November 28, 2025 • 12 mins
On this episode of “Tommy Talk,” Tommy dives into why the Christmas season truly is the most wonderful time of the year. From the twinkling lights and nostalgic scents to the feeling of togetherness and the traditions that bring back the youthful wonder we felt growing up, this time of year wraps us in one big, cozy flannel blanket. Whether you’re a lifelong Christmas enthusiast or simply looking to rediscover the magic of the season, this episode is for you. Happy holidays, and Merry Christmas, my friends.
Executive Producers: iHeart Media and Elvis Duran Podcast Network
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey guys, and welcome to Tommy Talk. And today's festive
episode is we need to talk about Christmas because is
it the best time of the year. What do you
guys think. Let's unpack this a little bit. I love
the Christmas season. I feel like when Halloween passes, I
am ready. It's like, come on, decorations out tree goes
(00:23):
up the following weekend. Let's enjoy the season because one
month December alone it's not enough. It is not enough
to celebrate Christmas. I need two months of Christmas because
that is how much I enjoy the holiday season. I
gravitate towards festive quite a bit, like, for example, when
we go away in the wintertime, I quite often want
(00:44):
to feel like I am in a Christmas holiday Hallmark movie.
I really do. So. Last year we went to Park City,
and the reason why I chose park City is because
I wanted to feel the festive vibes. We went in
December and we did things like dogs slag through the
amazing snowy mountains, which was just unreal. And these dogs
(01:05):
love it. They love to run. It's their favorite thing
to do in the world. And it was like being
with a pack of wild wolves. It was so enchanting
and magical. On that same trip, we did a sleigh ride.
We did a horse and carriage ride through these beautiful
Christmas light displays on a cold winter night, with buffalo
(01:26):
checkered blankets over us and hot cocoa maybe spiked with
a little bit of whiskey to warm us up. But
it was so magical and so fun. We walked around
the cozy town that was all lit up so beautifully,
there were light snowfalls. We want snow tubing like this
to me is quintessential holiday fun. I'm beaming thinking about
(01:48):
it because it is so magical to have a trip
like that, and I don't want a trip like that
anytime of a year besides a holiday season. So I
think that that's something a lot of people gravitate towards.
It's feeling like they're living these little holiday Hallmark movie
dreams out because why not. Why not? It feels magical,
And if we can find a little magic in everyday life,
(02:09):
I think it's really important. I think we need to
find the magic in everyday life, and the holidays gives
you an excuse to do that. During the year, we're
in our cycle of busy. There's work, there's family stuff,
there's friends stuff, there's personal stuff. Life happens, so you
don't always feel like you have the permission to stop
or slow down to enjoy magic, which we should do.
I'm trying to work on that more during the year.
(02:30):
But the holiday season it's welcomed, it's expected. It's like, no, no,
you will stop and enjoy the magic of this season.
And for that, I think that is one of the
most unbelievable things. It brings out also the sense of
our inner kid. And I don't know who doesn't like
to feel like they're inner kid once in a while. Again,
we don't allow ourselves to always feel that, but at
(02:52):
Christmas time, memories come back. They flog you. You think
about things that just remind you of simpler times, whether
it's a scent or a tradition or song. I mean,
there's so many things that trigger those memories that kind
of make you stop in your track and say, oh
my god. I feel the sense of warmth and coziness,
(03:15):
and I like it. I like feeling that I don't
always get to feel that. I want to hold onto
this moment a little longer because it is so nice
and it feels so special. So I think feeling like
our inner kid is such a wonderful thing. I love nostalgia.
If you've seen Inside Out too, there's a character called Nostalgia.
Who's this little old granny woman who pops in and
out of the movie like I don't know, four dimes
(03:35):
and Geoe and I joke that that's me. That is me.
I love nostalgia. I love memories. I don't live in
the past, but I like to reflect on the past,
and I just hold on to memories. So I love
that Christmas time does bring out the nostalgia. And whether
it's you know, smelling the fresh pine that brings you
back to a memory that makes you feel so special
(03:58):
and uplifted, or the food that comes out during the holidays,
or the fresh cookies. Oh my god, my aunt bakes
the most amazing cookies at Christmas time. In Italian rocatto cookie,
if you know, you know, makes me forever think of
Christmas and nostalgia. And if I don't have that during
the holiday season, I feel so off, like my equilibrium
(04:19):
is off. I need to have an Italian ricotta cookie
every single Christmas. And I'm sure there's some sort of
treat or dessert that you need to have every single Christmas.
