E236: Sex with Other People…Around: Our Holiday Do’s and Don’ts

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Pillow Talks — E236: Sex with Other People…Around: Our Holiday Do’s and Don’ts
Hosts: Vanessa & Xander Marin
Date: November 27, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this lively, candid, and often hilarious holiday-themed episode, Vanessa (a sex therapist with 20 years of experience) and Xander (her charming, “regular dude” husband) explore the awkward, funny, and surprisingly common topic of having sex when other people are around—specifically during the holidays when couples are often staying with family or hosting guests themselves.

The duo shares survey results, etiquette opinions, practical strategies, personal anecdotes, and crowd-sourced cringe stories from listeners. Their aim: to help listeners maintain intimacy while navigating the chaos and stress of shared spaces, all with the signature “Pillow Talks” blend of wit, vulnerability, and practicality.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is Holiday Horniness a Thing? (01:51–04:06)

• Surprising Research: Vanessa shares surprising recent research suggesting people feel hornier during holidays, which contradicts her anecdotal experience of most couples expressing a decreased sex drive due to stress, lack of privacy, and family obligations.
• Vanessa: “I was very surprised to see this recent research that people are reporting that they're feeling very horny, even having the most babies in September. The timing of that lines up with some holiday conceptions.” (01:34)
• Xander’s Theory: The hosts question whether being “horny” is about genuine desire or just sexual frustration from being close but not having privacy.

2. What Do People Really Do? Poll Results (05:11–06:14)

• Roughly 46% of listeners feel comfortable having sex at someone else's house (parents, in-laws, etc.) and 50% with guests in their own home—higher than Vanessa and Xander expected.
• Xander: “I thought that fewer people would be comfortable. Maybe like 30, 70 or something.” (05:11)
• The tiny gap suggests being a host or guest makes little difference for most people.

3. Etiquette & Mindset: Is It Okay? (06:14–08:43)

• The hosts agree: Yes, it’s fine to have sex as long as you’re discreet and respectful.
• Roommate Rule: Treat family/guests like “roommates” during shared stay—maintain your private life but be courteous (e.g., keep noise down, use a closed door).
• Vanessa: “Nobody says that you have to be chaste, you know, when you're a houseguest or you have houseguests. …As long as there can be a closed door, then that's fine.” (06:41)

4. Personal Habits & Holiday Challenges (09:51–13:13)

• Vanessa and Xander admit they usually have less sex during the holidays, mainly due to exhaustion, busy schedules, and discomfort with being quiet.
• Xander: “You actually don't like having quiet sex.” (10:37)
• They resolve to take on a “holiday sex challenge” for the sake of research and promise to report back.

5. General Pro-Tip: Maintenance/Vacation Sex (13:50–14:40)

• Keep holiday sex simple—stick to “maintenance” or “vanilla” sex rather than experimenting with loud toys, messy lubes, or complicated scenarios.
• Vanessa: “Don't whip out the new loud, validating sex toy or the new lube that might stain the sheets or something like that. Like, just keep it classic.” (13:55)

6. Practical Tips for Stealthy Holiday Sex (17:18–29:32)

Pitfall 1: Thin Walls & Noisy Houses

Tips:

• Travel with a white noise machine and claim it’s for sleep (18:58)
• Use TV or music as cover (19:24–19:35)
• The bathroom or shower as alternative, if privacy allows (“built-in white noise”) (20:01)
• More kissing = less moaning; moan into pillow or each other’s mouths (20:27)
• Vanessa: “I think we have done that sometimes and that's actually been really hot—to like have to put a pillow over your own face...” (20:54)

Pitfall 2: Small or Squeaky Bed

Tips:

• Favor positions with maximum body overlap (missionary, cowgirl, spooning)
• Recreate teenage nostalgia by “sneaking around” if the bedroom hasn’t changed since adolescence (22:47)
• If the bed’s squeaky, move to the floor—Xander’s version of the “holiday classic” (23:19)
• “Holiday classic” = quiet sex on the floor, per Xander (23:50)

Pitfall 3: General Nerves & Awkwardness

Tips:

• Wait until everyone’s asleep or try early morning (“cockadoodle doo,” see below) (25:53, 35:57)
• Consider car sex (go back to “lover’s lane,” get creative outside) (26:53)
• Always lock or block the door—shockingly common mistake is forgetting (28:02)

Pitfall 4: Evidence

Tips:

• Avoid messes (staining lube, white sheets)—especially on period (28:20)
• Bundle up sheets/towels and start laundry yourself (29:05)
• Never flush condoms (can cause plumbing disasters). Take all trash offsite if needed. (31:02)
• Beware the family dog—numerous stories of dogs retrieving, um, “evidence.” (31:22)

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Community Pro Tips from Instagram (35:42–38:06)

• Early Morning Sex: Many find this most private and less suspicious (35:57)
  • Xander: “The old cockadoodle doo… sounds like a great way to wake everyone up with a smile.” (35:57)
• Play Music All Day: Build the “norm” of background music so you can turn it up when needed (37:10)
• Secret Code Word: Develop an “opportunity” signal with your partner to seize private moments (37:31)

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Funniest Listener Stories (38:06–43:13)

Vanessa and Xander share vivid, cringeworthy, and laugh-inducing stories crowdsourced from Instagram:

