Best Christmas Gift I Ever Received

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Episode: Best Christmas Gift I Ever Received
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: NPR
Featured Panelists: Linda Holmes, Glenn Weldon, Stephen Thompson, Andrew Limbong

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Episode Overview

This festive episode invites the Pop Culture Happy Hour regulars and guest Andrew Limbong to reminisce about the best Christmas gifts they have ever received. Eschewing sentimental “gifts of the spirit,” the team dives into the tangible presents from childhood that sparked personal creativity, solidified pop culture obsessions, and revealed deeper family connections. Each host shares a story behind their most memorable gift, exploring what made it meaningful—and how childhood presents reflected their emerging identities.

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Key Highlights & Discussion Points

Setting the Stage: No Sappy Gifts Here

[01:31] Glenn Weldon:

• Kicks off with a tongue-in-cheek take: “Was it the laughter of your children? The love of a good friend? ...Yeah, well, we’re not talking about any of that nonsense.”
• Emphasis on “actual, tangible” gifts under the tree, not abstract joys.
• Linda Holmes joins in, underlining the focus: “Specifically that one gift you found waiting for you under the tree and still think about from time to time.” [01:49]

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Linda Holmes: The Creative Boost of a Casio Keyboard

[04:14] Linda Holmes:

• Instantly recalls her Casio electronic keyboard, received at age 12 or 13.
• Sentimental Value: Parents “splurged” on a creative gift, recognizing her budding musical and DIY interests.
• Quote:
  • “This was a time when I think DIY creativity really kind of took root in me...” [05:18]
  • “My mother...wrapped the AC adapter, and that was what was under the tree.” [06:11]
• Fun Details:
  • The joy of unlocking different beats (rumba, tango, waltz, soft rock, beguine).
  • Gets crafty with personal projects—even making a custom Michigan Board of State Canvassers shirt during the 2020 election.
• Gift-Giving Ritual:
  • Parents’ tradition of disguising the real present with a “decoy,” making the reveal more memorable.
• Reflects on Her Path:
  • Draws a direct line from the keyboard to lifelong creative hobbies, rather than becoming a DJ.

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Andrew Limbong: The Illicit Joy of Blink-182

[08:19] Andrew Limbong:

• Reflects on a religious, gift-light upbringing: pens, socks, and “prayer and the Lord.”
  • “Welcome to Lutheranism. Everybody join. Come on in.” [08:48]
• The Standout Gift: An Enema of the State CD from a family friend at Sam Goody.
• Why It Mattered:
  • Not his parents, but a friend enabled him to break “the rules” and request something “transgressive.”
  • First CD he ever had to hide from his parents.
  • Marked a turning point: “It’s my first memory of deciding to be a type of guy.” [10:22]
• Pop Culture Influence:
  • Blink-182 as a gateway to punk and ultimately a path toward cultural journalism.
• Self-Referential Humor:
  • Reads a 2002 AV Club review of Blink-182 written by co-host Stephen Thompson:
    • “‘Despite the moronic title, Blink-182’s well-publicized love of scatological stupidity...generally takes a backseat to self-aware tales of doomed relationships.’ I think that was pretty much me from like 10 to 34, you know.” [11:02]
  • Admits to being caught between “being a goody” and “this kind of guy.”

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Stephen Thompson: The Drama of ColecoVision

[11:43] Stephen Thompson:

• Recounts Christmas of 1983, age 11.
• Gift Ritual: Parents “created ritual” via treasure hunts, sometimes obscuring what the “big present” was.
• First Layer: Uncle Scrooge comics volume – appreciated, but not spectacular.
• Turning Point:
  • A secret card leads him to the real present: ColecoVision, the new gateway gaming console.
  • Quote: “The gameplay was so much more sophisticated. The music was more sophisticated...not as complicated as they are now, where I feel like I would have to learn a new language to play them.” [13:19]
• Nostalgia for Classic Gaming:
  • Smurfs game music “playing for hours upon hours”—to probable parental regret.
• Controllers as Nemesis:
  • “The controllers were made of garbage.” [15:00]
• Parenting Reflection:
  • Did not pass on the treasure hunt tradition but fondly remembers the “bed present” (gifts left at the foot of the bed).
• Family Culture:
  • Parents were “comic book obsessives” and “the language my parents speak is obsession.” [16:20]

