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Christmas | The Christian Reeve Podcast #342 · The Christian Reeve Podcast

0:00
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Christian Reeve
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Podcast, The Christian Reeve Podcast, The Christian Reeve
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Podcast, and today we're talking about Christmas.
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After doing this show for five years, kind of blows my mind
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that we've never really done a show about Christmas.
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I've done New Year's shows, I've done like end of the year recaps
0:29
and such, but I've never just done a show talking about
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Christmas. And I guess that's because I'm
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really not that fussed about this time of year.
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So this is going to make for an interesting conversation because
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I don't hate Christmas. I don't love it either.
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I'm just kind of indifferent to Christmas, which is interesting
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because it's like, how is this possible?
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You know what I mean? Like how, how can it be possible
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that you can be indifferent to what is described as a joyous
1:04
season, a joyous time of the year?
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But honestly, for me, I don't know, the magic kind of died
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when I was younger and I get moments here and there where I
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feel somewhat in the mood. I mean, certain movies make me
1:26
feel, I guess Christmassy. I think the music every now and
1:32
again makes me feel Christmassy but more nostalgic than
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Christmassy. Like nostalgic for previous
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Christmases where I actually enjoyed it.
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But really, I I think it's a season for the kids.
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And you know, some people would say it's about family and I, I
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certainly did feel that way when I was younger.
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But these days it's just kind of, I don't know, but we'll see.
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I'll, I'll try to be as honest and candid as I can be in this
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show to give you my honest and truthful opinion as it exists
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right now about Christmas. So here we go.
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What does Christmas mean to you personally?
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I mean, my first response was going to be nothing.
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Like it means nothing to me. You know, like I said, I got
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good memories from childhood, so I cherish them.
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I think there's a lot of cherished memories, I suppose.
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But these days, I mean, I don't know, like maybe it's just
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because I'm older, but I just see it as this like really
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overpriced holiday where people go into debt and spend money
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they don't have buying gifts they can't afford for people.
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And like, it's the spirit of the occasion.
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I get it. But like, I don't know, I feel
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like it's kind of gone a bit too far, you know, like I, I don't
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know, I just, for me, it's just really, really like over the
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top. It's like anything else in
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society these days. Everything just seems to be
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about money and the, the costs keep going up and you get less
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and less and less as, as things progress, you know, as things
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move on, you just have less and less and less.
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And I don't know, I just feel like maybe something went wrong.
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I don't know. I just, I feel that way about it
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and I can't explain it, but that's how I feel.
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I, I just, most of the time when, when the, when the, when
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Christmas arrives, I, I just kind of go like, oh, OK, like I
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know I'm going to get ill. Like right now I'm, I'm really
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ill. I have a massive headache and my
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body tends to sort of breakdown this time of the year.
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And I think it's because your body knows that it's going to
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receive rest and it just kind of let's go a little bit.
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And it's like, oh, I got to push through.
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I got to push through work. I think Christmas to me means
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work. Having to work an unholy amount
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of time and feeling exhausted and broken down.
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I think that's what Christmas means to me.
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How have your Christmas traditions changed over the
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years? I don't have any at all.
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Wow, This is getting kind of depressing.
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I just. I don't have any, you know, When
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I was a kid, I'd see family, you know?
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And that was cool. Yeah.
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I don't know. It's just life moves on, life
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changes. But I don't have any, I guess.
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What's your favorite Christmas memory?
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That's an interesting one. There's some I have to keep
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private at the request of of family members, so I'll I'll
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honour that. I will say this though, that
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there are many moments that my mum made when I was growing up,
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which I will always cherish. And I think probably the best
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times were then. But I think that a lot of the
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magic came from like when you, when you, you know, when you
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believe in Father Christmas and stuff like that.
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And just those, those early Christmases and the sort of
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feeling of magic and the feeling of, of excitement going to bed
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and like, Oh my God, Father Christmas has been here.
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Oh my God, Oh my God, Like that, that was an exciting feeling.
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And I never slept from the excitement.