• Disastrous Kitchen Cleanup: Midnight sex results in visible evidence; the host’s father scrubs the (bodily fluid) stain with bare hands. (38:43)
• Pet Interference: A German Shepherd, hearing a noise during guests’ living room rendezvous, attacks the guest in the act. (39:29)
• Son Overhears New Vibrator: Family members (plus the couple’s teenage son) all hear their “holiday cheer.” (40:43)
• Book Club Surprise: Returning book club members overhear a noisy session—instead of shame, they offer words of encouragement: “Oh, to be young and in love. Enjoy your youth.” (41:25)
• RV Shake: Vibrations from morning sex in the bedroom make cooking eggs in the kitchen easier (“The guy said he didn't even need to flip the eggs in the pan.”) (41:41)
• Car Call of Shame: Midwife asks about sex in front of the woman’s mom post-morning session, revealing everything (42:15)
• Bathroom Blockade Blunder: Sister-in-law, desperate with diarrhea, is forced to use a trash can because the couple is having sex in the shared bath (43:03)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Vanessa: "As long as there's a closed door, that's fine…You can think of these people as your roommates." (06:37)
• Xander: "I don't want to have to, like, change up what I do. Well, let's be real, you actually don't like having quiet sex." (10:33)
• Vanessa: "Don't whip out the new loud, validating sex toy or the new lube that might stain the sheets…keep it classic." (13:55)
• Xander: "If the bed’s squeaky, avoid the bed altogether. Just do it on the floor. Make a little sex fort." (23:19)
• Vanessa: "Sex doesn’t have to be intercourse. You can be a lot quieter and have just as much fun using your hands, using your mouths, even masturbating side by side." (24:39)
• On condom disposal: "Pack it in, pack it out… It's sort of like camping." (31:16)
• On family bedding: "Your parents…are notorious for having terrible ratty ass sheets… Those pillows are probably older than I am." (29:44)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:51–04:06 — Holiday horniness research and reactions
• 05:11–06:14 — Instagram poll results about sex as a guest/host
• 06:14–08:43 — Etiquette: Should you have sex as a guest or with guests?
• 09:51–13:13 — Personal stories and holiday sex challenge
• 17:18–20:27 — Practical tips: Noise, TV, white noise, location choice
• 21:14–24:39 — Strategies for small/squeaky beds, creative locations
• 25:53–29:16 — General nerves, car sex, locking doors, evidence management
• 35:42–38:06 — Community pro tips (music, code words, early mornings)
• 38:06–43:13 — Listener stories: wild fails and close calls

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Conclusion & Tone

With frankness, laughter, and zero shame, Vanessa and Xander remind listeners that keeping intimacy alive is possible—even when surrounded by family, in-laws, or houseguests. Their advice strikes a balance between being respectful and fun—encouraging creativity and communication without risking comfort or relationships. The contagious humor and relatability make the episode less about sex technique and more about facing the genuinely tricky (and hilarious) realities of being a sexual human in a family context.

Next week: They promise to “report back about how our horn doggery goes.” (43:42)

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Perfect For: Anyone feeling awkward, nervous, or just curious about navigating sex during the holidays, or those seeking to laugh at the shared weirdness of family (and the behind-the-doors stories we rarely speak about in polite company).

Transcript

[A]

Is it okay to, like, fuck at somebody else's house? Or is that like an impolite thing? Is this one of you don't see this in etiquette rules? Oh, Always bring your host a gift and make sure you don't fuck in their house. Hello and welcome to the Pillow Talks podcast. We're your hosts, Vanessa and Xander Marin. I'm a sex therapist with over 20 years of experience.

[B]

And I'm just a regular dude.

[C]

We share the ups and downs in.

[B]

Our relationship while giving you step techniques for improving yours.

[A]

Make sure you subscribe for your weekly double date full of totally doable sex tips, practical relationship advice, hilarious and honest stories of what really goes on behind closed bedroom doors, and so much more. It's the sex education you wish you'd had. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

[D]

We're feeling extra grateful today and maybe even a little nostalgic because we're going way back, way back into the Pillow.

[A]

Talks archives, all the way back to episode 30 from 2021.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Where we talked about having sex when other people are around.

[D]

This one's holiday themed, but honestly, it's a must. Listen if you are a parent. For anyone who lives with their in laws or with their own parents, or anyone sharing space with roommates, having sex.

[A]

When there are guests in your house or when you're the guest can be super stressful. Like, you want to be respectful, but also sometimes you just want to get it in right.

[D]

So in this episode, we're going to break down how to discreetly and politely get down wherever you're spending the holidays.

[A]

You'll learn whether it's actually okay to have sex when guests are around. Our best tips for pulling it off quietly and the most common mistakes to avoid.

[D]

Plus, you do not want to miss some of the sex gone wrong stories that we pulled from Instagram.

[A]

So grab a cozy blanket, maybe put in those earbuds if you're around family already. And let's get into it. We were talking on Instagram about the fact that there's been some recent research that has found people tend to feel hornier around the holidays. And this was actually really shocking to me because every time that I've talked about sex drive around the holidays, people have always said, my sex drive tanks. I'm stressed. There's people around, all the pressure of the holidays. I just do not want to have it. So I was very surprised to see this recent research that people are reporting that they're feeling very horny, even having the most babies in September. And the timing of that kind of lines up with some holiday conceptions.

[B]

There's like a small group of real horn dogs. They're just cranking out babies on the holidays.

[A]

Another merch idea.

