. Um, but obviously it's not, it's, it's when you go into the water, it's the worst part.. But I was so prepared for afterwards. I had like a coat. And I had like a robe and blankets and stuff, but after you get outta the water, it's totally fine. Like you're not even that cold, but it's that initial shock of jumping in the water and you're like, oh, this was a really, really bad idea. Like, why did I do this? Todd: Yeah. I, I, I understand. I hate cold water. I don't know if I could even force myself into it. That's how it was really hard. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't signed up to last year to do it for

Todd: 42:45

charity. See, I don't even know if I can get my name to sign , you know? Yeah. To sign the thing knowing it. But here's the deal guys. Um, there is a link, uh, in the description in the chat, and it is, um, uh, Christmas clatter.live/polar bear, and you can go there and support, uh, Chris and his, uh, efforts to raise money, uh, for this, uh, Coney Island project here. But here's the thing. Mm-hmm., and this is definitely the thing Chris told me. He didn't tell me not to talk about it, but he's like, we don't need to do this, but I'm gonna do it anyway. If he raises enough money, he gets a, him and his wife and his son get to take his son on a V I P tour of the aquarium. and, uh, that that's, that's a place that his son absolutely loves. And the, here's, here's the thing, the dollar amount isn't like a crazy amount he needs to raise. And I just encourage each and every one of you if you can, to go to Christmas clater.live/polar bear and pledge what you can. Now, I know, uh, when we get off here, I'm gonna talk with Holly to see what we can do. We're gonna put a pledge in as well. And, uh, I say let's just, uh, let's make a pledge for charity and, uh, give Chris', uh, boy a. Tripped. V i p tripped to the aquarium for Christmas.

Chris: 44:01

Huge bounty points for me if that were to work out. And, and as far as the money is concerned, it all goes to the people that need it. There's no like, uh, subsidiaries or like anyone working in an office that's like licking. envelopes that gets paid off of the money. It all goes to people that really need it. So yeah, it's really cool if you guys can, and if not, it's, it's cool. It's fine. Yeah. Not like a huge deal, but I'd appreciate it. Yeah,

Todd: 44:22

yeah. I know. It's, uh, it's tough for people this time of year, you know, things. Mm-hmm. things get tight and if you can, you know, you can, if you can just do five, you know, five bucks, 10 bucks, you know, every little bit helps. But, uh, I just want to, you know, encourage people to go do it, support this cause, and, uh, and. And just give a, you know, hopefully together we can give the gift of a, uh, v i p tour for, for your son. And I

Chris: 44:45

think that would, that'd be great too. Cool. And, uh, as far as while we're talking about it, I will be live streaming it on my Instagram, probably the, like the, the, that morning. So if you want to watch me jump into the frigid waters of Coney Island, you can do that. You can find me on Instagram at. It's your Bud Chris on Instagram, but you can find him there. Yeah, and I will be posting more updates and if you're in the town and you want to jump with me, then I'll probably be there about 11 o'clock.. Todd: Well, if I was in town I'd Uh, I know my, I know my limitations, Chris: but I don't know my,

Todd: 45:26

year, I think. Yeah. It's just great. Well, anytime anybody does anything for, for charity, it's just, I just want to support it and, and, uh, I know, I know it's a lot of fun and get a chance to kind of do some fun stuff with your boy if, if it works, if it, you know, if it breaks just Right. Which, which I know you're not doing it for that, you're just doing it for, you know, just cause it's. It's a fun thing to do. It's the right thing to do and, and, uh, and there's just not enough charity work out there. Well, to go around with all the different needs people have and, uh, communities have. So, but yeah, that is, that is, uh, Christmas clater.live Live, uh, slash polar bear. That is just that, um, URL is just a redirect. I have nothing to do with it. I just made the re, uh, redirect url, so it was something I. Remember, you know, and say instead of, uh, because the original u r L is, it's a rough one, it's real long. It's . Yeah. It's like a hundred characters long. And I don't wanna be like going capital a lowercase u , you know? So, so it was like, I just asked you, uh, I just asked Chris if I could just do a redirect. That way I could just roll it off the tongue and, and get people there a little quicker, a little easier. But links to that are, are in the description, in the show notes if, uh, if you get the chance and the opportunity to, to go support them. But, uh, Man, that's a lot of fun. I will be watching that live stream. I will be pointing and laughing the whole way., uh, I assume you would expect nothing less. And, uh, and man, I really appreciate you hopping on, uh, this close to Christmas. I know it's busy, busy time for you and, uh, and I, I really appreciate you hopping on. You've been so, so good. Us here at Christmas cla i, I, I can't thank you enough. Well,

Chris: 47:13

thank you so much for having me. It's, uh, it's always a pleasure to talk to you and like I mentioned before, I don't know where I would be if it wasn't for Christmas. Cla I think, I mean, I. I mentioned Duane, but Duane's not here. So I can just, I can be honest. If it wasn't for Christmas cloud, I don't know what I'd be doing. So I, I appreciate you, you've indirectly have changed my life, so that's a really cool thing. So I appreciate

Todd: 47:33

that though. Well, I can, uh, I can retire now. That was wonderful, man. I appreciate it. Well let everybody know where they can find you on the social medias real quick.

Chris: 47:46

Yeah, you can find me at, uh, on Instagram. That's pretty much where I, I I exist the most and I am It's your bud Chris on there. I'm on Facebook, but I mean, I wouldn't, I don't post much on Facebook. You can also find my podcast Christmas time in the City. That's the one I have with my. Wherever you find podcasts, you know, every podcast person tells you the same thing. That's wherever you find them. You can also hear me on, uh, Christmas Countdown podcast, uh, and coming in the new year, I think there'll be some other po uh, other countdown podcasts as well that I may be on. So I Oh wow. Keep o keep your eyes open cuz there's some other things, there's some other irons that are potentially in the fire at this point, so we're really excited.

Todd: 48:28

Yeah. Sounds like you're starting the, uh, Countdown Universe.. Chris: Yeah. The countdown. Extended universe. Yeah, they countdown. Extended universe.. No, . All right guys. Well, thank you guys so much for joining me here on this episode of Christmas Clater. Christmas is so close. I hope everybody stays healthy, stays well. Be sure to slow down and enjoy the holidays. Until we meet again. Remember, keep Christmas Hope alive every day.