Growing Together

A Christmas Special

• Organic Church • Season 2 • Episode 45

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Can you imagine spending over $100 on nutcracker-themed items at Dollar General, only to realize you've created a nutcracker kitchen extravaganza? That's exactly what happened as we embarked on a hilarious holiday shopping adventure filled with Bluetooth-enabled nutcrackers and the joys of assembling furniture. The episode kicks off with our lighthearted tales of Christmas decor mishaps and unexpected shopping sprees, highlighting the peculiar delights of holiday preparation and the hidden gems found in the most unexpected places.

Moving on, we unravel the whimsical world of holiday traditions and cherished memories, where the Elf on the Shelf takes center stage and creative gift hiding spots become legendary. From the nostalgic "green stuff" jello to homemade noodles, our family recipes bring warmth and laughter to our festive conversations. We compare notes on our favorite holiday movies like "The Grinch" and "A Christmas Story," while getting excited about visiting Castle Noel, a treasure trove of Christmas memorabilia that keeps the festive spirit alive all year round.

As we reminisce about family traditions, the joy of Christmas tree decorating and holiday baking come to life with stories of Buckeyes and chocolate-covered Ritz with peanut butter. The heartwarming essence of exchanging gifts and reading the Christmas story from the Book of Luke reminds us of the simple yet profound connections that define the season. With a new grandchild joining our celebrations, the continuity of family customs becomes even more meaningful, underscoring the importance of togetherness and the magic of Christmas. Join us for this delightful episode, where every story is a reminder of the joy and warmth that the holiday season brings.

Speaker 1

Who would have thought that we were going to record a Christmas episode you?

Speaker 2

Ahead of time too.

Speaker 1

Ahead of time too. Yeah, taboo. I guess we could have come in on Christmas morning, like everybody would be willing to do that right.

Speaker 3

Oh yeah, I'd be, why not? I don't want to put stuff together anyway.

Speaker 1

That's exactly right. That is the truth, isn't it? What did he say? He, that's exactly right. That is the truth, isn't it? What did he say? He doesn't want to put stuff together anyway, although you don't have any super little ones anymore Well.

Speaker 3

Maggie right now she's 13, and she likes to order furniture on Amazon. So for like half the year we've been putting stuff together.

Speaker 1

So Seth and.

Speaker 3

I are about sick of it. But, now she wants a vanity from Amazon for Christmas, so we're not looking forward to that.

Speaker 2

At least it's not IKEA stuff.

Speaker 1

That is true. Well, listen, at least IKEA gives you all the tools. The pictures aren't the greatest, but at least I don't have to figure out like what tools do I need? I put.

Speaker 2

Cooper's high chair. Sorry, we're already off track. I put his high chair on and like I mean it was three pieces. But I'm like confused by the pictures.

Speaker 3

We bought this nutcracker from Lowe's. It's the one that it's, the big one, the animatronic one.

Speaker 1

Yeah, yeah. And it's Bluetooth? Oh yeah, no.

Speaker 3

Oh, so I take it out of the box. Yesterday and assembly time five minutes, five days later. Yeah, so you take him out of the box. There's his head and then here's his body. Well, his body is supposed to extend up, like you put a button, almost like a suitcase.

Speaker 1

Yeah, and he pops up. He's supposed to pull right up.

Speaker 3

Nope, would not pull up.

Speaker 5

Button was stuck.

Speaker 3

I am just by the end. I'm getting frustrated. I'm just cranking on this thing.

Speaker 1

Then you turn around and walk away and it pops up after you've walked away.

Speaker 3

So for a while we're like, well, maybe we'll just have a midget nutcracker. They were like no, so I threw it back in the box. We got to take it back to Lowe's.

Speaker 1

I ordered today $300 and it can't even I ordered a six foot nutcracker for the front porch at the new house today, so I'm super excited. Yeah, this was six and a half foot. Yeah, super excited. I was like yeah, you know, this is mouth sweet, huh, yeah, yeah, he's that one's pretty, that one's pretty slick yeah, but mine's just like plaster, but it's got like he's holding a snow globe and everything well, the thing was we had to go to three lows to find it oh yeah only found one in massillon, so mine was.

Speaker 1

I knew what I wanted, but I had a specific one that I wanted. But they were out of stock everywhere so you could buy them like third-party sellers for $1,300, but they're $300 brand new. So I finally I was able to get one on Sam's Club. It's not the exact one that I wanted. They make them in different races for what that's worth.

Speaker 1

I wanted a more traditional looking one, which was to say that he was white, but instead I got a black one, which we are perfectly okay with, because we have black Santas all over our house. We don't care. But I liked the classic look of the Nutcracker, but I was just so excited to get one, so I can't wait for him to come.

Speaker 3

I was very excited.

Speaker 1

I had him shipped to work so that I would know that he had arrived safely and that I didn't have to worry about him until we are fully moved, which is dating this podcast, because this is live on Christmas Day.

Speaker 3

Let me tell you my Nutcracker story. Oh geez.

Speaker 4

So Dawn and I go to the Dollar General.

Speaker 1

Oh no, Dawn's dying. This isn't good.

Speaker 4

Because she needs to get flowers. We're getting flowers A hundred and twenty we're getting flowers A hundred and twenty-nine dollars later. My kitchen now is all nutcracker, who spends $129 a dollar in general.

Speaker 1

That's a lot of stuff. You have to back up a box truck to leave.

Speaker 4

Listen, we were tearing their displays down to get what I wanted.

Speaker 2

Did you get the candle? I think it might be a two-wick one, but it kind of looks like a tin. Almost. It does look like a tin. Yes, I don't think I got that.

Speaker 1

Yeah, she got seven of those no, she did not get the tin I did not get that.

Speaker 5

She's going to have to go back and pick it up.

Speaker 4

But I've been looking at it? Yeah it smells good Because the other day I seen this little tray that has the three nutcrackers. I'm like I need that.

Speaker 1

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4

And then I found an extra plate holder. I'm like, oh yeah.

Speaker 2

Their stuff is so cute too.

Speaker 4

Oh, if you would have seen us wearing that thing, they're lifting stuff up.

Speaker 1

They pull rugs out because we got the rugs to go and everything. Dollar General now has a separate store, so Dollar General also owns family. No, yes, they do, yes, they do. They own all three of them. They own Dollar Tree, family Dollar and Dollar General. Now they do. Oh, wow, but they have a new home decor store. I can't remember what it's called, but I walked into one thinking I was going to find like real home decor. It's the name, sounds like it's not. Hold on, I'm going to Google it. Are you saying my nutcrackers? No, no.

Speaker 4

No, no, no no, no, no.

Holiday Traditions and Memories

Speaker 1

What I'm saying is it is it's gotten cute stuff. It is well, and that's what I was going to say. It has gotten cuter since they've done that. Like they sell some Dolly Parton stuff. Like they have done much better with their home decor Just down the plaza from TJ Maxx. I'm going to look it up real quick. Anyhow, sid, let's start with you. Just share some of your favorite Christmas traditions. What are some things that you enjoy about Christmas? Just give us your Christmas list.

Speaker 2

Well, when you said Christmas traditions, the first thing that popped into mind was so Mallory's, 10 years younger than me, and it was like Elf on the Shelf came out.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah.

Speaker 2

You know I mean was like elf on the shelf, came out like yeah, you know I mean it was prime time, like right when she was four or five. So you know, parents are just too tired to move the elf.

Speaker 3

So you were too old for elf on the shelf yes, okay, correct yeah um, she was the elf mover.

