The 2023 SYSK Ho-Ho-Holiday Spectacular! | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

[Music]. welcome to stuff you should know a. production of iHeart. [Music]. Radio hey sorry ho and welcome to the. podcast I'm Josh there's Chuck Jerry's. here too the little elves are around us.

watching us adoringly waiting for us to. begin this 2023 holiday special episode. of stuff you should know. hooray hooray Chuck indeed it's our. Christmas episode yeah our adree. Christmas episode right yes it better be. for sure we'll find out after we. publish oh goodness uh boy out I mean. did we even order these should we just. Freewheel it oh gosh we're getting to it. already okay I wanted to kind of meander.

for a little bit but sure no we can. Meander what do you want to chat about. uh I don't know how's the family H. they're doing great you know this is. actually a I don't want to say too much. but let me just say that oh this is a uh. there was a turning point for my. daughter this year at Christmas a very. big Revelation for oh my that's all I'm. going to say okay I always wondered when. it was going to happen uhhuh and it. happened yeah okay I'm fine actually.

Emily was a little more upset than I was. yeah uh and I was just like you know uh. I mean well I'll I'll talk to you. offline but everyone knows what I'm. talking about right I think so hopefully. just everyone yeah well let's just stop. this right now it's still going to be a. great Christmas regardless we all agreed. on that good and this is going to be a. great Christmas episode despite that. beginning. okay uh you know let's start with.

I'm going to go ahead and call well. let's just take turns how about that. okay you're going to call an audible. each time wowe I'm going to call call an. audible each time on my own picks okay. well you go first how about that because. yes everybody in classic stuff you. should know fashion Chuck and I each. picked a few um Christmas pieces to talk. about and then we sent them to one. another and did not discuss what order. we should do them and so we're going to. do that as we go along that's what. Chuck's talking about right now that's. right and so the first thing I found and.

another fun thing about the Christmas. episode is that it it allows us to get. our sources our sources become a little. more relaxed our rigor on like where we. get stuff because sometimes for. Christmas stuff you just get stuff from. some of the wackiest websites uh and. that's fine yeah this one actually. wasn't wacky this was USA Today that's. legit right it's a little. wacky uh this is from 2012 from Craig. Wilson uh what are you doing on. Christmas Day yeah depends on where you.

are and this is just a little survey. they did cuz I was always curious about. different traditions and different parts. of the United States and how people do. stuff and this is uh this is a good. little poll they did 11 years ago yeah. yes Civic science did a poll well they. didn't do a poll they apparently found a. bunch of other polls that total 990,000. responses of Americans responding to. questions roughly about what they're. going to do around Christmas time and.

they released it they put it all. together and said hey get this it turns. out depending on your region um each. region has a lot of like different. things that they do or don't do around. Christmas time let's rap about them and. Craig Wilson said yes let's that's right. so we're going to go over some of the. highlights here if you're in the midwest. oh I don't know let's say Michigan or. Ohio. or uh what else is in the midwest. Chicago Iowa Kansas.

is that Midwest yeah Kansas is in the. middle of the country it's Midwest for. sure all right we'll see what our Kansas. friends have to say about that uh if you. live in the midwest though then you are. 35% you're more likely to work between. Christmas Day and New Year's Day than. any other part of the country 35% of. midwesterners say they work that time. between the 25th and the 31st which is. terrible so sad very sad they also are.

the least likely to have a work. Christmas party. too I mean yeah I don't know what's. going on up there but they um when they. do go to a party they go to the big ones. almost half of midwesterners who. responded said that they're going to go. to a Christmas party that has 10 or more. people not bad uh and as far as gifts on. Christmas Eve uh we always waited till. Christmas day but Emily when she was a. kid opened some on Christmas Eve and it. may be a Midwest thing thing because 20.

they're 25% more likely than the. national average to open at least some. of the gifts on Christmas Eve we did not. when I was a kid that was Ohio yeah for. sure that's where I grew up that's where. the Christmas gifts were open was in. Ohio and we did not do that on Christmas. Eve what about the. Northeast the Northeast including um. Wyoming and. Maine they apparently party all the time. um 39% of people eat Christmas dinner at.

a friend or family member's house. they're 30% more likely than anyone else. in in or any other region in the country. to go to a Christmas Eve party 40% more. holiday parties than people from the. South or the West so they like to to tie. one on yeah they like to tie one on and. they also get their shopping done early. uh or at least some of them do 34% said. they have finished their gift buying or. at least most of it 10 days uh by the. 15th I guess of December which is pretty.

good yeah and then here in the South um. people in the South are most likely to. host a Christmas dinner themselves but. it's usually for fewer than 10 people. and they like to take car trips if. they're going more than 100 miles away. for Christmas um but also people in the. South and I can attest to this don't. work during Christmas and New Year like. everything's basically shut down yeah. 29% I think work uh and I guess they. they just sort of have to uh although.

it's probably the same for the. midwesterners I don't know if they're. volunteering to work I don't know. midwesterners are odd folk uh Christmas. parties are big though 64% of. Southerners will go to an office party. which means something Chuck that means. you are not at work but you go to work. for the party that's what happens in the. South that's what we always did yeah I. know apparently it's a southern thing uh. well actually that's not true because. they don't work between Christmas and. New Year's you're going to have your. office party before. Christmas oh yeah that's right I just. outed a is not working long before.