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It was cool. You know, I enjoyed those
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Christmases. What are some common
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misconceptions people have about Christmas?
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I think that everyone gets to have one.
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There's always this misconception that you're going
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to spend time with family, you're going to have people to
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spend it with at all, that you won't be working.
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You know, a lot of people have to work Christmas.
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I've worked Christmas before and that was the most, one of the
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most depressing experiences of my entire life.
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So for anyone who's ever had to work Christmas or will be
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working Christmas this season, I feel for you.
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I've been there. It's brutal, but probably that
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everyone, I think everyone kind of assumes that everyone will
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have Christmas off and it's this beautiful occasion where you get
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to spend it with family. Like everyone's got a different
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situation going on. Not everyone has that fairy tale
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situation, myself included. Like it's just life is what it
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is and everyone's got a different situation, you know?
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Yeah, I don't know. I think that's a big
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misconception, to be honest. How do you balance the holiday
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stress with the joy of the season?
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Yeah. I don't understand.
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When people talk about holiday stress, I think that's just like
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a rich person's worry. Like, what stress?
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Unless you have to work, And I don't know, what is the stress
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going to be over whether or not you can afford the gifts?
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Well, I don't know. Buy less gifts.
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Don't spend as much. Go outside of the box.
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I don't know, I, I don't understand that.
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That just sounds like a rich person's mentality of, of like,
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Oh my God, stress, stress, stress.
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Like I remember I used to work in a supermarket years ago and
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I, I would see people fight over like Christmas turkeys, like
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actually throw hands. And I remembered thinking like,
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this is insanity. That is just insane.
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What stress? What holiday stress?
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There isn't any whatever. How do you create a sense of
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magic and wonder during Christmas, especially if you're
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an adult? See, this is an interesting
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question because I feel like this directly applies to me
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because I don't feel anything towards this holiday.
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I think it's for the kids. I think, as I said before,
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that's what this holiday is about.
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It's about making it as magical as possible for the kids.
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I think if you're an adult, I guess it's all about just trying
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to spend it with people and, and make memory, making memories and
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good times. Maybe that's what it's about.
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I think it's worth trying to get into the Christmas spirit, so to
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speak. You know, playing games, being
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silly. I think these are things that
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make it fun. And like I said, you know, like,
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look, I, I like Christmas songs. I like having a bit of a dance
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to that and singing them. And, but it kind of reminds me
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of the past. I don't know that it's
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necessarily me getting into the spirit so much as it's more
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about like just, I don't know, remembering when I was a kid and
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hearing that for the first time and, and enjoying that, you
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know? Anyways, what are some of your
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family's unique Christmas traditions?
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It's been a long time since I had like a big family Christmas,
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but there were, I remember there were things like we did this
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thing with scratch cards, which I always thought was kind of
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kind of cool. And it's a bit of fun.
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Like everyone got a scratch card and and pretty much no one would
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win. Maybe one person would win like
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a fiver. I always thought that was fun
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put in crackers. That's a pretty standard 1 isn't
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it? Wearing the hats that break
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after like 5 seconds? I remember the desserts.
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I don't know if that counts as a tradition, but there was a
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dessert that I really liked which was just like mince pie
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with custard. I really liked that.
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And then like, I don't know, just watching TV, even though
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like, I don't know that anyone's really watching it.
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I remember like EastEnders sometimes being on and just
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laughing at how depressing EastEnders was like supposed to
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be the happiest day of the year. And like something always like
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just really awful and miserable happened in EastEnders at
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Christmas. That that was kind of a
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tradition, I suppose. How important do you think it is
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to maintain traditional Christmas customs like
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decorating the tree or baking cookies?
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I think it's important to try and create traditions for your
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own family or to just try different things.
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I think that's important. Just just have fun together.
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Things like decorating a tree, I don't know, like how important
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it is necessarily. I think it's just good to make
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an effort for each other. Maybe, I don't know.