Speaker 1

It's called pop shelf. I was. Pop shelf is the name of the store.

Speaker 2

I think I've seen something about that. But anyway, the yeah. So I was too old. But, like Michael said in the past, you kind of are able to be a part of that magic now. So I was kind of that, but I'm more like of a creative spark. So I was always just trying to figure out what you're going to do with the elf. I put it in a cereal box and cut a little circle out and had him had his head popping through and just a lot of fun.

Speaker 3

It looks like tony now, this isn't a spoiler she still doesn't believe an elf on the shelf right oh, trigger warning for anybody listening.

Speaker 2

Trigger warning, yeah sorry, this is a late trigger yeah, yeah, no, I think she's. I think she's.

Speaker 3

Earmuffs.

Speaker 2

Hopefully. So that was always fun. And then I can just always remember Christmas morning Like so, easter egg or not Easter eggs, easter baskets People will hide those Right. Okay, so we did that for Christmas, like it was kind of like the Easter basket.

Speaker 2

No, for Christmas, like it was kind of like the Easter basket. No, it was like your most wanted gift or your most like thought out gift, um. So I can just remember we had this creepy basement downstairs and we had the laundry chute and, um, just like a huge tote box where our clothes would go into from the laundry chute. And I think the one I want to say it was our last year there, because we moved down from there when I was like 17 or 18. And I think I want to say it was like a laptop that I got or a Chromebook, yeah, but it was like in the dirty pile of clothes in that storage box. So that was always fun.

Speaker 3

So you were always fully prepared that you were going to have to find this gift.

Speaker 2

Yeah, but not always, because we didn't really start it until I don't know, maybe, like I think I had like six years of it, Because you know, I think the end of the Christmas story is such a nice idea and story.

Speaker 6

Yeah.

Speaker 3

But can you imagine that many kids reacting that? Way you didn't get that bb gun that you wanted.

Speaker 2

I mean yeah, yeah so the classic pickle um the christmas pickle.

Speaker 2

We do, yeah, we do christmas pickle what I thought was I think I was, oh, I was at marshall's. I wasn't sure if it was the dollar general, but it was marshall's the other day and I thought it was interesting. There were four. It was like a four pack of ornaments, and one was just like the classic pickle, but then there was one that was like a pickle jar, and so there was like, basically, if a kid were to find it, they could be like oh well, I found the pickle, but it was like no, because that's not the actual pickle because one I think was like a magazine with a pickle on it, like it was all pickle themed, but you have to find the actual ornament that looks like the pickle.

Speaker 5

Are they kosher?

Speaker 1

Roger why I don't know Always something with him.

Speaker 2

You got to know yeah.

Speaker 1

Well, you take a bite and let us know.

Speaker 2

I think my most like treasured one would be my grandma's. Like the pistachio jello. We called it her green stuff. But the thing is she left the pistachio jello Ugh, we called it her green stuff. But, the thing is, she left the pistachios out of it.

Speaker 1

Doesn't matter.

Speaker 2

So it wasn't really, it was kind of just like it's lime flavored, though, right?

Speaker 1

Yes, yes.

Speaker 3

Lime marshmallow and like cherries. Yeah, we make that in our house. Yes, my mom made it every year. Okay, do you food in it, like bethany does? And you might well. I suppose you could probably hide it in there. The texture would probably still be the same, but I love it. I think it's so.

Speaker 2

Yeah, it was such a staple that like that was the only holiday that she would use. She had, like a christmas tree little baking pan that she would cook it or not yeah, but you know put it together and but every holiday, I mean, she still made that green stuff it just didn just didn't have the red cherries as ornaments, but we had the red cherries set aside, if you wanted to put it with it.

Speaker 1

And that's your favorite. I love that stuff.

Speaker 2

She didn't make it one year. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3

Margie tries to get out of it.

Speaker 2

I'm like no, you're making it yes, and she knew the following year. She's like, no, you're making it the following year. She's like man, all my I mean all of the grandkids were like where's the green? Stuff. Where is it at? We were so mad.

Family Christmas Traditions and Memories

Speaker 1

But it's funny that my grandma's her noodles. That's what everybody counts on at Thanksgiving and so if grandma doesn't make like one time she didn't hand make the noodles, they were like store bought frozen. I was like what is this garbage like?

Speaker 2

this is not noodles. Yeah, I think that's just like off the top of my head, because we didn't, we didn't really come prepared yeah, yeah, we didn't know, we didn't all right don, how about you?

Speaker 6

well, we always had to watch the classic christmas shows okay, like what cartoons?

Speaker 1

okay, so we're talking frosty rudolph rudolph, yes, all of those the grinch yeah nesterinch, yeah. Nestor the Long-Eared Donkey.

Speaker 6

I've seen that.

Speaker 1

Okay.

Speaker 6

That wasn't one that we always watched.

Speaker 5

Oh, that was on the quiz.

Speaker 1

It was last year on the trivia. Be prepared for trivia this year.

Speaker 6

Yeah, we always went out and cut down a tree. Okay, we never had an artificial tree tree.

Speaker 2

I will say I'm very, very, very excited this year because I can go black friday, because I haven't been able to go the last four years, but because we've always gone are you gonna?

Speaker 1

it was. What's that have to do with cutting down a christmas tree?

Speaker 2

we'd always have to go like on a random weekday. It's chaos to find like, also because they're open on the weekends, but I worked every saturday and. Sunday, so I couldn't go. So I'm like this is so easy. Now I know I can go on black Friday and that's the best time to go, you know what I mean To cut down a tree a Christmas tree yes, really.

Speaker 6

When did you go? Oh no, no, it was two weeks prior. Oh, my dad would never set that it was two weeks prior to Christmas, but that's, I think, live trees.

Speaker 1

We did live trees for several years and we thought that was going to be a tradition forever. And then we got this is not a joke we got one one year that would not go in the stand straight, like it looked straight outside. We cut it down, but the trunk where they cut it was crooked and so it wouldn't go in the stand straight. I ended up having to like strap it to the wall in order to get it to stand up. Awful, I had screws running through the bottom of the tree holder to hold this. It was awful and I vowed I'll never do another live one again. But if you do it too early, they dry out.

Speaker 2

Well, most of them aren't even open until Thanksgiving, so it was always two weeks prior, decorating the tree we loved, and it was always the tinsel back in the day Gobs of tinsel.

Speaker 1

That's the icicle oh, those, okay, you're talking the okay, the, the garland kind of garland yes but did your?

Speaker 4

your mom always did the icicles, didn't she? Oh well, yeah, back in the day because she did like one oh, yeah, at a time no more than two icicles.

Speaker 6

Oh, you couldn't take go from the bottom and go up. You know like you could just string them up One or two.

Speaker 4

Oh yeah, okay, it was beautiful the tree was beautiful and the ornaments were always just perfectly placed.

Speaker 6

Yes, because then mom would go back and sit in the chair in the kitchen and she would look and she'd say, to the right, up or down, they had to be perfectly placed. So when my kids were decorating a tree when they were little, after they went to bed, you moved everything. I moved them? Did they ever know? Oh yeah, I figured, by the time they were in the sixth grade and the fourth grade they would no longer help me decorate.

Speaker 1

Just do it yourself, Mom. That's exactly what I got.

Speaker 6

And I'm like, but we always decorate the tree together.

Speaker 1

And you move it and I'm like, but we always decorate the tree together and you move it. What's the point?

Speaker 6

Yes, so they called me out on that, but I'm still just as bad.

Speaker 1

That's funny.