Christmas oh everyone knows we like to. brag about our our month off it's great. uh but 29% uh they're a little lazier. with the gift buying only 29% had. completed their shopping 10 days before. the holiday and what about. westerners well out west uh you're going. to get people that are maybe a little. more transient uh they're more than. twice as likely to travel more than 100. miles uh and they also are uh more. likely to twice as likely to get. Christmas dinner at a restaurant or a.

club or something instead of at. someone's house yes and I think 38% of. them um go to see a movie in the. theaters so when you hear about people. going to see movie on a Christmas day. they're talking about. California all right where are we headed. next my friend oh gez it's my turn again. or already I guess um let's talk about. darling love chuck oh treasure but first. let's do a little intertial Christmas.

music I love that. [Music]. part okay thanks for that Chuck by the. way but we're talking about darling love. who was part of the wall of sound uh was. one of Phil spectre's finds um and uh.

someone Phil Spectre took advantage of. too but she's most well known for her. Christmas song Christmas and then. parenthesis baby please come home you. know the song right it's a great great. song uh she might also if you if you see. her face and you did not know that she. sang that song as we'll get to I don't. want to spoil on where she did this. every year and but you're like I know. that woman uh you might know her as. myah's wife from the Lethal Weapon. movies oh really yeah she was Danny.

Glover's wife oh okay nice that's a nice. link another place you might have. noticed her is on Letterman because. every year from 1986 to 2014 when. Letterman retired darling love came out. and sang her Christmas baby please come. home Christmas song on the last show uh. last episode of Letterman Before. Christmas every year yeah pretty amazing. tradition and Dave isn't one that had. like three decade Traditions like this.

uh apparently was also uh a little. grumpy just about holiday music period. Paul Schaefer said that you know he he. wouldn't let us play Monster Mash around. Halloween he just wasn't given to. Holiday novelty songs right so the fact. that darn lean loves song is something. that he wanted back every year and Paul. says it was his idea to begin with but. Dave's idea to bring her back it really. means that Dave loved her and loved that. song yeah and we um we got this from our. friends at far out mag um and they.

mentioned that the the thing that kept. this fresh every year I mean she belts. it out and it's a really great great. song to begin with so she gave it her. best every year but something that kind. of kept it fresh over those basically 30. years 28 years was that the CBS. Orchestra saxophonist Bruce kapler who. was in Paul Schaefer's band um when that. saxophone solo kicks off he would come. on stage in all sorts of different. hilarious ways that just like tore the.

roof off the studio yeah it was always. fun I always love like kind of waiting. to see how he was going to make his. entrance every year right uh I mean it. started out fairly lowkey and then it. kind of grew into something um with that. huge I don't know if that's a an actual. Basse saxophone or just a baritone but. it's one of the those gigantic. saxophones and he would come flying in. on wire or be in a snow globe and stuff. like that and it was always just a lot. of fun the whole segment is always great. he he's he came out of a present once a. giant present came came in on a sleigh.

stepped out of a fireplace like it was. it was really great everybody loved it. and apparently this happened every year. except for the writer strike in. 2007 um and then when Letterman retired. in 2014 darling love took um this. tradition over to the view of all places. I'm not sure why I couldn't find why but. now you can find her singing the song on. The View right around Christmas time. every year I'm sure it's because if you. called her up probably said we'll pay. you money for for sure yeah we really.

like this song um there's a bunch of. Super Cuts too on YouTube if you want to. see it that just do a really good job of. editing together her Letterman. performances over the years it's fun. especially to see Bruce kapler coming in. all the different ways yeah those are. great um the the riter strike here was. is a little bit of a bummer because I. think it was just like three days after. Christmas that year is when Dave Struck. his own independent deal with uh the. union to bring the show back mhm so it.

was he was 3 days late basically from. being able to to not have that streak. interrupted unfortunately yeah and she's. she's like I could do a belated version. he's like no not this. year all right cue the music magical. elves I'm so. happy all righty uh uh you know what.

let's go with uh the worst Christmas. songs oh boy I'm pretty excited about. this I don't know if you out there in. Holiday podcast land can hear us. shuffling our papers but that's what. we're doing right now a rare paper. Shuffle so um you found a bunch of. different worst Christmas songs. apparently it's a pretty fun Poll for. people to conduct because people love to. tell people what Christmas song they. hate the most at that moment yeah I mean. we could have included a 100 polls uh. because there are that many or more but.

we just kind of picked through I kind of. went by year recent years there was one. in 2021 from The Today Show uh uh I. think it was ugv America yeah who did. this poll and people responded and this. shocks me that Santa Baby uh was I think. their least favorite or more most hated. Christmas song it shocks you I'm I'm in. total. agreement I don't mind I don't love it.

