November 21, 2024 • 34 mins
The Holidays are on the horizon and Stephanie and Melissa are READY…kind of. Decor? They have a plan for that. Food? We have some restaurants on speed dial. Best Christmas movies? Well, this one’s slightly a point of contention. Though they do agree on *that* leg lamp being cool. This week on More Better, we’re talking about how to prepare for holidays in a way that protects the magic of the season and, equally as important, your *peace*.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hete listeners. We are going to talk about the holidays.
So if you have little people in your car that
knows stand to personally or write hind letters, this might
be one that you want to skip. Yeah, More, more, better,
more letter.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
More, a little more better more. Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to More Better, a podcast where we stop pretending
to have it all together and embrace the journey of
becoming a little more better every day, or at least
trying to. That's most of the Meryl and that's Stephanie
Beatrice and here we are. Welcome back. What's going on? Man,
you know, man about to leave? Just live in life
and just in that. Uh. But I'm I'm more better
(00:51):
at this time than pet times in the past. Okay,
okay of keeping myself organized mm hmmm hmm. And I
I've got all my packing pretty much done. Cool, cool,
so that I can enjoy the weekend with the family
and not spend all of Saturday and Sunday packing and
stressed out and overwhelmed. I love it. I wanted to
(01:14):
be really intentional about that because I'm not gonna see
them for three weeks, and I didn't want the last
two days, like the last weekend, to be that Yeah,
that's organized. I was like, very on my shit, Oh
my god, sure, I blocked out time to get the
rest of my packing done. Let me tell you something. Okay,
(01:35):
speaking of packing, when I told Brad this afternoon that
I had to I was reminded him, well, I have
to record at five. He got this look, blanched, he
had this look on his fees and I was like,
I already packed all your recording stuff. And I was like, oh,
so I started drafting an email to you and everyone
else on the team and I was like, hey, so
(01:55):
I can't record today. And then as I was writing it,
I was like, I can't do this. Her like he
has to find he has to find it, like he
has and he did. He figured out what box it
was in, pulled it all out, set it all up,
and I was like, delete email. If I have to
record on that weekend, she's gonna be fuck, She'll do it.
(02:17):
She'll be first. I would have done, and I would
have been pissed. Yeah, I would have been. Yeah, there's
still a tag on my sweater. I just want to
so I'm getting more better at not taking the tags
off my clothes. Wow, it's a cute sweater though, thank you.
It's very cute. It's like very I think it's like
a Marino wool blend and it looks like vintagey like, yeah,
(02:38):
it does. The sleeves are kind of this like belt
not like it's like Dolman. I don't know what that's
exactly right, but I don't you're asking the wrong person
and more better. Today's pod is about one of my
favorite topics in the whole Wide World and slash universe,
(03:02):
getting ready for the holidays. The holiday season is my
favorite time of year. It's the most wonderful time of year.
Some people would say some people would say that, what
do you think We can't we can't afford that. No,
we can't. Don't do that. Cut Okay. I do love
the holidays. I really love the holidays. I also sometimes
get a little too stressed about them. Ah, yes, well
(03:25):
you're not unlike what is it like? Forty percent of
people go, yeah, I think we have like a yes
here it is from the American Psychological Association. Forty one
percent of people surveyed said that their stress increases during
the holiday season. The APA also found that thirty six
percent of people said the holidays feel like a competition.
Oh no, I don't like that. I don't like that.
(03:46):
This is specifically we're talking about, like preparing for the holidays.
So I think that that's a good thing to talk about,
like the feeling of getting stressed or the feeling like
it's a competition. Yeah, how can we How do you
actively avoid those things? What sort of happens when that
starts happening to you? When do you start prepping, like
holiday prepping? Like when do you start like doing or
(04:08):
do you holiday prep? Do you prep at all? I
do fly about the seat of my pants because no,
because I've learned in the past, especially since I've had kids,
there have been years where I didn't plan enough or
prepare enough, and then everything was a fucking shit show
the night before and I got sorry, allowed to dressed
(04:32):
and overwhelmed, and I was and I just was like,
I can't do it like this anymore. I I for me,
do you mean like specifically, like food, Like what do
you when you say like everything was ready? Yes, like
food not coming together or like missing things or like
(04:53):
just it being like you know, two days before and
the store doesn't have shit, they're already sold out. Everybody
like was more prepared than you, And then you're like,
what the fuck is my backup plan? And then you're
stressed and you're like everyone's gonna hate my Thanksgiving and
regret saying yes to coming to our house, or like,
you know, it's Christmas Eve and maybe we've had a
(05:16):
lovely Christmas Eve, but now I'm wrapping fucking presence until
he d never again. That was one Christmas and I
was last year. I'm so mad at myself for doing it,
And because then what do we do tiredesday? And how
do you what do you do? Like this is a
good rap, it's a good one. You wrap them when
(05:37):
they arrive. So when they arrived presents, where do you
we hide that ship? Everywhere we have, uh, we have
like a little storage place next to our garage is
kind of like a room with shelving. A lot of
them go in there and we lock the door. I
was gonna say, how do you keep them out? The
(05:57):
kids don't really go in there, especially in the winter
because like the bikes are in there, so like it's
more of a place in the summer that they go
into for like bikes and pool toys or whatever. But
in the winter they kind of don't look in there.
We also have cabinets in our garage that they don't
really go into that we or like high cabinets up
(06:18):
high places. And then we have those like uh closets
that you see a lot in California houses where it's
like the storage on top of the closet. Uh huh yeah,
like the little doors. Yeah, we put we throw shit
up there too because they can't reach up there, so
we go for like up high places. Okay, sometimes under bed,
(06:39):
but under bed is like always risky, tricky, yeah, risky. Yeah.
Because I used to like pop the tape off the
side and like slide the package out and open it,
slide it back. That's how I read all of Anne
of Green Gables before Christmas, Oh my god, because I
opened it, split it out. I would read like during
the day and then I would slide it back in,
you know. And I feel like I should ask my
(07:00):
mom where she used to hide our Christmas presents because
I could never find where my mom hid our Christmas
hand you should were really fucking good at hiding our
Christmas presents. Fucking pissed, yes, if she would get so
fucking pissed. And now and now that I'm a parent,
I'm like, I don't know if I would get mad
or if I'd just be like, oh, it's such a
(07:21):
bummer for you. It be a surprise. Yeah, I little kids.
I still believe in Santa. So they're also not really
looking yet. M hmm, do you know what I mean? Like,
I do know what you mean? Like, and so is
this is probably makes me so sad. This is probably
his last year believing in Santa.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, it's like right on the ver It's like right
on the verge, more better, more better.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
So yeah, he's not really looking. He just kind of
I mean we sort of tell him, you know that
there's like bigger things we you know, me and Papa
buy you the bigger things or whatever ever like kind
of do that. But yeah, they're not really looking yet.
So but yes, uh but we started this tangent on
Uh oh, so it's all over the place, but I
(08:10):
love it. It's all over the place. But I try to,
you know, because now it's like mostly online shopping for
the gifts that we do. So when the boxes arrive, uh,
we might hide the box at first, but then we
try to like wrap things right away smart so that
that's it, just like in the box. Well, yeah, no,
I get rat first. Sometimes we keep the boxes because
(08:33):
the box is being useful for hiding things. Yeah, but
I just try to wrap it and then hide it.