But that's my baby. If I don't have that Italian
Ricotta cookie, I feel like the holidays are done, they're canceled.
They mean so much to me and it's just a cookie.
But my aunt pours so much love into that, and
it reflects the time in my life where it was
(04:40):
all about family gathering and being together and when we
were all living near each other, and it's just beautiful.
It really brings out those beautiful memories, and I think
that's something you can't put a price tag on. You
really can't. I absolutely love those memories. I like the
feeling of togetherness. I think the holidays definitely promote that,
and you make more dinner plans, or you try to
(05:02):
see people you haven't seen, You go out of your
way to do that, which we don't always get to
do during the year. So I love feeling like we're
part of something bigger than just us, and it really
promotes bringing everybody together. I think traditions also make us
feel really grounded. There's a sense of stability in them,
whatever it is, however big or small it may seem.
(05:22):
When you get to relive that tradition. Oh, it just
kind of brings your feet back on the earth and
makes you feel like, wow, I can breathe, I can
feel safe, I can feel comfortable, I can feel like
I can stop for a minute. And that, to me
is why tradition is so valuable. And I like that
you can make your own traditions. When I got married,
(05:43):
when I got together with Geo, we formed our own
traditions that are beautiful, that mean a lot to me,
and I think forming your own are really important. Maybe
you didn't get the traditions you wanted as you were
growing up. You can now make your own, and that's
as beautiful about the holidays. As you start creating things
for just you as well, so you can and hold
onto things from your past that you want to cherish.
You can also let go of things you want to
(06:05):
let go, and you can move on to start your
own tradition. So I love the ability to start fresh
and do something that makes you feel fulfilled and like
your cup is full. That's a really beautiful thing. People
are also more generous. They're more giving during the holidays,
which that makes us all feel good. And I don't
(06:25):
just mean with presents, because it's not about presence, but
more so doing for others. Right, Maybe it's volunteering, maybe
it's making a meal for somebody or a family that's sick.
It just encourages you to think about others in a
way that perhaps sometimes gets forgotten during the busyness and
chaos of a year. So I love that it promotes that.
(06:45):
I think that's a really important thing. And the world
seems to slow down during the holiday season. I feel
like my industry starts shutting down mid December, like people
are kind of clocked out, and the holidays give you
were chance to regroup. It gives you permission to slow
down and find your sense of peace and be a
(07:06):
little bit more grounded and still without feeling the pressures
of work or society or everything all the time. Yes
we still are busy during the holidays, and yes we work.
There's a lot going on. I have a background in retail.
I worked retail all throughout the holidays for a large
portion of my upbringing in my career, and that never stopped.
I mean that was I was working holidays and stored,
(07:27):
visiting stores, all of it. But even so, being with
friends and being with community it felt special, felt special,
there was something nice about it, and going out afterwards
and being in this altogether, like I said, that we're togetherness.
It's something that I feel like has so much value
during the holiday season, and it just this is going
(07:47):
to sound really cheesy, but if you know anything about me,
you know I'm kind of a cheese ball when it
comes to the holidays, and I feel like my life
is a want to be a Hallmark holiday movie. Lights
everywhere on Christmas, trees, on billings, on reads, I mean
everywhere you look. It's the season of lights. There's something
about it that brings hope. Yes, it's getting dark at
(08:07):
four forty five pm in New York City, which I
absolutely can't stand. But during the holidays, everything is lit
up in the most beautiful, beautiful way. And when I
look at it, when I look around at all of it,
even at my tree, there's something so hopeful about it.
I don't know. I don't know why. Obviously light always
means something positive and bright and hopeful, but when I
(08:29):
see it everywhere, it just can't it just can't help
but make you feel hopeful. So the magic that the
season naturally gives you is something that I think makes
this time of year absolutely beautiful, and I love that
you have permission to kind of be campy. You can
(08:50):
wear fun, wacky sweaters and it's cool and looked at
as fun. You can have fun themed parties, you can
decorate like crazy, you can make things that you don't
make during year. It's just a time to be a
little out there and fun and campy, and I love that.
I love that for the holiday season. I think it's
so valuable. And I don't know about you, but another
thing I really love. I grew up with the Peanuts, right, So,
(09:14):
I mean there were before my time, obviously, but they
were always on TV, and I think on Apple TV
now you can watch all the holiday specials and I
love doing things like that. Do you guys remember the
Clay animation movies that were on TV? Again, they were
before my time, but my parents would watch them and
I grew up watching them. So when I see them now,
I also smile. And that's that piece of nostalgia again
(09:34):
and reliving a little childhood memory that I think is
so much fun. And I just I personally think Christmas
into the New Year is a time for you to
really reflect on what you want in life. And I'm
going to talk about New Year's and how I view
resolutions in another episode as it gets closer to that holiday.