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Glenn Weldon: Four Stories of Bat Goodness

[17:33] Glenn Weldon:

• True to form, Glenn’s favorite gift: the Mego Wayne Foundation playset (“basically a reskinned Malibu Barbie Dreamhouse” [20:40]) for his 9th Christmas.
• Build-Up:
  • At age 7, received a letter “from Santa” explaining the Batcave was out of stock.
  • Two years later, opens the massive Wayne Foundation gift.
  • Quote: “I urge you all to Google this playset. It was and remains a thing of beauty. This thing was nearly three and a half feet tall.” [19:37]
• Toy Details:
  • Four stories, trophy case, computer, working elevator—emphasized in the commercials.
• Joy Mixed with Trepidation:
  • Father’s discomfort with “action figures” (“my little dollies”) but ultimately supports Glenn’s happiness.
  • Glenn recalls resisting buying Batgirl/Wonder Woman to avoid teasing.
• Deep Emotional Resonance:
  • The playset as “a towering testament to my father’s ability to get over his damn self and give his kid the thing that he knew would make him happy.” [21:09]
• Cultural Value:
  • Now worth $2,000-$4,000 on eBay.

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Thematic Throughlines and Reflections

[22:19] Glenn Weldon: “There’s the thing itself, which is great, but there’s what it represented...how it steers your destiny in some way.”

• Even concrete gifts become symbolic, shaping tastes, hobbies, and relationships.
• All gifts, in retrospect, are “on brand”—revealing early tendencies and future machinations (creativity, rebellion, pop culture obsession, collecting).
• Celebrates generosity, family quirks, and the formative power of childhood gifts.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Linda Holmes on disguising gifts:
  “My mother was always one of these moms who ... wrapped the AC adapter, and that was what was under the tree.” [06:11]
• Andrew Limbong on gift scarcity:
  “Pens, socks, and prayer and the Lord. ...That’s the treat.” [08:41]
• Stephen Thompson on understanding parents' love language:
  “My parents entire personalities were kind of built around obsession with pop culture you love.” [16:20]
• Glenn Weldon, mixing pride and pathos:
  “It was one thing having an indoor kid...this whole action figure thing was a little close to the line for him, which is why he always called them my little dollies.” [20:40]
• Group laughter and mutual recognition as each host realizes just how “on brand” their “best gift ever” stories are.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:31] – Glenn establishes the real topic (no “smiles on loved ones' faces,” just presents!)
• [04:14] – Linda’s Casio keyboard and creative development
• [08:19] – Andrew’s rebellious CD acquisition and budding identity
• [11:43] – Stephen’s ColecoVision, family rituals, and pop obsession
• [17:33] – Glenn’s epic Wayne Foundation Bat-playset and what it symbolized
• [22:19] – Reflections on what these gifts represented beyond their material value

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Overall Tone & Takeaways

The tone is warm, humorous, and self-aware, with good-natured ribbing and deep affection for the quirks of gift-giving and family traditions. The stories are both specific and universal, highlighting how one well-timed gift can shape a kid’s (or adult’s) personality and passions. Anyone who has ever fixated on the gift will relate.

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For Further Interaction

• Prompt for Listeners: Glenn closes by asking, "What was the best Christmas gift you ever received and why was it less good than the Wayne foundation place?" [23:13]
• Find the show: facebook.com/PCHH

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Whether you’re nostalgic for your own cherished gifts or just love the interplay of pop culture and memory, this episode brims with joy, insight, and relatable laughter.