[B]

A small but mighty group of horn dogs.

[A]

I want to make a sweatshirt that says certified horn dog.

[B]

How about small but mighty horn dog?

[A]

That would be me. Small but mighty horn dog.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

All right, well, you're laughing it off over there. What I wonder about this research, is that what I noticed? You know, we talked about this the other day, but when you said it just now, what it made me think of people reporting being horny and then, wow, you know, I'm trying to. I'm trying to carry. Oh, I saw that. I'm. I'm trying to carry this podcast. But you know what I wonder is reporting that you feel horny versus actually having sex are possibly two different things. So it may be that during the holidays, it's possible that you're spending some more time together with your partner, so you might have more opportunities to get horny to. Then you probably end up just sexually frustrated because you're like, shit, I've got mom and dad, aunt and uncle, little cousins on the couch outside my room. You know, we just can't have sex.

[A]

I have actual tears in my eyes right now. But I was trying to bring this back around and talk about, you know, maybe a lot of us are feeling horny, but one of the things that's getting in the way is this issue of being around more family and not maybe having the privacy that you're used to having, being in a different location than you're used to. That is what we are gonna get into today. Talking about, is it okay to have sex when you have houseguests or you are a houseguest? Some specific tips for how to do it if you feel like you want to do it, and even some really hilarious stories you guys submitted to us on Instagram about sex gone wrong with house guests around. All right, so let's get into it. The first thing we did, as always, is going over to our Instagram audience and asking a few questions about this. First question we asked, do you feel comfortable having sex at your parents or your in laws or your siblings, whatever, some other family member at their house? And 46% of people said yes, 54 said no.

[B]

This is actually a little higher than I thought. I thought that fewer people would be comfortable. Maybe like 30, 70 or something.

[A]

Yeah, I was expecting it to be a little more in that range too. And then we also asked, do you feel comfortable having sex when you have houseguests. So we wanted to see like if there was going to be a difference difference between being a house guest versus being the host. And actually that poll was only 50 50, so there was like a 4% difference of people felt slightly more comfortable having sex in their own house versus at somebody else's house. And I was surprised by that too. I was expecting way more people to feel comfortable being like, it's my house.

[B]

Screw em, it's my house. I'm a moan, I'm a moan. You gonna deal with it?

[A]

Screw my partner, you're in my house. I'm gonna screw my partner and I'm gonna moan. Yeah, yeah. I was kind of surprised by these.

[B]

Yeah, I would say, you know, this isn't a statistical analysis, but probably not a massive difference there. 4% gap.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

May not be significant.

[A]

So when we put these polls up, we got a bunch of DMs from people saying like, well, what's your opinion on if this is okay or not? And it was kind of like a little bit of etiquette coming in. Like, is it okay to like at somebody else's house? Or is that like an impolite thing? Is this one of you don't see this in etiquette rules? Oh, always bring your host a gift and make sure you don't fuck in their house. So. So we wanted to kick off with talking about our opinion, how we feel about having sex in other people's house or with guests in your house. And probably will not surprise you to hear that we think that this is totally fine. Nobody says that you have to be chaste, you know, when you're a houseguest or you have houseguests. And I think it's also really important to remember, like, it's not like you're having sex in front of them. Right. There's still privacy. There still should be a closed door. Maybe that's one of the guidelines. As long as there can be a closed door. So if you're staying crashing on somebody's couch or behind a curtain or something like that, like, yeah, maybe not. But as long as there's some closed doors in the way, then that's fine. We think a particular useful distinction can be think about these other people as your roommates rather than family.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, if you've ever lived in a roommate situation, after living with roommates for a little while, you kind of realize like, okay, I got to live my life with, with roommates here or not. And you know, it's like, all right, we got our doors closed, we go, fuck yeah.

[A]

You know, a lot of people get really uncomfortable about it being family. Oh my gosh. Am I allowed to like have sex while my mother is under the same roof? Think about it as, you know, well, what would I do in a roommate situation like this? When I think of having roommates back in the day, it was like, yeah, we have a shared space here and we also have private spaces. You know, we have our. Well, most of my roommate situations were my own room, but, you know, I have my own private space and I get to do what I want to do in my private space. But I think the most important thing about being a good roommate is like being courteous and recognizing there is some aspect of shared space here. So I think the most important aspect of like being a good roommate is just being courteous, being aware of like, yes, I do have my own space here, but also this is a shared space. And so I'm going to be thoughtful of how much noise am I making and who's coming in and out of the house and stuff like that.

[B]

Is the headboard slamming against the wall?

[A]

Yeah, exactly. You can think of it in the same way. Let's say that you're staying, you know, at your parents house. Okay. This is probably not the time to be like role playing jungle animals. Using your loudest paddle on your partner.

[B]

Not practicing your primal screaming.

[A]

Who does that during sex?

[B]

I'm sure that's a thing. I'm sure if I were to google everything primal scream sex, I'm sure there are plenty of people practicing that.

[A]

Okay, so don't have your primal scream sex when you're at your parents house. Especially if you know that this is like an old house and it has thin walls. We'll get into all that kind of logistical stuff in a minute.

[B]

Unless maybe your parents have hearing problems and you know, you know, it's night, they take their hearing aids out, boom, you're good to go.

[A]

That would be my dad. You cannot hear anything about those. You know, as long as you're just being respectful and you're making an effort to not be seen or heard, that it's fine. Right? Okay, what is our track record? Being house guests or having house guests? What do you think?

