Episode Overview

Podcast: You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes
Episode: We Made It Weird #236
Date: December 19, 2025
Host: Pete Holmes
Co-Host: Valerie Holmes

This “We Made It Weird” holiday episode is a cozy, meandering, and playful conversation between Pete and Valerie Holmes as they wind down for the year. It’s full of whimsical riffs, funny memories, personal parenting reflections, nostalgic stories, and some gentle forays into spirituality. The tone is laid-back, reminiscent of “hot chocolate with whipped cream by the fire” ([01:10] Pete), and the episode is especially rich in candid, relatable moments about family dynamics, childhood, and holiday celebrations.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting the Holiday Mood

• The episode opens with Pete and Valerie riffing on holiday vibes: the anticipation of downtime, the relaxed mood of the holiday season, and the pleasure of sharing “hot chocolate by the fire” ([01:10-01:15]).
• Sleigh bell sound effects and light banter riff on the trappings of seasonal cheer ([04:00-05:05]).

“Which Soda is Which President?” Game ([05:22–07:23])

• Pete and Valerie play a game: If U.S. presidents were sodas, who would be which?
  • Obama: Pepsi — “His logo looks like the Pepsi logo.” ([05:39] Pete)
  • Trump: Mountain Dew Code Red — “Donald Trump is Mountain Dew. Code Red.” ([06:08] Pete)
  • JFK: Coke (debated; later Pete suggests RC Cola)
  • Washington: Coke — “Original.” ([07:01] Pete)
  • Discussion expands to mapping sodas onto cereals and superheroes, displaying their joy in whimsical categorization.

Social Awkwardness at Parties ([06:37–06:56])

• Pete shares empathy for socially anxious listeners, noting his party “modes” alternate between detachment and over-assertiveness (“which president is which soda?”).
• Valerie: “That's how you can start. … You know, winding down.” ([00:49])

British Geography Confusion, Colonization, and Money ([08:05–09:37])

• Pete and Valerie muse on why “Great Britain” is called “Great”—“Is it that they're great or that they're large?” ([08:10])
• Humorous American-centric riff: Pete jokes the UK is only as big as Rhode Island.

Internet Relics and “Success Order” ([09:42–11:40])

• They reminisce about Friendster (the pre-MySpace/MySpace era of social networks), and Pete explains why being “the third to an idea” (not the first) is best: “If you're the first, you're kind of in big trouble… You want to be the third.” ([10:31] Pete)
• Capitalism and Amazon’s predatory business practices are discussed: “Amazon will notice what's killing it … they'll bury that in the sixth page of results and put the Amazon version of it [up top].” ([11:10] Pete)

Parenting, Childhood Perspectives, and Emotional Safety

• Leela’s Notes: Pete and Valerie discuss sweet notes from their daughter, Leela—like “I’ll never forget the day we met” ([14:12] Pete), and how children’s feelings and worldviews are valid, even if sometimes overlooked by parents ([14:34]).
• Preference for Parents: Valerie talks vulnerably about sometimes not being the “preferred” parent, and the emotional impact of that—“She’s been really preferring you lately … and it does hurt your feelings.” ([17:17] Valerie)
• Parenting Reflection: Pete describes the challenge of not taking a child’s preferences personally, referencing their own childhood experiences with parents who would pout when feeling rejected ([20:41] Pete).

Notable Quote

“The people who are like that, like the pokiest people, are the tenderest and gooeyist inside—so much that they couldn’t bear life, so they put on armor that had like spikes on it so no one could get close to them.”
— Valerie ([21:32])

Soda Machine & Snack Nostalgia ([24:20–27:28])

• Pete remembers camping trips, off-brand sodas, snacking memories; Valerie paints a vivid picture of RC Cola and fishing with her grandfather.
• Both recount their delight in off-brand snacks (bagged cereal vs name-brand), and how childhood marketing made Coke seem inherently superior—a theme returned to often for its overlap with identity and belonging.

Street Fighter, Superheroes, and Gender Roles ([28:17–32:15])

• Extended riff on Street Fighter characters, soda branding, and pop culture, exploring how childhood choices (which game character, which soda) are shaped by longing for approval and classicism.
• Valerie mentions how her brother played as Chun Li so she could see “the big hair moment,” and how thick hair became her “big dick energy.” ([32:07, 32:15] Pete/Valerie)

Spirituality & Awareness Practice ([61:35–66:10])

• Pete and Valerie briefly pivot to spirituality:
  • Pete describes an awareness exercise, referencing Ram Dass and Rupert Spira, on being “loving awareness” and the idea that all sensations (even the sense of “where your brain is”) are just “floating in awareness.”
  • Valerie connects her body-based meditative approach, referencing Eckhart Tolle’s partner’s pain body meditation, and the non-boundary between “you and that thing” ([64:49–65:26]).

