Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers

Episode: Haunted Houses, A Christmas Tree Costume, & the Christopher Columbus Classic: Listener Episode #17

Release Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: Seth Meyers & Josh Meyers

Episode Overview

This listener-focused episode dives into memorable, hilarious, and touching audience stories around Halloween and autumn, while the Meyers brothers banter about haunted houses, costume disasters, and weird football traditions overseas. Although this episode’s stories aren’t all trips, they’re all “October” to the core, combining haunted house debacles, adolescent humiliation in a Christmas tree costume, and the oddity of small-college football on a rainy day in Ireland. Seth and Josh riff with warmth and big-brother energy, occasionally poking fun at each other, their listeners, and themselves.

Key Discussion Points & Notable Segments

1. Opening Banter: Sleepy Dads & Costumed Chaos

Timestamps: 00:00–05:14

• Steelers Loss Aftermath:
  • Seth laments staying up late to watch the Steelers lose (“…every time they lose, I start daydreaming about what I’m going to be in the future.” – Seth, 01:24).
  • Josh points out Seth’s obsessive fandom: “It is here for you. It is available to you to not get so wound up.” (00:59)
• “Musical Beds” at the Meyers House:
  • Seth recounts nights of kids with nightmares, Rubik’s Cube–style toys, Peppa Pig stories at full blast—“It felt like a child’s nightclub.” (03:29)
  • Cute moment: Addie sleeps well with Seth but not with mom, prompting Alexi to look exhausted the next day.
• Memorial Dog Hat:
  • Seth explains his “Friselli Jones” hat in memory of his late dog (05:02–05:14).

2. Early Relationships & Marriage Quirks

Timestamps: 05:22–07:32

• Cork Hat Story:
  • Josh reveals his wife, Mackenzie, roasted him for wearing cork trucker hats: “You look like a real cork dork.” (06:18)
  • The brothers joke about things you learn after getting married.

3. Halloween Plans & Grand Canyon Fundraiser

Timestamps: 07:32–09:22

• Upcoming Halloween Walk:
  • Seth’s taking his kids to a wizard-themed Halloween walk at a local farm: “It’s really good times.” (07:51)
• Grand Canyon Fire Fundraiser:
  • Josh highlights their $4,000+ fundraising effort, including a $10,000 match, for wildfire relief at the Grand Canyon (07:54–08:48).
  • Seth jokes about his competing “fill it up with rocks” fake fundraiser (08:21).

4. Listener Stories: Haunted Houses, Childhood Costumes, and Rainy Irish Football

Listener Story #1: “Zombie Haunted House Debacle”

Jeff from Illinois — [10:09–12:51]

• Jeff, a struggling actor, shares about working a haunted house for “rich drunks” in Chicago in 2023.
• Haunted house lacked safety permits and was literally missing a wall; zombies stationed in unsafe conditions.
• Chicago PD, with body cameras, shut it down mid-evening (“…is Chicago PD body cam footage of me as a zombie, unsure if I should break character or not.” — Jeff, 11:56)
• Fellow zombies confront organizers for endangering them. In the end, Jeff did get paid, but only barely.
• Quip: “I should give up on my creative dreams. If this and two TikTok videos are all I can book.”

Meyers Brothers’ Reaction:

• Seth: “Do you think it’s hard to make the argument that you could have killed me when you were dressed like a zombie?” (13:01)
• Josh shares haunted house memories—including the importance of actors caring about their roles for a truly scary experience.
• Josh’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”–inspired costume story (15:53).
• Banter: Seth cleaned up spilled coffee with a sock mid–story (16:37).

Listener Story #2: “The Christmas Tree Costume”

Cole from Perry, Ohio — [23:24–26:45]

• At age 12, Cole’s mom makes an epic Christmas tree costume with lights and jingle bells, hoping for Halloween costume contest glory.
• By October 31st, classmates dismiss costumes as “for little kids.”
• Cole feels shame but wears the costume anyway—her coming-of-age moment: “I became someone who would literally never fucking wear a Christmas tree costume on Halloween.” (26:45)
• Seth: “That was the day I realized I’d no longer do the thing that no one else had ever done.” (26:46)

Meyers Brothers’ Reactions:

• Josh recalls being an oven for Halloween – equally uncomfortable and uncool as a preteen.
• Both reflect on changing attitudes toward costumes and their own kids’ Halloween choices (Ash wants to be Captain America—“huge disappointment to Alexi,” who hates IP costumes).