[B]

I think we don't have a ton of sex. I think we don't. And if I think about it, it probably, you know, I guess there's part of me where I'm like, I feel a little self conscious about what you were just talking about. Making noise or kind of doing what we typically do. I guess I'm making it sound like we.

[A]

We are making it sound like we have primal scream sex.

[B]

Yeah. Like I'm making it sound like we're really loud. I think that we're probably pretty average.

[A]

Actually. We're not. We have done some polls recently about do people make noise or not, and the vast majority of people are very quiet.

[B]

No.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

We're definitely louder than we make noise.

[B]

We say things to each other. I kind of feel like, you know, I don't want to have to like, I don't know, change up what I do or.

[A]

Well, let's be real. You actually don't like having quiet sex.

[D]

I don't.

[B]

That's true. Yeah, that's true.

[A]

So that's always being a. Been a big impediment because when we have. Both of our parents have older houses with not particularly thick wall, it that parents always have that creaky old houses.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And Xander really does not like having to be quiet. Because you don't like me being quiet because it makes you feel like I'm not enjoying myself.

[B]

Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, I guess so. And yeah, I like to be able to have a little moan here and there.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But so there's that aspect. I think the other bit of it is that, you know, when we are having house guests or when we are house guests with someone else, I'm probably a little more emotionally like energetically drained than usual. Because, you know, you're hosting or you're trying to be a good guest. Typically when people are over or you're over with someone else, like you're doing more stuff than your typical day to day at home. And so, you know, oftentimes it's like by the end of the day, like spent with family, I'm like pretty exhausted. And then I'm like, okay, let's just go to bed.

[A]

Yeah. I think you and I, we're the opposite of this new research. I think that we tend to have a lower sex drive around the holidays because we're doing so much stuff with family. We're kind of running around. There's a lot of different activities that are going on. It just. It's not for us. It's not a ton about like, oh my God, it's so wrong for us to have sex with our parents in the next room. But more like I'm just not really in the mood after like a full day of family stuff.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I would say we have a pretty good Thing going on at.

[A]

Home here and sustains us through the holidays.

[B]

Yeah, we have a pretty good thing.

[A]

It's always fun. The first time after the holidays is always fun. You're like, thank God back in our space. Can be as loud as we want. Catching up for a little bit of missed time.

[B]

Yeah, missed time.

[A]

Mixed time.

[B]

Making up for lost time.

[A]

Making up for lost. Catching up to making up for.

[B]

Just making up for lost time.

[A]

Making up for lost time.

[B]

But, Vanessa, I have an idea. Should we resolve on this podcast to try to have more sex over the holidays? Should we make this a challenge?

[A]

Okay. How much sex?

[B]

I mean, I guess let's just try to do it a normal amount. I feel like what often? What often? What often happens with us is like, you know, where we go for the holidays is not. We're not like flying across the country. We use. It's like a two hour drive or something at most. And we, you know, tend to spend maybe like four or five days away. So it's very common that maybe we just like, won't have sex while we're away because we're like, okay, whatever. We'll be home in a couple days. Okay, let's try to do it.

[A]

All right. And we will report back.

[B]

Let's try to do it as much as we can for research.

[A]

For research. For research purposes. All right, well, we will report back to you in January and let you know how our holiday sex challenge went.

[B]

All right. Yeah. Hopefully no parents are listening to this episode. Is this coming out before we go home? I don't know.

[C]

It is.

[B]

All right, we'll see. Okay, so see K and E, if you are listening, don't talk to them. Hope you don't mind.

[A]

Our bedrooms are very cold.

[B]

We'll bring our white. We'll bring our white noise machine.

[A]

We're gonna get into the tips in a minute, man. Okay, so our general pro tip for holiday time sex. Sex with. With or being houseguests. Is that this can just be a good time for maintenance sex or vanilla sex. Don't whip out the new loud, validating sex toy or the new lube that might stain the sheets or something like that. Like, just keep it classic. The classic sex that you usually have. I think that's a good general rule of thumb.

[B]

The holiday classics.

[A]

That should be a new sex position. The holiday classic.

[B]

What is it, though?

[A]

Just missionary?

[B]

Well, no, I. I have a tip when we get to the sex positions. Hold tight, people.

[A]

Xander actually has a tip. Oh, my God.

[B]

I have an idea. For what? The holiday classic is we'll get there in a little while.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

So keep listening, don't stop.

[A]

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[D]

So Vanessa and I just got back from a trip. We were gone in Morocco for 10 days and the favorite product that I brought along with me was my Nature Sunshine Brain Edge. So personally I'm not a huge coffee drinker and when I'm traveling it can be hard for me to find a good quality drink. Meaning that it can be tempting to reach for some of those caffeinated products, you know what I'm talking about. The ones that make you feel jittery or come with kind of a bit of a crash soon after you drink them. So that's why I brought my Nature Sunshine Brain Edge packets with me. You just pour them into a little water bottle, shake it up. It's a delicious tasting drink and it helps me feel more clear headed and alert. Especially after a long travel halfway around the world or you're battling a little bit of jet lag. So whether you're traveling or not, don't fight through feeling foggy and lethargic. Ignite your mental performance. With Brain Edge, Nature Sunshine is offering 20% off your first order plus free shipping. Go to naturesunshine.com and use the Code Pillow at checkout. That's Code Pillow natureatureaturesunshine.com.

