Tis the Podcast

Keeping the Christmas spirit alive 365 days a year.

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174: I Think I Just Lost My Job. (Santa and Pete)

The elves take a trip through an alternate history this week, which includes an imagined history of St. Nicholas and his sidekick Peter, as they discuss the 1999, made-for-TV movie, “Santa and Pete”. Spoiler Alert: their discussion is way more interesting the movie. So cuddle up by the fire (or the air conditioning) and enjoy an episode that serves as a good reminder that Christmas is on the way!

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171: This Year, To Make The Best Nativity Play That Has Ever, Ever, Been, is Mr. Maddens! (Nativity!)

After a much needed (though unwanted!) week off, the elves are back, and they're once again journeying across the pond to cover the 2009, Holiday-Comedy film, Nativity! There's plenty of love for this movie to go around this week - how could there not be when it stars Martin Freeman? - and there are laughs-a-plenty as the hosts talk about their favorite parts and scenes! Also discussed: plenty of listener feedback and their ideas for what they would do if they were put in charge of making the 2020 John Lewis commercial! So settle in, blast that air-conditioning, enjoy this festive episode, and celebrate the fact that we are officially only nineteen-weeks from Christmas!

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170: I'd Rather Have A Holiday Like Normal Grouches Do - Instead Of Getting Presents, They Take Presents Back From You! (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street)

Happy Monday, Christmas Fanatics! This week, travel back to 1978 with the elves as they journey to New York to spend Christmas Eve on Sesame Street! While they've talked about The Muppets proper many times before, this is the first full episode in which they discuss the Muppets of Sesame Street! Do the hosts appreciate them as much as their brethren in the parent IP? What do they think of the beloved children's show in general, in addition to how do they feel about this classic holiday special? Which resident of Sesame Street is their favorite? Find out the answer to all of this, and much more, in this fun, festive episode that also reveals to you exactly "how to get, how to get to Sesame Street"! So settle in and enjoy! 

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169: A Tis The Podcast Family Christmas In July!

Happy Christmas in July, y'all! We are officially 5-months away from Christmas day! This year is flying by, even in quarantine! 

 

As a special treat to celebrate this festive summer holiday, join Julia, Thom, and Anthony as they break format to discuss foreign Christmas traditions instead of Christmas films! But it's not just the hosts sharing information about how the holidays are celebrated abroad - we also have a record nineteen listener submissions as well, in which some familiar voices, some new voices, and the voices of some fellow Christmas podcasters share details, not only about Christmas celebrations that happen overseas, but also in their local cities and in their families as well. 

 

While this is our longest episode to date at exactly 2-Hours, 17-Minutes, and 55-Seconds, it flies by and is filled with so many stories of amazing traditions and contains such festive music, that it's one of our personal favorites that we've ever done! And we have to give a special shoutout to all of our amazing listeners who took the time to participate in this episode:

 

  • Ron Hogan a.k.a. President Hotdog
  • Alex
  • Lauren Simone
  • Matt Eurich a.k.a. Gary Blauman 
  • Manny Torres
  • April Ryley
  • Nicole Little 
  • Glen Warren of Seasons Eatings Podcast
  • Claude Bélanger
  • Charlyn Lewis
  • Rachel Poole
  • Ross Taylor
  • Michele Kidwell
  • Rebecca Boll
  • Steven Beech a.k.a. Disco54
  • Adam Parker of Merry Britmas Podcast
  • Duane Bailey of Tinsel Tunes Podcast 
  • Todd Killian of Christmas Clatter Podcast
  • Gerry Davila of Totally Rad Christmas Podcast

Y'all are seriously the best. We've said it before, and we'll continue to say it - we have the best listeners in the world! 

 

So, blast that air-conditioning to simulate a cold winter's night, brew your favorite holiday beverage, kick back, and enjoy this very special, extremely fun, and extraordinarily festive episode brimming with holiday cheer that takes you on a cross country road trip across America and an educational tour around the globe! And make sure to listen through the end music to hear (2) Bloopers from the recording of this episode! 

 

In addition, if you want more Christmas in July content, Patrons of our show can check out our newest Patreon episode which dropped yesterday, on July 24th, in which Anthony welcomes back April Ryley to discuss Christmas in New York! And for those of you who aren’t patrons yet, but want to look into getting this bonus episode, other bonus episodes, Christmas cards, stickers, and other goodies, head on over to https://www.Patreon.com/TisThePodcast and consider subscribing!  As always, thanks for all of your support, everybody - we love you all! And remember - "Soon It Will Be Christmas Day"! 

Show notes

168: You're A Trophy Wife? What Contest In Hell Did I Win? (Everybody Loves Raymond)

This week, the elves cover the Christmas episodes of the family-comedy, Everybody Loves Raymond! While Anthony is a huge fan, and believes that it's an accurate description of family life in a New York Italian family, Thom and Julia haven't really seen it before and this is a first time seeing multiple episodes for both of them. Do they think there's a good amount of holiday cheer in here to make these episodes worthwhile, or do they feel the show is outdated and a bit cold to the point where even Christmas can't salvage it? In addition, a ton of listener feedback is discussed and a new question of the week is posed! This is one fun episode you want to be sure not to miss, so settle back and enjoy! Also, remember that between now and next Monday's episode, our Christmas in July episode will be dropping on Saturday, July 25th, and for Patrons of the show, a conversation between Anthony and April Ryley about Christmas in New York will be dropping the day before on Friday, July 24th, so make sure to keep an eye out! 