Speaker 6

Always a lot of baking in the house. Always the ladyfingers, the Hungarian pastries, the snowballs, the cutouts.

Speaker 5

I'm coming to your house.

Speaker 1

And I'm over here going. None of those sound good. Can I get some sugar cookies and some chocolate chip?

Speaker 6

Uh, sugar cookies, Buckeyes, chocolate covered cherries, oh, buckeyes.

Speaker 1

I buy my Buckeyes from a girl that I know really well, and the only reason I do it is because I've never had a Buckeye quite as good as hers, and I don't know how to describe it. There's nothing special about them, but they are perfect, absolutely perfect. So she posted hey, I'm making Buckeyes again this year. Anybody want any? I'm like five dozen.

Speaker 2

It's not Ashley, is it?

Speaker 3

No her name is Julie Margie introduced me to the chocolate-covered Ritz Nope Peanut butter stack. They're good.

Speaker 1

They're only good frozen. That's my favorite way to eat them. I disagree, but we put them in the freezer and I usually have a bucket of them stuck in the deep freeze and I'll get three or four out and then I'll eat them, but they're too messy for me. I prefer something that I can just put the whole thing in my mouth and then it's Oreo, yeah, oreos. Well, I can do that with Oreos, but I'd choke.

Speaker 4

Yeah, yeah, no, buckeyes are perfect but they have to be made with jif peanut butter oh for sure, yeah, yeah, don't give me no pan or creamy peanut butter.

Speaker 1

That's bs it's gotta have the jif yeah, you know, ruin christmas with that crap I forgot about puppy chow too.

Speaker 6

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, I would let the kids open a gift on christmas eve when they got older not when they were little, but when they got older, but then it was always the new pajamas, so that when they got up in the morning Everybody's in matching jam jams. They had to do those, yep, yeah. And then, after I became a Christian, it was very important to me that we read the Christmas story Every Christmas before we opened gift.

Speaker 1

Now, when you say that you mean like Ralphie and no, not Ralphie, I always did the Christmas story out of Luke too. Yeah, and I think that's. Yeah, that's kind of the go-to. If you start that on December 1st, you get to the birth of Jesus on the 24th. So, it's like that's kind of a way to do it. If you do it that way, but I thought it was the 25th, no 24th, you get to the birth of Jesus on.

Speaker 1

Christmas Eve oh okay, anything else, dawn. Yeah, beth, what did you have? What do you enjoy?

Speaker 4

Actually, the family comes together on Christmas Eve and does candlelight service.

Speaker 6

Oh yes, Absolutely love candlelight service.

Speaker 4

I mean, even when I wasn't going to church regularly, I still would go with my parents to the Methodist church.

Speaker 1

Eastern Christmas.

Speaker 4

Yep, that's me.

Speaker 1

E and C.

Speaker 4

And you know what I think about. It was the Christmas before I started going to church again. I went to the Moravian church because they had asked Sarah and Clayton to sing at their Christmas Eve service. And I remember trying to get Jarvie to go with me and he'd growl about it, but we still went and that's always important. And then as the kids got older and were married and that they would always come home Christmas morning and I'd do breakfast and we would do Christmas. But now it's a little bit harder. Clayton's moved out of state, they've got their own kids. They want to be home with them.

Speaker 1

So would you like me to pop over on Christmas morning? Well, you can, because I was going to say I don't get breakfast on Christmas morning because I am assembling gifts, so I'll just pop over.

Speaker 4

You're more than welcome.

Speaker 1

Just remember, we get up at four, so I'm going to need breakfast by five.

Speaker 2

Oh, that was another thing. My parents were like, do not wake us up before. I think it was 6 am. Yeah, it didn't matter if we woke up at 4.30. Yeah, we'd wake up early, yes.

Speaker 1

As kids we would sit at the top of the stairs in my house and we would just like I mean we were all three sitting at something called a heating blanket, oh and we would find that knob and we would crank that sucker and sweat them out.

Speaker 3

That's amazing. I remember doing that quite a few times.

Speaker 4

Well, my sister was, you know, six and a half years younger than me, so I would send her downstairs to scope out what was down there, because Santa didn't wrap your big gift it was always unwrapped, and so she'd come back up and tell me, and then if they would hear her, they would never yell at her. But I would be in big trouble, but they wouldn't yell at her. So, I'd bribe her into doing it.

Speaker 1

That's funny. Oh man, I know right, can into doing it. That's funny. Oh man, I know right, can't trust anybody. No, you can't nick. What about you?

Speaker 3

yeah, uh, just to jump off, you know your point of you know getting up early. As a kid. I just remember my brother and I my sister.

Speaker 3

Those were really long nights, yeah you know, yeah, oh yeah because the parents, if they went to bed at 12, 31 o'clock we were up and I just remember we'd be watching. It'd be an all-nighter of like rocky and bullwinkle. Uh, for some reason I love the super bowl highlights on espn I'd watch every single you know episode. Um, just yeah, those seem like really long nights. But uh, just a lot of good memories of you know, because sometimes that's like the only time you're like really close with your brother and sister and you're not fighting yes, yeah, for sure, because you're on the same team.

Speaker 1

Yeah, we're, we're, we are team christmas present today. There is no arguing, there is no fighting. We all want the same thing yeah.

Speaker 3

So let's crank up the heating blanket, let's go who's crawling in to turn it up Right. Of course, my dad. I can just remember him always putting the tree up, and my mom would always send him out for more lights. Oh jeez.

Speaker 1

Every year how many strands of lights. She was always like I just don't think there's enough lights on that tree Until it's a fire hazard.

Speaker 3

He'd put his head down and head out to Family Dollar or wherever and find another strand until she was happy.

Speaker 2

That's so funny though. So my, I gotta say, with the lights my parents they have money to, like you know, buy a few lights every year. But my dad insists he's like, well, since we started this a few years ago, I'm just buying one strand of lights and then every year I'll just build on a little bit more. I'm like I know they can go out and buy, yeah you ain't broke.

Speaker 1

You can afford lights like nah, this is how I'm doing.

Speaker 2

I'm like whatever, whatever, know they can go out and buy some lights. Yeah, you ain't broke, you can afford lights. He's like nah, this is how I'm doing it, I'm like whatever, whatever.

Speaker 1

The bad part with doing that, though, is they never match Right. The temperature of the light is just ever so slightly different. The cords aren't quite the same color. That drives me nuts.

Speaker 3

Yeah, yeah. So now I think for, because not only do we do a light display, a big one, A big one.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 3

And that all goes back to you know. If you're local, you know Jeff Cady's lights out there on Route 28 by Superior Clay, because I just live right down the road so I would sit in my bedroom window and wait for those lights to come on every night because I could see it from right there. So that was always exciting. Yeah, and Margie, she remembers going to see his lights all the time, so that's kind of why we started doing it, so it's a big tradition for us to do it.

Speaker 3

That was another tradition for us as well going out looking at the lights, and that's the other thing is now we have a tradition where every Christmas Eve we go around and look at everybody's lights and I kind of think that kind of with her kids, because they're my stepkids. That really has formed a bond over the years that we all know that's what we're going to do and we all enjoy doing that and we'll go. You know, we go everywhere like 416.

Speaker 3

We go up to you know, up by Tuscarora Park and I think it's the Griswolds up there on the hill. Do you know which house I'm talking about? Like, instead of going left to Storybook Lane and then you go up that hill all the way to the top. That guy has a huge display. I think they call it the Griswold. I'm not sure I didn't know, that We'll just spend the whole evening just going around and looking at lights and spending some time together.