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Do you have a favorite Christmas drink or food that's essential
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to your celebrations? So I wouldn't say there's any
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that are essential, but I love mulled wine.
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I think mulled wine is is just phenomenal top tier drink.
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I drank a lot of it when I was in Estonia living in Europe and
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it it tasted even better out there to be honest.
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They had non alcoholic version that was good as well.
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I remember that. As I say, the mince pie with
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custard thing was awesome. I never I never liked panettone
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or whatever it is panettone is. I say Christmas pudding I'd
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think is vile. I don't understand why people
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like that. I think it's just disgusting.
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I like snacking just lots and lots of snacking like just a big
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buffet of snacks and just endlessly like grazing on the
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snacks. That is essential to me.
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I suppose cranberry sauce as well.
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I'm not like big fan of it, but if you think about it, when,
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when do you ever eat cranberry sauce apart from Christmas?
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Like when it's just you, you never do.
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It's only a Christmas. Like what else would you have
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cranberry sauce with? I don't know.
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I just, I just can't think of any other meal that has it.
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Maybe pancakes, I don't know, but not cranberry.
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You'd want to go for something sweet like strawberry or
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something, wouldn't you? How do different cultures around
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the world celebrate Christmas? Are there any interesting
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traditions you've encountered? I mean when I was in Estonia it
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all seemed pretty similar to what we do in the UK.
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I've seen Christmas markets around the world, similar vibes
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it seems like. I don't know, I can't really
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speak for other cultures. From what I understand like a
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there's a lot of people that don't celebrate Christmas, which
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is fair enough, but what I saw around the world is is pretty
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uniform, pretty similar I guess. I don't know what's your go to
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Christmas song or Carol. Well my favorite is Last
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Christmas by Wham It's got to be.
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I really like Christmas Time by Paul McCartney, which apparently
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everyone hates, which is kind of interesting.
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I I love that song, but everyone hates it apparently and thinks
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that it's a terrible, terrible song.
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I also like the Darkness's Christmas time.
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I think that's a brilliant song. This Oh, the one that goes like
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it's the most wonderful time of the year.
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That one, anything with like Frank Sinatra in all the
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Christmas songs he did. Also, I can't stand Bublé
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Michael Bublé. I just, Oh my God, it's
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insufferable. And he's a great singer and
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everything, but I just, it just something about his voice just
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irks me. And he only ever tends to come
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out around Christmas time. Just everything.
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Just I'm not a fan of that. Also, I really, I really like
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that intense Carol that's like, I first heard that in Home
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Alone, the film. I like that, whatever that is.
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Why do you think certain Christmas songs or movies
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continue to resonate with people year after year?
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I think simply because they're timeless and I can't really
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speak for like why certain movies like hit like, I don't
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know where I was not going to say like hit a nerve, but like
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they'll they'll be a song or a movie that will just strike
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people. And then and then I think after
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a while it just becomes tradition then really, doesn't
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it? Like, if you think of like Love
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Actually as an example, like that's a movie that set at
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Christmas, but it's all about love.
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It's a love story thing. And I remember like, that was
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brilliant. Like, everyone loved that movie.
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Everyone still loves that movie. And then, you know, they tried
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to make a bunch of copycat versions and they all sucked.
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And I think it was because they just had like, lightning in a
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bottle kind of thing. They tried something, it worked.
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It felt real. It was sort of rooted in
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realness. And it had some like quirky,
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silly moments too. It was quintessentially British
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I think as well, which which maybe helps.
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But yeah, I don't know. I think it's just stuff that
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that like becomes part of like popular culture maybe.
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Because for me, I feel like there's a cut off in this sort
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of early to mid 2000s. Like certain things will
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breakthrough every now and again.
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But like, I feel like a lot of the Christmas nostalgia is
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rooted in the sort of not in the last 20 years, but in the 30
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years that preceded that. And it's not to say that things
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can't breakthrough, and I'm sure there's plenty of things that
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exist now that people like. But for me personally, I just, I
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never really hear anything or see anything in the modern era
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that makes me think, Oh yeah, Christmas, that's a new thing.