Transcript

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[Linda Holmes]

Hi, Linda Holmes here. Somehow we are almost at the end of 2025, and I'm going to be honest with you, it's been a pretty challenging year for NPR and local stations. The but here's the thing. Despite losing federal funding for public media and despite all the attacks we've seen on the free press, we're still here for you. We are still independent, a critical right guaranteed by the First Amendment. And with your support, NPR will not be silent. Here at Pop Culture Happy Hour, we will continue keeping you company with thoughtful, engaging conversations about all the movies, TV, music and more 2026 has in store. If you're already an NPR supporter, thank you so much. We see you and we're so grateful for you. If not, please join the community of public radio supporters right now before the end of the year at plus.NPR.org Signing up unlocks a bunch of perks like bonus episodes and more from across NPR's podcasts. Plus, you get to feel good about supporting public media while you listen. End the year on a high note and invest in a public service that matters to you. Visit plus.NPR.org today. Thanks.

[Glenn Weldon]

What's the best Christmas gift you've ever received? Was it the laughter of your children? The love of a good friend? A smile on your partner's face? Maybe a dusting of snow glittering in the Christmas Eve moonlight? Yeah, well, we're not talking about any of that nonsense.

[Linda Holmes]

We're talking actual, tangible Christmas gifts here.

[Advertisement Voice]

Specifically.

[Linda Holmes]

Specifically that one gift you found waiting for you under the tree and still think about from time to time. I'm Linda Holmes.

[Glenn Weldon]

And I'm Glenn Weldon. And on this encore episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're talking about the best Christmas gifts we've ever received.

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[Glenn Weldon]

Joining us today is our fellow co host, Stephen Thompson. Hey, pal.

[Stephen Thompson]

Hello, Glenn.

[Glenn Weldon]

Hey there. And also here is Andrew Limbong. He is the host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast and a reporter for the Cultured Desk. Welcome back, Andrew.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yo, yo, yo. Hey, what's up?

[Glenn Weldon]

Hey. A mercifully brief intro here because this subject needs no explanation, no explanatory comma. I say best Christmas gift you ever received. And you probably have to think about it. You knew it in your bones. Most people do. Linda, did you kick us off?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, I did know immediately when I was probably I'm gonna say I was about 12 or 13, I received a small Casio keyboard, Casio electronic keyboard from my parents.

[Stephen Thompson]

I got one of those, too, which.

[Linda Holmes]

Was a gift I really, really wanted. And based on my very inadequate research, it probably at the time cost about $100, which is like doll. That was a very expensive present for me. That's probably one of the most expensive presents I ever got as a kid. And I really wanted it. And I had taken a couple of years of piano, so I was like moderately competent with like, you know, picking out tunes and stuff like that.

[Stephen Thompson]

But were you able to set those piano performances to rumba?

[Linda Holmes]

Well, rumba, tango, waltz, soft rock, soft rock. And in fact, this is when I learned what a beguine is because beguine was one of the rhythms. And what I love about this gift, looking back, is that this was a time when I think DIY creativity really kind of took root in me because, you know, now, of course, anybody can do this. Any kid can do this. There are apps that can do this. They can make all kinds of sound effects and voice effects, and, you know, you can create a song in about 20 seconds. But at the time, this was really, really cool to me, and I kind of stayed that person. Like, I was realizing I still, like. I still do crafts. I still like to make, like, mug and T shirts and stuff like that. I am that person. At the time of the 2020 election, I made myself a shirt that said, I never wanted to know this much about the Michigan Board of State Canvassers. And I still like stuff like that. And so I feel like my parents were most willing to splurge because it was a creative thing. And I think they recognized that as something that I really cared about, and music as something that I really cared about. And the other great thing is my mother was always one of these moms who, like, she doesn't want you to know as soon as you see the package that you got the. You've been asking for for, like, you know, all year. So she wrapped the AC adapter, and that was what was under the tree.

[Stephen Thompson]

We will talk about the importance of obscuring the best gift of all time.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yeah. So where was it hidden? Was it in, like, a closet or something?

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah, she had it, I think, in their bedroom closet. And so once I opened the AC adapter, I was like, what is this?

[Glenn Weldon]

And you didn't snoop? You were not a snooper?

[Linda Holmes]

No, I would never.

[Advertisement Voice]

Oh, man.

[Linda Holmes]

Kidding me. I would never.

[Stephen Thompson]

The devil you say? Heaven forfend.