And yeah, yeah, okay, this is good advice. You know,
my mom does this thing that I work and hate,
and she still does it. She is a bag person.
She loves a bag with tissues the oh, and I
(08:56):
because of that, I grew up like our like desiring
real wrapped presence with foes and ribbon and stuff. So
it is it's way more fun to unwrap something, I
think than to have some like tissue on the top
of a bag. So but because of that, I'm like,
(09:16):
I'm searching all Like I'm not even kidding you. I
have like four or five rolls of Christmas paper in
my laundry room right now that I've bought over the
course of the year that are just waiting. Because I
love wrapping presents. I like, I love the like experience
of it. The problem is that in the past, I,
you know, I'm new to having a kid, so like
I just never had as much like stuff stuff to wrap.
(09:38):
So that's good advice about wrapping them. Kind of as
they come in and then hiding them. I think I'm
gonna have to hide them in the attic or something.
But luckily it's pretty cold that that time. They're in California.
The thingk's gonna overheat or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
and so yeah, like I said, especially like for littler things,
if you just save one of those Amazon boxes and yeah,
keep that get things and then put that like at
(09:59):
the top of a closet. Thing, he just looks like
an Amazon box, like yeah right, They're not gonna be
like what's in there? Like yeah right, yes, that's good,
that's good. I put the tree up on the if
I was allowed to. I mean not that my listen,
it's a partnership, my relationship as a partnership. However, however,
(10:24):
not unlike the way that I don't want to hear
the football game on every speaker throughout the house, he
doesn't want to see the Christmas tree on November first.
So there's a negotiation, a compromise that takes place. Christmas
tree goes up on the day after Thanksgiving. When does
yours go up? Same m Yeah yeah, this year, however,
(10:46):
I will be away, So I have instructed my eight
year old to as soon as they get home from
their Thanksgiving trip, he needs to start bothering his father
to get a Christmas tree. Nice? Nice? Would you guys
get a real one? Yes? Wow? Does it last just
last holiday season? Oh my god? I always kill my
(11:08):
real ones? I always really, Yes, they dry the fuck out.
There's well, you got a water, o girl. I have
too many of these things going on, But you just
have to water. I'm like, every four I listen to me,
I'm saying this, And if my husband was here right now,
he'd be giving me such a like, because you have to.
He's the one, He's the one that remembers to water them.
(11:28):
I mean they do get a little dry by Christmas,
but I mean it's fine. A great dry Christmas tree
still like holds up all the ornaments. You know it works.
Do you have a I have a fake Christmas tree
because I love putting it up and not worrying about it. Yeah.
I When I was a kid, I had these. We
had this set of Christmas lights. If anybody could help
(11:50):
me find these Christmas lights, I would be so grateful.
They had a little box attached to them, and it
was music that would play oh, like different Christmas songs,
but just like a few bars of each Christmas song
and then it would switch to the next and the
lights would flash to the Christmas songs Breakin loved them
when I was a kid. I would like spend I'm
(12:12):
not even kidding you, probably like I could spend a
good hour like looking at the tree, looking at the ornaments,
like hanging them in a certain way, like making sure
like the light was coming out through the back of them.
Like I just fucking obsessed about the tree for Christmas.
And I'm still the same way. Like I love I
love putting the ornaments on it. I love taking everything
out of their little boxes and rappers like I have
(12:34):
all sorts of I have way too many for one tree.
I have two trees now I might have a third
tree maybe at some point. I have the Christmas leg lamp.
You know what I'm talking about? Oh, yes, yes, oh yeah,
I have that lamp. Oh my god. It lives in
a permanent spot in our house now, in the basement.
Because last year I was like, yeah, no, I really
love the slamp. Can we just leave it out all
year round? Yeah? But I was like Charlotte's leaving in
(12:57):
the basement. I decorate as much as I can with
real greenery. But this year I bought these like really
pretty I think they're Dutch because we're in Canada, so
there's like all sorts of cool new stuff to bring with.
And we bought these really pretty paper chains that I'm
gonna make with my sister and hang those everywhere so
we don't get meals everywhere. So we're gonna do that
(13:19):
like watching Christmas movies, like you know, just like with
a little glu stick or whatever. We get it out
of the way. What about do you usually host Thanksgiving
or do you Hell, the idea of cooking for more
than myself and bread and maybe rads is so incredibly
like hell no, like no, why would I ever reject
(13:43):
anyone to this. This is not this is not my forte.
Like I'm not gonna do it to prove something to myself,
you know what I mean? Like Matietuca, she lives in
Sun Valley and my cousins live in Lacrecenta Andantros and stuff,
and so we got Thetuka's house every year for Thanksgiving,
and sometimes we have the traditional stuff and sometimes we
(14:04):
have more like Bolivian food. Yeah, same at Christmas, Like
Christmas is usually like Bolivian food, like there's a lot
of yeah, same Christmas. Eve was always like yeah, I
mean we've talked about it, No chu wanna just being
like very a big deal in our culture. But yeah,
growing up, Thanksgiving was hilarious because my parents didn't you know,
my parents came when they were teenagers, so they didn't
(14:25):
grow up obviously with Thanksgiving, and so they every year
it was just sort of like, uh, we're going here
this year. It was so made up for like other
people's houses and stuff, wherever they were, wherever they were invited. Yeah,
and then I think we basically asked to We hosted
a few times, but every year it was just I
(14:46):
didn't grow up with Thanksgiving feeling like a big deal
holiday at all, because every year my parents were just like,
I don't know, yeah, we're going They invited us, so
we're gonna we're gonna go over here, and I'd be like,
who's that and they'd be like, you know, there's some friends,
you know, so he goes in through my mie, you know,
Like all right, yeah, oh god, that was actually really
(15:08):
now that you say it, that that I just connected
something for myself. I think I try to make the
holidays really fun and nice and calm on my house
because I hated when I was a kid being dragged
to parties and stuff that I didn't know anybody, and
I'd be like upstairs looking for a book and kind
of stressed out because I didn't know any of the kids.
(15:29):
And I have a hard I had a hard time
making friends when I was a kid. So now I
make the party come to me. Yeah, we have an
annual holiday party. Have you been to it yet? I
think every time we're here, I'm out here. It's really
not saying one this year, so no problem. But we
usually have like and we Brad and I plan for it,
(15:51):
Like we have a plan of like what we're gonna
do for food, you're gonna we have like a signature drink.
We usually hire someone to help help with the bartending
we have. You know, I go out and like go
crazy for paper goods and I have like themed paper goods.
And last year we had VS Tacos come and do
catering for like two hours. I think we had Tacos
(16:13):
in our front yard. It was pretty awesome, Like and
I got that idea actually from Joela Trulio's holiday party
a couple of years back. When you go, yeah, Taco Truck,
they throw great holiday parties too. There's always say so
much free parties. Yes, they really, some people are just
My mom was a gifted hostess too, and I definitely
picked up some stuff from her. I do like hosting,
but I feel like I get more stressed out about
(16:34):
it that my mom did. Like she just was good
at it, you know, and she'll and I do like
hosting Thanksgiving. I like hosting Christmas. I like doing the
cooking so long as I am on top of my prep.
The prep is everything, the prep no long as I
make notes and lists and I buy my shit on time.
(16:55):
See that's the thing that the phone is so helpful for.