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That's a new song movie that's broken through.
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But I couldn't tell you specifically what is the thing
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that makes it possible for said material to breakthrough.
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Like, I think it's just luck really being in the right place
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at the right time. Which Christmas movie do you
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absolutely have to watch every year?
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I mean, I don't like always watch them, but I love Elf.
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I think Elf is good. I like is it a what a wonderful
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year, what a wonderful life, what a wonderful life.
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I think it's called heartbreaking, but fantastic.
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Home Alone's good's good shout. I mean, there's loads, there's
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loads of good ones, Christmas Carol, lots and lots and lots of
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good ones. Why do you think, Oh, I've
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already answered that. I skipped, I skipped a question
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and then came back to the question before just.
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I'm just losing it man. Do you have any fun behind the
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scenes stories from making or producing Christmas themed
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content? No, this is the first time I
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have ever created anything remotely Christmassy.
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So feel Christmassy people feel the season.
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Do you think there's a perfect Christmas movie or is that
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something people experience differently based on their own
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traditions? I think there's like a handful
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of movies that capture the spirit of it.
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Normally the ones where it's centres around the family in
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some shape or form. I think are they're like Home
19:18
Alone kind of touches on that a little bit.
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I don't know, there's a, there's a few contenders there.
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Do you have any tips for thoughtful or creative gift
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giving? I mean, yeah, try to pay
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attention to what the person likes, what they're into and get
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them something like that. Like whenever I hear it, like,
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oh, this person's difficult to buy for.
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I mean, that's true if like their interests are not obvious,
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like if they're a really closed off individual, if they're like
20:00
elusive, I guess. But like I don't like for
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example, me like I would be easy to buy for.
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I think because I've got a lot of different interests, a lot of
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different things I'm passionate about.
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I'm also not like a fussy person.
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I'm not like really judge mental.
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I am often like I don't want to receive gifts but I love to give
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gifts. So I would say like I'm easy to
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to buy for in that sense, but that's what I would say as as
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far as like trying to get a thoughtful gift.
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If you're just trying to be creative, you're trying to get
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something, you're not really sure what to get the person.
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I think trying to build sort of like a mini hamper style deal is
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a good shout. I I think a hamper is cool
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because you can get like a small basket, decorate it with like
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ribbons and stuff and put like little things in there like
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little jams and little sweet treats and maybe even like a
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small bottle or a big bottle or something, I don't know.
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And you could do it alcoholic, non alcoholic.
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I mean, there's, there's a lot of stuff you could do with that
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And Oh my God, there's so many, There's so many just like
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amazing forms of like wrapping out there and, and ways to like,
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represent you get your gifts, You know, like there's this
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place, there's one here in Manchester called Sostream
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Greens, I think it's called. There's a few of them around the
21:33
country. And I they, they've got really
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tasteful stuff. They even have like a, like a, a
21:39
wrapping paper station where you can like wrap your own gift for
21:43
free once you've bought it, which I thought was pretty neat.
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I'll go there, go there. How do you decide what gifts to
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give and do you prefer handmade gifts or store bought ones?
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Well, I'm always skint so I never really can afford to get
21:58
people gifts. But when I have the money, I, I
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tend to just focus on getting kids gifts in in my family.
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I used to obviously buy actual gifts and then I just kind of
22:14
got to a point where it's like a card and some money kind of
22:17
thing or a gift card or something like that.
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But when I was getting gifts, it would, it would be kind of
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looking at the things that they like or talking to parents and
22:27
kind of getting an idea of of what they would like and going
22:30
with that. I think handmade is like really
22:35
risky unless the other person you're getting stuff for is like
22:41
really appreciative of something like that.
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Store bought is fine as I think, as long as you know it's
22:50
actually going to be something that is meaningful to that
22:52
person or maybe useful in some way.
22:56
What's the most memorable gift you've ever received or given?
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Can't remember as far as given, I think there's been a few.
