You, Me & Mike — Ep. 121: Holiday Traditions (Jenn Gets a Pony)

Podcast by Thirteen Media | Released: Nov 3, 2022

Overview

In this warm and candid episode, hosts Jenn and Mike Todryk dive into their personal and family holiday traditions, the great Christmas decorating debate, and how their upbringings affect the way they celebrate. Listeners get stories about childhood memories, traditions both cherished and quirky, and a lively discussion about how to make the holidays less stressful and more joyful. The episode is full of relatable laughs, sentimental moments, and the playful dynamic that defines “You, Me & Mike.”

Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

The Great Christmas Decorating Debate

• When Do You Decorate?
  The episode kicks off with a familiar controversy: Is it too soon to say “Happy Holidays?” and when is the right time to put up Christmas decorations?

  • Jenn admits to usually decorating the first week of November, not November 1st, “because I’m tired from Halloween.” She wants to “enjoy it longer than two weeks” ([01:47]).
  • Mike describes Jenn’s process as spread out, not done all at once: “You do the trees, and next week we do a little bit more...eventually get the village up, or we don’t” ([02:22]).
  • The pair discusses how some people “live around the boxes” during the decorating process ([03:11]).

• Listener Poll Results
  Jenn shares the results of her Instagram poll on when people decorate:

  “It was a house divided… 48% November 1st, and then...52% not until after Thanksgiving. I was actually shocked.” — Jenn ([07:27])

• Influence of Childhood Traditions
  Both discuss how their families’ timelines for decorating impacted their own preferences. Mike’s family always waited until after Thanksgiving, seeing Black Friday as the official kickoff to Christmas ([07:59]-[08:34]).

Holiday Childhood Memories & Family Traditions

• Nostalgic Media & Music

  • Mike recalls the significance of TV specials and records like “The Carpenters” and “Mannheim Steamroller” for setting the holiday mood ([09:06]-[09:30]).
  • Both reminisce about the anticipation and event-like scheduling of childhood cartoons and holiday TV ([10:04]-[10:55]).

• Magazines & Early Decorations
  Jenn recounts the year her house was decorated for a magazine shoot before Halloween:

  “My home [was] decorated for Christmas before freaking Halloween… My neighbors are probably looking in being like, this lady's psycho.” — Jenn ([11:16])

Evolving Family Traditions

• Changing Schedules

  • Jenn notes that her own family’s timeline for decorating shifted when their Thanksgiving gatherings got bigger, leading her mom to decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving:

    “Her Christmas stuff went up before Thanksgiving because she wanted to have it beautiful for the Thanksgiving meal.” ([13:30])

  • Mike’s mom now decorates early, too, so his kids get “two months of Christmas” when they visit family in Wisconsin ([14:34]-[14:50]).

• Blended & Extended Family Gatherings

  • Both share stories of how divorced parents and extended family meant having multiple celebrations and unique logistics ([15:08]-[15:58]).
  • The couple agrees on the joy of “marathon” Christmas mornings, where gifts are opened one at a time, with breaks for breakfast ([16:07]-[16:58]).

Stocking Stuffer Culture Shock

• Cultural Differences

  • Mike grew up with St. Nick's Day (Dec 6), a German tradition:

    "We would put [the stocking] on our door handle… St. Nick, who is like, Santa's cousin—he just gave us a bunch of candy and one little toy.” — Mike ([17:19]-[18:02])

  • Jenn’s family treats stockings almost like an extra major gift, with practical presents inside:

    “This is basically like a gift…the stocking with everything in it is basically another really great gift.” — Jenn ([20:48])

• Learning Each Other’s Ways

  • Mike confesses to once grabbing last-minute candy from CVS for Jenn’s stocking, to her dismay:

    “No, my stocking was just filled with crap, like candy and stuff… In my mind, that's a waste of money.” — Jenn ([20:35])

  • Eventually, they compromise: “Now the kids get little dollar toys and stuff because they like that, but the point is your family started this tradition that stockings…are legit pre-gifts.” — Mike ([22:08]-[22:38])

Christmas Morning Rituals

• Sacred Family Process

  • Jenn details the magic routine: her parents would block the hallway with a sliding pocket door; only once special Christmas music played (the elusive “Norman Rockwell Christmas Homecoming” CD), could she and her siblings see the tree and gifts ([22:54]-[26:03]).