The notes app is a lifesaver, like making yourself notes,
making yourself a list where like you check things off.
Sharing the list I think is really helpful too, because
then you know, I started doing that a lot lately. Yeah,
you're not double buying, You're not like everybody knows what's
(17:15):
going on. You know, Oh, what are you getting robs
for Christmas? Like, well, she's already getting these things, so
like keys, don't buy her anymore stuff like that, like
she doesn't need it or whatever, you know, Like, uh,
I think the notes apps are so helpful. I think
also keeping in mind like when things need to happen,
like before a party. I'm really yeah about planning because
(17:37):
like so many days before you need to have like
all of the you know, all of the food purchased
and space made in the fridge. So like what are
you gonna do first, Well, you got to clean out
the fridge because like you're gonna need space for the
trays and stuff. You need to pull out the trays.
You need to like, you know, as long as you're
like like you said, as long as you're on top.
I'll write a schedule for myself too. Yeah, like the
(17:57):
timing of things when they need to go in the oven.
I need to write that so hard out because otherwise
I will get distracted. I could cut off and then
I put alarms on my phone to make it better.
That's the thing that's like that is that to me
would be very stressful because what I want to have
happening when I have people over is I want to
(18:18):
have a drink in my hand and my little slippyes
on and no makeup on and I want to just
be like hanging out. I don't want to be thinking
about food I have with Thanksgiving. I feel like Thanksgiving
food is pretty easy because I mean, once the oven
goes in and just the turkey goes in the oven,
it just is there. It's just there, and there's a
lot of shit you can make, like the day before.
(18:39):
That's what I try to do. I try to do
a lot of shit the day before where it's like
finishing in the oven. So I'm not cooking on Thanksgiving,
like I'm maybe making a quick thing or I'm also
or like I'm not trying to make gravy. I'm ordering
fucking gravy. I'm not making cranberry sauce. I'm like an
ordering cranberry sauce and making dessert somebody bringing dessert or
(19:01):
I'm ordering delicious dessert. Like I hear this, So I
like try to simplify it because I do want I
my mom could host and cook and do all the
things and like still have a good time. I cannot.
I have to. I can't be like working too much
while there's a hang going on. Yeah, Like I want
(19:21):
to be able to hang and like I'm also gotten
better about Like last Thanksgiving, my friend my friend's Ricky,
and Monica came over. Monica's grew a great cook, so
I knew in my head. I was like, when Monica
gets here, she's going to finish the green beans for
me while I check on these things in the oven.
(19:43):
And that's exactly as soon as she showed up. She
was like, what do you need me to do? And
I was like, I need you to finish the green
beans and she was like great, and she like read
the recipe and she finished it and it was like
and then it was also fun to like be in
the kitchen with her cooking, like because then that was
a hang so, oh that's cool. I try to like
prepare for those things too, like who can be my helpers?
That that's really cute that I can hang out with.
And also like I'm not doing all this year yeah yeah, yeah,
(20:05):
myself and trying to like be a martyr at my
thea's house. She's like doing it all and she doesn't
want any help. That's how my mom is, so it's
kind of like you can't really And also the way
her kitchen is shaped, it's very like there's a clear
(20:27):
captain of the ship, you know. Yeah, and so you
can't really like get in there and get in the
mix really, right, So you sort of have all the
time in the world in your hands, which is like
kind of nice but also kind of stressful because yeah,
then it's like you don't have an activity other than
like eating cheese and ruining whatever, you know, appetite you
(20:51):
had for the turkey. Right, although this year, I feel
like I want to try to bring some games or
something for the kids to play because like they get bored.
You know. Yes, that would be last year, Yes, that
I didn't have enough activities for my kids, and I
also there weren't any other kids for them to play with. Ye,
(21:13):
so so they were like they were like this is
this sucks? And also a Thanksgiving, did your family like
have the TV on the football game? No? Okay, so
that's what's happening in my thea's house, And that's really
hard because it's the only big TV in the big
center of the room. So like the kids can't like
watch a movie or something like that. You know, it's
(21:34):
like the adult males have commandeered the sorry to put
everybody in a box like this, But that's what's happening
at my Thea's house. Yes, and like everyone's watching the TV.
All the guys are watching sports and like the kids
are bored out of their bourgs. So maybe one of
my goals this year now that we're talking about it,
is to prep some games and stuff for them to
(21:55):
have like activities while the cooking is going on, so
that they're also like not under foot and being like, yeah,
you know what I mean exactly. Yeah, I did the
same thing. Like a couple of new board games. Board games, yeah,
would be good or like new something like new and
fun like or even like a craft sometimes is great,
like yeah, you know or that have you seen that?
(22:16):
It's it's a drinking game. Obviously you can't play the
drinking game part with the kids, but it's like those
little no, I'm just kidding. People do it at Christmas.
I've seen tiktoks. Guys. I did take TikTok off my
phone again, Okay they did. I did not update. Yeah
for the following the TikTok journey. It is back off
the phone. People are so mean about it. They're like,
(22:37):
did you take TikTok? Like, clearly I put it back on.
If I'm uploading a video. Okay, clearly it's on my
let's try to use critical thinking. Come on. So people
will take these like muffin pans or cupcake pans and
fill them with a little rap, tiny little wrapped presence
and then stick like a number on them. I think
(23:00):
that's how it's played. But then you take a ping
pong poll and you try to bounce it into the cup,
into the muffin pan cup, and then whatever's in there
you get to open, and that's your gift. Sometimes it's
like a dollar bill. Sometimes it's like, oh, I love
that's like a little toy or a keychain or something
like something little and small, or like a piece of
candy or something. And yeah, and like people will miss
(23:25):
and then they have to take another turn or whatever.
But I thought that would be cute. The ones that
I've seen is like involving the whole family and then
if you miss, you have to take a drink, right,
which I thought was very clever as well. But may
I'll do that for the whole family so that they
can all play together, and then the guys that are
watching the football game will feel like losers. I like
this plan. Yeah, I like this plan. And if you
(23:46):
want to have something for like when they miss you
could do something like you have to run a lap
or something. You have to run a lap, you have
to do a silly dance or oh I like the dance. Yeah,
oh I love the silly dance. You have to make
up a song about me, yeah, using the words beautiful, talented,
and smart and not in that order. Go Kid's seven eight.
(24:08):
Oh I love I love that. That's really fun. That's
really fun. Yeah. I feel like the magic of the
holidays is like individual specific to everyone. But I think
the thing that makes me feel like the connection to
home and like hunkering down and feeling like we're all together.
(24:33):
You know, this has been a big one for me
because we've traveled for some Christmases and I just came
to the realization where I was like, no one is
going to work as hard as I am to make
the holidays magical for my kids. Yeah, Like it's important
to me. I want to do it. I want them
to have it. I want them to have those memories.
(24:55):
And that just happens the most when we have Christmas
at home and there is It's just something about waking
up in your house on Christmas morning when you're a kid,
and the idea that you know, Sanna was in your
house the night was before, and like all that magic
that is just hard to replicate when you're not in
your house. Yeah, yeah, I can see that. I feel like,
(25:20):
I don't know that I spent a lot of Christmases
away from home when I was little. I definitely have
as an adult a lot me too. Yeah, that's been
my experience as a kid. No, it certainly has been.