[A]

So let's talk about some of the common pitfalls that come up when you're having sex at somebody else's house and we're gonna give you our tips for the best way to kind of maneuver around those pitfalls so that you can continue to be intimate and have some holiday classics. First thing that comes up. Thin walls. Your parents have that. Crickety. Oh, crockety crackity. Drafty. No, creaky. I already had to stop recording this podcast once to have Xander remind me of the word. Then I forgot it. Crackity. Somehow came up drafty.

[B]

You said creaky. You've now said drafty about three times.

[A]

Where drafty came from.

[B]

I mean, drafting means, like, there's holes in the wall, you know, like the. You know, the outside air is blowing through. Okay, that might qualify, too.

[A]

Creaky. Old parents house. Couple of thoughts here. First thing is kind of going back to, like, the roommates and, like, being courteous. Example that we were talking about is I think that there's a big difference between, like, accidentally letting out a slightly louder than you would have liked it to be moan versus intentionally making your primal screams or your jungle roleplay noises.

[B]

Yeah, I think the really important thing here is that a super short, accidental noise is unlikely to really arouse very much suspicion. If you think back to have you ever had roommates and have you ever thought that you heard a sex sound coming through the wall and then you stop to listen and then you don't hear it again, and you just think, oh, well, you know, that must have been something else. It wasn't sex, you know, I'm not hearing anything.

[A]

Yeah, we just kind of wanted to start that by saying it's okay if you do end up being a little louder than you realized. But here are some ways to avoid that. One could be bring a white noise machine with you. So we do this. We travel with our noise machine because we actually genuinely love sleeping with white noise. But this is such a crafty little trick. Tell your parents I brought my white noise machine with me. I've gotten really used to it. But then it's actually providing a little bit of soundproofing, too.

[B]

Some cover.

[A]

Another thing is you can always turn the TV on. I'm actually not a huge fan of sex to the tv because there's just inevitably something weird on. But do what you gotta do.

[B]

I put some music on instead, if that's a possibility.

[A]

We have a good pro tip coming up in a little bit about that. But have some music going on. Another thing is, you could do it in the bathroom. Again, it's another door. So if it's a private bathroom, like maybe an ensuite. An ensuite yeah, my parents house is not fancy, but the bedroom that we always stay in has an ensuite and it is the furthest room from every other room. So sometimes it works out in your favor or even do it in the shower.

[B]

Built in white noise.

[A]

You may know how we feel about this. We are actually not huge fans of shower sex.

[B]

Yeah, if you have a one foot height difference, probably shower sex is not working for you very well. Believe me, I've tried. More power to you.

[A]

If it does work like you say you've tried, I haven't been a part of it too.

[B]

As the partner responsible for more of the penetrating and thrusting, there's a lot.

[A]

Of maneuvering I'm doing. Trying to help out too. Okay, other tips, if you focus on having more kissing, you'll probably hear less audible moaning. So you can kind of like distract each other by having more kissing or even kind of moan into each other's mouths. Your moans with your mouths or with your pillow? I mean, I think we have done that sometimes and that's actually been really hot to like have to put a pillow over your own face or put a pillow over your partner's face. Like this could be very sexy. And then another tip here. For some people, quiet sex may be fun. So for us actually, I like it. I think there can be something fun about like trying to be sneaky and like, let's not get caught. Let's be as quiet as we can. But I think for you it just feels like, like hello? Is anybody there?

[B]

Yeah, I mean I, Yeah, I guess, I guess for me what it is is that it's a. I like to try to get a sense of, of where you are, how you're doing and kind of try to adjust my own timing accordingly. And when it's really quiet, it can be hard to do that. Yeah, it can feel a bit more one sided. Oh, like I'm just being quiet, quiet, quiet. And like, oh my God, I'm about to come.

[A]

All right, let's talk about the next pitfall, which is us. A small bed.

[B]

Classic.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

Hopefully it's not like, hopefully it's not like the college twin XL type situation.

[A]

I had a twin bed for a long time that I had to come back to and that was not pleasant. Fortunately my parents upgraded, but I think a lot of people, yeah, you're going back and you're sleeping in this tiny little bed. So if that's the case for you, you really gotta be strategic with your positions. Positions where your bodies are overlapping as much as possible since you're not gonna have a ton of room to maneu around. Missionary. The old standby cowgirl like woman on top or even spooning can work sometimes too in a small bed. Another thing that you can do if you're really stuck in that twin bed situation, you could always try like role playing, being teenagers again. And I think this works especially well if your bedroom is still like decked out the way it was when you last lived there. If you've got like the Hanson poster on the wall and jtt. Oh yeah, a little JTT action. It could be kind of funny to role play. Like you're sneaking your boyfriend into the house. Like you gotta be quiet so mom doesn't wake up.

[B]

Pretend it's your first time.

[A]

Oh yeah, that could be super sexy. All right. Another variation of this is what if you've got the squeaky bed?

[B]

Oh yeah. I mean, thin walls. I feel like oftentimes that bed in that room at your parents house that no one sleeps on except for you when you come is probably going to be squeaky. Key. My best tip for this is avoid the bed altogether. Just do it on the floor. You know, hopefully maybe there's a rug on the floor or something.

[A]

Pull some pillows down. Make a little sex fort.