Speaker 4

I have a little different opinion of Jeff Cady's lights. I used to rent the apartment across the street.

Speaker 6

You wouldn't like them nearly as much as other people, then we loved them as kids. You know what?

Speaker 2

The Bauer socks. Anyone know Bauer socks? Actually they were a very nice display. The Bauer socks are on Parris Street, which is Caddy Corner for me, and I hear that stupid snowman, I think until midnight.

Speaker 3

Every night I try to keep mine to like nine, and then I shut them off.

Speaker 2

Well, I'm sure your neighbors thank you.

Speaker 1

And if they don't.

Speaker 2

They can come live at my house for a night.

Speaker 1

So one of my stops every year now is the Bober house, Tina and Mark. Always it's not a huge display. Where is that? So? Highland Avenue, where I live, you just turn left and you go all the way up the cul-de-sac and again they've got lots of little animatronics and things out in the yard. They do a beautiful job, but my kids are obsessed with it when we were coming home after dark any given time. Once the lights are up, can we go to Tina's house? Can we go by Tina's?

Speaker 4

house.

Christmas Traditions and Memories

Speaker 1

And they had a Santa it's projector up in the window and so was like Tina, can you please turn on the Santa, because my kids are losing their minds? And so she's like Mark, the Santa's not on, he's like, oh, I forgot to turn it on. Goes upstairs, flips on the switch, Santa comes on, we're all good. It is funny. They're very serious about it.

Speaker 3

Well, my dad, I do my dad, he would get upset from Jeff Cady's. And so if we went shopping, went to eat, we're coming back. The line of traffic for that house was unbelievable. We'd just be sitting there and we'd be all excited.

Speaker 1

We get this in For the fourth night this week.

Speaker 3

We'll get a two-inch candy cane.

Speaker 4

Well, we're right across from. I can never remember his name Blickenscherfer Blickenscherfer.

Speaker 1

Blickensterfer, blickensterfer.

Speaker 6

Yeah, that's a fun name. Yeah.

Speaker 1

That's fun.

Speaker 6

You'll get a lot of traffic down there for. Christmas, I'm sure, I'm sure it's a beautiful display.

Speaker 4

I hope he does do it this year, although I kind of hope he doesn't and doesn't pick back up on it.

Speaker 6

Yeah, let it go.

Speaker 1

Elsa main does a display as well.

Speaker 3

Yeah, the brick house yeah, yeah, house on main any any others? Nick, that's the main ones. I think everybody else kind of hit on the same thing, the baking you know my mom would you know, yeah, the cookies and the candies and all that stuff, but uh, yeah, so I think everybody else has on kind of the same things. Rog, what do you got?

Speaker 1

Well, when I was growing up, we used to have to play with sticks and rocks. We used to catch dinosaurs for fun.

Speaker 5

No, you know, you talk about having breakfast. Well, yeah, we had to get up, our beds had to be made. That's mean Our bedroom had to be cleaned up, that's mean. Oh my and we had breakfast before any gifts were opened. Yeah.

Speaker 1

We have done breakfast before gifts were opened at my house in the past when my parents are coming, so we'll get up and we'll have. Usually I pre-make a breakfast casserole, like it's everything's pre-mixed, and then we would have a breakfast casserole or make eggs and bacon, whatever. But we would only if my parents were coming, because when everybody got up we would start breakfast, the kids could get in their stockings and then we would be making breakfast and that would give my parents time to get to the house yeah, but you know, did that, and plus the food, you know.

Speaker 5

Uh, like sid said, my mom, she just made certain things for certain holidays thanksgiving, you got certain things. Christmas, you got certain things. Heaven forbid that you had a cross, maybe you know. July 4th, oh my goodness, I mean the whole world was going to stop, you know but, that's funny, you know like like you know, uh, we always said, well, back in my day, we never, we never had artificial trees. When I was growing up, all you ever got was in trees and a Charlie Brown tree once in a while.

Speaker 3

When Charlie Brown and Linus go shopping, they see aluminum trees.

Speaker 6

My mom had one of those.

Speaker 3

It was a thing, it was with the light.

Speaker 1

Yeah.

Speaker 3

But that's tinsel right.

Speaker 1

No, no, it's aluminum. Originally they were aluminum.

Speaker 3

I mean because he knocks on it like tong.

Speaker 1

Yeah, I mean they weren't hard like that. They would have been like bristles, but they were aluminum and then they would spin around and light it up.

Speaker 3

Yeah, my grandma had the one with the wheel and I want one of those.

Speaker 5

What a wheel. I bought it yeah with the color wheel.

Speaker 3

It goes around, changes the color of the tree, not the stone ones that you're using.

Speaker 4

Oh, roger.

Speaker 1

He's looking at you. He's really disappointed in you, Beth. He's really disappointed.

Speaker 4

Every now and then I can throw one out there. Count them, because they're few and far between. Poor Roger.

Speaker 5

Poor Roger, she didn't see my picture, did she?

Speaker 1

No, I don't think so.

Speaker 5

That's good.

Speaker 1

Nick, a couple of years ago I was at a thrift store and they had like an OG you know those ceramic ones that people used to paint with the little colored lights in there so I bought one. I bought it and I fell in love with it, and then, when my mother-in-law passed away, we got her white one that was actually her grandma's it was Alyssa's great-grandma's and so we have that one too.

Speaker 5

Yeah, have that one too, and it's huge. The white one is ginormous. I watch him. Auctions and those trees, those trees.

Speaker 1

they're expensive, oh yeah.

Speaker 2

Roger's, not on MacBit, is he? No, it's another auction.

Speaker 1

No, he gets on like Kaufman auctions, which are almost worse, honestly, because they're everywhere.

Speaker 5

Yeah, west Virginia Mountain, mama take me home. Tripped down there one time for cookie jars, oh my word.

Speaker 1

Do you have any other favorite Christmas traditions?

Speaker 2

Your cookie jars? No, I don't think that's a favorite, but it's not your tradition. Yeah, I don't think that's a favorite.

Speaker 1

Although Linda did put cookies in a cookie jar not long ago, correct? Yes, she did.

Speaker 5

We have over 150 cookie jars and we had one that had cookies in it and it was my grandmother's.

Speaker 1

All over the place.

Speaker 5

Yeah. On the counters on the cabinets in bed, literally everywhere, I mean in the living room. There's the computers, it's in there, they're across there. Then we have another bureau and they're across there, and then we have a small shelf three shelves they're across there, All across. In the kitchen. There's a shelf in the kitchen or in the dining room. Then there's another small shelf, corner shelf.

Speaker 1

We're going to be here all day.

Speaker 5

There's another counter. We and we have they're, they're. There's a pool barn out back.

Speaker 3

Yeah, that's what I was going to say.

Speaker 1

No well, we build her a shed man at this point, jeez.

Speaker 5

But we have, we have, oh, this point, we have. I don't want to say segregated, I just did. We have a Coca-Cola display, we have a bear display, we have a farm display.

Speaker 1

Okay, wait a second. What if there is a Coca-Cola one with a bear on it? Because Coca-Cola is famous for polar bears. Where does it fall? Does?

Speaker 3

it go to the bear collection or the Coca-Cola one with a bear on it, because Coca-Cola is famous for polar bears.

Speaker 1

Where does it fall? Does it go to the bear collection?

Speaker 3

or the Coca-Cola In between.

Speaker 1

You got to get one for each. You got to get one for each. Well, actually, oh no.

