The Dream – “The Dream Holiday Special” (Dec 25, 2025)

Podcast Host: Little Everywhere
Featured Guests: Jane, Hannah Berner, Paige DeSorbo

Main Theme / Purpose

The Dream returns with a festive, free-flowing holiday special. Host Jane and guest Hannah Berner reminisce about Christmas pasts, swap gifts, share humorous and heartfelt stories, and muse on traditions, nostalgia, and ways to find belonging and joy during the holidays—even (or especially) when the American Dream goes off-script. The episode, lighthearted and candid, is a warm ode to chosen family, resourcefulness, and being generous with yourself and others.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Superlatives & Storytelling Kickoff

• The duo opens by considering fun holiday “superlatives” (best, worst, most magical, etc.), with Jane interviewing Hannah as the “storyteller/advice-giver.” [01:56]
  • Hannah: “Mine all probably will also have advice.” [02:14]
• They launch into exchanging gifts, blending humor and genuine sentiment.

2. The Great Gift Exchange

• Jane receives:
  • A Flamingo Estate Roma Tomato Candle (viral, limited edition) and fragrance oil, tailored to Jane’s Italian heritage and love of candles.
    • “It really does smell like that. Have you smelled it?” – Jane [04:17]
    • “It’s like after you pick cherry tomatoes in your garden and the way your hands smell.” – Hannah [04:36]
• Hannah receives:
  • A custom “Brak Flag” mug (a play on Black Flag & Brak from Space Ghost), fancy caramels, and a nightshirt-turned-going-out-dress (“Brock Savage,” in comically large size). Hannah is visibly emotional:
    • “This is gonna make me cry. Where did you even find this?” [05:48]
    • “Brak is like my favorite cartoon character of all time by far." [06:14]

3. Favorite Holiday Movies, Specials & Music

• Both wax nostalgic about their go-to holiday entertainment:
  • For comfort: The Holiday is Hannah’s favorite if “down in the dumps;” also Four Christmases and Pee-Wee’s Christmas Special. [08:35]
  • Childhood favorite: Jane loved the Yogi Bear's Christmas Special (“It made me happy... it just reminded me that it was Christmas” – Jane [09:43])
  • For music: Emmylou Harris’s Christmas album, and nostalgia for caroling and Mickey Mouse & Friends’ takes on classics (“Goofy’s always like, five onion rings...” – Hannah [11:49])

4. Most Magical and Funniest “Worst” Christmas Memories

• Hannah’s Best Christmas (Pre-parenthood):
  • At 29, newly single, Hannah traveled alone to Europe—London, Paris, and a friend’s village in Nottingham—reveling in the freedom, solitude, and magic of traveling solo for the holidays.
    • “It was magical. It was awesome. I went wherever I felt like going, anytime, day or night.” [16:22]
    • Attended Notre Dame Christmas mass, found €100 on the ground.
    • “I recommend it to anyone who has like a couple dollars lying around and doesn’t want to be with their family—just plan something else.” [18:08]
• Hannah’s Funniest “Worst” Christmas:
  • Comedy of errors in rural Michigan: her stepmother attempted last-minute Christmas Eve grocery shopping, finding all stores closed. Hannah and her sister scavenged for supplies at liquor stores and pizza joint kitchens to “save Christmas.”
    • “We basically went grocery shopping inside of a pizza place inside of a liquor store. And we saved Christmas.” [21:45]
    • “That’s what Christmas is about... making it work.” – Jane [22:36]
    • “Funny thing is, I don’t think anybody noticed...[the] holiday meal... just looked like a holiday meal.” – Hannah [23:18]

5. Heritage, Food, and Cozy Nostalgia

• Jane’s Family Holidays:
  • Italian-American feasts at her grandparents’ SE Portland home—with homemade rigatoni, sausages, and meatballs.
    • “Every single holiday was at my grandparents’ house... and it was Italian food—Thanksgiving and Christmas was all in rigatoni with meat sauce and homemade meatballs, homemade sausage.” [26:43]
  • Vivid stories of canning tomatoes in the basement, plastic tablecloths everywhere.
    • “She had a shelf that was like as big as the wall... that was just canned goods that she made.” [27:20]
  • After-dinner traditions of the whole neighborhood dropping by, Italian language filling the house.
  • Oranges as coveted stocking gifts—a treat rooted in scarcity in Eastern Europe. [29:47]
• Shared Nostalgia:
  • Both recall pajamas gifted by grandmothers, mid-century decor, vintage ribbon candies (often stuck together), and time-capsule-like family homes. [28:53–29:00]
  • “Both of our, both of our grandparents’ homes were like kind of time froze in the 50s.” – Hannah [30:32]