but I don't hate it I wouldn't rank that. as the as my most hated that's the thing. like I think the the Christmas song you. hate the most is the one you heard one. too many times this year the most. recently that's the worst Christmas song. of all time to everybody right but I. think the problem with that song that. people have if I'm projecting it's like. it's a sultry song about Santa it's just. odd it goes against everything we know. about Santa Claus and I don't like it. it's it's not a good song it's not great.

no no no I guess I'm with you I just. don't know if that would be my my most. hated um we went to Holland sentinel.com. because we had to get a poll out of West. Michigan and uh there's a something. called local spins in Grand Rapids and. they did a survey in 2020 and this time. this one really upsets me I know you. don't like it but I love it I like it. Paul mcart Oh I thought you didn't like. it Paul McCartney's 79 wonderful. Christmas time if I said I didn't like.

it before that means that that was the. one I had heard one too many times most. recently cuz I do like that song in. general okay uh not not the best song. but I do think it's pretty good uh but. there is a bside to that called Rudolph. The Rednosed ree yeah did you listen to. that I did I didn't realize it was. instrumental I was grateful for that I. was I was too and it's not even that Ray. no it's got like the dexi midnight. Runner violin kind of playing through. through it as instead of the lyrics.

that's kind of what does the what would. you call it the harmony no that's the. melody the melody okay but um yeah it. was it wasn't that bad but I could see. people hating wonderful Christmas time. more but what about the UK wait one more. thing about Grand Rapids Michigan my. family used to go around Christmas time. to Grand Rapids Michigan because they. had a dinner theater there and they had. a buffet with frogs legs and that's. where I was introduced to frogs legs. which I wouldn't eat in a million years. now but used to love them around.

Christmas time every year from this. dinner theaters Buffet it tastes like. chicken it tasted a lot like chicken. froggy chicken yeah gross what's next uh. we go to the UK my friend uh far out. magazine boy is that the second time. we've used them yeah thanks a lot far. out so they don't like Mariah Carey. apparently because her terrific in my. opinion song All I Want For Christmas as. you was voted as the most annoying. that's the UK that's not far out's. opinion right yeah yeah that's the UK as. a whole yeah and far points out that you.

still have to give Mariah Carey props. because apparently that song was written. very quickly she was like 22 at the time. and you can make a really good case that. that is the most recent genuine Bonafide. Christmas song that's entered into the. Canon I can't think of yeah I can't. think of one that's made it more. recently than that and this was like the. mid90s that was like 30 years ago I. think but yeah I don't get that one. either um I mean it's not my favorite. song but it's not terrible and I think.

the fact that it's in Love Actually too. makes it even more delightful I still. haven't seen that uh I'm I mean I'm no. huge morai Carey fan but I I love that. song I think it's terrific okay good. what's next uh we're gonna go over to. Old streets solutions.com. and this is a 2022 poll I didn't see. where the poll was but the um the clear. winner I mean 53% that's really saying. something like usually you're your your. most hated Christmas song is hitting in.

like the. 30% 53% of people pulled said that they. hated Justin um Bieber's. mistletoe song have you heard that one. well I have now I had to listen to it. for this yeah me too and I think we. should read a portion of the. lyrics can we I I mean we kind of have. to I think all right uh here's a. selection uh this is called Mistletoe by. just. [Music].

be everyone's gathering around the fire. chestnuts roasting like a hot July I. should be chilling with my folks I know. but I'm a bee under the. mistletoe uh word on the street Santa's. coming tonight reindeer's flying through. the sky so high I should be making a. list I know but I'mma be under the. mistletoe with you shy with you with you. shoty with you. [Music].

are you're not going to do the rest as. far as I can go well I mean I think you. know the rest so yeah and the whole. thing is set to this super lame Jack. Johnson acoustic guitar. beat it's it's a really bad song like. it's a bad song even as far as Christmas. songs go it's just a genuinely bad song. and I think um Christopher Dunford from. Old Street Solutions points out like. yeah people like to hate on just Bieber. but that this song is like objectively a.

bad song so it it definitely does. deserve that 53% of votes I think anyone. who's heard it would agree with that uh. and this last bit we're going to include. is not a poll uh but Rolling Stone. magazine put out their very snotty top. 20 worst Christmas songs list yeah and I. just wanted to read a couple of. selections from this because Rob. Sheffield of Rolling Stone really just. brought the smarm to a new level uh when. he was dissing Jessica and Ashley. Simpson's little The Little Drummer Boy.

version he definitely did uh here's a. couple of lines from his review you've. heard of the war on Christmas well this. song is the sinking of the. Lucitania not bad no uh each paruma pom. pom is another drop in their musical. waterboarding and finally he closes the. review with Christmas you chose. violence did you listen to this one I. did it's it's not bad but it's it's also. not good at.

all yeah I mean it's a straight- Ahead. version of that song which Rob Sheffield. makes an argument that that song is just. not good sure um I don't hate that song. but I do there is something about their. paruma pom poms that are just grading I. don't know what it is it's not just that. it's also the way they go little baby. yeah it's pretty bad too if you if. you're listening if you're not listening. to the song you just it would come and. go without you paying attention or. noticing but but if you focus in on that. song and the singing they're doing it it.