But I think it's a really nice time for you
(09:57):
to take inventory of how you're doing, how is your mind,
how is your body, how is your spirit? Because we
do neglect that throughout the year, and I always preaching
importance of not neglecting that because we deserve to feel
our best. But we're all human, we fall into patterns sometimes.
So I think that it's a time of year where
you can start really tapping into you and yourself and
(10:18):
what you want, especially that week between Christmas and the
New Year. And that's so valuable because self care. If
you know anything about me, you know I love self
care and promoting self care because we have one life
to live, we have one body, we have one soul,
one spirit, all of it. So let's make sure we're
being as good to all of that as we can be.
And also let's also here's the other thing. Let's not
(10:41):
just be good people during the holidays, Let's be good
people all year. So let's carry in the values from
the holiday season into everyday life. I think that's a
great reminder of the holidays as well. But yeah, looking
around and seeing all the joy everywhere, it just makes
me so happy. In New York, there's brown Stones that
decorate beautifully for the holiday season, So I love walking
(11:04):
around and seeing the Brownstones. I love going to little,
fun pop up Christmas celebrations in the city. Ice skating,
even if I don't ice skate, which I haven't done
in a while and I'm determined to do it. I
love watching the ice skaters. I just love the action
of the holiday season, like so many of you do
as well. So is Christmas the best time of the year?
You know what it is? It absolutely is. It is
(11:26):
the best time of the year for all the reasons
that I mentioned. So enjoy every single moment of this
holiday season and just extend it as long as you want.
If you're like I want my tree up till mid
January or end of January, you do it. Whatever brings
you joy, you do it. I get it. I get it.
I am a Christmas fanatic, a holiday fanatic. I have
no judgment for people's traditions or how they want to
(11:48):
extend this celebration of the season or not. Do what
makes you happy and soak every second in. Really make
this the holiday season that you want it to be,
that you really want it to be, because you deserve that.
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
(12:11):
and by Me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy Dedario
Hey guys, and welcome to Tommy Talk. And today's festive
episode is we need to talk about Christmas because is
it the best time of the year. What do you
guys think. Let's unpack this a little bit. I love
the Christmas season. I feel like when Halloween passes, I
am ready. It's like, come on, decorations out tree goes
(00:23):
up the following weekend. Let's enjoy the season because one
month December alone it's not enough. It is not enough
to celebrate Christmas. I need two months of Christmas because
that is how much I enjoy the holiday season. I
gravitate towards festive quite a bit, like, for example, when
we go away in the wintertime, I quite often want
(00:44):
to feel like I am in a Christmas holiday Hallmark movie.
I really do. So. Last year we went to Park City,
and the reason why I chose park City is because
I wanted to feel the festive vibes. We went in
December and we did things like dogs slag through the
amazing snowy mountains, which was just unreal. And these dogs
(01:05):
love it. They love to run. It's their favorite thing
to do in the world. And it was like being
with a pack of wild wolves. It was so enchanting
and magical. On that same trip, we did a sleigh ride.
We did a horse and carriage ride through these beautiful
Christmas light displays on a cold winter night, with buffalo
(01:26):
checkered blankets over us and hot cocoa maybe spiked with
a little bit of whiskey to warm us up. But
it was so magical and so fun. We walked around
the cozy town that was all lit up so beautifully,
there were light snowfalls. We want snow tubing like this
to me is quintessential holiday fun. I'm beaming thinking about
(01:48):
it because it is so magical to have a trip
like that, and I don't want a trip like that
anytime of a year besides a holiday season. So I
think that that's something a lot of people gravitate towards.
It's feeling like they're living these little holiday Hallmark movie
dreams out because why not. Why not? It feels magical,
And if we can find a little magic in everyday life,
(02:09):
I think it's really important. I think we need to
find the magic in everyday life, and the holidays gives
you an excuse to do that. During the year, we're
in our cycle of busy. There's work, there's family stuff,
there's friends stuff, there's personal stuff. Life happens, so you
don't always feel like you have the permission to stop
or slow down to enjoy magic, which we should do.
I'm trying to work on that more during the year.