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But yeah, probably one of the most memorable gifts I ever
23:10
received, though, was like a poetry book, which was really
23:14
cool because it was like the person who got it for me, like
23:19
clearly understood I was a, I'm a creative person.
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And I don't know, I just felt like that was a really special
23:25
gift and it meant a lot and it still means a lot.
23:29
So thanks for that. What are your top decorating
23:33
tips for making a home feel extra festive without
23:37
overwhelming the space? Interesting.
23:43
I think like little small ornaments, lights.
23:46
I think lighting is a pretty easy one because you can just
23:49
kind of hang it anywhere and it kind of builds that ambience
23:54
maybe that people were looking for, but I don't know.
24:00
I feel like if ever there's a time to overwhelm the space and
24:02
go nuts, then Christmas is it, man.
24:04
Like it's the only time I would say that more is less, you know,
24:13
why not have the big ass tree, have all the stuff everywhere?
24:16
Why not just go nuts? Enjoy it.
24:20
That's the Christmas spirit. Do you have any favorite
24:27
Christmas ornaments or decorations that hold
24:29
Sentimental Valley? Now I as I said, I've not done
24:35
Christmas Christmas in in in quite some time.
24:38
I've seen family here and there. I do remember growing up there
24:43
was like this really crap thing that I made out of like popsicle
24:51
sticks that I poured glitter over.
24:55
I think I made it in like nursery when I was like 3 or 4
24:58
years old and my mum kept that for years and we'd put it up at
25:03
the top of the tree and I thought that was amazing.
25:06
I thought that was really cool. I remember one year like I, I
25:09
was like, you still have that? And she was like, yeah,
25:12
eventually I think it broke or something.
25:14
But I thought that was really sweet, you know, because it was,
25:21
it looked like crap, but it was sentimental.
25:23
And I think that's always going to be more important really,
25:27
isn't it? And the grand scheme of things,
25:29
you want sentimental things, you want things that mean something.
25:34
What advice would you give to someone who's feeling lonely or
25:37
stressed during the holidays? Try as much as possible to be
25:44
with people and have a good, have a good time, even if it's
25:48
at work or whatever. Like just try to be close to
25:51
people. And if you can't be, go out,
25:55
find community, find people you know.
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There's always people like yourself that want to meet with
26:03
others and, and just have that feeling of togetherness, you
26:09
know, they are there and it means getting out of your
26:12
comfort zone to do it. And that can be quite daunting.
26:16
But ultimately, I think it would be worth it as far as people who
26:20
are stressed, you know, dealing with work and stuff like that,
26:23
like you'll get your time off eventually.
26:28
You know, if it's customer service, I can relate.
26:32
Once it's over, it's over. You know, hopefully you'll be
26:34
entitled to a good little break in the new year.
26:40
If not, maybe think about the paycheck.
26:44
I know that can seem quite hollow, but you know, you'll
26:47
you'll get paid decently for your sacrifice.
26:53
Christmas can be a tough time for some people.
26:55
How can we assure that the holiday season is inclusive?
26:58
Inclusive and sensitive to everyone's experiences.
27:04
Oh, wow, I don't really know how to answer that question.
27:12
I mean, we're talking about holiday that that really pushes
27:16
this idea of family and gift giving.
27:19
And it's very much like a Hallmark holiday thing.
27:24
And it's very, it's a very capitalist heavy season, right?
27:34
So if you've not got like a family or, or you know, you've
27:39
not got close ones, you know, you're lonely, you're dealing
27:43
with stuff. It's going to be tough.
27:46
It's to me, it's similar to like Valentine's Day and you're alone
27:51
and like everyone seems to be in a relationship and it feels
27:54
really lonely. It's, it feels suffocating I
27:57
think is the best way to put it. I don't, I don't think you can
28:02
cater for everyone, but I think there's ways you can push this
28:07
idea of community. I think there's always room for
28:11
pushing community and making sure like no one gets left
28:14
behind. I don't know how to do that, but
28:17
I think community based initiatives might be a good
28:20
start. How do you handle the pressure
28:24
to do it all during the holidays?