[B]

Yeah, make a little fort on the floor. Because most likely the floor is going to be way less creaky than the bed. And you know that, that can be fun. Like you're probably not going to make much noise on the floor. You don't have to worry about the bed squeaking. You don't have to worry about like a headboard bumping around. You know, you don't have to worry falling off the bed. If it's a tiny bed, you know, there's that can go wrong. Maybe the floor is a little less comfortable, but that could be exciting. So that would be my version of the holiday classic. Get on the floor. On the floor? Yeah, just get on the floor.

[A]

The holiday classic is on the floor?

[B]

Yeah. Gotta be quiet.

[A]

Interesting. On the floor is also a position that you do not like to do. Like my knees.

[B]

All right, well, challenge accepted. Challenge accepted.

[A]

We're gonna have more sex at my parents house and we're gonna do the holiday classics.

[B]

Well, you know, I realize we haven't even talked about exactly the sleeping arrangements this time. Who knows, we might not even be in our typical place. But I think there's a carpeted floor.

[D]

We should be good.

[A]

Okay. We'll report back on how the holiday classic was. So this could also be an opportunity to get a little bit creative about the location. Maybe it is in the shower or in the bathroom. If you have a big closet, you could even do it there. Another way that you could get around a squeaky bed. If you are a male female pairing, it doesn't have to be intercourse. You know, we talk about this all the time. Male and female relationships tend to really overemphasize intercourse, as if that's the only thing that counts as sex. But this is kind of another overall pro tip about having sex when you're a houseguest is like sex doesn't have to be intercourse. You can be a lot quieter and have just as much fun using your hands, using your mouths, even masturbating side by side. So. So mix it up a little bit. Finally, I've got a pro tip here.

[B]

A real practical one.

[A]

Yeah, if your bed is super squeaky, you can just tell your parents, oh, I'm gonna fix the bed for you. Like, I don't want to wake anybody up. Or you could even say like, you know, I want to make sure I sleep better and it's not squeaking when I'm trying to roll around or my partner's rolling around.

[B]

Yeah, I was waking up all night last night every time she flipped over.

[A]

So just fix the bed, get out some screwdrivers, tighten the screws, get some WD40, you know, fix the bed.

[B]

Yeah, oftentimes. Oftentimes it's just a couple screws loose. It's pretty easy to fix. Sometimes there's a lot of screws and then you don't know which one is the right one.

[A]

Give it a try.

[C]

They're hard to reach, but give it a try.

[B]

I feel like I'm always trying to fix our bed.

[A]

We do have some squeaking issues also. Maybe a part of the reason why we don't do it so much when we have house guys. This next category is you're nervous. So I think a lot of people just feel plain nervous when they go to their parents or their in laws house. You're worried about being caught. You're worried about what your parents might think. A couple tips for you here. One, just wait until everyone's asleep. Nighttime's always the best time to do it when you're a house guest in somebody else's house. You could also get creative and have sex outside of the house. Nobody says holiday sex has to happen in somebody's house. Maybe you get creative, go outside. Car sex, I think is going to be the easiest one for most people. So this could be another one where it could be fun to. Let's say your hometown has a little lover's lane. You know, maybe you even went there when you were in high school. Like, go back to that spot and have a little bit of sex in the car. And again, sex could be whatever you want it to be. It doesn't have to be intercourse.

[B]

Hey, how come you've never taken me to the lovers lane of your hometown?

[A]

I feel like I have.

[B]

I don't know where it is.

[A]

It's up to Gibraltar.

[B]

Oh, Gibraltar. You know, I'm not sure if there was a lover lane where I grew up or else I just never knew about it.

[A]

See, both of us grew up kind of in the hills. You way more so out in the.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I mean, it could have been anywhere.

[A]

So it literally. Yeah, around where I, both of us live, it's just like, just go down a windy road, there aren't going to be very many people there anyways.

[B]

However, this one does remind me, you know, when we asked some funny questions on Instagram about sex fails or embarrassing situations, And I do remember there was a couple who said that they got caught by the same cop twice. Like one day, and then the next day he's like, go home getting frisky. And he was just like, come on, like, like, you're done.

[A]

Do it at your parents house. Get over it. One other very obvious tip a lot of you seem to not follow is to lock the door. My friends, we heard so many stories about, like, like, oh, somebody just came barging in. I totally forgot to lock the door.

[B]

The other thing parents love to do.

[A]

Yeah, so just lock it. If there's not a lock, get creative and drag the dresser in front of the door, prop a chair there or something like blockade that door. Finally, let's talk about the last pitfall, which is evidence.

[B]

Destroy the evidence. How to destroy your sex evidence?

[A]

First thing is that you want to be mindful of. Of stains. This is what we meant about, like, maybe don't bring the silicone or the coconut based lube, because those can sometimes stain sheets. If you're not super careful, and you probably don't, you're already gonna be super careful in other ways. Just forget about it. Also, period sex might be a little bit more complicated. If you're, you know, staying with your parents and they have all white sheets and all white towels. Like, okay, maybe then the timing. Usually we're a huge fan of period sex. We do not think it's a big deal. But if you've just got all white stuff around you. And this is day one of your flow. Probably not the greatest.

[B]

I mean, you could throw the towel down. I feel like if you make a mess of a towel, that's a little easier to explain than a mess of the sheets.

[A]

Yeah. Another way that you could get around that is you could just be a courteous house guest and bundle up your sheets and your towels when you're done and like get the wash started. That way no one will ever see.