Show notes

167: Henri Was There Too. (A Christmas Tale)

This week, the Christmas elves trudge through the first completely foreign film covered on this podcast - the 2008 French Film, A Christmas Tale - and boy do they regret it. Much of this episode is spent avoiding the film and talking about things much more interesting and enjoyable. Cuddle up and plan to get taken away to some place much more Christmassy than record-breaking July days!

Show notes

166: This Christmas Isn't Just Gonna Be Great, It's Gonna Be Legendary. (A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy)

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! We hope y'all enjoyed your long Fourth of July weekend! This week, for the second week in a row, the elves cover a Christmas Variety special - this time, 2018's NBC-produced, A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy, starring - you guessed it! - John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. While all three hosts are a fan of the musician and his model wife, they once again find themselves disliking this holiday variety special, causing them to wonder - why don't they work anymore in the modern day? In addition, they discuss the casting of Jason Momoa in the live-action remake of the Rankin/Bass classic, Frosty the Snowman; Anthony explains the concept of the British television show, Naked Attraction, to Thom and Julia and explains his disdain for Matt Damon; Thom and Julia discuss the Sarahan dust clouds covering the U.S.; and the three hosts answer a question posed by President Hotdog on Reddit - if they could pick any celebrity to host a variety-type special for any holiday, which celebrity would they pick and which holiday would they do it for? They talk about all of this, and much, much, more. So settle in with your favorite holiday beverage, blast that air-conditioning, and enjoy this fun-filled episode!  

Show notes

165: Merry Christmas To Those Who Have Who Have Seen Us At Our Best And At Our Worst, And Can't Tell The Difference. (Crown for Christmas)

Happy July First, Christmas Fanatics! (And Happy Canada Day to our Canadian Listeners!) Bet you weren't expecting to see us in your feed again so soon after the last episode, but we wanted to officially kick off Christmas in July with a bang! As Hallmark Christmas movie month begins, we wanted to make sure to cover a true Hallmark classic in honor of the occasion - the 2015 original film, Crown for Christmas! While all of the elves are in agreement that Danica McKellar is the true Hallmark Christmas movie queen, and a far better and more endearing actress than Candace Cameron Bure, do they all align in their opinions of this movie? How does it stack up against other holiday films of the royal genre, in particular Netflix's A Christmas Prince franchise? And can Anthony (whose mic is working a lot better this episode!) stop gushing over his childhood crush? All of this and more are answered in this cheery episode filled with Christmas cheer! In addition, the elves are surprised by a special surprise cameo during the show that you'll be able to view for yourselves on social media later today! So blast that air-conditioning, settle in with your favorite holiday drink, enjoy this special bonus episode, and rejoice that we are on the download slope to Christmas 2020!

Show notes

164: A Very Murray Christmas (2015)

This week, Thom, Julia, and Anthony are joined by the famous Gary Blauman of the Tis the Podcast community - a.k.a. Matt - to cover the 2015, Netflix Original Holiday Special, A Very Murray Christmas! Join the elves and their special guest as they discuss this very Bill Murray-esque, surprisingly morose holiday special in which much of the famous and talented cast appears to be taking part in against their will, and all of the music within! Also discussed - the origins of Matt's username, Julia's family vacation, and an epic amount of trolling between Thom and Anthony. So settle in and enjoy this episode, and buckle-up because we are officially heading into Christmas in July!

 

*Note - Anthony's mic is extraordinarily low this episode, so you're going to want to turn the volume all the way up whenever it's his turn to speak. We're sorry for the quality of it. Ever since the elves got their new mics, its been a learning curve trying to figure out the best settings, and they're working on improving it for the next episode.* 

Show notes

163: No One Should Be Alone At Christmas. (The Muppets: Single All the Way)

Happy Leon Day, Christmas Fanatics! Can you believe it? We are officially halfway to Christmas! It's all downhill from here! So, in honor of the occasion, we wanted to give y'all a little present of a bonus episode, in which the elves discuss the one Christmas episode of the 2015 television show, The Muppets - "Single All the Way"! While Anthony was an enormous fan of this criminally underrated, and short-lived, show as it aired live, this is both Julia's and Thom's first time seeing it, and both fully intend to go back and watch the entire series. It's laughs - and quotes! - a plenty in this Muppet love-fest, and it sets a new high bar for our "Miscellaneous Christmas Television Episodes" list! Also discussed - the new Apple original series, Central Park, and Julia's recent family mini-vacation! So though the weather outside may not be frightful, take solace in the fact that we are now officially closer to Christmas 2020 than we are to last Christmas! So settle in and enjoy this episode full of holiday cheer that will be sure to put you into the Christmas mood!