28:26
Decorating, cooking, shopping, and socializing.
28:29
Again, this just seems like more silly rich people first world
28:34
problems to me. Like it's supposed to be a
28:37
joyous occasion. If there's loads of stuff to do,
28:40
ask for help. You know it's not all on your
28:43
shoulders. And you know what?
28:45
Like if it's that much of a big deal, just take a step back.
28:49
You know it's supposed to be a fun occasion.
28:53
It's not supposed to be stressful.
28:55
What pressure? Where is the pressure coming
28:57
from? Who is who's giving you
28:59
pressure? Like I don't, I don't get that.
29:00
It's just irritating to me to hear that.
29:05
Let's move it on. I'm getting annoyed now.
29:07
I'm just, it's been half an hour and I'm just getting fucked off.
29:11
What stress? What's, what's Christmas stress
29:15
do you have? Get over yourself.
29:18
Do you have any traditions of giving back during the holidays,
29:21
whether through charity or volunteering?
29:23
You know, I've always given to the homeless.
29:25
I've done volunteer work during Christmas and also just in
29:31
general I try to do what I can when I can.
29:39
I've always noticed that there's big initiatives pushing through
29:42
Christmas but I know this sounds bad but like everyone's in a bad
29:51
position these days. Like, no, no one has any money,
29:55
you know, like the, the, the one thing I've noticed is that like
30:00
all these charities push on the, the everyday person who is
30:06
pretty much one paycheck away from joining the people on the
30:09
streets. You know, if all the rich
30:11
billionaires decided to like actually help, then maybe we
30:16
would have less homelessness. Maybe we would have, you know,
30:22
less people suffering. Why is it left to the everyday
30:28
person who barely has any pennies in their, in their
30:31
pocket to help? And I the, the, the thing I've
30:35
learned over the years is, is that like it's often the person
30:38
that has the least that will, you know, give you their last
30:42
pennies to help. You know, I've given money that
30:44
I can't afford before. I used to give tip money when I
30:48
worked in, in this hotel when I was at uni and I had like no
30:52
money when I was at uni. I was in a really bad place
30:55
then, but like there was a guy I kept seeing and you know, I'd
30:59
give him all my tip money and that that money was a lot for me
31:04
then. You know, it's a lot.
31:05
It would be a lot for me now, but I just felt like, you know,
31:10
it was the right thing to do. But I've always felt like a lot
31:15
of these charities kind of bully people, to be honest.
31:19
Like if you work for a charity and you just kind of stand in
31:23
the middle of the street or knock at people's doors and make
31:25
them feel bad because they don't give a couple of quid or
31:28
whatever. Like, you have no idea.
31:29
Like how much, Like, even just a couple of quid or a 10 LB or
31:34
whatever can make the difference for someone, you know?
31:39
And they'll always throw it back in your face and be like, oh,
31:41
yeah, but these people in the streets and you, you have
31:43
somewhere to sleep tonight. And it's like, yeah, but people
31:46
are living within their means. Like, do you know what living
31:48
within your means actually means?
31:51
You've probably not thought about that because you're just
31:53
paid. And a lot of these people are
31:54
paid by the way to, to just get donations, you know, and it's
31:59
good that they're working for a charity and, and working for a
32:02
good cause. Like, I applaud that.
32:04
But like the way that they do these things, I think is kind of
32:07
bully tactics. And I think it's really
32:09
disgusting behaviour, to be honest.
32:12
I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the the tactics they
32:16
use, how they crowd people in the street.
32:18
I see them in Manchester and Market Street a lot and they,
32:22
they literally block the path and they will follow you and,
32:25
and just shout at you. And it's like, if I'm walking
32:29
away from you, I obviously do not want to talk to you.
32:32
So leave me the fuck alone, you know?
32:35
And then they're like, don't you want to help people?
32:37
Don't you? Don't you care about the kids?
32:39
It's like, yeah, of course. But like, what if I don't have
32:42
the money? What then?