is not a great song at all for sure yeah. there's some enunciation problems I. think yeah I think it's surprising that. he chose that as the number one out of. all the songs I mean again we're talking. Justin Bieber put mistletoe out there. and this is not worse than mistletoe but. um yeah it's not good what what's your. uh what's your favorite going the other. direction what's your favorite of all. time or right now I should say I have. got a ton I mean we've talked about this. over the years here and there and I. think I mentioned Tom Petty's song I. love I really love Elton John's uh step.

into Christmas I love the Wham song oh. it's a great one uh I like a lot of the. waitresses I love that. song uh there's there's a bunch of them. I like Christmas music a lot uh Emily. loves it and tries to start playing it. the day after Thanksgiving but I I try. and make her wait till December 1st at. least and then I have a hard house rule. that it stops at midnight on December. 25th. I'm sure I've asked you this before um.

but do you guys listen to instrumental. Christmas music at all yeah I like it. all I mean piano Classics I found a good. R&B soul playlist that's great I like it. all what about you I okay well I found. something recently I think I found it on. meta filter somebody posted 8 hours of. vintage department store Christmas music. by um musx competitor custom music tapes. and it is exactly what you think it's.

really really good background Christmas. music good stuff yeah I'll check that. out Sinatra I love that one I like all. that stuff I I think my favorite vocal. Christmas music would be Johnny matys. probably far and away and then my. favorite um instrumental Christmas music. I'm sure I've said this on every single. Christmas episode we've ever done it's. Veron and tiger um and they're Dueling. Pianos although it's not really dueling. I would say what's the opposite of doing. holding hands they're holding hands Pian.

yeah I think you should say that every. year because people drop in and listen. and uh they should always get their. shout out yeah fronte and tiger. definitely deserve their shout out every. year thanks for that Chuck all right. let's hop in that sled and get. [Music]. going okay Chuck I am up and I'm going. to go with gosh is it only my second. pick so far I think so well let's have a.

nice little interlude in case everybody. wants to start getting buzzed at this. point oh. [Music]. okay cuz we like to do a cocktail of. some sort of Christmas drink every year. and we blew through like all of the like. famous ones pretty quickly so we've had. to really kind of start looking around. and this year we found what I think is a. pretty good one uh that I'd never heard. before and I think it's um worth sharing. it's from our our friends at Olive. magazine and it's they call it a.

Christmas Negroni and it sounds pretty. boss I'm all in on this this sounds. really good well tell them about the. spiced gint well I mean that's the key. to this thing I think because otherwise. you have a fairly traditional Negroni. but you have to spice that Jin uh my. good friend Eddie he hasn't done it with. Jin yet but every year he makes um his. own little infused holiday boozes mhm uh. and it's a really nice treat and he. brings them around and uh gives bottles. out to people but uh I'm going to.

request Jen from Eddie this year because. this sounds great yeah so for the. Christmas de gron from allive magazine. their spice gin is 500 MERS of gin. that's right between a half pint and a. pint so I guess 3/4 of a of a no it's. between it's half of a liter now that I. think about it well it depends on how. much genu you know how many these drinks. you want you can get any kind of bottle. of Jin you want for sure so let's just. say you take half a liter of Jin okay. and you put two cinnamon sticks two star. Anis four cloves four cardamon pod pods.

crushed that's very important two bay. leaves fresh if you got them and two. strips of orange peel and uh if you've. got some. cheesecloth uh you might want to put. everything in there it'll probably make. the whole thing a lot easier but if not. don't sweat it you can put it all in. that gin in a big old mason jar half. liter mason jar and uh leave it for. about 2 days maybe less than 2 Days 1 to. two. and uh then you strain it out and what.

you have there is your spice gin and. like you said that's kind of like the. the main ingredient of this this. Christmas Negroni yeah I mean from there. you go Fairly traditional. Negroni with the Campari and the sweet. ver MTH M uh but instead of you you can. do your little orange uh twist which I. believe is a traditional Negron garnish. yeah but since you've spiced it up you. can also add another cinnamon stick or. another little is it star Anis or anise. I never know how to say that I think.

both are fine all right put both in. there and that'll just add even a little. more pop there at the end for sure I. mean nothing says it's the holidays. better than handing somebody a cocktail. with a cinnamon stick sticking out of it. that really drives the point home right. yeah I love it and also negronis are. super easy to make you just pour equal. parts of the Jin compari and sweet. vermouth usually about 3/4 of an oun. or 25 M and you just pour that over ice.

in the glass Stir It Up a little bit and. you've got a NE groni and if you've ever. had a Negroni and you've been like this. is a bit boozy for me I found also an. alternative Negroni I think also from. Olive magazine um that they suggest just. take out the gin and put in prco instead. and you've got yourself a much lighter. Negroni that also would do really well. with a nice cinnamon stick sticking out. of it yeah I've seen uh I've had quite a. few cocktails over the past year that.

have uh prco or a white wine MH as the. boozy ingredient to what would. ordinarily be just a cocktail and it's. interesting I like it yeah same here um. also I think I said on our Maro episode. that I was going to try capetti which. was supposedly like a better version of. compari well I did and I'm here to tell. you just use compari it's so much better. so much better I went into uh there's a. amazing spirits store here in Atlanta.