Speaker 5

We did have to, but she gave it away for Christmas. Yeah, geez.

Speaker 1

Any other Christmas tradition.

Speaker 5

No, not really.

Speaker 3

When you get my, you really don't care because my, my grandkids are all. What's the favorite christmas gift you got as a kid?

Speaker 1

pool table really, as a kid you got a pool table as a kid. Dad bought that for himself. He just said it was for the kids.

Speaker 5

But uh, full-size pool table? Yeah, and it was in the room, and if you wanted to shoot by the windows you had to Open the window Like on Seinfeld, the place to be, yeah.

Speaker 3

It was tough to play Unless you picked it up and moved it out.

Speaker 5

That was a chore too.

Speaker 1

Oh Lord.

Speaker 5

Usually we just hooped that our shot didn't go Bust the window A little baton.

Speaker 1

Yeah, you get a little short one.

Speaker 5

But always had a fireplace.

Speaker 2

We would put our cookies and milk and carrots by the fireplace?

Speaker 5

Oh, absolutely, yeah, we would put our cookies and milk and carrots by the fireplace, oh, absolutely. You know, like I said, cookies candies. We used to go to my grandmother's and make caramels, some without nuts and some with nuts.

Speaker 4

Yeah.

Speaker 5

Caramel with nuts yeah, I like them better without, yeah, sort of why.

Speaker 1

I don't like caramel, so that's a rough one for me. I'm particular about my sweets.

Speaker 5

But we I mean we used to make peanut brittle.

Speaker 1

I can do that Hardtack candy is my favorite, though Hardtack candy is my favorite, though Hardtack candy. I love it when Holly makes hardtack candy. She always hooks me up. I love root beer flavored.

Speaker 4

Yeah, give me cinnamon.

Speaker 1

Your mom always made it. I like the black licorice, the anise flavor, yeah.

Speaker 5

Pazelles and nuts Pazelles. My grandma's great always made pazelles. Yeah, oh yeah.

Speaker 6

Always got a coffee can full of Pazell.

Speaker 1

Jeez.

Speaker 4

My grandmother used to make tons and tons of Christmas cookies and everybody got a shoebox that she'd wrap in foil.

Speaker 1

My grandma shows up at our houses with these great big Christmas trays that are saran wrap and I won't eat 90% of it because, she does raisin-filled. Stop that I bring them here and I put them out on Sunday mornings because I won't eat them. Raisin filled, apple filled cherry filled.

Speaker 6

Nope, how about our stocking stuffers? The Tootsie Roll little bag, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yep.

Speaker 1

The bank, everybody. Every year you got one and the little book with lifesavers in it, yep in it.

Speaker 1

That's funny. They still make those and we do still occasionally buy them for our kids In our house. I decided early on that we were going to have a tradition that we could pass on to each of our kids, so here's several things that we do. I buy a Swarovski crystal ornament every year. Every year since the year Alyssa and I were married, we have a Swarovski crystal ornament and they go on a giant display that we put up every year and take it down every year, and my anticipation is Adeline will get that when she gets older and the hope is that she will continue to buy them and keep that traditional life for her family. Okay, all of my Christmas story stuff. So I have an official Red Rider BB gun with a compass and a stock, a compass in the stock and the thing that tells time, yep, which is a sundial for anybody who doesn't know. I have my leg lamp, full size butt, cheek and all. It's got like a little. It's not a joke, it's like Now is that an? It's an official, official.

Speaker 3

It's not an antique, no no.

Speaker 1

I went and bought it at the store. Okay, so I went and bought it at the museum, but it's got the. This never existed prior to the movie.

Speaker 3

that was not a real thing. Yes, it was no. Yes, it was no. I guarantee you.

Speaker 1

Okay, let's go look it up. I've seen it in an antique store, yeah, but I don't think it was they never look quite like that yeah, because they had some that were like boot displays and things like that that maybe somebody turned into a lamp.

Speaker 3

I've seen leg lamps out there. There, the leg lamp. They were never as impressive as that one.

Speaker 1

No, the leg lamp from the 1983 Christmas movie was fictional, but replicas are available for purchase. That's just going to Google. I'm just saying.

Speaker 3

The way that looks. But there are actual leg lamps out there, I promise you. I've never seen them.

Speaker 2

I used to go to Riverfront Antique Mall, put leg lamps before the Christmas story and see what those pop up Riverfront Antique Mall.

Speaker 3

Take a big glance before the Christmas story and see what's going to pop up Riverfront Antique Mall in Philly. Yeah, they had more than one.

Speaker 2

Do you have the decoder? It's still there. Yes, I do have a Little Orphan, annie secret decoder pen. Her name's Cindy.

Speaker 1

Oh, never mind it was Rural King. Yeah, I love that place.

Speaker 5

What Rural King no.

Speaker 4

Riverfront yes.

Speaker 3

Yeah.

Speaker 4

Yeah, that was one of my favorites.

Speaker 3

Yeah, me too.

Speaker 4

I collect wades and I used to be able to find them in there.

Speaker 1

Again, the answer is no just based on searching it like that the leg lamp was. The origin was from the Gene Shepard 1966 book In God we Trust. And All Others Pay Cash. I'm telling I'm just saying I just Googled it. I all others pay cash. I'm telling I'm just saying I just Googled it. I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying that I've never seen one. So I've never seen an OG. I've only ever seen the ones from the store. But you can get cheap ones and then you can get a good one. There's a drastic difference. So all of my Christmas story stuff I have a bar of Lifebuoy soap. It's not a joke. I have a. It's not a joke. I have a pair of Vintage.

Family Christmas Traditions and Values

Speaker 1

Lifebuoys, yes, yes, I have a pair of tortoiseshell round-rimmed glasses that look like Ralphie's. I bought them with the intention of cracking one of the lenses. I have not done that yet. What else do I have? Bunny suit. I do have the bunny suit. Yes, I do have the bunny suit, so anyhow.

Speaker 3

Do you have a coon skin cap?

Speaker 1

I do not have a coon skin cap. The long and short of it is. I have this huge collection of christmas story stuff that I'm going to pass down to one of my kids, whichever one wants it. We have a lionel um polar express train. Every year goes around the bottom of the christmas tree hoping that one of the kids will take that. Uh we, what else do I have? Anyhow, we've got lots of little things like that and the hope was that as the kids get older and they move out, that they will get to take one of those traditions with them and that they'll get to keep it alive with their kids and their kids' kids and all of that fun stuff.

Speaker 1

So, with that being said, from my childhood my favorite part was kind of like, very similar to the. That was the one time of year that my brother and sister and I all got along. We never fought Like Christmas Eve. We're hyped up, we're ready to go, we have no idea what to expect. My parents were great at keeping secrets. They very seldom did we ever find something or hear about something and they never asked us what we wanted. They just listened and knew and bought whatever they could afford.

Speaker 1

So there was a lot of that, just the camaraderie during the Christmas season and then every year we lived on McConnell street. My grandma lived on Packer street. We could walk the alley to her house and everybody was there. All of the cousins were there, all the aunts and uncles were there, and that never happens anymore, like there's never I don't know that there's ever been a family function that we've all been at. So that's been a long time. Um, but my all time favorite, all-time favorite if I had to pick one, it's Christmas Eve every year. This is stupid and my wife would tell you that I'm a complete lunatic. Every year on Christmas Eve, after all of the presents are wrapped, her and I exchange gifts just her and I. I we don't have a fireplace, so I always turn on the Netflix fireplace and we just sit there and we just hang out.