32:45
I just, I hate these people so much.
32:47
You know, the worst types of people that get into like
32:49
charity and volunteer work. Not everyone.
32:52
There are some really amazing people that, that work for
32:54
charities and, and volunteer networks.
32:57
But I don't know, there's a lot of sanctimonious people, very
33:01
self-serving people who get into that line of work.
33:05
And I just think that maybe we need to start looking at that
33:10
and just, I don't know, re evaluating that.
33:16
Maybe how do you instill the true spirit of Christmas, joy,
33:21
love and giving in younger generations?
33:26
So less is more. Stop focusing so much on this
33:29
kind of capitalist holiday and try to get back to basics.
33:34
You know, we spoke about tradition earlier.
33:36
Like tradition can be something simple, something inexpensive
33:40
that doesn't put everyone in debt, but at the same time is
33:44
special. Maybe it's a little Christmas
33:46
activity, like, you know, doing some scratch cards together and,
33:51
and just having a laugh. Or maybe it's it's, you know,
33:55
just sharing some good food or watching some crappy TV like
34:00
that. That to me is what it's about.
34:03
Like sharing with other people and showing that you don't need
34:10
a lot of money to do that. Like all it takes is a little
34:13
bit of effort and everyone coming together and just
34:16
enjoying each other's company. You know?
34:20
What's the best way to make a positive impact on someone
34:23
else's Christmas season? I, I don't know, be nice, be
34:37
giving. Invite them to what you're
34:41
doing. I don't know.
34:44
I just, I feel like I've already answered that question.
34:48
How do you. Yeah.
34:49
How do you envision the future of Christmas celebrations?
34:53
Will they change as technology, family dynamics and culture
34:57
evolve? This is interesting, The future
35:00
of Christmas. I don't know to be honest.
35:06
I imagine as as we move on with AI and robotics and stuff, there
35:10
will be the argument of should we use robots to help us cook
35:15
Christmas dinner and stuff like that.
35:17
I think the traditional traditions, traditional
35:21
traditions and cultures will remain, but I think there will
35:28
be some differences. I can't say what specifically,
35:32
but I just think that, you know, people love to celebrate and and
35:35
love things like Christmas and I can't really see that going away
35:38
anytime soon. Yeah.
35:42
I don't know. What's something new you'd love
35:45
to try or do for Christmas that you haven't yet?
35:48
I'd love to do Christmas in like a really beautiful location,
35:51
like a nice forest, like somewhere like, like a beautiful
35:55
location like Norway where it's like log fire type deal and like
36:00
it's a really beautiful, almost romantic place, you know?
36:06
I'd love something like that. That would be really cool, like
36:08
a log cabin. I think that'd be decent.
36:13
Is there a Christmas tradition or activity you'd like to start
36:18
this year or in the future? Not really, no.
36:23
Sorry. I feel like maybe this is not,
36:25
this show's not turning out like how we thought it would.
36:29
We thought it would be like kind of exciting and fun, but I'm
36:33
just, I don't know. I feel like I'm answering these
36:35
questions sort of pretty matter of factly.
36:38
I'm just trying to give honest answers, to be honest.
36:41
But I just feel like maybe there's not a lot of excitement
36:46
on my part, but then it's not really something I get excited
36:49
about. So, yeah, I don't know.
36:54
If you had to sum up the essence of Christmas in just one
36:57
sentence, what would it be? The essence of Christmas?
37:14
I mean, I, I suppose traditionally it was supposed to
37:17
be about giving and family. I don't know if it's really
37:22
about that anymore. I think a lot of it is rooted in
37:28
idealism and, you know, people watching movies and being like,
37:34
yeah, that's what life is like. And the reality is not the same.
37:39
Like it's never the same. There's elements of it that are
37:45
real, I think for sure. But a lot of the time it's just
37:50
kind of idealistic. But I think if if you're trying,
37:56
if you're really trying to do things for your loved ones,
38:01
maybe that's where the magic is. That's where the beauty of it
38:04
is. Like in the efforts of people to
38:08
like connect with each other and celebrate each other, to show
38:15
interest in one another. You know, I think Christmas is
38:18
the time when people are supposed to come together.