Listener Story #3: “Christopher Columbus Classic”

Tracy from Indianapolis — [37:07–41:15]

• Tracy’s brother played small-college football at Tufts; in the early 1990s, the team flies to Ireland to play Bowdoin in the “Christopher Columbus Classic” in Galway.
• Thanksgiving dinner thrown by hotel: “Everything was black and gold and sparkly…just really cute and funny. I don’t know who thought that’s how we celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S.” (39:05)
• Parade, autographs, “treated like celebrities” — despite being D-III teams.
• Game day: pouring rain, swampy field, final score 7–3 (“such a bad game”).
• Still, “an awesome experience.”

Meyers Brothers’ Reactions:

• Discussion about low-scoring sports and football’s weirdness in Europe.
• Josh recounts meeting a Steelers fan during a hike in Ireland, instantly connecting (“I just became dad in that moment. I couldn’t help myself.” — 43:51).

5. Family Memories, Parenting & Halloween Reflections

Timestamps: 28:43–34:46

• Seth gives updates on his own kids’ evolving Halloween costume tastes (28:43–30:53).
• Seth’s son Axel stood up for a bullied kid at school—he was prouder of the new office couch than his own maturity (30:53–31:53).
• Brothers remember their mom as French teacher & “fun mom” for their friends (32:46–34:43).

6. Closing Thoughts and Musical Recap

Timestamps: 45:02–48:06

• “We hope you guys are into [Halloween]. Just because we don’t like something doesn’t mean we don’t want other people to like it.” (45:15)
• Seth jokes about decorating the house to look like the Grand Canyon to avoid giving out candy.
• Musical Recap (G): Listener stories are recapped in charming, Seuss-like rhymes:
  • “Jeff from Illinois worked at a haunted house that was for rich drunks…zombies had to go home, and the ghost never got to say boo.” (45:56)
  • “Cole was a preteen…Christmas tree for Halloween…Still wore a trick or treat, mom had made it so she just had to Sprucey.” (46:33)
  • “Tracy’s older brother had an opportunity to go to Galway…But then the score…7, to 3…Bad footy.” (47:45)
• Josh and Seth send off the audience with love and appreciation for the stories.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Haunted House Safety:
  “Is it hard to make the argument you could have killed me when you’re dressed like a zombie?” — Seth (13:01)

• On Outgrowing Costumes:
  “I became someone who would literally never fucking wear a Christmas tree costume on Halloween.” — Cole (26:45)

• On Parental Memory:
  “I don’t recall, and this is not a diss on you, mother, I don’t recall mom, like, making us costumes.” — Josh (32:11)

• On Steelers Fandom:
  “When dad sees the word Steelers printed on a piece of clothing, he reads the words, Larry, I want you to talk to me.” — Seth (43:16)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00 – Sibling check-in, post–Steelers loss
• 01:57 – “Musical beds” and parenting chaos
• 05:02 – Seth’s memorial dog hat
• 06:18 – Josh gets called a “cork dork”
• 07:32 – Halloween walk plans, Grand Canyon fundraiser launched
• 10:09 – Listener Story: Haunted House (Jeff, Illinois)
• 13:01 – Haunted house actors “love of the game,” Josh’s Pan’s Labyrinth anecdote
• 23:24 – Listener Story: Christmas Tree Costume (Cole, Ohio)
• 28:43 – Reflections on Halloween costumes and parenting
• 37:07 – Listener Story: Christopher Columbus Classic (Tracy, Indianapolis)
• 45:02 – Outro, musical recap of listener stories

Tone & Style

The conversation is playful, self-deprecating, and filled with brotherly teasing. The hosts warmly engage with listener stories—sometimes commiserating, sometimes playfully ribbing both the stories and each other. There’s gentle nostalgia for awkward adolescence, honest parenting tales, and a subtle thread about the weirdness of American traditions seen from the outside.

Summary for Listeners

Even if you’re new to “Family Trips,” this episode offers a charming blend of relatable disasters, family mayhem, and honest reflections on growing up, all perfectly seasoned for Halloween. From the hazards of haunted house gigs to the humiliation of being “too old” for jingle bells, and the absurdity of American football in the Irish rain, it’s a celebration of what makes fall—with all its foibles—memorable. The memorable Meyers chemistry is at full strength, and the listener stories are the stars.