(02:30):
But the holiday season it's welcomed, it's expected. It's like, no, no,
you will stop and enjoy the magic of this season.
And for that, I think that is one of the
most unbelievable things. It brings out also the sense of
our inner kid. And I don't know who doesn't like
to feel like they're inner kid once in a while. Again,
we don't allow ourselves to always feel that, but at
(02:52):
Christmas time, memories come back. They flog you. You think
about things that just remind you of simpler times, whether
it's a scent or a tradition or song. I mean,
there's so many things that trigger those memories that kind
of make you stop in your track and say, oh
my god. I feel the sense of warmth and coziness,
(03:15):
and I like it. I like feeling that I don't
always get to feel that. I want to hold onto
this moment a little longer because it is so nice
and it feels so special. So I think feeling like
our inner kid is such a wonderful thing. I love nostalgia.
If you've seen Inside Out too, there's a character called Nostalgia.
Who's this little old granny woman who pops in and
out of the movie like I don't know, four dimes
(03:35):
and Geoe and I joke that that's me. That is me.
I love nostalgia. I love memories. I don't live in
the past, but I like to reflect on the past,
and I just hold on to memories. So I love
that Christmas time does bring out the nostalgia. And whether
it's you know, smelling the fresh pine that brings you
back to a memory that makes you feel so special
(03:58):
and uplifted, or the food that comes out during the holidays,
or the fresh cookies. Oh my god, my aunt bakes
the most amazing cookies at Christmas time. In Italian rocatto cookie,
if you know, you know, makes me forever think of
Christmas and nostalgia. And if I don't have that during
the holiday season, I feel so off, like my equilibrium
(04:19):
is off. I need to have an Italian ricotta cookie
every single Christmas. And I'm sure there's some sort of
treat or dessert that you need to have every single Christmas.
But that's my baby. If I don't have that Italian
Ricotta cookie, I feel like the holidays are done, they're canceled.
They mean so much to me and it's just a cookie.
But my aunt pours so much love into that, and
it reflects the time in my life where it was
(04:40):
all about family gathering and being together and when we
were all living near each other, and it's just beautiful.
It really brings out those beautiful memories, and I think
that's something you can't put a price tag on. You
really can't. I absolutely love those memories. I like the
feeling of togetherness. I think the holidays definitely promote that,
and you make more dinner plans, or you try to
(05:02):
see people you haven't seen, You go out of your
way to do that, which we don't always get to
do during the year. So I love feeling like we're
part of something bigger than just us, and it really
promotes bringing everybody together. I think traditions also make us
feel really grounded. There's a sense of stability in them,
whatever it is, however big or small it may seem.
(05:22):
When you get to relive that tradition. Oh, it just
kind of brings your feet back on the earth and
makes you feel like, wow, I can breathe, I can
feel safe, I can feel comfortable, I can feel like
I can stop for a minute. And that, to me
is why tradition is so valuable. And I like that
you can make your own traditions. When I got married,
(05:43):
when I got together with Geo, we formed our own
traditions that are beautiful, that mean a lot to me,
and I think forming your own are really important. Maybe
you didn't get the traditions you wanted as you were
growing up. You can now make your own, and that's
as beautiful about the holidays. As you start creating things
for just you as well, so you can and hold
onto things from your past that you want to cherish.
You can also let go of things you want to
(06:05):
let go, and you can move on to start your
own tradition. So I love the ability to start fresh
and do something that makes you feel fulfilled and like
your cup is full. That's a really beautiful thing. People
are also more generous. They're more giving during the holidays,
which that makes us all feel good. And I don't
(06:25):
just mean with presents, because it's not about presence, but
more so doing for others. Right, Maybe it's volunteering, maybe
it's making a meal for somebody or a family that's sick.
It just encourages you to think about others in a
way that perhaps sometimes gets forgotten during the busyness and
chaos of a year. So I love that it promotes that.
(06:45):
I think that's a really important thing. And the world
seems to slow down during the holiday season. I feel
like my industry starts shutting down mid December, like people
are kind of clocked out, and the holidays give you
were chance to regroup. It gives you permission to slow
down and find your sense of peace and be a
(07:06):
little bit more grounded and still without feeling the pressures
of work or society or everything all the time. Yes
we still are busy during the holidays, and yes we work.
There's a lot going on. I have a background in retail.
I worked retail all throughout the holidays for a large
portion of my upbringing in my career, and that never stopped.