and I went in and asked for which one it. is the elemental Spirits company and it. is right across from buddies and video. drum there at North Avenue you know. where that is yeah sure next to Emanuel. Tavern okay and it's great they're. they're very highly curated really good. good stuff like that you don't find in. regular liquor stores but uh I went in. and asked for an Amaro I said give me a. couple I said give me give me one really. access one and give me the the bitterest. thing that you have oh yeah and I I.

can't remember the name of it I'll have. to post about it later but this stuff is. it's almost like malort it's so. medicinal and bitter like you say why. after each. sip I mean I like it but it's it's. really like I've leapt into the bitter. Zone and uh this one's testing my limits. okay well if we're shouting out. incredibly well curated liquor stores in. Atlanta I definitely want to shout out. h&f bottle shop over by peach tree. battle it's so good oh I'll have to.

check that one out too that's also the. kind of place you could just walk into. and say I want to try something like. this and they'll give it to you yeah I. love stores like that where you just. sort of trust in their expertise yeah. it's the best um I also want to shout. out uh if you are big on um like you. know cocktail syrups and stuff like that. to spice up a drink sure I bought one. the other day that i' never heard of it. was a sweet potato syrup and it is so. good with whiskey that sounds good just. to drink on its own it's great it.

doesn't taste like oh like I'm drinking. a sweet potato it just it makes it more. you know cuz there's other spices it. just it it's like a nice holiday whiskey. cocktail basically uh it's just really. yummy where'd you find that uh this was. at decer package on Claremont so like. you can find it probably Nationwide yeah. I mean you know people are local I think. it's a local one so I wish I had the. bottle in front of me but um you know. locally there's probably all kinds of. people in your urban center that are.

making their own shrubs and Bitters and. syrups well I got to find that one cuz. it sounds pretty delish yeah maybe I'll. send you some I'd love that Chuck I love. free presents from you especially around. Christmas time all right great drink. great drink agreed thanks to our friends. at Olive magazine and here we go hopping. along back in the sleigh out in the snow. putting on our um white faux fur fringed. frocks and um going on to the next. section. [Music].

[Applause]. uh I guess we'll go with how to make. your Christmas tree last longer that was. a good one uh this is a personal one. because I have had bad luck the past. couple of years with our trees dying way. too early oh no uh and I think it's. because I was sort of stuck on using the. Christmas tree stand I grew up with m. which compared to today's stands had not.

much room for the tree trunk itself uh. and certainly didn't hold that much. water mhm uh so I finally my mom got me. one of those gigantic things that holds. gallons of water yeah and I think it was. the right choice because it's doing much. much better this year well that's. definitely one of the the keys that. Better Homes and Gardens recommends is. getting a stand that fits yeah you got. to you got to those old ones that hold. like three cups of water no good no.

because your tree is still alive even. though you've cut it down so it drinks. up the water and in addition to having a. tree that holds a bunch of water and. that fits the trunk um you want to keep. that water level like basically High. every day you want to check it basically. every day because the trunk needs to be. pretty much submerged in water to keep. that tree going for the the month of. December yeah and I always heard you. know pour some Sprite or some sugar in. there and I never was sure if that was.

true but there are uh tree people who. say if you put like a half a cup of. granulated sugar uh to about five. gallons of water and a half a cup of. vinegar yeah then that's going to uh. nourish that tree it's going to preserve. the sap and that vinegar is going to be. a pH stabilizer that's going to ward off. bacteria and rot yeah because that's the. thing you got a reservoir of water in. your living room and your living room. has its heater on that can be a bad. combination I've also seen you can throw. some pennies in there too to help adjust.

the pH as well and keep bacteria from. growing but you want pennies you want to. mix this all up five gallons of water. just so happens that those orange Home. Depot buckets are 5 gallons so you go. out in your garage put five gallons of. water in there half a cup of vinegar. half a cup of sugar mix it all up and. you use that to top off your uh your. Christmas tree stand water every day I. love it if you got a kid assign them. that task because they are much more apt. to be able to crawl under that tree and.

it's special and fun and they think they. are helping they think they're helping. and they are helping they definitely are. helping what else man like a lot of. people also have ill-fitting Christmas. tree stands that are too small and they. carve off the the some of the trunk they. shave off some of the sides to make it. fit jam it in there right no good. no apparently need the the sides of the. trunk that helps it stay alive uh you do. want to cut you know there is something. to trimming some just off the bottom of. the trunk they'll usually do that for.

you where you buy your Christmas tree uh. if they say I love this article from. Better Homes and Garden says shave off 2. cenm like that's like that's barely the. width of a chainsaw blade it's 3/4 of an. inch I looked it up oh okay well I guess. that's bigger than I thought yeah no I. know we're we're not super metric here. everybody in the United States but you. do want to cut a little bit off the. trunk uh not too much but you know that. sap starts forming it's like a scab. almost right uh within hours of uh.