[B]

Them in the trash can. Drive down to the grocery store and toss them in the dumpster.

[A]

Your dad's like trying to change the bed afterwards. He's like, where you are all of the bedding?

[B]

Oh, whoops. I thought it was a one time use situation.

[A]

What? You're saying the weirdest things.

[B]

Or you know, get them new sheets for the holidays. Because the other, the other thing that parents are notorious for are having terrible ratty ass sheets.

[A]

I want our first podcast sponsor to be like a really nice sheet company.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[A]

Because both of our parents desperately need new shelter sheets. Okay. Your parents, the sheets are ancient. My parents have also ancient sheets. But also they like try to buy those like bed in a bag things usually on sale after the holidays like Bed, Bath and Beyond. And they're like polyester sheets that like spark in the middle of the night because there's just such bad quality.

[B]

Oh yeah. The blanket that we sleep with at your parents house. If you move your position in the middle of the night, you will see.

[A]

You will feel so sparks. I can't believe we haven't like we gotta bring our.

[B]

We just gotta bring our own bedding. What are we doing?

[A]

It's really bad.

[B]

We're bringing our pillows and our duvets this time.

[A]

So maybe we will throw away all of the bedding in my parents house.

[B]

You know, maybe this is K and E's way of trying to discourage us.

[A]

We know that they'll only sleep on these sheets for like three nights before they go nuts. New pillows too. Good God, those pillows. They're like 30 years old. No, those pillows are probably older than I am. So lumpy, so uncomfortable.

[B]

Yeah, I don't want to know what's inside of them.

[A]

I'm getting really excited to have sex in their house under all this uncomfortable bedding.

[B]

And I mean, like we're gonna load up our entire car with all of our own bedding.

[A]

I think we will have to now, especially if we're doing this holiday challenge. Okay, final tip around the evidence is if condoms are involved in the sex that you have. Do not flush the condoms. We horror stories about people who backed up the toilets. And then, do you know how hard it is to get a plumber on Christmas? Do not flush your condoms. And I would even go a step further and say, when you pack up all your sheets and towels to go throw away at the grocery store dumpster, like Xander is encouraging, put the condoms in there too. Because we also got so many stories, you know, oh, we're all sitting around enjoying Christmas dinner, and then the dog comes running out of our room with a condom in his mouth and, like, hijinks ensues everybody trying to chase him, and he's getting away from everyone and the condom just dripping out. Please spare your dog, spare yourself, spare your parents. Pack up your con. It's sort of like that. What do they say about camping? Like, pack in, pack in, pack out. Pack your out with your condoms. Keep your own little special trash bag that you're like, yeah, bring it up.

[B]

Bring a little. Yeah, you know, go on Amazon. I bet you get like a fake, like, evidence bag. Get like, get like a crime scene, like, evidence bag. Put on your gloves, drop it in.

[A]

Scare it up out of your parents.

[B]

Seal it up, you know, make. Make a whole thing out of it.

[A]

We know you have at least one person on your list who is impossible to get gifts for, so we have two excellent ideas. A bamboo pajama set or the bubble cuddle blanket from one of our favorite podcast sponsors, Cozy Earth. Both of these products are just so soft, so luxurious, and they are real crowd pleasers. I can't think of anybody who would not want to receive either one of these gifts.

[D]

We give these to so many people.

[A]

Yeah, we also have them ourselves and wear them all the time. The pajamas are so comfortable. The bubble cuddle blankets, just so soft. We seriously cannot recommend either of these.

[D]

Yeah, we may or may not fight over who gets the blanket on the couch, including fighting amongst the dogs.

[A]

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[C]

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[B]

In the show notes.

[C]

You.

[A]

All right? Then we have a few more just little pro tips from Instagram. We actually ask people like what are your best tips for having sex at somebody else's house and not getting caught. There were a couple that I thought were just really smart. One early morning sex.

[B]

Ah, the old cockadoodle do. I was just thinking this sounds like a great way to wake everyone up with a smile. Smile.

[A]

Oh my God. So I could have to be another sex position too. The holiday. The holiday classic and the Cock a doodle do.

[B]

Yeah, I feel like the cock a doodle do is. Is like waking your partner up with a blowjob.

[A]

The certified horn dog too. Oh my God, you're killing me today. Early morning sex could be a great one. This is just a little tangent, but I think a lot of us just have this association with sex as something that happens at night. And the reality is you can have Sex at any time during the day. And based on the schedules in your house that you're staying in, maybe morning is actually the much more private time.

[B]

I think for many people in the morning, it can sometimes be quicker, at least for men, you know, where you tend to have an erection for a lot of the night. Oftentimes you wake up with one. And so, you know, it can be pretty quick. I know for some women also, it can be maybe you've just woken up from a sex dream or something. You may be a little more suggestible, so to speak. Not for everyone.

[A]

All right. Another tip that someone shared is they said that they just keep music playing throughout the day in their room so that people just kind of get used to, like, oh, yeah, like so and so just has music playing all the time. And then that allows them to leave the music on and drown out sex sounds without any suspension suspicion.

[B]

Oh, yeah. So just. Yeah, just play your sexy playlist the whole time.