Speaker 1

For the rest of the evening it's just me and her. We exchange our gifts and we just like it's kind of that calm before the storm because we know what tomorrow morning holds. Yeah, my parents did that but we.

Speaker 1

So it wasn't about her and I on christmas morning, it wasn't me waiting for her to open her gifts, we just got to exchange that night. So that's probably my favorite at this point just being able to be kind of that one-on-one time with her, and then the next morning we can just go nuts with all the kids craziness. So yeah, I really hope we don't have to build anything this year, which I guess is fully in my control.

Speaker 1

But in our house santa only brings one gift and it's always wrapped in different wrapping paper than everything else, so I like that idea red, shiny wrapping paper or gold wrapping paper, and the reason we do that is um we want our kids to understand the value of the gifts that we buy and that they aren't free. That mom and dad spend money on this and I remember we opened, or one of the boys opened something.

Speaker 2

You bought this for me.

Speaker 1

They realized that what they were asking for was expensive, so they were surprised when they got it.

Speaker 2

Well, not only that, but you know the whole thing of. Well, santa brought you that, well, he brought me this.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, with their friends and things like that. We don't experience that a lot because they're homeschooled, yeah, so they don't go right back. But yes, but even when they go to sports or they meet their friends at the park and things like that, that's still that conversation happens.

Speaker 2

Right.

Speaker 1

So my kids experience that, though, because, well, santa's going to bring me an Xbox, and they're like, well, santa brought me a soccer ball or whatever. So it like we're on the receiving end of that a little bit, but we don't care. We want our kids to understand the importance.

Speaker 3

So Well, we're going to experience having a grandchild for the first time. Oh boy, so that's like our next phase of being excited because you know there'll be a little girl to buy for and of course Maggie's already, like kind of you could tell she's like kind of getting jealous. Yeah, because we're putting all the focus on her now still too small to enjoy it this year.

Speaker 1

But that's not going to change what happens, I promise you you guys are still going to be, talking to her like she's an adult and can open her own presence and she'll be taking a nap.

Speaker 2

Yes, exactly, she'll be asleep and everybody's opening presents for yeah, trust me, my parents give us money every year like a certain amount, but but whenever Emily and Caitlin started having the kids, they gave them their card and they're like well, yours is less than Sid and Shy's, because we had a chip in.

Speaker 1

So mine will be less this year. That's funny you get a tax deduction.

Speaker 6

My mom always bought ornaments for the grandkids.

Speaker 1

Yes, grandma does that.

Speaker 6

From the time they were born, until they were 18 or 20. And so I was still doing that, even for my children. My son said to me Mom, don't buy Nicole and I an ornament. This year, you can buy Lily. I said well, I was just carrying on grandma's tradition. He said, but it was for the grandkids. We have enough ornaments. Buy Lily her ornament, but don't buy us any more.

Speaker 1

My grandmother-in-law Alyssa's grandma always buys the kids a $5 voucher to the movie theater and a box of theater candy, and so she just buys a variety of theater candy and she puts the vouchers on the box and then you pick whichever theater candy you want, because it's one size fits all. It's gender neutral. She doesn't have to worry about going out and shopping for all of these great grandkids and whatnot, and it's an experience.

Speaker 1

Yes, and I was going to say, and so for us, we can take all three of our kids, or five of our kids if the two big boys want to go to see a movie, and we're only paying for Alyssa and I to go work out really nice for us.

Speaker 3

Yeah, yeah, I do miss the big family Christmas, like my mom hosted Christmas. So, her brother would come, his wife, all the kids, all the grandparents. It really was like Christmas vacation.

Speaker 1

Yes, yes, everybody's there when you watch that, you watch, you're like that's exactly how it was. Yeah, it's so different. Now it really is so now.

Speaker 3

So it really is. So now, you know, having grandkids and it's like the family's getting bigger again, so it's kind of like, oh, hopefully it'll get.

Speaker 1

We'll get back to that point yeah, yeah, alissa and I have become selfish on christmas, though and I say that in a way that I don't feel bad about it, because it used to be on christmas we were always on the go yeah this person's house, at this person's house and we said everybody is welcome at our house on christmas day, but we're not traveling. Our kids are still little and we want them to enjoy.

Speaker 2

I said that before I was pregnant I said when we have kids, I'm not doing this. Well, his parents are divorced Mine are divorced. There was one time we went to four different places in one day.

Speaker 1

I'm like I'm not doing it. So I'll do. I'll do Christmas Eve with this person or whatever, Like I'm happy to be there when I can be, but I will not, absolutely will not travel all day on Christmas day.

Speaker 5

Yeah, we did that when the kids were smaller or until they got you know in their teens and you know we would go on Christmas Eve.

Speaker 2

Yeah, but then Christmas day we stayed home Well, and I was going to say whenever Nick was saying every Christmas Eve, or even like the candlelight service, like I think a lot of those traditions get washed away because of all these family functions yes.

Speaker 2

I mean mine included like you get so busy my step families is always Christmas Eve, so I can never go to and we've kind of started opting out just because, like you said, there's people that have their own family now and they understand you know so. But I think, like you guys, starting the tradition of going Christmas Eve to see these lights says something because it's like, hey, this is what we're doing. We always come to service first and then, after service, you pull out of the lot and go wherever you want. That's awesome, yeah.

Speaker 1

I think that it's super important for us. It's more important for our kids to understand the, the reason we celebrate the holiday and not in like that oh, we're a good church, family, right. But I mean genuinely speaking that we're not here because of the gifts. We're here because we're family and we love one another and we talk about forgiveness and kindness and all of those things through that entire season. Because it's super easy to hold a grudge, it's super easy to not want to be close to your family because of something that's happened and yeah it's always our hope that we don't ever get to that place with our kids.

Speaker 3

Do you know what I mean? Yeah, you know, and it's supposed to be a time of peace, and so it's. You can't take that for granted right you have to slow down like I know christmas is such a big machine and you're busy, so many things to do, but you gotta slow, slow down and realize what it's all about Not take it for granted because, yeah. Agreed.

Speaker 4

Mine's a little unethical, but I'm going to tell it anyhow.

Speaker 1

Oh geez.

Speaker 4

Jarvie and I after everybody leaves on Christmas and we've just started this since his parents have been gone, we always went to their house for Christmas. But after everybody goes home, dishes are all packed away in the dishwasher.

Speaker 5

And it's all quiet.

Speaker 4

It's all quiet, we pack up and go to the casino.

Speaker 1

Hey, you know what, though? If that's what makes you happy, have a good time.

Speaker 4

I mean we just go, do we? We take our little bit, that we know that we're going to spend and that's it.

Speaker 2

It's just him and I. It's probably not too busy either. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1

you hit that slot machine, baby, and that thing rings out through the whole place. It echoes because there's nobody in there.

Speaker 4

Ain't nobody in there but a funny story about going to his parents. We would go to Christmas Eve service and then go to my parents afterwards after Christmas Eve service and then Christmas Day we always went to his parents. Well, his mom always made the best homemade noodles, so I made sure that we brought some of grandma's homemade noodles home. Well, this one the kids were still little, we were still living out on the ridge and that road was bad. But we had a lot of snow that year and it was snowing really, really bad. Well, we wrecked going home really bad.

Christmas Movie Traditions and Memories

Speaker 4

Well, we wrecked going home. The car was like in a ditch, up on two wheels and up in the air.

Speaker 5

And you're eating noodles.

Speaker 4

I'm like don't spill the noodles, the noodles survived, that's funny the car was totaled, but the noodles survived.