cutting the tree down it tries to form a. scab and that's going to seal it up on. the bottom so that's why they trim it up. for you it uh at the Christmas tree. place because it's going to be much. easier to suck water up yes also this is. a great excuse for you to buy a bow saw. too and take that home and then you can. cut the little 2 cim off the bottom of. the trunk yourself so it'll be as fresh. as possible so the key is to trim some. off the bottom but not off the sides of. the bottom of the trunk because that.

bark is really good at sucking up water. and you want to make sure this thing can. take as much water as possible so that. it stays fresh as long as possible yeah. and also be Discerning when you go to. pick out that tree to begin with uh. don't don't just fall for what looks the. prettiest you got to you got to feel. those branches a little bit if it's. getting crispy at all in the lot then. you're in big trouble already so give it. you know run your hand along it give a. little hug give a little feel give a. little T. and make sure everything smells really.

fresh uh make sure that bark is very. smooth and make sure that you know the. branches themselves feel not breakable. but pliable at that point exactly um so. also when you get at home uh drying out. the tree is not good you don't want to. accelerate drying it out it's already. getting dried enough being indoors out. of the any humidity that might be around. and then near heat sources um so you. want to not not only just keep it topped. up with water you want to keep it away.

from heat as much as possible and. apparently even going with LED lights. will have a substantial effect on. keeping the tree from drying out because. they put out so much less heat than. traditional incandescent lights too yeah. good idea and most of them these days. are LED I think and then yeah they're. definitely easy to come by at least and. then Chuck afterward after the holidays. have gone after the last ornaments put. up. the last piece of tinsel that you're. going to bother taking off has been.

taken off even though there's a few. strands left what are you going to do. with that tree to help your local. Wildlife well uh your Township or your. county probably has a recycling uh. situation going on uh that is certainly. a great way to dispose of your tree but. uh you can also if you live in a wooded. area you can you can just put lean that. thing up against another tree in the the. woods and that can become a little. shelter or a home for wildlife for sure.

you don't even have to live in a wooded. area you can throw it in your backyard. on that side yeah and rabbits will be. like thank you very much I appreciate it. or you can strip it you can like trim. off the branches and lay those down as. as mulch at the base of garden plants. and stuff like that yeah uh or do what I. do I already gave myself away is that I. my friends throw them all in the back of. my pickup truck and we let them dry to a. crispy Brown then throw them on. campfires for a quite a firework show.

very nice indeed but do it safely oh for. sure uh and make sure you haven't. already invited the rabbits in to live. there you want to Stomp the tree a few. times on the ground to shake out any. rabbits that might have taken up. residence before you throw it on the. campfire that's right uh okay well I say. it's time to move on we got a couple. left um both of them are mine it turns. out so I'm going to share one with you. um so you pick the last one okay okay. well I guess I'd be picking the last one.

for you by picking the second to last I. was waiting for you to catch on there. but Chuck let's uh let's get back in our. sleigh and go on to the next segment. where we'll talk about an alternative. Christmas. movie okay Chuck so um there are plenty. of Christmas movies out there that are. straight ahead Christmas movies that the. point is about Christmas about maybe. learning the spirit of Christmas about.

getting a toy about running into Santa. who knows but there's also alternative. Christmas movies that take place around. Christmas and just by proxy are. technically Christmas movies and um at. least one of them is a classic horror. movie which arguably gave us the slasher. horror genre uh. 1974's black. Christmas yeah from Bob Clark MH who uh. uh has made three classic films uh Black.

Christmas A Christmas Story and porks. yeah he made two Christmas films one of. them was A Christmas Story the other was. a slasher film called Black Christmas. isn't that nuts and porkys yeah I never. saw porks my mom would have died before. she let me see porkys and I still have. never seen it yeah I saw it years later. because I just felt I had to to make up. for my uh restricted childhood and it's. it's not great uh but what is pretty. great is black Christmas it it is it it. it's subtle in a lot of ways as far as a.

slasher movie can go it's about as. subtle as it can get um Bob Clark has. said there a lot of people have written. film crit on this like people consider. black Christmas a masterpiece in A+ some. people think it's their favorite movie. of all time um and the reason why is. because rather than going with like. straight ahead Gore um and and like. traditional horror that would come years. later in the slasher genre um Bob Clark. went with more um suggested stuff and.

eeriness and he went with Terror over. horror and building up dread and fear in. like legitimate ways and what's more one. of the things he did that really. differentiated black Christmas from the. slasher films to come is you you never. actually see the killer the entire movie. you see his eye in one scene and that's. the most you see of them and then even. more than that he never gets caught he's. still around at the end yeah I mean it's. a I really liked it I covered this on.

movie Crush it was either it was either. our like a horror movie round table with. some of our colleagues or it may have. been a Christmas episode I could see uh. but that's when I watched it I hadn't. seen it before that uh and it is it is. really good it and it was also sort of a. landmark movie and that it established a. couple of uh things I mean first of all. like you said some people you can make. an argument that it is one of if not the. first slasher movie uh some people will.

say like psycho and stuff like that um. or Texas Chainsaw masacre which was. released weeks before this uh but you. could you can make an argument that the. kind of. prototypical um slasher movie in that. like one person dies after another you. know very slowly working his way through. a group of friends uh that you know. black Christmas was 1974 and that was. you know four years before Halloween. came out yeah um so the premise of the. movie is set in a sorority house over.