Notable Quote

“[Rupert Spira] would say, like, you’re no more the feeling of your face floating in that space than you are the sound of my voice. It’s all just showing up inside of this.”
— Pete ([64:10])

Parenting and Emotional Regulation ([48:31–51:46])

• They discuss how “the worst people” in business may win materially, but often lose in terms of happiness and relationships—juxtaposing selfishness with fulfillment.
• Pete shares therapy insights about growing up guessing which “version” of his parents he would get and working towards “higher altitude” (emotional resilience and perspective).
• Valerie offers a compassionate reminder that “this is one of the things that’s on the menu”—a therapist’s metaphor for accepting all emotions ([51:34–52:16]).

Holiday Memories & Mom Appreciation ([67:58–80:04])

• Favorite Christmas Memories:
  • Pete recalls feeling grown up when his Uncle “Stoney” snuck (maybe) a little Jack Daniels into his holiday Coke. ([71:44–72:15])
  • Valerie remembers her mother constructing elaborate Christmas Eve forts, even when sick—“My mom, with like 103 fever, made a giant fort for us.” ([79:45])
  • Both reflect on how much unseen effort mothers (and parents) put into making the holidays magical.

Notable Quote

“I want to use my memory to have a mom appreciation moment. Because now that I’m a mom, I really see, like, it’s just so much work for moms … and my mom just made it so special.”
— Valerie ([78:47])

Playful “Restaurant Order” Stories ([57:06–60:27])

• Hilarious family stories about misheard menu items, e.g. Valerie’s dad mistaking “cream or sugar” (“kimosuka”) for a mysterious Chinese coffee, and Pete ordering “the crotch of French onion soup” by accident ([58:03]).
• Pete and Valerie discover they both had the childhood habit of ordering burgers by parroting the menu’s playful slogans (“nacho ordinary burger").

Memorable Moments & Quotes (With Timestamps)

• [05:50] Valerie, on Pete’s logic: “I love that you see red, white, and blue on a presidential poster, and you’re like, that’s the Pepsi colors.”
• [13:09] Pete: “There are times I’d pick a tuna melt over sex.”
• [21:32] Valerie: “The pokiest people are the tenderest and gooeyist inside—so much that they couldn’t bear life, so they put on armor that had like spikes on it so no one could get close to them.”
• [32:07] Pete (to Valerie): “Because you’re definitely Chun Li…”
• [52:18] Pete: “I've done this before. I've. I've been scared before. I've been heartbroken before… there's like a kimchi quality to getting older where you're just like, I know what it’s like to get the big call, I know what it's like to lose the big call sometimes in the same day.”
• [78:47] Valerie: “I’m remembering now that my mom just made it so special. She really worked hard … and she was building us this fort every year, and there's a specific year where she had the flu, she had like 103 fever … and made a giant fort for us.”
• [80:06] Valerie: “All right, everyone. Well, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way.”
• [80:31] Valerie: “Enjoy your holiday seasons. Whatever you celebrate.”

Notable Segments & Timestamps

• Holiday Mood / Laid Back Vibe: [00:49–01:15]
• Soda/President/Cereal Mapping Game: [05:22–07:23]
• Parenting: Preferred Parent & Childhood Feelings: [14:34–22:31]
• Street Fighter, Sodas, and Cultural Identity: [28:17–32:27]
• Spirituality & Awareness Practice: [61:35–66:27]
• Favorite Christmas Memories: [67:58–80:04]
• Restaurant Menu Stories: [57:06–60:27]

Tone and Style

The conversation is loose, irreverent, playful, and affectionate, ranging from silly bits to heartfelt honesty and philosophical musings. Pete and Valerie are self-aware and open, often poking fun at themselves and each other while also directly confronting topics like family tenderness, nostalgia, and the complex emotions the holidays bring. If you enjoy candid, rambling talk between two deeply funny and kind people, this episode exemplifies their signature “weird” blend of humor, warmth, and reflection.

Summary

This holiday episode of “We Made It Weird” is quintessential Pete and Valerie: unpredictable, cozy, tangential, and brimming with humor and heart. Listeners are treated to quirky games (“Which soda is which president?”), reflections on parenting and childhood, memorable family stories, gentle wisdom on emotional resilience, and a touching tribute to the unsung holiday heroics of moms everywhere. Their warmth and banter will leave you smiling and, more than likely, feeling a little more seen in your own weirdness as you head into the holiday season.