I mean that was I was working holidays and stored,
(07:27):
visiting stores, all of it. But even so, being with
friends and being with community it felt special, felt special,
there was something nice about it, and going out afterwards
and being in this altogether, like I said, that we're togetherness.
It's something that I feel like has so much value
during the holiday season, and it just this is going
(07:47):
to sound really cheesy, but if you know anything about me,
you know I'm kind of a cheese ball when it
comes to the holidays, and I feel like my life
is a want to be a Hallmark holiday movie. Lights
everywhere on Christmas, trees, on billings, on reads, I mean
everywhere you look. It's the season of lights. There's something
about it that brings hope. Yes, it's getting dark at
(08:07):
four forty five pm in New York City, which I
absolutely can't stand. But during the holidays, everything is lit
up in the most beautiful, beautiful way. And when I
look at it, when I look around at all of it,
even at my tree, there's something so hopeful about it.
I don't know. I don't know why. Obviously light always
means something positive and bright and hopeful, but when I
(08:29):
see it everywhere, it just can't it just can't help
but make you feel hopeful. So the magic that the
season naturally gives you is something that I think makes
this time of year absolutely beautiful, and I love that
you have permission to kind of be campy. You can
(08:50):
wear fun, wacky sweaters and it's cool and looked at
as fun. You can have fun themed parties, you can
decorate like crazy, you can make things that you don't
make during year. It's just a time to be a
little out there and fun and campy, and I love that.
I love that for the holiday season. I think it's
so valuable. And I don't know about you, but another
thing I really love. I grew up with the Peanuts, right, So,
(09:14):
I mean there were before my time, obviously, but they
were always on TV, and I think on Apple TV
now you can watch all the holiday specials and I
love doing things like that. Do you guys remember the
Clay animation movies that were on TV? Again, they were
before my time, but my parents would watch them and
I grew up watching them. So when I see them now,
I also smile. And that's that piece of nostalgia again
(09:34):
and reliving a little childhood memory that I think is
so much fun. And I just I personally think Christmas
into the New Year is a time for you to
really reflect on what you want in life. And I'm
going to talk about New Year's and how I view
resolutions in another episode as it gets closer to that holiday.
But I think it's a really nice time for you
(09:57):
to take inventory of how you're doing, how is your mind,
how is your body, how is your spirit? Because we
do neglect that throughout the year, and I always preaching
importance of not neglecting that because we deserve to feel
our best. But we're all human, we fall into patterns sometimes.
So I think that it's a time of year where
you can start really tapping into you and yourself and
(10:18):
what you want, especially that week between Christmas and the
New Year. And that's so valuable because self care. If
you know anything about me, you know I love self
care and promoting self care because we have one life
to live, we have one body, we have one soul,
one spirit, all of it. So let's make sure we're
being as good to all of that as we can be.
And also let's also here's the other thing. Let's not
(10:41):
just be good people during the holidays, Let's be good
people all year. So let's carry in the values from
the holiday season into everyday life. I think that's a
great reminder of the holidays as well. But yeah, looking
around and seeing all the joy everywhere, it just makes
me so happy. In New York, there's brown Stones that
decorate beautifully for the holiday season, So I love walking
(11:04):
around and seeing the Brownstones. I love going to little,
fun pop up Christmas celebrations in the city. Ice skating,
even if I don't ice skate, which I haven't done
in a while and I'm determined to do it. I
love watching the ice skaters. I just love the action
of the holiday season, like so many of you do
as well. So is Christmas the best time of the year?
You know what it is? It absolutely is. It is
(11:26):
the best time of the year for all the reasons
that I mentioned. So enjoy every single moment of this
holiday season and just extend it as long as you want.
If you're like I want my tree up till mid
January or end of January, you do it. Whatever brings
you joy, you do it. I get it. I get it.
I am a Christmas fanatic, a holiday fanatic. I have
no judgment for people's traditions or how they want to
(11:48):
extend this celebration of the season or not. Do what
makes you happy and soak every second in. Really make
this the holiday season that you want it to be,
that you really want it to be, because you deserve that.
I've Never Said This Before is hosted by Me Tommy Dedario.
This podcast is executive produced by Andrew Puglisi at iHeartRadio
(12:11):
and by Me Tommy, with editing by Joshua Colaudney. I've
Never Said This Before is part of the Elvis Duran
podcast Network on iHeart Podcasts. For more, rate review and
subscribe to our show and if you liked this episode,
tell your friends. Until next time, I'm Tommy Dedario
Host
Tommy DiDario
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