Christmas break so there's a limited. number of people not only at the. sorority house but on campus in general. and that's definitely part of the. eeriness that that Bob Clark uses just. that feeling for anybody who's ever been. on campus like during the summer or. during a holiday break it's just strange. how quiet it is and that's part of the. whole thing um but they're stalked by an. unknown phone caller who's calling them. with like deeply obscene phone calls um. that they typically like in typical 70s.

fashion just kind of like like laugh off. or dismiss or like you know they say Lew. things back to the guy um but slowly but. surely they all start to be murdered one. by one in this house yeah uh and it was. also speaking of those calls it's one of. the other big landmark things is and I. hope I'm not wrong but I think this was. the first movie where they said the call. was coming from inside the house yeah I. I think the urban legend existed already.

but this was the first movie to do that. yeah yeah yeah the movies didn't invent. that Trope but the movies made use of. the urban legend Trope yeah as far as I. know it was the first one I think so. because When a Stranger Calls was after. this and that was the other sort of big. one where they said that line man that. movie I few movies have meandered more. than a When a Stranger Calls have you. seen when a stranger calls back. no it's even more Meandering than the. first one oh yeah yeah but it's a good.

movie Black Christmas is uh if you're. interested in a horror movie and again. like the prank the I don't want to call. them prank calls the obscene phone calls. are very obscene so don't watch this. movie with your kids but if you're. interested in something that is. definitely set around Christmas and. Christmas is kind of an extra character. in the movie um that's not your typical. Christmas movie and you're into horror. this might be right up your alley yeah. the 74 version and there have been two. remakes uh the 2006 one was very gory.

and terrible uh I I didn't see it but I. did see the 2019 and I thought it was. pretty good oh really okay yeah I. haven't seen either I've just seen the. original um and I said some people say. it's their favorite movie at least two. pretty big celebrities counted it as. their favorite movie didn't they that's. right man yeah Elvis was one you know I. like sit around graceand man watch that. movie about those sorority girls it's. pretty good. wow that was a really good Elis can you. do a really good Steve Martin no I can't.

I can't either Steve Martin loves it. though that's pretty uh wild and crazy. yeah Olivia Huss in it apparently he met. her years later he's like oh my God. you're in one of my favorite movies of. all time and she thought he was going to. tell her Romeo and Juliet like the 1960s. version he said you're in Black. Christmas and she was like what it's one. of your favorite movies so yeah that's. amazing so that's it everybody black ch. and we're going to get in that sleigh. one last time this episode for this.

Christmas Spectacular and go on to the. last segment which Chuck is going to. pick for. [Music]. us hey thanks for driving by the way. I've had a couple of too many negronis. that infused gin is hitting me hard so. thanks for taking the rains that's all. right I don't mind being the DD. sometimes next year it's you. though uh yeah you found this great.

thing uh about Christmas card etiquette. from the merily mcke etiquette school MH. and we may have talked about this before. I've never we have never sent out a. Christmas card as a family I don't. remember you saying that H yeah we just. we never we never did it I don't know. why probably because we're lazy Emily. was always her very very busy during the. holiday season with her business busiest. time of the year and so that would have. fallen to me and I never have really had. much of an interest in doing it myself.

but I love getting them and I'm one of. those people that likes to display them. okay so um if you ever decided to start. sending Christmas cards after you hear. this marily mck's etiquette schools list. of Christmas card etiquette you will be. well prepared for how to navigate the. the travail of Christmas card sending. chuck all right get us going when should. we be sending these things so you want. to send a Christmas card technically for. it to arrive by January 5th because you.

you have until the end of The 12 Days of. Christmas for your Christmas card to. arrive in the 12 Day Days of Christmas. start on Christmas and go till January. 5th which is Three Kings Day that's the. traditional way like if you were sending. a card in. 1903 that was your time limit now it's. like much more abbreviated because. people like you like to display. Christmas cards so you want to get them. to people by I think December fif 15th. right yeah if you're getting if you're.

purposefully sending your Christmas. cards so they go out by January 4th. everyone that gets that Christmas card. will say h a little late huh kinda. January 5th you know I mean it's like. literally the next year yeah so that's. sort of like you said the the old school. like by January 5th um they also say. sort of back in the day that uh you. didn't typically send them to your close. friends and neighbors or colleagues that. you will see right uh over Christmas it.

was sort of a way to say like hi I don't. live near you and we aren't in like. regular touch so here's our family um. but that certainly has gone away too. because you can send Christmas cards to. anybody at any not at any time but if. you send them in July that would be. really weird but send them to anybody. you can send them to your next door. neighbor and it's not like they'll think. like well that's weird I see them every. day yeah marily mck says these days it's. not rude to give anyone who celebrates. Christmas a Christmas card even if you.

see that person regularly and I would. argue the people you see regularly are. the ones you would most want to send a. Christmas card to these days because. everybody's so neurotic and. insecure I know I am uh well I mean. would this make you insecure what if you. get a Christmas card every year from us. let's say we were sending them to uh you. and Momo and Yumi and all of a sudden we. didn't I okay I'm just playing a part.

