Podcast Summary: Smosh Mouth – S1: #44 - The SmoshCast Christmas Special

Introduction

In the festive "SmoshCast Christmas Special," hosts Ian Hecox, Shane Madej, and Courtney Miller delve into holiday traditions, favorite Christmas movies, personal reflections on the past year, and their aspirations for the new year. The episode, released on December 25, 2019, offers listeners an engaging blend of humor, heartfelt moments, and relatable discussions surrounding the holiday season.

1. Favorite Christmas Movies

The conversation kicks off with the trio sharing their top Christmas movie picks, sparking a lively debate on classic favorites versus unconventional choices.

• Shane Madej lauds the movie "Elf," expressing enduring admiration:
  “Honestly, like I watched it last Christmas and I always forget how perfect of a movie it is. Yeah, Elf. It is so good.” [00:43]

• Courtney Miller concurs, highlighting the film's wholesome and funny scenes:
  “It is so good. It's so wholesome and it has so many funny scenes in a row.” [11:53]

• Ian Hecox touches on the unconventional debate around "Die Hard" being a Christmas movie:
  “I mean, technically, yeah, I'm so sick of people being like, Die Hard is the best Christmas movie.” [09:58]

The hosts also explore more niche holiday films, including "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the controversial yet intriguing "Wookiee Christmas Special" from the Star Wars universe.

• Shane Madej expresses his excitement for the "Wookiee Christmas Special":
  “Pretty pumped for that.” [06:53]

2. Holiday Traditions and Personal Experiences

Transitioning from movies, the hosts delve into their Christmas traditions and memorable holiday experiences.

• Shane Madej shares his annual tradition of spending Christmas in Colorado with family, emphasizing the joy of gift-giving to his nieces and nephews:
  “There's now that I have nieces and nephew, it's very fun to watch how excited they are to get them gifts.” [05:30]

• Courtney Miller reminisces about her unique Christmas decorations involving toy medieval swords and the resulting playful chaos with siblings:
  “One year, just remember in her apartment, the Christmas tree, she stuck a bunch of toy medieval swords through it.” [22:22]

The discussion also touches on childhood gifts, highlighting the contrast between traditional toys like Barbies and more personalized items like "my scene dolls."

• Courtney Miller nostalgically recalls her preference for Scene Dolls over traditional Barbies:
  “I was obsessed with my scene dolls. And, like, the male dolls were way better looking than just their basic Ken doll.” [26:08]

3. Year in Review and Resolutions

As the episode progresses, the hosts reflect on their personal and professional milestones from 2019 and outline their goals for the upcoming year.

• Ian Hecox opens up about his challenging year and his plans to take a trip to Iceland:
  “I have a trip to Iceland planned out. I've also got a trip doing like, a Subaru winter driving event.” [40:25]

• Courtney Miller discusses her journey towards self-care and her ambition to prioritize her well-being in the new year:
  “I focused a lot on me and my me time and like my own time, like at home, self care and stuff like that.” [55:27]

• Shane Madej emphasizes the importance of building a life outside of work and maintaining strong personal relationships:
  “I need to get better about keeping in touch with people.” [53:02]

4. Mental Health and Work-Life Balance

The hosts candidly address the pressures of their roles within Smosh, discussing the importance of mental health and the necessity of taking breaks to prevent burnout.

• Ian Hecox underscores the significance of balancing work with personal time:
  “You can’t just work forever non-stop until you die. You gotta pepper in some you time.” [00:35]

• Courtney Miller shares her experience with burnout, highlighting the relentless pace of content creation:
  “The Internet, it never stops. Everything is always happening, and it makes me terrified.” [62:58]

• Shane Madej concurs, stressing the need to find moments of presence and gratitude amidst their busy schedules:
  “Trying to find something that I can be positive about just finding. Being more grateful.” [53:02]

The trio also discusses implementing "dark weeks," periods where they intentionally take breaks from content production to recharge.

• Courtney Miller explains their initiative to incorporate dark weeks for self-care:
  “We're gonna Dolan Twin it a couple times a year.” [44:54]

5. Highlights and Personal Growth

Towards the end of the episode, the hosts reflect on standout moments from the year that contributed to their personal and professional growth.

• Shane Madej recalls the surprise of his graduation event, highlighting it as a meaningful family-like moment:
  “I walked into what I thought was going to be a meeting and then had that all thrown at me. It was so cool.” [67:09]

• Ian Hecox discusses his role expansion within Smosh and the accompanying challenges:
  “It's a lot of different roles to balance and I don't ever want to feel like I'm betraying anyone.” [63:25]

• Courtney Miller celebrates personal milestones, including coming out and participating in a Shane Dawson documentary:
  “I came out as not straight in February. March. That's pretty crazy.” [58:08]

Conclusion

The "SmoshCast Christmas Special" wraps up with heartfelt holiday wishes and reflections on the importance of recognizing and cherishing good moments amidst life's chaos. The hosts emphasize the value of self-care, maintaining personal relationships, and finding joy in both professional achievements and personal growth.

• Ian Hecox concludes with an inspiring message on seeking happiness and purpose:
  “Find something that I can be positive about just finding. Being more grateful.” [53:42]

• Courtney Miller and Shane Madej join in with festive greetings, reinforcing their appreciation for their listeners and their community:
  “Merry Holidays. We love you. Hope you had a blessed day.” [70:13]

Notable Quotes:

• “You can't just work forever non-stop until you die. You gotta pepper in some you time.” – Ian Hecox [00:35]

• “Honestly, like I watched it last Christmas and I always forget how perfect of a movie it is. Yeah, Elf. It is so good.” – Shane Madej [00:43]

• “We're gonna dolan twin it a couple times a year.” – Courtney Miller [44:54]

• “I came out as not straight in February. March. That's pretty crazy.” – Courtney Miller [58:08]

This episode of Smosh Mouth provides a blend of humor and sincere conversation, offering listeners both entertainment and relatable insights into balancing life’s demands with personal well-being during the holiday season.