You know, for example, the last four months, I've been
on this job and I've been here, and although we're
so lucky to be all together in this lovely house
(25:42):
that we rented, it's not our home. Yeah. And that
mattress isn't my mattress, and that bed's not my bed.
And you know, the other day, Roz said, I can't
wait to go home to my room with all my
pictures on the wall, and I was like, oh, yeah,
her pictures, like all the things that I hung up
for her when she was a baby. You know, she like, yeah,
mbers them and loves them. And there's something about I think,
(26:04):
decorating your own home and I don't know, like the
history of Christmas and stuff although we could probably do
it more better on that, But there's something about like
being home and that the time and the weather changing
and the sort of the wheel of the year being
on this part of like it's cold and the days
are shorter, and you know, the sun's not up as long,
(26:27):
and you want to be inside, you want to hunker down,
you want to like, you know, get that and hold
onto that, you know what I mean, like and hold
on to it, honestly, because like there's there were times
when there wasn't that much abundance during that part of
the year, the year you were eating stuff that like
you'd saved from the harvest and you hoped it got
you through to the spring. Name your top three holiday movies.
(26:51):
Top three go go ooh, ooh ooh, like just holiday
or holiday, any holiday movie that you're you're top three.
Like if I was like, can only watch three this
season and you can watch them on repeat, you can
only watch three? I mean Nightmare four Christmas is a
big one in our house, and I have grown to
really you love it. I love it and Axel loves it.
(27:14):
Oh my gosh, I used to be love actually, but
that film has not dated really problematic but I will
say I do enjoy watching it. I used to watch
it every Christmas. I know, I don't I still do,
I watch it. I do love it. There are parts,
there's some really great parts in it.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But the whole end, it just happens. And the running
through the airport, Yeah yeah, I get you there, I
get you there. Okay, what else? What else? What that
can be? Like a half choice? That could be an
honorable mention, an honorable mention. I don't know why I
(27:53):
can't think of Christmas movies. Oh home alone, love homelan Homel. Yeah.
One to me is yeah, classic, classic, classic, Here's here's
mine Elf number one Elf. I know, yeah, el Elf.
I love Elf to the day I die. It's so
freaking good. It's like the perfect story. What I want
(28:16):
in my career is to do a Christmas movie like
Elf that becomes this like iconic that is on my back.
Plasic film like that would be a dream come true.
Christmas vacation, another iconic Christmas vacation either it's okay, yeah,
it's all right. And then a Christmas story. Christmas story forgot.
(28:44):
I can never get into a Christmas story be completely honest, girl,
I love it too much. I'm sorry here, you sorry, listen,
and not everything's for everyone, you know, some people have
tastes and some people don't. Ah, it's just so sweet
to me. It's so sweet. And I loved when I
(29:06):
was especially like as an adult, but even when I
was a kid, the parts where he would have those
like imaginary stories that he was telling himself, like his
little imagination would go oh, and they would like cut
to his like internal you know, monologue or story or
you know, his little film. H oh. I just loved,
I loved, loved. The only thing that bothered me about
(29:27):
that movie as a kid. Side note was the mom's hairstyle.
I was like, what is going on with your hair?
It's like this perm. It's a very very eighties perm, okay,
and it looks so anachronistic and it bothered the fuck
out of me when I was a kid. And then
I read as an adult that she insisted that they
not do anything. She like brought her own hair person
(29:48):
and wanted her hair the same way that she always
wears it. Oh girl, and that's why it looks like that,
and that's why it bothered me. Is that crazy? Isn't
that crazy? Do you know what? Uh? Actually thought of
another one that I loved just so much as a child,
that I would look for and watch every year. What
were those stop motion Rudolph, Rudolph and Frosty movies? Fucking
(30:13):
obsessed with those animated Frosty one fucked me up? Oh yeah,
that one is a little that one. Sad man. There's
so many like sad Christmas movies for kids, like I know,
usually involving snowmen like melt and don't get away and
don't come back. They're fucking sad. I also love watching
the Harry Potter movies at Christmas time. I love watching
(30:35):
Harry Potter Christmas movie. I do too, because they always
celebrate Christmas in them. Yeah, this is such a big
deal in particularly London, I feel like, but probably all yeah,
all of I mean all the UK, I guess believe. Yeah.
I think that's the visuals that like put that particular
specific sort of English visual of Christmas. There's a pleasant yeah,
(30:57):
old cuddliness, the walking this, all the bows, like there's
just certain little things that are yeah, really beautiful. I've
been shopping online trying to find a giant bow to
put on the front of our house because I've seen them.
I've seen other people do it, and I'm like, that
is such a great idea. I love that idea so
much so, but I haven't found anything good. I decorate
the inside of our house so much for Christmas, Like
(31:20):
it's just everywhere that I'm pretty sure David's probably relieved
that I'm not going to be here this year to
do it. Yah, yeah, he might. He might be to
decorate this year for Christmas. Oh, speaking celebrating, Brad just
brought me a little glass of prosecco to toast the
end of the time here. Nice, thank you baby. That
(31:43):
is so sweet. It's really funny when he does something
that he's like kind of proud of, Like when he
walks away, he kind of like swaggers. He's got like
a little a little thank you. It's very It's quite
attractive to me. That is attractive right to Canada celebrating.
Here's to Canada's your show, cheers, do you start on yours?
It's gonna be really fun and exciting. Thanks girl, I'm excited,
(32:06):
nervous and all the things you feel before you start
a show. Yeah, well you feel those things afterwards. Too,
which is really weird. I know, yeah, because then you're like, well,
people gonna see it. It looks as good as it felt,
all the real fury and matches up to the visuals.
Oh what don't I don't know. Hopefully they can edit
(32:30):
around it. Yeah. Yeah, it's gonna be great. No, it's
gonna be great. It's gonna be so great, more better.
Oh yay. Happy, happy beginning of the holiday seas, happy
beginning of the holiday season. Make your lists, make your
use your notes app, make your listen, check it twice. Okay,
(32:51):
can your list and check it twice? Space things out,
don't leave everything for the last minute. Play you can
do it. You can do it. Got this, We've all
got to do it. I find yes, I can enjoy
the holiday season as long as I stay on my
ship and stick to the list and stick to the operation.
See to the list, and so you know, if the
(33:11):
list fails you, there's always next year. There's always next year. Yeah. Okay, guys,
keep hitting us up with your questions and leave us
some voice notes and tell us what you want to
get more better at. Because I feel like I'm ready
for the holiday season. I'm ready to like start prepping.
I feel I feel pretty good about it on the
(33:31):
side too. I know to It's gonna be good. We'll
see you next time, See you next time. Bye bye.
More Bet Doude, you have something you'd like to be
more better at that you want us to talk about
in a future episode. Can you relate to our struggles
or have you tried one of our tips and tricks?
Suit us your thoughts and ideas at More Better pod
at email dot com and include a voice note if
(33:53):
you want to be featured on the pod. Ooh, More
Better with Stephanie Melissa is a production from WV Sound
and iHeart Media's Mikultura podcast network, hosted by me Staffie
Beatriz and Melissa Kumero. More Better is produced by Isis Madrid,
Leo Clem, and Sophie Spencer Zabos. Our executive producers are
Wilmer Valderrama and Leo Clem at WV Sound. This episode
(34:14):
was edited by Isis Madrid and engineered by Sean Tracy
and features original music by Madison Davenport and Hello Boy.