[Glenn Weldon]

I was a super snooper. Had everything ruined for me.

[Stephen Thompson]

Me too.

[Glenn Weldon]

You know, Lindy, it's interesting to me that you draw the line between getting that Casio keyboard and craps and DIY and not becoming a dj, for example, like, it's not. That's the throughline for you. Why do you think that is?

[Stephen Thompson]

You could have been the next Skrillex.

[Linda Holmes]

Because I think that's how I processed it. Right? Like, my feeling was, this was a way to make stuff. This was a way to make up stuff. And I was already like, I already wrote stories and I already did that kind of thing. I certainly did not have it in mind that I was gonna be a dj. I did have it in mind that I might, like, study music. I liked music. I liked singing. I liked chorus and stuff like that. But I think it mostly had to do with, I wanna make up stuff.

[Stephen Thompson]

I remember when I got my keyboard and, Linda, you and I are a similar age. And I remember getting a keyboard and thinking, will I be the next Harold Faltermeyer. Will I Be the next Paul Hardcastle? There were a few hit songs that were like a guy at a keyboard going, da, da, da, da.

[Glenn Weldon]

Right.

[Linda Holmes]

It was early synthesizer times, you know, like, in terms of popular music, I mean, I think I probably imagined myself, like, impressing people by playing music, which, of course, was never gonna happen. It was like, you know, the episode of Friends where Ross talks about his sound and then he plays his little synthesizer.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yes.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. It was probably, you know, I envisioned, much as Ross did, greatness through my music, but that never came to be.

[Glenn Weldon]

But greatness came in other ways.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, geez, I hope so.

[Glenn Weldon]

Thank you very much. Linda Holmes. Andrew, how about you, man?

[Andrew Limbong]

All right. So my family, we're very aggressively Christian in that Christmas was about, like, going to church. I was just thinking the midnight mass, go to church, and then get up and go to church on Christmas morning is a brutal turnaround time.

[Stephen Thompson]

Double dips.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yeah. And so I never got any, like, big ticket items for Christmas. I think one time my parents gave me some pens. You know, I got some socks one year. It was that kind of thing.

[Glenn Weldon]

Pens, socks, and prayer and the Lord. Yeah.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yep. That's the treat.

[Linda Holmes]

The Christmas every kid dreams about.

[Andrew Limbong]

Welcome to Lutheranism. Everybody join. Come on in. You know, but my. We had a family friend who was a little older or a lot older. It's hard how memory works. But I was with her at the mall, at Sam Goody, the music store. And I think she was just, like, taking care of, like, me. Right. Some kid, and was like, what do you want for Christmas? And so, because my parents weren't around, I asked her to get me Enema of the state by Blink 182. And it is the. I know this is painfully on brand for me.

[Glenn Weldon]

It kind of is.

[Andrew Limbong]

I look at my life, the expanse of the Andrew Limbong experience. And it is one of those formative bits of culture that, like, I don't know. I think we've got a clip of just, like, the first couple seconds of the album. This is off of Dumpweed. This is just like hitting those needles.

[Linda Holmes]

In my brain shorts. Punk.

[Andrew Limbong]

And then, like, Travis comes in right here with these, like, still ska drums, you know, and Barbette. We don't have to, like, repeat, like, the chorus of the song because he isn't particularly aged well. But there's a lot of firsts this album has for me. It's not my favorite Blink record. It's not, I think, their best one either. But I think it's the first, like, CD I got where the songs on the album were better than the ones that were on the radio.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, sure, that's important.

[Andrew Limbong]

You know, it was one of those, like, oh, there's like, other stuff here, you know, Like I said, it was very transgressive. So it was the first CD I ever had to hide from my parents.

[Glenn Weldon]

I was gonna ask.

[Andrew Limbong]

That's the thing, you know, it's my first memory of deciding to be a type of guy. Oh, sure. You know, you go through different types of guys. And I was like, I think I'm like this kind of guy now.

[Stephen Thompson]

And you were.

[Andrew Limbong]

And I was. And, well, kind of. I was also very a goody.

[Stephen Thompson]

You know what I mean?