[A]

Mariah Carey on repeat all weekend. And finally have a secret code word or a sign that you and your partner agree on beforehand. That means, let's go have sex right now. So this can be a great way of one of you happens to notice, like, oh, there's a quick moment of opportunity here that you can kind of signal it to the other. And it can also just make it feel fun and playful between the two of you to, like, have some sort of. Of secret code between the two of you. So now let's get into some of the funniest stories that we got about sex gone wrong.

[B]

Because unfortunately, we don't have any of our own.

[A]

We don't. We don't. We don't really.

[B]

I'm trying to think of, like, what is our most sex gone wrong? Guests or no guests. Obviously, we don't really have any with guests. Do we have any? Horribly gone wry. I can think of one or two. One or two. I think you've shared one or two.

[A]

Of them on Instagram before, but they have not been involving guests around.

[C]

No.

[A]

So we're gonna share these stories that we got from Instagram. We got hundreds of submissions. We asked people, like, tell us the funniest story of what happened when you tried to have sex with houseguests around, not with the house guests or when you were a house guest. So why don't you read the first one, babe?

[B]

When I first started going out with.

[C]

My wife, we went to visit her.

[B]

Family, and we were staying in different rooms, but totally got hot for each other. So we met up in the kitchen at midnight and did it standing up. It was fantastic. But also we weren't prepared. I pulled out and came all over the kitchen floor. We wiped with paper towels and cleaned really well, or so we thought. The next morning at breakfast, her father looked at the floor and was like, what happened here? And went ahead and started cleaning it with a sponge. All I could think of was, he's cleaning up my cum with his bare hands.

[A]

Oh, brutal.

[B]

I will say though, they used emojis in here. I replaced the emojis. I translated. It could also be that a woman squirted all over the kitchen floor. We don't really know.

[A]

I'm pretty sure this one was from a dude, but thank you for your translations. All right, here's the next one. Our guests were sleeping in the living room and I was in my bedroom. Very separate spaces. This was after a night of drinking. It's like 3am My best friend and her boyfriend decide to get it on. I don't know how, but they knocked over a mirror that we had on an easel and it came crashing down onto the fireplace and knocked some other stuff over. My German shepherd thought someone was breaking in and rushed to the living room. Ended up attacking and biting her boyfriend. Biting him on the nose. They had been dating only three months. I thought I was gonna have a lawsuit. He was a very forgiving dude, thankfully. But yeah, terrible.

[B]

Wow. I can't really blame your dog. Your dog. Your dog performed admirably. All right, next one is we hosted Christmas a couple years ago. Our guest room was full, so my sister and brother in law slept in our teenage son's room while he slept in his brother's room. My husband and I had sex and he got me a new vibrator for Christmas, so we used it the next day. My sister said, by the way, he referring to our own son can hear everything. Everything.

[A]

That's like a double whammy there. Not only did the sister hear them, but also the sister was able to pass along this intel that if I heard you, your son has been hearing you this whole time too. All right, here's the next one. When I was in college, nobody was home at my mom's, so my boyfriend and I went for it, but didn't hold back in the way that we might if we knew that someone could hear us. Little did we know, her ladies book club came back during and they were having tea down the hall in the kitchen when we came out later, trying to pretend we were not just having sex. Sex. One lady looked over at Us and said, oh, to be young and in love. Enjoy your youth. My mom just stared at me as my soul left my body.

[B]

This sounds like a scene from like, like an American pie style movie.

[A]

Oh yeah, for sure.

[B]

All right, next one is we were camping in our RV and had two friends stay over. We were in the bedroom going to town. It was like seven in the morning. Oh good, they're following the early morning morning sex thing.

[A]

The cock a doodle do.

[B]

Yeah, they're. They're doing the cock a doodle do. It was seven in the morning so we assumed they would still be sleeping.

[C]

Nope.

[B]

The guy was up being a good guest and cooking us breakfast egg and cheese sandwiches. Super nice of him. We didn't realize we would be shaking the RV so much, but it was okay. We go in there after and the first thing the guy said was he didn't even need to flip the eggs in the pan. We shook the RV so much. He still jokes about it every time he stays with with us.

[A]

My mom was visiting and sleeping right down the hall and we had some fun one morning.

[B]

Oh again. Cock a doodle. Doodle cockadoodle.

[A]

They're doing it. That night I started bleeding. I'm 17 weeks pregnant and I had to call my midwife for advice. She happened to call back when we were in the car with my mom and her first question was, have you had sex in the last 24 hours? Because bleeding can be totally normal after sex. I had to say yes. We had sex this morning with my mom sitting right next to me in the car knowing that she had been right down the hall.

[B]

And then finally on vacation with now husband's family. We were dating back then. We had sex in the shared bathroom in the middle of the night and thought we were in the clear. Well, sister in law had horrid diarrhea and hurt us. Not only did she hear us, she had to shit in her bedroom trash can.

[A]

Amazing. Wow, that is really something.

[B]

She's got something to hold over you.

[A]

Oh yeah. The rest of diarrhea into the trash can because you guys were having sex.

[B]

That's so nice of her that she. I would have just like pounded on the door and been like, I don't care what you're doing, get out. I know you're done.

[A]

Well, we hope that these stories have made you laugh but not dissuaded you from having sex at your parents or your in laws or having sex when they are staying with you. Because the holidays can be full of love and desire and excitement and we.

[B]

Will report back about how did our horn doggery go?

[A]

Our horn doggery go. All right, well, that's all for today's episode of Pillow Talks. Thanks so much for listening. Join us again next week. We release new episodes every Thursday.