Our cover art is by Vincent Remis and photography by
David Avalos. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
See you next week. Saga by
Hete listeners. We are going to talk about the holidays.
So if you have little people in your car that
knows stand to personally or write hind letters, this might
be one that you want to skip. Yeah, More, more, better,
more letter.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
More, a little more better more. Uh.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Welcome to More Better, a podcast where we stop pretending
to have it all together and embrace the journey of
becoming a little more better every day, or at least
trying to. That's most of the Meryl and that's Stephanie
Beatrice and here we are. Welcome back. What's going on? Man,
you know, man about to leave? Just live in life
and just in that. Uh. But I'm I'm more better
(00:51):
at this time than pet times in the past. Okay,
okay of keeping myself organized mm hmmm hmm. And I
I've got all my packing pretty much done. Cool, cool,
so that I can enjoy the weekend with the family
and not spend all of Saturday and Sunday packing and
stressed out and overwhelmed. I love it. I wanted to
(01:14):
be really intentional about that because I'm not gonna see
them for three weeks, and I didn't want the last
two days, like the last weekend, to be that Yeah,
that's organized. I was like, very on my shit, Oh
my god, sure, I blocked out time to get the
rest of my packing done. Let me tell you something. Okay,
(01:35):
speaking of packing, when I told Brad this afternoon that
I had to I was reminded him, well, I have
to record at five. He got this look, blanched, he
had this look on his fees and I was like,
I already packed all your recording stuff. And I was like, oh,
so I started drafting an email to you and everyone
else on the team and I was like, hey, so
(01:55):
I can't record today. And then as I was writing it,
I was like, I can't do this. Her like he
has to find he has to find it, like he
has and he did. He figured out what box it
was in, pulled it all out, set it all up,
and I was like, delete email. If I have to
record on that weekend, she's gonna be fuck, She'll do it.
(02:17):
She'll be first. I would have done, and I would
have been pissed. Yeah, I would have been. Yeah, there's
still a tag on my sweater. I just want to
so I'm getting more better at not taking the tags
off my clothes. Wow, it's a cute sweater though, thank you.
It's very cute. It's like very I think it's like
a Marino wool blend and it looks like vintagey like, yeah,
(02:38):
it does. The sleeves are kind of this like belt
not like it's like Dolman. I don't know what that's
exactly right, but I don't you're asking the wrong person
and more better. Today's pod is about one of my
favorite topics in the whole Wide World and slash universe,
(03:02):
getting ready for the holidays. The holiday season is my
favorite time of year. It's the most wonderful time of year.
Some people would say some people would say that, what
do you think We can't we can't afford that. No,
we can't. Don't do that. Cut Okay. I do love
the holidays. I really love the holidays. I also sometimes
get a little too stressed about them. Ah, yes, well
(03:25):
you're not unlike what is it like? Forty percent of
people go, yeah, I think we have like a yes
here it is from the American Psychological Association. Forty one
percent of people surveyed said that their stress increases during
the holiday season. The APA also found that thirty six
percent of people said the holidays feel like a competition.
Oh no, I don't like that. I don't like that.
(03:46):
This is specifically we're talking about, like preparing for the holidays.
So I think that that's a good thing to talk about,
like the feeling of getting stressed or the feeling like
it's a competition. Yeah, how can we How do you
actively avoid those things? What sort of happens when that
starts happening to you? When do you start prepping, like
holiday prepping? Like when do you start like doing or
(04:08):
do you holiday prep? Do you prep at all? I
do fly about the seat of my pants because no,
because I've learned in the past, especially since I've had kids,
there have been years where I didn't plan enough or
prepare enough, and then everything was a fucking shit show
the night before and I got sorry, allowed to dressed
(04:32):
and overwhelmed, and I was and I just was like,
I can't do it like this anymore. I I for me,
do you mean like specifically, like food, Like what do
you when you say like everything was ready? Yes, like
food not coming together or like missing things or like
(04:53):
just it being like you know, two days before and
the store doesn't have shit, they're already sold out. Everybody
like was more prepared than you, And then you're like,
what the fuck is my backup plan? And then you're
stressed and you're like everyone's gonna hate my Thanksgiving and
regret saying yes to coming to our house, or like,
you know, it's Christmas Eve and maybe we've had a
(05:16):
lovely Christmas Eve, but now I'm wrapping fucking presence until
he d never again. That was one Christmas and I
was last year. I'm so mad at myself for doing it,
And because then what do we do tiredesday? And how
do you what do you do? Like this is a
good rap, it's a good one. You wrap them when
(05:37):
they arrive. So when they arrived presents, where do you
we hide that ship? Everywhere we have, uh, we have
like a little storage place next to our garage is
kind of like a room with shelving. A lot of
them go in there and we lock the door. I
was gonna say, how do you keep them out? The
(05:57):
kids don't really go in there, especially in the winter
because like the bikes are in there, so like it's
more of a place in the summer that they go
into for like bikes and pool toys or whatever. But
in the winter they kind of don't look in there.
We also have cabinets in our garage that they don't
really go into that we or like high cabinets up
(06:18):
high places. And then we have those like uh closets
that you see a lot in California houses where it's
like the storage on top of the closet. Uh huh yeah,
like the little doors. Yeah, we put we throw shit
up there too because they can't reach up there, so
we go for like up high places. Okay, sometimes under bed,
(06:39):
but under bed is like always risky, tricky, yeah, risky. Yeah.
Because I used to like pop the tape off the
side and like slide the package out and open it,
slide it back. That's how I read all of Anne
of Green Gables before Christmas, Oh my god, because I
opened it, split it out. I would read like during
the day and then I would slide it back in,
you know. And I feel like I should ask my
(07:00):
mom where she used to hide our Christmas presents because
I could never find where my mom hid our Christmas
hand you should were really fucking good at hiding our
Christmas presents. Fucking pissed, yes, if she would get so
fucking pissed. And now and now that I'm a parent,
I'm like, I don't know if I would get mad
or if I'd just be like, oh, it's such a
(07:21):
bummer for you. It be a surprise. Yeah, I little kids.
I still believe in Santa. So they're also not really
looking yet. M hmm, do you know what I mean? Like,
I do know what you mean? Like, and so is
this is probably makes me so sad. This is probably
his last year believing in Santa.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Yeah, it's like right on the ver It's like right
on the verge, more better, more better.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
So yeah, he's not really looking. He just kind of
I mean we sort of tell him, you know that
there's like bigger things we you know, me and Papa
buy you the bigger things or whatever ever like kind
of do that. But yeah, they're not really looking yet.
So but yes, uh but we started this tangent on
Uh oh, so it's all over the place, but I
(08:10):
love it. It's all over the place. But I try to,
you know, because now it's like mostly online shopping for
the gifts that we do. So when the boxes arrive, uh,
we might hide the box at first, but then we
try to like wrap things right away smart so that
that's it, just like in the box. Well, yeah, no,
I get rat first. Sometimes we keep the boxes because
(08:33):
the box is being useful for hiding things. Yeah, but
I just try to wrap it and then hide it.
And yeah, yeah, okay, this is good advice. You know,
my mom does this thing that I work and hate,
and she still does it. She is a bag person.