[Andrew Limbong]

So it was sort of floating between the two.

[Glenn Weldon]

Me too.

[Linda Holmes]

That's why I didn't snoop.

[Andrew Limbong]

And I don't know, I think I can pretty much draw a pretty clear line from liking Blink182 to liking Fugazi to getting into nonprofit journalism.

[Stephen Thompson]

They're a gateway band.

[Linda Holmes]

It does make sense.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yeah, it was. And I'm reading a AV Club review here written by Stephen Thompson.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, my God.

[Andrew Limbong]

And it says, quote, despite the moronic title, Blink 182's well publicized love of scatological stupidity and generally takes a backseat to self aware tales of doomed relationships. I think that was pretty much me from like 10 to 34, you know.

[Stephen Thompson]

That'S a good description.

[Glenn Weldon]

Scatological stupidity, you mean?

[Andrew Limbong]

Yeah, yeah. I'd make a fair amount of pee, pee poo poo jokes.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think one thing that Blink182 always did really well is they understood that there's a part of adolescence that never entirely leaves us. I mean, it's called Enema of the State.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yes, it is.

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Glenn Weldon]

All right, thank you very much, Andrew. Stephen Thompson, your turn.

[Stephen Thompson]

All right. The year was 1983, which I think, you know, age 11 is a really nice year to get your best Christmas present. My parents went all in on the concept of not only the buildup to the big present, but they actually created ritual around it. We did a treasure hunt for our big present. I was a snooper, so sometimes I knew what my big present was. Sometimes you could kind of surmise what your big present was based on a combination of factors such as how fervently you asked for it and how little it might have cost. So in 1983, I get to a big package and it is a bound volume of Uncle Scrooge comics. And I love Uncle Scrooge comics. I still have my collection of all those Gladstone Bound volumes of Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck comics. And it was the latest volume. And I was like, oh, you know, that's a perfectly fine gift. I like these comics. I'll look forward to digging into this, rip it open and kind of feign super excitement. And there's another little card tucked in between the books. And that card said, this is not your final present. And it was another clue. It was a clue that was pretty much the direct location of my actual present, which was a ColecoVision. Now, the ColecoVision was basically the gateway technology between the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo. You could also say Sega Genesis, something like that.

[Linda Holmes]

Well, and there was also Intellivision in there for a while.

[Stephen Thompson]

Intellivision was kind of at the same time as Atari. Yeah. Along with Odyssey. And if you. Anyway, I could, believe me, I could talk about this for a very long time. But the ColecoVision was a really clear, obvious step up from the Atari 2600. The gameplay was so much more sophisticated. The music was more sophisticated. The games were a little more complicated, but not as complicated as they are now, where I feel like I would have to learn a new language to play them. I had a friend with a ColecoVision, and I coveted it so, so desperately. But, like, that was what, like, wealthy dowagers bought. Nobody who buys a ColecoVision in this economy, in the economy of the early 80s. But my parents, blessed them, bought me a ColecoVision, and then were subjected to hours upon hours upon hours upon hours of the music, the endlessly looping music from the video game the Smurfs.

[Glenn Weldon]

Oh, my God.

[Stephen Thompson]

And as he wandered around as that little Smurf.

[Glenn Weldon]

Oh, boy.

[Stephen Thompson]

It was about. About a 15 second loop. My parents, I'm sure, regretted that gift greatly. But when we talked about this topic, it took me 0.1 seconds to know that the best gift I received as a child was my ColecoVision. In part because, like Linda's parents, they got crafty about it. They steeled me for disappointment and then went in there. You got what you wanted.

[Glenn Weldon]

Stephen, two questions for you. How many ColecoVision controllers did you burn through? Because those things famously flimsy.

[Stephen Thompson]

I am glad you brought this up. The worst thing about the. The ColecoVision came out around the same time as the Atari 5200. And what they had in common was the controllers were made of garbage.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep.

[Stephen Thompson]

So a lot of ColecoVision play today is done on emulators, but I still love mine, still have mine. The controllers still kind of work.