Speaker 2

The car was totaled, but we had had noodles. What ridge were you on or what road it was?

Speaker 4

moore's ridge road. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Yeah, zirka, we did not spill the noodles I feel your noodles that um.

Speaker 2

My dad and I went hunting out.

Speaker 2

Oh, oh it's right before Dearsville you turn right onto a road, adams Road, yeah. But we were coming home one day and it was snowing real bad and he called Uncle Brian, which would be Aunt Florence Trail, that you would be going down right before 800. He calls Uncle Brian like what do you think I should do? And I think I said someone told me to put the car in neutral. I believe my dad's like no, that's stupid. Well then he calls Uncle Brian and Brian's like put it in neutral. He's like what?

Speaker 1

You know when she just said what like that. Do you know what it reminded me of? Do you remember in a Christmas story, when she calls that friend's mom, what? That's exactly what it sounded like. I was sitting here reading about a Christmas story and she did it.

Speaker 4

I was like oh, that was funny. I can't stand that movie.

Speaker 1

Oh, get out Right now Leave.

Speaker 2

My stepmom can't stand it either. She also can't stand the Grinch, though, which?

Speaker 1

one, the Jim Carrey one. I also cannot stand that movie. It is not the same.

Speaker 2

So your mug that you had Sunday was the Grinch, wasn't?

Speaker 1

it.

Speaker 2

Yes, and you said something about not liking people.

Speaker 1

Yeah, that's why I was carrying it, I'm like yeah, like your mug. That's why I was carrying it, because I was in a Grinchy mood carrying it because I was in a grinchy mood. I'm not ready for Christmas to start yet. Some of that is this transition with the new house. It feels chaotic right now. They're decorating at work for Christmas and I'm like tear them all down, throw them in the dumpster.

Speaker 4

I can stand that one time.

Speaker 1

What A Christmas story One time.

Speaker 4

It's that on Christmas Day, when they play it Repeat all day. And Jarby will never turn it off.

Speaker 1

Oh, we turn ours on first thing and it just runs baby and then I can't stand.

Speaker 4

what is it?

Speaker 1

Don't you say it Get out of here, get out.

Speaker 4

Listen. I don't like comedies though.

Speaker 1

Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4

I'm like, if I'm not learning something from it, there's just no purpose.

Speaker 1

It is my policy that you must quote that movie at least five times a day between Thanksgiving.

Speaker 3

What do you mean? You can't learn nothing from Christmas, yeah.

Speaker 1

I feel like I've learned a lot. Like where's the Tylenol Chase's?

Speaker 2

family. They're big movie people. And the Christmas movies Eight Crazy Nights, have you watched?

Speaker 1

I have seen Eight Crazy Nights, yes, but I'll be honest with you since the Santa Claus there haven't been a lot of good Christmas movies. But have you guys seen the Christmas Chronicles? Yes, so obsessed.

Speaker 2

And Four Christmases. I mean we've like yeah.

Speaker 3

We've already watched that. We've already watched that.

Speaker 2

My favorite in Santa Claus, yeah.

Speaker 4

Miracle on 34th Street which one yeah OG Black and White, either or.

Speaker 3

I think either or is pretty good I like the 90s one.

Speaker 4

I like it better yeah, I think I like that one more just because that was something my grandma and I would sit and watch. There's nostalgia, yes, okay. So.

Speaker 1

Okay, so you've watched Christmas Chronicles?

Speaker 3

Yes, Do you know why I?

Speaker 1

like that movie so much. Well, he sings. Oh the Elvis references. Well, yeah, he played Elvis.

Speaker 3

But Margie wants me to get a Santa suit to hand out candy. Great idea, I said well, I want Kurt Russell's Santa suit, you want a legit. It's made of leather.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 1

His Santa suit. He looks great With the card. Yeah, great with the card. Yeah, he looks great. As a side note, kurt russell didn't just play elvis in an elvis movie.

Speaker 3

You know he was in an elvis movie, right?

Speaker 1

yeah, he was a little kid and it happened at the world's fair, and he actually kicked elvis in the shin, yeah, in that movie. That was one of his first acting gigs and then went on to play elvis much later in life what's the arnold schwarzenegger one jingle?

Speaker 2

all the way yes, oh, I was thinking my family doesn't like that one.

Speaker 1

I don't care for it.

Speaker 2

It'll play once. I think that's definitely one of our traditions now too.

Speaker 1

Like we watch so many Christmas movies. However, favorite Christmas movie of all time Die Hard.

Speaker 3

I don't watch that every year. It's been a long time since I've seen that.

Speaker 1

I don't really think it's a Christmas movie, but it's just funny because it's such an argument. There are people who genuinely believe it's a Christmas movie and people say Harry Potter.

Speaker 2

Is that a yes or no? A Christmas movie? No, because the scene is Christmas and it's like no, no, that is not a Christmas movie, I don't classify that as a Christmas movie.

Speaker 1

However, we went to Castle Noel, which I hear you're going to do. I'm so excited for you. They have done so much stuff since I've been there. I can't wait to go back, but my wife won't let me go this year. It's in Medina and it is the best Christmas museum you're ever going to see. There is so much. They have all the Grinch props. You know the giant sleigh that the Grinch drives in that show. It's physically there and you can touch it. It is so close you can touch it. They have Jim Carrey's full fur costume Face mask. They have Tim Allen's face mold that they use to do all of his facial stuff. They have the globe from Santa Claus 2 that stands in the middle of the Workshop. So much stuff, so much stuff. The giant snowman from Christmas with the Cranks.

Speaker 2

They've got him there. So much stuff. The giant snowman from oh Christmas Vacation, Christmas with the Cranks.

Speaker 1

Christmas with the Cranks, the one they put. They've got him there and he actually falls over towards you when you're on the tour. We watched that one, the other night, so they do such a fantastic job. You said they got the slide yes, the original slide from A Christmas Story and you get to go down it. At the end you get to go. It is my favorite part and I can't like. I am obsessed with that.

Speaker 2

Is that the one that they have the trailer to from? Yes, the RV, yes, yeah.

Speaker 1

That's an RV, clark, yes so, but you can stand next to it, you can touch it, like they drove it from California to Ohio. That's so cool, like all of the rust on it is actually art. It's painted on. It's not real rust, it's all.

Speaker 3

Is it only open during the holiday?

Speaker 1

no, it's open all year long. You can go any day of the week, um, but anyhow, obsessed with that place, what was I talking about before that? I don't know you, I don't know.

Speaker 4

Blow my mind I don't know but just trust me, you're gonna have a great time. You're gonna love it you're gonna love it.

Speaker 1

All of the stuff that's there.

Speaker 2

You just can't imagine, do like indoor go-karting right beside it uh indoor mini mini-golf. What's it called?

Speaker 1

Castle Noel. Well, we just told that there is a it's glow.

Speaker 2

What do you want to?

Speaker 3

say A kitten petting zoo? Yes, it's not a petting zoo.

Speaker 1

It is an adoption agency, but you can pet all of the kitties.

Speaker 2

You can pet all of the kitties.

Speaker 1

Margie asked me about going and asked if I could give her any tips or tricks, and that was the first thing I told her. I was like right across the street is a kitty adoption place. You go in. They've got like a cage on the inside and they only allow so many people in. But you wait, you go in. You can pet the kitties, play with the kitties, feed the kitties I want to introduce a downer, but do you think?

Speaker 2

she's ready for that, like what should be ready?