38:21
Maybe you don't always get to come together very often, and if
38:26
that's the case, then you should cherish every moment, right?
38:29
In theory, that's how I try to look at it anyway.
38:36
But yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't know.
38:49
That's, that's all I've got for today.
38:51
I don't know if that really was what people were looking for.
38:55
This was a suggestion from our own Vilma.
39:02
I hope that I hope this was OK. I'll maybe I'll try and address
39:09
some of the stuff that that Vilma said.
39:12
What does Christmas mean to you? We covered that Memories of
39:16
Christmas. Oh, here's here's a funny one,
39:21
actually, I'll share this real quick.
39:23
I remember one time, because we always lived in flats and you
39:29
know, there's the traditional thing of like Father Christmas
39:31
comes down the chimney. And, and I, I remember turning
39:35
around to my mum one year and being like, how, how would
39:38
Father Christmas get in into our flat?
39:40
We, we don't have a chimney. Like, how is that possible?
39:43
Like, and obviously I was like, you know, like what's going on
39:46
here? Some kind of conspiracy.
39:48
I think I was like 7-8 or something.
39:51
And she just turned around very bluntly and just said, well,
39:54
obviously we leave keys under the door, not under the door,
39:58
under the mat. And I was like, oh, OK.
40:01
And that, that made perfect sense to me.
40:03
And then that was me sold for another couple of years.
40:07
Like, just really quick. Just Yep, of course it's that.
40:14
Yeah. I've got a lot of funny stuff I
40:16
could share, but that needs to stay secret because it's family
40:23
stuff. It's it's private.
40:27
We'll get back to working at Christmas.
40:29
How the Christmas spirit is lost in all the consumerism.
40:32
Yeah, I mean, we've kind of covered that a little bit.
40:38
The final point I would say on that is there's just too much
40:40
obsession over that. You know, there's always going
40:43
to be consumerism surrounding holidays and that, you know,
40:48
like anything to do with anything where there's a chance
40:52
to make a lot of money, you know, there's going to be that
40:54
consumerist attitude. But that doesn't need to be your
40:58
attitude. That doesn't need to be what you
41:00
do just because everyone else is doing it or, you know, the
41:04
adverts are telling you to do things that way, like focus on
41:07
you, focus on your family and what you guys would enjoy.
41:13
I think we we've best worst Christmas.
41:17
So that that takes me back to working.
41:19
The worst Christmas I ever had was working one year.
41:22
I was in second year of uni and I was not in a good place in my
41:29
life. And I, I don't know, there was,
41:33
there was a lot of stuff, I can't really talk about private
41:36
stuff, but my personal life was terrible.
41:40
And somehow I found myself in the position of, of working on
41:43
Christmas Day and I'd never done it before.
41:50
And for what it was, it was fine in the sense that like we were
41:55
just serving people like we would normally and there were
41:58
families having Christmas dinner and and stuff like that.
42:03
But I think the thing that really hit me was I felt like I
42:07
should be with family. It felt wrong.
42:11
It felt like it just felt wrong. It felt empty and depressing and
42:22
like I shouldn't be there. I was like I should be with my
42:24
own family right now. What?
42:25
What is this? I don't know, it was it was a
42:29
weird one, but I would not recommend it.
42:32
If you can get out of working Christmas, New Year's, please
42:34
do. For those that have to work it,
42:41
I salute you. It's not easy, but I've been
42:46
there. But yeah, I don't know.
42:49
This is looks like a somber note to end it on, really.
42:53
I've tried to be fair. I don't think I've been very
42:55
Grinchy. I think I've been pretty fair
42:58
with this. It's quite a balanced breakdown
43:01
of Christmas. But listen, I wish everybody a
43:05
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
43:10
Wishing you all the very best and I'll see you next year.
43:14
Peace.