[Glenn Weldon]

Okay, follow Up. Have you passed on the tradition of doing the treasure hunt to your kids? And if so, did they handle it with cheer and holiday joy, or were and like, said it was lame?

[Stephen Thompson]

So I am a lazy, lazy monster. And I did not. I did not continue it. That was one tradition I had meant to pass on to my kids. The other that I. That I recommend, even though I haven't done it with my kids. We had a bed present. You would go to bed and you would wake up and there'd be a. My parents would have sneaked in like the tooth fairy and deposited a gift at the foot of our beds.

[Linda Holmes]

We did that with stockings. Our parents would put our stockings in our room.

[Andrew Limbong]

How many gifts are you guys getting? I don't understand this culture.

[Glenn Weldon]

I was going to say cut to Andrew. Like, I got a pen.

[Stephen Thompson]

We were a largely secular family. Andrew, what's going on?

[Andrew Limbong]

It's like multiple gifts.

[Glenn Weldon]

I got a stapler.

[Linda Holmes]

We didn't get a ton of things. Like, I suspect the year I got the keyboard, I didn't get much else from my parents would be my guess.

[Glenn Weldon]

That's the way that works.

[Stephen Thompson]

My parents entire personalities were kind of built around obsession with pop culture you love. I was raised by a family that made me very well suited for this job. My parents were comic book obsessives and they were professional comic book fans. And so if I expressed an interest in something, in collecting something, in trading something with my friends, in reading something or watching something or playing something, my parents at least really wanted to indulge that gift. That's the language my parents speak is obsession.

[Linda Holmes]

Yeah. And I think one of my mom's love languages is gifts, you know, So I think that was one of the reasons with me is my mom just loved shopping for presents. And I remember one year she was a teacher, and one year her class did one of those adopt a family things where you get a list of things that a family needs. And the idea is that, like, each kid brings in one or two things on the list, whatever. And for whatever combination of reasons, her class didn't really do the assignment. And so there were a bunch of things left on the list. And right before Christmas, my mom, like, went out and bought everything on the list so that the family would get everything that was on the list. Like, some people just really liked buying and giving presents. And I think. I think that's the other reason why I usually got several Christmas presents from my parents.

[Glenn Weldon]

I think we've seen a through line here of all of these favorite gifts ever Kind of are on brand. As Andrew pointed out. I'm going to continue that tradition.

[Stephen Thompson]

The Joker.

[Glenn Weldon]

Holy cow, It's Batman. Sold separately and the Wayne Foundation, a crime fighting lab. Assembly required. The top floor is Batman's penthouse.

[Linda Holmes]

Bring it down.

[Glenn Weldon]

The elevator takes Batman past the computer station down to the communications center. There's a Batman trophy room. Working elevator, and a bookcase with secret hiding compartment.

[Andrew Limbong]

Working elevator, wow.

[Glenn Weldon]

Did you pick up Andrew that they mentioned the elevator twice. That the elevator takes me down and then there's also an elevator. Very excited about the elevator. All right, so in the 70s, Mego was this company that made 8 inch action figures of your favorite superheroes. I collected these action figures. I played with them, I undressed them, I made them kiss the way all red blooded American boys would do. So the Batcopter, I had it. The Bat Cycle, I had it. The Batmobile. Do you even have to ask? The mobile Bat lab, which was basically a VW van. It's best not to think about that too hard. I had it. The Batcave playset with working Bat signal and Batpole. And the secret entrance, just like in the TV show. Didn't have that. My friend David had that. Wouldn't let me forget that he had that. That was the year, famously, just before Christmas, when my mother read me a letter from Santa himself, saying very briefly, because he was a busy man. Dear Glen, we are out of Batcaves. Which kind of threw my little 7 year old self into a loop because, I mean, can't you just make the elves work harder? Right? Can't you just take away their lunch breaks?

[Stephen Thompson]

Get it together. Can't deduct their pay.

[Glenn Weldon]

You've got quotas to meet. If this is a supply chain issue, I get it, but can't you just like shift some of that extruded plastic from one project to another? If it means I get my Batcave, maybe there's a few less snoopy snow cone machines in the world, but. And also there was the fact that she had a letter from Santa. You know, physical proof that was a close encounter of at least the second kind. And I thought, I gotta frame that.