She loves a bag with tissues the oh, and I
(08:56):
because of that, I grew up like our like desiring
real wrapped presence with foes and ribbon and stuff. So
it is it's way more fun to unwrap something, I
think than to have some like tissue on the top
of a bag. So but because of that, I'm like,
(09:16):
I'm searching all Like I'm not even kidding you. I
have like four or five rolls of Christmas paper in
my laundry room right now that I've bought over the
course of the year that are just waiting. Because I
love wrapping presents. I like, I love the like experience
of it. The problem is that in the past, I,
you know, I'm new to having a kid, so like
I just never had as much like stuff stuff to wrap.
(09:38):
So that's good advice about wrapping them. Kind of as
they come in and then hiding them. I think I'm
gonna have to hide them in the attic or something.
But luckily it's pretty cold that that time. They're in California.
The thingk's gonna overheat or something. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
and so yeah, like I said, especially like for littler things,
if you just save one of those Amazon boxes and yeah,
keep that get things and then put that like at
(09:59):
the top of a closet. Thing, he just looks like
an Amazon box, like yeah right, They're not gonna be
like what's in there? Like yeah right, yes, that's good,
that's good. I put the tree up on the if
I was allowed to. I mean not that my listen,
it's a partnership, my relationship as a partnership. However, however,
(10:24):
not unlike the way that I don't want to hear
the football game on every speaker throughout the house, he
doesn't want to see the Christmas tree on November first.
So there's a negotiation, a compromise that takes place. Christmas
tree goes up on the day after Thanksgiving. When does
yours go up? Same m Yeah yeah, this year, however,
(10:46):
I will be away, So I have instructed my eight
year old to as soon as they get home from
their Thanksgiving trip, he needs to start bothering his father
to get a Christmas tree. Nice? Nice? Would you guys
get a real one? Yes? Wow? Does it last just
last holiday season? Oh my god? I always kill my
(11:08):
real ones? I always really, Yes, they dry the fuck out.
There's well, you got a water, o girl. I have
too many of these things going on, But you just
have to water. I'm like, every four I listen to me,
I'm saying this, And if my husband was here right now,
he'd be giving me such a like, because you have to.
He's the one, He's the one that remembers to water them.
(11:28):
I mean they do get a little dry by Christmas,
but I mean it's fine. A great dry Christmas tree
still like holds up all the ornaments. You know it works.
Do you have a I have a fake Christmas tree
because I love putting it up and not worrying about it. Yeah.
I When I was a kid, I had these. We
had this set of Christmas lights. If anybody could help
(11:50):
me find these Christmas lights, I would be so grateful.
They had a little box attached to them, and it
was music that would play oh, like different Christmas songs,
but just like a few bars of each Christmas song
and then it would switch to the next and the
lights would flash to the Christmas songs Breakin loved them
when I was a kid. I would like spend I'm
(12:12):
not even kidding you, probably like I could spend a
good hour like looking at the tree, looking at the ornaments,
like hanging them in a certain way, like making sure
like the light was coming out through the back of them.
Like I just fucking obsessed about the tree for Christmas.
And I'm still the same way. Like I love I
love putting the ornaments on it. I love taking everything
out of their little boxes and rappers like I have
(12:34):
all sorts of I have way too many for one tree.
I have two trees now I might have a third
tree maybe at some point. I have the Christmas leg lamp.
You know what I'm talking about? Oh, yes, yes, oh yeah,
I have that lamp. Oh my god. It lives in
a permanent spot in our house now, in the basement.
Because last year I was like, yeah, no, I really
love the slamp. Can we just leave it out all
year round? Yeah? But I was like Charlotte's leaving in
(12:57):
the basement. I decorate as much as I can with
real greenery. But this year I bought these like really
pretty I think they're Dutch because we're in Canada, so
there's like all sorts of cool new stuff to bring with.
And we bought these really pretty paper chains that I'm
gonna make with my sister and hang those everywhere so
we don't get meals everywhere. So we're gonna do that
(13:19):
like watching Christmas movies, like you know, just like with
a little glu stick or whatever. We get it out
of the way. What about do you usually host Thanksgiving
or do you Hell, the idea of cooking for more
than myself and bread and maybe rads is so incredibly
like hell no, like no, why would I ever reject
(13:43):
anyone to this. This is not this is not my forte.
Like I'm not gonna do it to prove something to myself,
you know what I mean? Like Matietuca, she lives in
Sun Valley and my cousins live in Lacrecenta Andantros and stuff,
and so we got Thetuka's house every year for Thanksgiving,
and sometimes we have the traditional stuff and sometimes we
(14:04):
have more like Bolivian food. Yeah, same at Christmas, Like
Christmas is usually like Bolivian food, like there's a lot
of yeah, same Christmas. Eve was always like yeah, I
mean we've talked about it, No chu wanna just being
like very a big deal in our culture. But yeah,
growing up, Thanksgiving was hilarious because my parents didn't you know,
my parents came when they were teenagers, so they didn't
(14:25):
grow up obviously with Thanksgiving, and so they every year
it was just sort of like, uh, we're going here
this year. It was so made up for like other
people's houses and stuff, wherever they were, wherever they were invited. Yeah,
and then I think we basically asked to We hosted
a few times, but every year it was just I
(14:46):
didn't grow up with Thanksgiving feeling like a big deal
holiday at all, because every year my parents were just like,
I don't know, yeah, we're going They invited us, so
we're gonna we're gonna go over here, and I'd be like,
who's that and they'd be like, you know, there's some friends,
you know, so he goes in through my mie, you know,
Like all right, yeah, oh god, that was actually really
(15:08):
now that you say it, that that I just connected
something for myself. I think I try to make the
holidays really fun and nice and calm on my house
because I hated when I was a kid being dragged
to parties and stuff that I didn't know anybody, and
I'd be like upstairs looking for a book and kind
of stressed out because I didn't know any of the kids.
(15:29):
And I have a hard I had a hard time
making friends when I was a kid. So now I
make the party come to me. Yeah, we have an
annual holiday party. Have you been to it yet? I
think every time we're here, I'm out here. It's really
not saying one this year, so no problem. But we
usually have like and we Brad and I plan for it,
(15:51):
Like we have a plan of like what we're gonna
do for food, you're gonna we have like a signature drink.
We usually hire someone to help help with the bartending
we have. You know, I go out and like go
crazy for paper goods and I have like themed paper goods.
And last year we had VS Tacos come and do
catering for like two hours. I think we had Tacos
(16:13):
in our front yard. It was pretty awesome, Like and
I got that idea actually from Joela Trulio's holiday party
a couple of years back. When you go, yeah, Taco Truck,
they throw great holiday parties too. There's always say so
much free parties. Yes, they really, some people are just
My mom was a gifted hostess too, and I definitely
picked up some stuff from her. I do like hosting,
but I feel like I get more stressed out about
(16:34):
it that my mom did. Like she just was good
at it, you know, and she'll and I do like
hosting Thanksgiving. I like hosting Christmas. I like doing the
cooking so long as I am on top of my prep.
The prep is everything, the prep no long as I
make notes and lists and I buy my shit on time.
(16:55):
See that's the thing that the phone is so helpful for.
The notes app is a lifesaver, like making yourself notes,
making yourself a list where like you check things off.