    “My dad would always play… Rockefeller Christmas… He would blast that...and we'd open that pocket door and we'd see all the gifts for the first time.” — Jenn ([23:49])

  • Mike reflects on his first Christmas with Jenn’s family and how their traditions make the holiday feel magical for their own kids—"Our Christmases feel just like my childhood…because we have kids." — Jenn ([28:22]-[28:28])

“Santa” the Wisconsin Way

• A Quirky Family Favorite

  • Mike’s family tradition: a family member (originally his dad) would dress up as “Santa,” sometimes acting hilariously disheveled on Christmas Eve.

    "Santa’s usually Eastern European and has an alcohol problem." — Mike ([30:20])

    “He sounds like a wasted Wisconsin Prospector.… All the kids are kind of looking at him like, what is wrong with this person? And I'm just looking at Vaughn, like, with my shrug, like, say…” — Jenn ([32:11])

  • Mike was recently “passed the baton” to become Santa himself:

    “Last year, I was passed the baton at the age of 45 years old…” — Mike ([33:00])

• Playful Tension About Traditions

  • Jenn jokes that the Todryk kids probably think their version of Santa is “weird,” but the family relishes the fun and laughter it brings ([33:29]-[33:44]).

Looking Ahead — Managing Holiday Stress (Preview for Part 2)

• Jenn teases the next episode: practical advice and boundaries to reduce holiday stress, ensuring the holidays are “fun, not stressful” ([34:55]-[35:03]).

  "If it's not fun and if it's stressful, you ain't doing something right. And you can fix it." — Jenn ([34:56])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Christmas Decor Debate:
  “People have gotten divorced over this!” — Mike ([01:47])

• On Holiday Decorating Tactics:
  “Some people literally drag all their stuff out to the middle of their house…so they have to do it because everything's drug out in the middle…” — Jenn ([03:02])

• On Childhood TV Memories:
  “You didn't watch movies at any given time…so all these seasons were compartmentalized…the [holiday] traditions didn't blend over.” — Mike ([09:54])

• On Family Gift-Opening Rules:
  “It was a rule: one gift at a time…and you had to wait.” — Mike ([16:09])
  “That's crazy…Christmas would be over in 20 minutes, don't you think?” — Jenn ([16:34])

• On the Todryk Family Santa:
  “Santa talks a little bit like this…he kind of sounds like the Wisconsin Prospector…he's dancing, can't find the bathroom.” — Mike ([32:11]-[32:54])
  “Our kids are looking at Santa like, what the heck's wrong with him? Why is he talking funny?” — Jenn ([33:24])

Fun Segment: Jar of Weird Questions ([35:05])

• Listeners submit oddball questions. This week: “If you could live in any decade, which would it be and why, and how old would you be?”
  • Jenn: “1950s, 18 years old…because I want to see the movement of the housewife and the expectations of women take a rapid turn into the 60s…” ([35:39]-[36:11])
  • Mike: “My grandparents’ era, the 1940s…even if it meant living through World War II—there was such a pivotal change in society…” ([38:04])

Timestamps of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-------| | [01:30] | The Christmas Decor Debate—Too Soon? | | [07:06] | Beginning Childhood Traditions | | [07:27] | Results of Jenn’s Instagram Poll | | [09:06] | Holiday Music & TV Nostalgia | | [13:30] | Shifting Family Decoration Timelines | | [15:08] | Split & Extended Family Holidays | | [16:09] | “One Gift At a Time” Gift-Opening Rules | | [17:19] | St. Nick’s Day vs. Christmas Stockings | | [20:48] | Stocking Stuffers: Practical or Candy? | | [22:54] | Jenn’s Christmas Morning Family Ritual | | [30:05] | The Drunken Wisconsin Santa Tradition | | [34:55] | Preview of Managing Holiday Stress (Part 2)| | [35:05] | Jar of Weird Questions: “Any Decade?” |

Closing Thoughts & Tone

The episode is characterized by warmth, self-deprecating humor, and real-life insights about blending traditions, setting expectations, and keeping holiday chaos joyful. The Todryks keep things relatable for anyone navigating the holiday season—whether you’re a “decorates-in-November” type, or strictly a post-Thanksgiving traditionalist.

Jenn and Mike promise to return in “Part 2” with advice and boundary-setting tips to actually reduce holiday stress, ensuring “the holidays are fun, not overwhelming.”

For more: Follow Jenn (@theramblingredhead) and Mike on Instagram, and check out new episodes each Wednesday.

Memorable closing quote:

“If it's not fun and if it's stressful, you ain't doing something right. And you can fix it.” — Jenn ([34:56])