[Stephen Thompson]

You gotta frame that.

[Glenn Weldon]

So cut to two years later, 1977. I was nine. I was still, you know, roiling over the over. The Batcave fiasco came down the stairs on Christmas morning and there it was, four stories of pure bat goodness. And I urge you all to Google this playset. It was and remains a thing of beauty. This thing was nearly three and a half feet tall. I was what Four feet tall. So, like. And it was, you know, there was some verisimilitude because it was based on the skyscraper that Batman was actually working out of in the comics because he had abandoned the Batcave at the start of the 70s. Long story, physical accessory. Sure. It had the trophy case, it had the computer monitor, it had chairs, which I could never get anybody to sit in. But the exciting thing for me was that on each floor had a back wall that was illustrated to make it look like it went back or like that had depth. And that was illustrated by Neal Adams, who was the artist behind the revamp of. Of Batman at the time. And it was filled with references to the TV show and the comics. And I could get lost in that for days.

[Linda Holmes]

Oh, I remember. I think for some reason, I've looked at pictures of this before. Cause it's just the Barbie Dreamhouse.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep. Now, did I realize, to your point, Linda, that this thing was basically a reskinned Malibu Barbie Dreamhouse? I very much did, because I could not. Because my dad had spent the years up to me receiving it, making it very clear to me that he was not nuts about my action figure collection. You know, it was one thing having an indoor kid. I think he had reconciled himself to that. But this whole action figure thing was a little close to the line for him, which is why he always called them my little dollies. That was probably why I never had the guts to get a Batgirl or a Wonder Woman, though. I wanted them so bad, because I would see them in the store in their packaging, and they had this terrible frizzy hair, and I'd be like, girl, we could flat iron that mess, you know? And I knew, I knew that would not fly. And yet, and yet, and yet I come down and here it is. It's nothing but a giant dollhouse for my little dollies taking up this huge chunk of real estate in the den. I was thinking about this this morning. I don't remember him making fun of me about my action figures after that. So looking back now, it is this towering, like, I mean, three and a half feet, but towering. Testament to my father's ability to get over his damn self and give his kid the thing that he knew would make him happy. So here is the through line I'm pick throughout all of these selections we've made. There's the thing itself, which is great, but there's what it represented, right? There's like, how it figures, how it kind of. It steers your destiny in some way. So. And also, by the way the thing it represents. I looked on ebay this morning, two to 4,000 bucks nowadays. Oh, dear.

[Linda Holmes]

I look at this picture, Glenn, and I did find a picture of it. And I can completely understand how this would be an extraordinarily exciting gift for any kid, but especially you, Glenn.

[Stephen Thompson]

Buddy, I know you love your. Your parents very, very much.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yes, I do.

[Stephen Thompson]

I do look at this. And I think, buddy, I wish for you, for you to just have experienced an alternate timeline in which you and I got to be brothers and my parents got the son they never had because I had the parents who were foisting comic books on them.

[Glenn Weldon]

Yep.

[Andrew Limbong]

Wow. The art in this is incredible. I'm just looking at the.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it?

[Glenn Weldon]

Right? And it's got references to the atomic thing in the old Batman television show. It's got references to all these other charact. There's gold from the metal man, a picture of him for absolutely no reason, who never crossed over with Batman so much.

[Linda Holmes]

It's very intricate.

[Glenn Weldon]

It is.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah. It's very of its time, too.

[Glenn Weldon]

It very much is. Well, we want to know what was the best Christmas gift you ever received and why was it less good than the Wayne foundation place? Find [e-mail] PCHH that brings us to the end of our show. Andrew Limbaugh, Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson. Thanks, pals. This was fun.

[Andrew Limbong]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Stephen Thompson]

Thank you.

[Linda Holmes]

Thanks, Glenn. This was really fun.

[Glenn Weldon]

This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and edited by Jessica Reedy. And hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy hour from npr. I'm Glenn Weldon and we'll see you all tomorrow.

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