Sharing the list I think is really helpful too, because
then you know, I started doing that a lot lately. Yeah,
you're not double buying, You're not like everybody knows what's
(17:15):
going on. You know, Oh, what are you getting robs
for Christmas? Like, well, she's already getting these things, so
like keys, don't buy her anymore stuff like that, like
she doesn't need it or whatever, you know, Like, uh,
I think the notes apps are so helpful. I think
also keeping in mind like when things need to happen,
like before a party. I'm really yeah about planning because
(17:37):
like so many days before you need to have like
all of the you know, all of the food purchased
and space made in the fridge. So like what are
you gonna do first, Well, you got to clean out
the fridge because like you're gonna need space for the
trays and stuff. You need to pull out the trays.
You need to like, you know, as long as you're
like like you said, as long as you're on top.
I'll write a schedule for myself too. Yeah, like the
(17:57):
timing of things when they need to go in the oven.
I need to write that so hard out because otherwise
I will get distracted. I could cut off and then
I put alarms on my phone to make it better.
That's the thing that's like that is that to me
would be very stressful because what I want to have
happening when I have people over is I want to
(18:18):
have a drink in my hand and my little slippyes
on and no makeup on and I want to just
be like hanging out. I don't want to be thinking
about food I have with Thanksgiving. I feel like Thanksgiving
food is pretty easy because I mean, once the oven
goes in and just the turkey goes in the oven,
it just is there. It's just there, and there's a
lot of shit you can make, like the day before.
(18:39):
That's what I try to do. I try to do
a lot of shit the day before where it's like
finishing in the oven. So I'm not cooking on Thanksgiving,
like I'm maybe making a quick thing or I'm also
or like I'm not trying to make gravy. I'm ordering
fucking gravy. I'm not making cranberry sauce. I'm like an
ordering cranberry sauce and making dessert somebody bringing dessert or
(19:01):
I'm ordering delicious dessert. Like I hear this, So I
like try to simplify it because I do want I
my mom could host and cook and do all the
things and like still have a good time. I cannot.
I have to. I can't be like working too much
while there's a hang going on. Yeah, Like I want
(19:21):
to be able to hang and like I'm also gotten
better about Like last Thanksgiving, my friend my friend's Ricky,
and Monica came over. Monica's grew a great cook, so
I knew in my head. I was like, when Monica
gets here, she's going to finish the green beans for
me while I check on these things in the oven.
(19:43):
And that's exactly as soon as she showed up. She
was like, what do you need me to do? And
I was like, I need you to finish the green
beans and she was like great, and she like read
the recipe and she finished it and it was like
and then it was also fun to like be in
the kitchen with her cooking, like because then that was
a hang so, oh that's cool. I try to like
prepare for those things too, like who can be my helpers?
That that's really cute that I can hang out with.
And also like I'm not doing all this year yeah yeah, yeah,
(20:05):
myself and trying to like be a martyr at my
thea's house. She's like doing it all and she doesn't
want any help. That's how my mom is, so it's
kind of like you can't really And also the way
her kitchen is shaped, it's very like there's a clear
(20:27):
captain of the ship, you know. Yeah, and so you
can't really like get in there and get in the
mix really, right, So you sort of have all the
time in the world in your hands, which is like
kind of nice but also kind of stressful because yeah,
then it's like you don't have an activity other than
like eating cheese and ruining whatever, you know, appetite you
(20:51):
had for the turkey. Right, although this year, I feel
like I want to try to bring some games or
something for the kids to play because like they get bored.
You know. Yes, that would be last year, Yes, that
I didn't have enough activities for my kids, and I
also there weren't any other kids for them to play with. Ye,
(21:13):
so so they were like they were like this is
this sucks? And also a Thanksgiving, did your family like
have the TV on the football game? No? Okay, so
that's what's happening in my thea's house, And that's really
hard because it's the only big TV in the big
center of the room. So like the kids can't like
watch a movie or something like that. You know, it's
(21:34):
like the adult males have commandeered the sorry to put
everybody in a box like this, But that's what's happening
at my Thea's house. Yes, and like everyone's watching the TV.
All the guys are watching sports and like the kids
are bored out of their bourgs. So maybe one of
my goals this year now that we're talking about it,
is to prep some games and stuff for them to
(21:55):
have like activities while the cooking is going on, so
that they're also like not under foot and being like, yeah,
you know what I mean exactly. Yeah, I did the
same thing. Like a couple of new board games. Board games, yeah,
would be good or like new something like new and
fun like or even like a craft sometimes is great,
like yeah, you know or that have you seen that?
(22:16):
It's it's a drinking game. Obviously you can't play the
drinking game part with the kids, but it's like those
little no, I'm just kidding. People do it at Christmas.
I've seen tiktoks. Guys. I did take TikTok off my
phone again, Okay they did. I did not update. Yeah
for the following the TikTok journey. It is back off
the phone. People are so mean about it. They're like,
(22:37):
did you take TikTok? Like, clearly I put it back on.
If I'm uploading a video. Okay, clearly it's on my
let's try to use critical thinking. Come on. So people
will take these like muffin pans or cupcake pans and
fill them with a little rap, tiny little wrapped presence
and then stick like a number on them. I think
(23:00):
that's how it's played. But then you take a ping
pong poll and you try to bounce it into the cup,
into the muffin pan cup, and then whatever's in there
you get to open, and that's your gift. Sometimes it's
like a dollar bill. Sometimes it's like, oh, I love
that's like a little toy or a keychain or something
like something little and small, or like a piece of
candy or something. And yeah, and like people will miss
(23:25):
and then they have to take another turn or whatever.
But I thought that would be cute. The ones that
I've seen is like involving the whole family and then
if you miss, you have to take a drink, right,
which I thought was very clever as well. But may
I'll do that for the whole family so that they
can all play together, and then the guys that are
watching the football game will feel like losers. I like
this plan. Yeah, I like this plan. And if you
(23:46):
want to have something for like when they miss you
could do something like you have to run a lap
or something. You have to run a lap, you have
to do a silly dance or oh I like the dance. Yeah,
oh I love the silly dance. You have to make
up a song about me, yeah, using the words beautiful, talented,
and smart and not in that order. Go Kid's seven eight.
(24:08):
Oh I love I love that. That's really fun. That's
really fun. Yeah. I feel like the magic of the
holidays is like individual specific to everyone. But I think
the thing that makes me feel like the connection to
home and like hunkering down and feeling like we're all together.
(24:33):
You know, this has been a big one for me
because we've traveled for some Christmases and I just came
to the realization where I was like, no one is
going to work as hard as I am to make
the holidays magical for my kids. Yeah, Like it's important
to me. I want to do it. I want them
to have it. I want them to have those memories.
(24:55):
And that just happens the most when we have Christmas
at home and there is It's just something about waking
up in your house on Christmas morning when you're a kid,
and the idea that you know, Sanna was in your
house the night was before, and like all that magic
that is just hard to replicate when you're not in
your house. Yeah, yeah, I can see that. I feel like,
(25:20):
I don't know that I spent a lot of Christmases
away from home when I was little. I definitely have
as an adult a lot me too. Yeah, that's been
my experience as a kid. No, it certainly has been.
You know, for example, the last four months, I've been
on this job and I've been here, and although we're
so lucky to be all together in this lovely house
(25:42):
that we rented, it's not our home. Yeah. And that
mattress isn't my mattress, and that bed's not my bed.