Show notes

162: If It Was Good Enough For Baby Jesus, It’s Good Enough For Mr. Robert Lee Parton! (Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love)

Happy Monday fellow Christmas fans! The elves are joined by longtime listener April Riley to discuss Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love. In this episode, the elves discuss all things Dolly Parton, one of the elves breaks a cardinal rule by manipulating the ranking system, and April 2020s the podcast. This is a long one, so sit back, relax, and enjoy a dysfunctional family Christmas!

Show notes

161: I Have Never Heard of Such a Christmas! Sex! And Drugs! And Women Being Set on Fire! (The Ref)

Happy Monday, Christmas fanatics! This week, Julia introduces Thom and Anthony to the 1994, Christmas-Comedy, The Ref! Not only is this a quintessential Julia movie, due to the dysfunctional family element, but it is also a quintessential Anthony movie, for reasons that are discussed in this episode. With all three elves in agreement that this hilarious story about a robber whose heart grows three-sizes after spending time with the Chausser family - and a family that is helped by this dangerous intruder in their lives - is a good Christmas film (think a more adult version of Christmas Vacation), the question becomes where does it fall on their Christmas canon list? Find out in this fun, quote-filled episode, during which Thom tries to turn the podcast positively bougie and Julia is swayed into thinking Lethal Weapon is a Christmas movie when reading a comment from Reddit listener, PresidentHotdog! So settle in with your favorite holiday beverage, blast that air conditioning, and enjoy - and take solace in the fact that we are nearly halfway to Christmas! 

Show notes

160: There's No More Heroes Left In The World. (Lethal Weapon)

This week, Julia, Thom, and Anthony are joined by Todd Killian of Christmas Clatter Podcast to discuss the 1987, non-Christmas-Christmas movie, Lethal Weapon- which was, in many ways, the spiritual older sibling of the following year's Die Hard! Does this movie have enough Christmas feels and enough of a Linus moment to be considered a yuletide classic like Die Hard for the elves and their guest, or is this merely a movie that's set at Christmas? Tune in to find out, and to listen to Thom troll Anthony in a way that not only throws the New Yorker off his game, but also unnerves Julia! So settle in with your favorite holiday beverage and enjoy this fun-filled episode! 

Show notes

159: One Time A Year There's A Marvelous Night, When Enchantment And Wonder Spark And Take Flight. (Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas)

*Listener Advisory: Please note that, due to one of the segments in this film, some hard Christmas truths about Santa Claus are discussed in this episode, so you may want to make sure no young children are around when you listen to this one.* Happy June, y'all! We are officially that much closer to the most wonderful time of the year! This week, Julia, Thom, and Anthony are joined by a special guest host - Mike Westfall, of Advent Calendar House Podcast! Together, the four of them sit down to discuss the 1999, straight-to-VHS film, Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas and geek out over all things Disney! Tune in to find out just how talented the voice-cast of this movie is, whether the hosts prefer "the Ducks" or "the Mice", cute ways that both Thom and Julia's children remember this film, hear stories about Anthony's Disney honeymoon (including a tale of his wife fulfilling her lifelong goal of meeting Goofy, discovering which Disney character proposed to Sarah at the them park, and an anecdote about what Aladdin said to him when he found out where he was from), and learn tons and tons of Disney movie, television, and theme park trivia courtesy of Mike. Also discussed - the answer to reddit user GaryBlauman's question of the week: "In Home Alone, Old Man Marley tells Kevin in the church that there are a lot of rumors floating around about him. Outside of the rumor Buzz tells Kevin of him murdering people, what rumors do you think adults were saying about him?" This is one fun, festive episode you want to be sure not to miss - especially since this film's ranking might cause some controversy as to how it shakes up our Christmas canon list! So blast that air-conditioning to simulate that Ber-Month weather, settle in with your favorite holiday beverage, and enjoy!  *We apologize for some of the audio issues that are evident throughout this episode - specifically with Anthony's mic - that kick in around twenty-minutes in. New Microphones were ordered, and there should be no more issues going forward.* 

Show notes

158: That's What Christmas Memories Are Made From. They're Not Planned, They're Not Scheduled, Nobody Puts Them In Their Blackberry - They Just Happen. (Deck the Halls)

Happy Memorial Day, y'all! This week, the elves cover the infamous Matthew Broderick/Danny DeVito holiday film from 2006, Deck the Halls. Are there enough Christmas lights, atmosphere, and classic carols in this movie to make up for the lack of laughs, or is this a complete dud all around? You'll have to listen to find out the answer, but Spoiler Alert: all three hosts are on the same page this week, even when it comes to whether or not there is a genuine Linus Moment in this film! Also discussed, a question of the week that has been provided to us once again by Reddit listener, GaryBlauman: "Have you found yourself searching for Christmas feels more than usual now while in self isolation? If so, how have you accomplished that?" So enjoy this fun, feisty episode while preparing your long weekend barbecues, and listen closely to hear which Christmas podcast host will be joining us next week on the show! 

Show notes