here cuz I actually wouldn't do this I. would come to you and say hey we didn't. get a card this year is everything okay. between us and what would you say in. return as far as marily mck's etiquette. school suggests well I would say I could. say a number of things but one thing I. could say is well you know what my. friend uh money's little tighter this. year we had to cut down and send about. half as many Christmas cards as usual. and I say oh okay I was part of a huge. coling of people I can live with that.

exactly that's supposedly the nice way. if you want to drop someone from your. list is to is to not just drop one. person but if you know you're probably. dropping a lot at once well I think if. you read between the lines marily mck. saying even if you're just dropping one. person tell them they were part of like. half the list that you cut so if. somebody tells you you're part of half. the list now that you hear that you'll. know that there's no telling whether you. are half of the list or not yeah kids. that's called a lie to spare someone's.

feelings and that can be okay that's. right so if you want to cut somebody. from your Christmas card list how do you. go about cutting them Chuck like what. what decisions do you need to make well. uh I mean I guess you wouldn't put their. name on an. envelope okay how would you decide I. think is what I'm trying to say more. specifically well I mean I wouldn't do. that to any senior member of your. extended Network. uh because often times um our our older. friends may be a little lonier and this.

card might really be a big deal for them. yeah marily mcke makes a really great. point that the um some of your older. adult friends or family members probably. aren't on social media or there's a good. chance they're not so getting a. Christmas card in the mail is a big deal. to them yeah and they're probably don't. have they probably don't have email so. they're not going to get a e-card so not. only do you want to keep the older. people on your list you also want to add. in their Christmas card like an extra. special note maybe a Christmas drawing.

from your kid um because it it is going. to mean a lot more to them than your you. know 40-year-old go go go single. childless executive brother is going to. it's going to mean to. him uh you maybe you know maybe if. someone doesn't send you a Christmas. card uh and not as like a Revenge but if. you're just looking to cut back on the. number uh maybe you don't want to do it. to the people who like every single year. they send you one but you could do it as.

Revenge too I mean that works sure I. guess there are no rules uh yeah so I. mean that's there's there's some if. somebody stops or if you sent somebody a. card also and they don't send you a card. in return for two years in a row they're. off they're done dead to you for sure. you don't even talk to them when you see. them during the rest of the year yeah. because that's the thing that people. don't realize is when you take someone. off your Christmas card list you're not. allowed to talk to them any longer so.

really you need to decide pretty pretty. um you really need to give it some. thought I guess is what I'm saying do. you want this person out of your life. forever yeah. absolutely uh and you said earlier. something very key that um you can send. a Christmas card uh to anybody these. days who celebrates Christmas and that. is very key because uh unless you know. that you're uh Jewish or Muslim friends. really enjoy the Christmas card thing.

then probably don't send them a. Christmas card maybe a a hi how you. doing it's uh it's winter card sure or. you could send your Jewish friends a. Hanukkah card or your Muslim friends in. uh Idol faer card which is the last day. of Ramadan I'm probably not pronouncing. that correctly yeah would would they. appreciate that or would they be like oh. please I think they would appreciate it. I think most people would maybe you're. cynical Jewish friends or your cynical. Muslim friends might might be like oh. please but I think for the most part.

people be like wow that was really. thoughtful yeah or maybe they think. you're are like just oh I see what. Chuck's doing here right he's he's. buttering me up to hit me up for money. in June something's going on yeah. something's coming so that's it for. Christmas cards and gez Chuck I mean. that's it for the whole holiday episode. isn't it I'm starting to talk slowly. because I don't want it to end I know. and you know what I am little worried. about next year because the uh the. Christmas Reservoir is genuinely getting.

thin well we'll have to send um a an. alert out to our Christmas idea helper. elves Robert Paulson and Alex stock who. usually send us ideas they need to step. it up for this year Robert S us one this. year which one did he send did we use it. I didn't see one from him no oh I may. have used it oh let me look while you. wind things down with Glad Tidings oh. okay well everybody while Chuck does. that I want to say from all of us it's. stuff you should know from Chuck and me.

from Jerry from Dave from Ben from. everybody who's ever been involved with. stuff you should know we wish you the. happiest of holidays the merriest of. Christmases the happiest of Hanukkah the. happiest of everything we hope this is a. wonderful season of plaid Tidings Joy. super boozy eggnog and just good. in general even just for a few days. around the Christmas time so thank you.

very much for joining us and sitting. with us hopefully this sets you off on. the greatest Christmas ever boy that's. you did a great job killing time thanks. man that seemed genuine uh we actually. did not use Robert suggestion this year. so we have one uh in The Hip Pocket for. next year I'm not even going to say what. it is cuz it's a pretty good one good. well I have a list too I'll send you if. you're really low check it twice I will. and I know that you're nice so you will. get that list happy holidays everybody. we love you yeah we love you guys thank.

you so much for listening and we'll see. you uh next. [Music]. [Applause]. [Music]. year. stuff you should know is a production of. iHeart radio for more podcasts iHeart. Radio visit the iHeart Radio app Apple.

podcasts or wherever you listen to your. favorite. [Music]. shows.