Speaker 3

yeah we, we, uh, we had a heartbreak on monday oh no our favorite cast got hit oh, no on monday, monday night, and it was, it was bad it was very bad, I bet I didn't. Neither of us went to work on tuesday because it was an all-nighter oh, what do you mean?

Speaker 1

it was an all-nighter. Just we were so upset, oh, oh oh.

Speaker 3

I thought you meant like you were trying to revive it no well, it happened at dark, she, she asked me can you bring it back to life? I'm like, like you know it was bad. It was like I told you it was like it might as well have been a small child.

Speaker 1

So sad.

Speaker 3

Yeah, it was rough and it's still rough. Yeah, it's too bad.

Speaker 1

Because you do treat them like children at some point. You know what I mean. Well, she does.

Speaker 3

Yeah, I know, trust me, we know.

Speaker 4

Well, you know what, jarvee, I finally got him loving my stray enough that he said that it was out on the porch the other day and it took off and was walking down the middle of the road and a car came flying around and you know that my cat didn't come back the next night and so he went over and, kind of like, walked around, looked in the weeds around areas to make sure that it wasn't over there so anyway, yeah, so just makes it all the more possible.

Speaker 3

if we would go to the adoption agency, we could come home with a kitten? Probably not.

Speaker 1

Probably not.

Speaker 2

See my dad.

Speaker 1

Go before you go to Castle Noel, because you can't take it with you. You can't take it with you.

Speaker 3

You can't take it down the slide.

Speaker 1

I'm telling you, when you go down the slide, it's not as grand as it looks like in the movie.

Speaker 3

Probably not as high.

Speaker 1

It's not nearly as high. The movie makes that slide look like it's 100 feet tall. It is not, but when you go down it there's just this childlike euphoria that you just can't even.

Speaker 3

Did you stop halfway and line?

Speaker 1

back up my original trip, my original trip, listen, my original trip. They were like dude, you are too much. They have offered me a job three years running. This is no joke. Three years running they've offered me a job. So the one year that I went, the very first time that I went, I actually asked because Santa's at the top, you get to sit on Santa's lap, tell him what you want for Christmas. And I said to him, I said, will you do it? And he goes yes.

Speaker 1

So he stands up and he puts his boot right towards my face. So, as you're going down the slide, it looks like you can see Santa at the top of the slide. So it looks like Santa has kicked me down the slide just like he does. So I was obsessed.

Speaker 4

I was just couldn't get enough of it.

Speaker 1

I must not pay attention to that movie because I do not know what you're talking about oh my God, yeah, so you're going to love it If you guys go, you're going to absolutely love it. That's probably when it is a fully guided tour, so you can't miss anything. But it does go very quickly. Like you don't get a lot of like process time.

Speaker 3

So you're not allowed to walk around by yourself.

Speaker 1

No, it is no, it is fully guided.

Speaker 3

Yes.

Speaker 1

You have to stay with your tour guide.

Speaker 2

Okay, yeah.

Speaker 1

And that's because it gets so congested. It's almost a whole city block, but it's multiple buildings strung together. Part of it is in a church, part of it is in a like a storefront. It's crazy just how they've done it. You go, when you go into the tour, you sit down and you're in this little room and they show you a video. And when you leave the video, you go outside and that's where you see the rv and it's this giant patio that they've. They've got these the giant rat king and the one of the soldiers from a play or some sort of display. I don't remember exactly where they're from, but it's nuts. Just the stuff that you're going to see. I'm telling you you're going to love it. You are going to especially love the toy part. There's one room that you go in that's all vintage toys and there's Hot Wheels that run across the track the entire day. It's so amazing. I'm telling you you will love it, love it.

Speaker 1

Do you see why they've offered me a job three years running? I think he loves it. I do, I do. And if I lived closer, I guarantee you through the christmas season I would 100 work there every whip stitch dana. So it's mark and dana claws is their last name. K-l-a-u-s? Um mark. He looks like santa, long white beard, looks just like Santa. His wife, dana, she every I don't want to say every six months, but regularly will message me on Facebook and be like hey, is there any chance you want to pick up some shifts? They're like work one day a week, that's all we ask. I'm like what day would I do it.

Christmas Movie Storefront Displays and Memories

Speaker 1

I literally don't have any time, but I would love it. I would love it. I love Castle Noel so much. Every time I go I get a picture with Mark. I make them find him for me. I'm like I need to see Mark. They're like, well, he's not here today. I'm like you got to call him.

Speaker 2

He's got to come in. I'm here.

Speaker 1

You got to see him. He's a genius.

Speaker 3

He hand sculpts almost everything that you see there.

Speaker 1

Now how did they acquire started buying it at auctions. So he was actually trying to buy. We were way over time. He was trying to buy the original uh, stop motion, santa claus and rudolph from rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. He didn't win it, but he was that he was trying to buy them. They had a gofundme page because they so desperately wanted them there yeah, so I've been cool you won't believe the stuff you're gonna see. I'm telling you. The displays from the storefronts in New York City are cool, but that's not my jam.

Speaker 4

I like the movie stuff, but they are really neat do they have any from the old ones from like Macy from Miracle on 34th Street? No?

Speaker 1

none of that. They have some Bloomingdale's displays, but there's one that's Nutcracker scenes and they're all animatronic and as you walk down the hall because their store windows were so big that you could see them in succession down the windows. That's basically all the way down that you can see them.

Speaker 3

It's amazing, any, it's a wonderful life.

Speaker 1

I can't remember. I don't think so, Not that I can recall off the top of my head.

Speaker 3

Original original um christmas carol, though, which is pretty cool, like you walk into christmas, uh, I, I don't remember, I don't think.

Speaker 1

So that's become one of our favorites I don't know that I've ever watched all the way through. I like ben crosby and I don't know that I've ever watched all the way through yeah, we like it.

Speaker 3

Yeah, she wants to go to vermont on a train. Oh geez, just because of that.

Speaker 1

Like let's go. Well, we better button up, because I'm sure people have better things to do on Christmas than to listen to us yammer on about Christmas movies. No, at this point I'm assuming everybody's listening this evening. It's in the evening, everybody's chill and kicked back and all the kids have passed out on the floor somewhere. Yeah, so this is our hope, get up Randy, get up Randy.

Speaker 1

Sugar coma. Yes, all the kids are in a sugar coma. You've got a cup of coffee, maybe a little Kahlua in it. I don't know, I ain't judging, I'm just saying, and you're just hanging out just hanging out White Russian.

Speaker 2

is that what that is? I don't know.

Speaker 1

I would never do that, because I like my coffee too much.

Speaker 6

Oh geez.

Speaker 1

I never liked them.

Speaker 3

No, no, that wouldn't be. I don't think that'd be for me. So, Nick, will you pray us out this evening? Lord, thank you for bringing us all together to have another wonderful episode. I just thank you for letting us all be so blessed to have all these great memories, all these Christmas memories. You know, they really just fulfill our lives and I truly believe that, you know, a life that is full of love, that is full of family and togetherness, is a life full of good memories, and that's what creates that love within us that, I think, brings us even more closer to you. So we just thank you for all these great memories, being able to come here and share them. Pray that everybody gets home safely this evening, and hopefully we'll thank you for all these great memories, being able to come here and share them. Pray that everybody gets home safely this evening and hopefully we'll be able to all come back and do it again. I pray all these things in your precious name, amen.

Speaker 6

Amen.

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Michael Brindley

Host
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Beth Jarvis

Co-host
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Dawn Reed-Enochs

Co-host
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Nic Affolter

Co-host
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Roger Deardorff

Co-host
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Sydney Erickson

Co-host

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