My Brother, My Brother and Me (MBMBaM) 794: Candlenights XXX

Release Date: December 22, 2025
Hosts: Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy

Overview

This festive episode of MBMBaM celebrates the annual "Candlenights" tradition – the McElroy family’s tongue-in-cheek, all-inclusive holiday. The brothers trade irreverent banter, tackle listener questions about holiday antics, and play a signature game dissecting real and imagined Hallmark holiday specials. The show steers into absurd holiday hypotheticals, workplace party etiquette, and invented holiday lore, maintaining the trademark warmth and playful nonsense that defines Candlenights.

Key Segments & Topics

1. Opening Festivities & Christmas Mischief

[01:10-02:01]

• Griffin introduces himself as the “sweet baby elf” causing “Christmas mischief.”
• The trio jokes about Christmas mischief (eating candy canes, smashing gingerbread houses, and tummy aches).

2. Scrooge’s Redemption Arc: How Long Does It Stick?

[02:01-06:22]

• The brothers ponder Scrooge’s transformation in A Christmas Carol.
• Debate if Scrooge’s generosity and goodness actually lasts beyond Christmas Day.
• Satirical speculation on Scrooge’s finances after his wild acts of charity:
  • Justin: “I think Scrooge makes it to dinner before he's like, ‘fucking hell, man.’” [03:21]
  • Financial logistics poked fun at: “They have to invent all kinds of currencies…” [05:46]

3. The Candlenights Live Show & Theater Anecdotes

[06:22-09:31]

• Justin shares updates on swapping roles in local theater with news anchor Tim Ear (Scrooge & Jacob Marley), including Tim’s method acting and enormous custom steel chains.
  • Justin: “Tim here is wearing gym shorts, a T shirt, chains, and a mouthful of green blood that he barfs on me for no reason I can discern.” [07:57]

4. Holiday Advice: Candlenights School Gift Bags

[10:07-14:14]

• Listener asks what to put in a Candlenights-themed gift bag for school.
• The brothers riff on the invented holiday’s lore:
  • Large, impractical props as Candlenights symbols (long candles, Buicks).
  • Fun Dip (Lick a Maid) and stickers ultimately recommended as the most inclusive, real-world solution.
  • Candlenights canon: "It can be whatever you want it to be. Put whatever you want to in this bag... that's part of the canon now." — Griffin [13:30]
• Anecdotes about prop storage, including a TARDIS and clown box for the theater show.

5. Workplace Holiday Party Etiquette

[15:59-19:47]

• Listener worries about how drunk is too drunk at a work party with near-strangers.
  • Justin: “The answer here is to just not be the drunkest person there.” [18:35]
  • Griffin shares his humbling "Sonic the Hedgehog" over-imbibing incident at a Halloween party, calling it his personal “Christmas Carol” epiphany. [17:29]

6. Horses, Santas, and Animal Holiday Lore

[19:50-25:39]

• Listener with horses asks how to keep horses “believing” in Santa after they see humans deliver treats.
• The brothers examine the logic of animal holiday characters, referencing "Peppa Pig," "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse," and the confusing logic of Santa in animal universes.
  • Spirals into the invention of “cat Santa,” and talk about Grumpy Cat’s real name, tartar sauce, and its trademarked beverage partnerships.
  • Griffin: “It can’t be a character or performance anything. It’s a cat with a cat brain… he gets one name, and that name’s Grumpy Cat.” [22:25]

7. Inventing Hallmark Holiday Movie Plots

[34:14-47:06]

• Justin leads a game where he mixes real and invented Hallmark holiday movie synopses; Griffin and Travis try to guess which are real.
  • Oi to the World: Real Hallmark movie involving Hanukkah at an Episcopal church. [34:44]
  • A Limitless Christmas: Fake.
  • Christmas at the Catnip Cafe: Real; features a cat café inheritance.
  • A Grand Ole Opry Christmas: Real; time-travel musical drama.
  • My Husband is a Ghost: Fake; centers on a ghostly Civil War general.

Notable Quote:
“Some maker of these fine holiday films ran out of things to do holiday films about... I can Christmas that. I can cat cafe, veterinarian, hot veterinarian, good to go.” — Griffin [39:31]

8. Neighborhood Holiday Decor Dilemmas

[50:24-53:47]

• Listener is scared of a neighbor’s massive, glowing 12-foot wooden reindeer.
• The brothers discuss holiday decorations' intimidating aesthetics and make tongue-in-cheek suggestions (e.g., reorienting the reindeer to freak out the neighbors).
• Reference to the Swedish Gävle Goat, a famous regularly-burned yuletide effigy.

9. Endfare & Merch

[54:13-55:22]

• Thanks to Candlenights attendees and info on streaming the show.
• Plug for new merchandise (dice trays, posters, ornaments) and donations to the charity Harmony House.

10. Fear of the Year Closer

[55:22-56:24]

• The show closes with a final “fear of the year”: cracking an egg and finding a baby bird.
  • Griffin: “This one’s a real one. Start your engines. This year I want to be faster than my fear of cracking an egg and a baby bird falling out.” [55:40]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “These ghosts have taken everything from me.” — Griffin [04:40]
• “There's also no scene in the show where Ebenezer Scrooge... gives someone a ham and they're like, ‘Actually still fuck you, though.’” — Griffin [05:09]
• “Stay inside.” — The brothers, mocking obvious advice around party behavior [17:27]
• “You don’t have to put it in your home, Justin.” — Travis, on Justin’s compulsion to store random theater props at home [15:40]
• “If you're hitting swishes on Connect Four basketball, people are going to sort of talk about you in a Cool Way from then on.” — Griffin [19:07]
• “I don’t think you should burn this 12 foot tall, bright white reindeer.” — Travis [51:44]
• “Why not just call it Foliardieu? Like why do you joke out?” — Griffin, getting inexplicably lost in “double yoker” semantics [56:09]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:21 – Theme song & intros
• 02:01 – Scrooge deep dive & Christmas Carol breakdown
• 06:22 – Candlenights live show and Jacob Marley chain anecdote
• 10:07 – Advice: Candlenights school gift bag
• 15:59 – Work holiday party alcohol advice
• 19:50 – Horses, Santa, and animal holiday universes
• 34:14 – Hallmark movie guessing game
• 50:24 – Listener worried about giant reindeer decoration
• 54:13 – Candlenights wrap-up, merch, and charity notes
• 55:22 – Final “fear of the year”

Overall Tone & Style

The episode blends the McElroys’ quick-witted, sibling-comedy dynamic with off-the-wall holiday scenarios, absurdist hypotheticals, and gentle riffing on holiday traditions (real and imagined). The language is mischievous, irreverent, and bursting with inside jokes, but always anchored by good-natured sibling warmth.

For Newcomers

If you’ve never listened, this episode is a quintessential Candlenights celebration — full of improvisational comedy, affectionate mockery of holiday customs, unexpected tangents, and the earnest support for fans and the broader community that defines MBMBaM.