And you know, the other day, Roz said, I can't
wait to go home to my room with all my
pictures on the wall, and I was like, oh, yeah,
her pictures, like all the things that I hung up
for her when she was a baby. You know, she like, yeah,
mbers them and loves them. And there's something about I think,
(26:04):
decorating your own home and I don't know, like the
history of Christmas and stuff although we could probably do
it more better on that, But there's something about like
being home and that the time and the weather changing
and the sort of the wheel of the year being
on this part of like it's cold and the days
are shorter, and you know, the sun's not up as long,
(26:27):
and you want to be inside, you want to hunker down,
you want to like, you know, get that and hold
onto that, you know what I mean, like and hold
on to it, honestly, because like there's there were times
when there wasn't that much abundance during that part of
the year, the year you were eating stuff that like
you'd saved from the harvest and you hoped it got
you through to the spring. Name your top three holiday movies.
(26:51):
Top three go go ooh, ooh ooh, like just holiday
or holiday, any holiday movie that you're you're top three.
Like if I was like, can only watch three this
season and you can watch them on repeat, you can
only watch three? I mean Nightmare four Christmas is a
big one in our house, and I have grown to
really you love it. I love it and Axel loves it.
(27:14):
Oh my gosh, I used to be love actually, but
that film has not dated really problematic but I will
say I do enjoy watching it. I used to watch
it every Christmas. I know, I don't I still do,
I watch it. I do love it. There are parts,
there's some really great parts in it.
Speaker 2 (27:31):
I know, I know, I know.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
But the whole end, it just happens. And the running
through the airport, Yeah yeah, I get you there, I
get you there. Okay, what else? What else? What that
can be? Like a half choice? That could be an
honorable mention, an honorable mention. I don't know why I
(27:53):
can't think of Christmas movies. Oh home alone, love homelan Homel. Yeah.
One to me is yeah, classic, classic, classic, Here's here's
mine Elf number one Elf. I know, yeah, el Elf.
I love Elf to the day I die. It's so
freaking good. It's like the perfect story. What I want
(28:16):
in my career is to do a Christmas movie like
Elf that becomes this like iconic that is on my back.
Plasic film like that would be a dream come true.
Christmas vacation, another iconic Christmas vacation either it's okay, yeah,
it's all right. And then a Christmas story. Christmas story forgot.
(28:44):
I can never get into a Christmas story be completely honest, girl,
I love it too much. I'm sorry here, you sorry, listen,
and not everything's for everyone, you know, some people have
tastes and some people don't. Ah, it's just so sweet
to me. It's so sweet. And I loved when I
(29:06):
was especially like as an adult, but even when I
was a kid, the parts where he would have those
like imaginary stories that he was telling himself, like his
little imagination would go oh, and they would like cut
to his like internal you know, monologue or story or
you know, his little film. H oh. I just loved,
I loved, loved. The only thing that bothered me about
(29:27):
that movie as a kid. Side note was the mom's hairstyle.
I was like, what is going on with your hair?
It's like this perm. It's a very very eighties perm, okay,
and it looks so anachronistic and it bothered the fuck
out of me when I was a kid. And then
I read as an adult that she insisted that they
not do anything. She like brought her own hair person
(29:48):
and wanted her hair the same way that she always
wears it. Oh girl, and that's why it looks like that,
and that's why it bothered me. Is that crazy? Isn't
that crazy? Do you know what? Uh? Actually thought of
another one that I loved just so much as a child,
that I would look for and watch every year. What
were those stop motion Rudolph, Rudolph and Frosty movies? Fucking
(30:13):
obsessed with those animated Frosty one fucked me up? Oh yeah,
that one is a little that one. Sad man. There's
so many like sad Christmas movies for kids, like I know,
usually involving snowmen like melt and don't get away and
don't come back. They're fucking sad. I also love watching
the Harry Potter movies at Christmas time. I love watching
(30:35):
Harry Potter Christmas movie. I do too, because they always
celebrate Christmas in them. Yeah, this is such a big
deal in particularly London, I feel like, but probably all yeah,
all of I mean all the UK, I guess believe. Yeah.
I think that's the visuals that like put that particular
specific sort of English visual of Christmas. There's a pleasant yeah,
(30:57):
old cuddliness, the walking this, all the bows, like there's
just certain little things that are yeah, really beautiful. I've
been shopping online trying to find a giant bow to
put on the front of our house because I've seen them.
I've seen other people do it, and I'm like, that
is such a great idea. I love that idea so
much so, but I haven't found anything good. I decorate
the inside of our house so much for Christmas, Like
(31:20):
it's just everywhere that I'm pretty sure David's probably relieved
that I'm not going to be here this year to
do it. Yah, yeah, he might. He might be to
decorate this year for Christmas. Oh, speaking celebrating, Brad just
brought me a little glass of prosecco to toast the
end of the time here. Nice, thank you baby. That
(31:43):
is so sweet. It's really funny when he does something
that he's like kind of proud of, Like when he
walks away, he kind of like swaggers. He's got like
a little a little thank you. It's very It's quite
attractive to me. That is attractive right to Canada celebrating.
Here's to Canada's your show, cheers, do you start on yours?
It's gonna be really fun and exciting. Thanks girl, I'm excited,
(32:06):
nervous and all the things you feel before you start
a show. Yeah, well you feel those things afterwards. Too,
which is really weird. I know, yeah, because then you're like, well,
people gonna see it. It looks as good as it felt,
all the real fury and matches up to the visuals.
Oh what don't I don't know. Hopefully they can edit
(32:30):
around it. Yeah. Yeah, it's gonna be great. No, it's
gonna be great. It's gonna be so great, more better.
Oh yay. Happy, happy beginning of the holiday seas, happy
beginning of the holiday season. Make your lists, make your
use your notes app, make your listen, check it twice. Okay,
(32:51):
can your list and check it twice? Space things out,
don't leave everything for the last minute. Play you can
do it. You can do it. Got this, We've all
got to do it. I find yes, I can enjoy
the holiday season as long as I stay on my
ship and stick to the list and stick to the operation.
See to the list, and so you know, if the
(33:11):
list fails you, there's always next year. There's always next year. Yeah. Okay, guys,
keep hitting us up with your questions and leave us
some voice notes and tell us what you want to
get more better at. Because I feel like I'm ready
for the holiday season. I'm ready to like start prepping.
I feel I feel pretty good about it on the
(33:31):
side too. I know to It's gonna be good. We'll
see you next time, See you next time. Bye bye.
More Bet Doude, you have something you'd like to be
more better at that you want us to talk about
in a future episode. Can you relate to our struggles
or have you tried one of our tips and tricks?
Suit us your thoughts and ideas at More Better pod
at email dot com and include a voice note if
(33:53):
you want to be featured on the pod. Ooh, More
Better with Stephanie Melissa is a production from WV Sound
and iHeart Media's Mikultura podcast network, hosted by me Staffie
Beatriz and Melissa Kumero. More Better is produced by Isis Madrid,
Leo Clem, and Sophie Spencer Zabos. Our executive producers are
Wilmer Valderrama and Leo Clem at WV Sound. This episode
(34:14):
was edited by Isis Madrid and engineered by Sean Tracy
and features original music by Madison Davenport and Hello Boy.
Our cover art is by Vincent Remis and photography by
David Avalos. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
See you next week. Saga by
Hosts And Creators
Stephanie Beatriz
Melissa Fumero
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