6. Navigating Holidays as Adults & New Traditions

• Discuss working at bars on Christmas as an alternative celebration.
  • Jane: “It was so fun because everyone who didn’t have family would come in.” [31:44]
• Hannah’s recommendation: Swedish “yule board” in Chicago; “completely candlelit” attic feasts at Tre Kroner, with classic fare and mulled wine (“glug”). [32:48]
  • “Chicago just in general at the holidays is…London and Chicago really do it. They do it up.” [33:54]

7. “Celebrity at the Table” Anecdotes

• Hannah’s dad inadvertently meets Johnny Galecki (Roseanne, Big Bang Theory) at an Italian Christmas in Chicago (“That guy was on TV, but in his head he was like, that’s one of Jane’s friends.” [35:17])
• Jane’s ex-wife’s uncle crashes Joey Ramone’s family Christmas (“Joey’s all pissed off…there’s not enough food for everybody.” [36:55])

8. Holiday Wishes and Closing Reflections

• Heartfelt advice for listeners on being kind to themselves and others, prioritizing rest, and seeking or hosting “chosen family” if bio-family isn’t an option.
  • “Take more time off. Use your vacations. You’re not winning any awards by not using your vacation time, okay?...Enjoy your time and try to enjoy your family. If your family sucks, work on getting your chosen family together.” – Hannah [37:23]
• Shout-out to online communities inviting seasonal “orphans” to gatherings.
  • “There’s a table over at my house. We’re making a ham, we’re making a turkey. Come by. Isn’t that sweet?” [38:18]
• Jane recounts how chosen family took her in after divorce: “I was like the orphan at their big Swedish [Christmas]...drinking schnapps and singing crazy Swedish songs.” [38:26]
• Both wish all listeners happy holidays, gratitude for their support, and tease a possible holiday playlist in the show notes. [39:07, 40:22]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You might hate it... That’s what’s fun about it.” – Hannah on gift-giving [03:55]
• “Brak is like my favorite cartoon character of all time by far. And I did not know that this existed. And it’s very sweet. I will think of you every time I drink coffee.” – Hannah [06:14]
• “You’re not winning any awards by not using your vacation time, okay?...There may come a time like it has for us where you can’t ever take a week off, you know?” – Hannah [37:23]
• “That’s what Christmas is about... making it work.” – Jane [22:36]
• “I also just love the idea of Joey Ramone…sitting there, like, grumbling, ‘There’s not enough rules. Mom, why’d you let Mike down here?’” – Jane, retelling a family story [36:56]

Highlighted Timestamps

• [02:14] – Hannah: “Mine all probably will also have advice.”
• [04:36] – Describing the tomato candle scent and Italian nostalgia.
• [05:48] – Emotional moment as Hannah receives the Brak-themed mug.
• [08:35] – Best Christmas movies according to mood.
• [16:22] – Hannah’s solo European Christmas (‘It was magical’).
• [18:08] – “I recommend it to anyone… just plan something else.”
• [21:45] – “We basically went grocery shopping inside of a pizza place inside of a liquor store. And we saved Christmas.”
• [22:36] – “That’s what Christmas is about... making it work.”
• [29:47] – Oranges as coveted stocking stuffers—explaining tradition.
• [31:44] – Celebrating as a bartender, creating alternative family.
• [32:48] – Swedish yule board in Chicago.
• [37:23] – Heartfelt advice on taking time off.
• [38:26] – Jane as a “holiday orphan” embraced by friends.
• [39:07] – Holiday closing wishes, gratitude for listeners.

Tone and Language

Witty, candid, affectionate, and sometimes bittersweet—Jane and Hannah blend humor with emotional candor, freely sharing mishaps, nostalgia, and leftover melancholy. The conversation feels like sitting in on a close friends’ Christmas morning: full of ribbing, warm memories, nostalgia for “time-warp” holidays, holiday sensory overload (candles, food, pajamas), and gentle, earnest encouragement for listeners to find meaning and comfort wherever (and with whomever) possible.

Takeaway

This holiday special marks The Dream’s return, celebrating not just Christmas, but resourcefulness, kindness (to self and others), and the ever-evolving search for community amidst American expectations. Whether listeners are baking rigatoni, hunting for ham at midnight, or piecing together their own chosen families, Jane and Hannah remind us: making it work—and making it your own—is the heart of any holiday dream.

Listen for:
Nostalgic storytelling, culinary chaos, viral candle gift tips, classic and quirky holiday music/movies, alternate family traditions, and genuinely moving reflections on chosen community.

Don’t miss:
The Brak mug, the pizza/liquor store grocery run ([21:45]), and the closing message about making holidays inclusive for all.