Caroling is Good for Your Health
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Happy holidays, so the merry bells are ringing. Happy holidays to you. I like to start off these holiday podcasts with an original song that I wrote, and that is not one of them. What's that one called? I think it's called Happy Holidays. I've heard it about 79,000 times. I've been listening to Christmas music for...

It's got to be over a month because I found some station in Calgary that started November the 1st. By the way, welcome to the Jan Arden Podcast and Show. I'm here with Sarah Burt. Caitlin Green is just updating her crappy Bell computer. I'm just going to say that. Sorry, we were just voted podcast of the year in the major markets.

So anyway, Caitlin is just doing that and we are just here. So we just thought we would start. She will be here shortly. How are you doing, Sarah? Doing well, doing well. I went up to the cottage with my dad this weekend. So I had a really relaxing weekend and just wrapping up clients for the year. I'm looking forward to a little downtime. Love that. So this is an unfathomable experience.

concept to me. Downtime? That you went with your dad. No, no, not the downtown, the dad part. Okay. That you went with just your dad to your cottage and you guys hung out and you have conversations. I was so uncomfortable like in a room with my dad by myself, even at home. Oh yeah, true. We never really spoke. The thought of me getting in a car

And going to a destination where he would be... I mean, for one thing, he would have just had pocketbooks, Zane Grey, Westerns, Espionage, Ian Rankin type of stuff. Yeah. And he would have...

fried himself up a breakfast and just sat in the chair. And back in the day, he would have been smoking. I have such a picture of my dad. And then after he kind of finished with the cigarettes, he went to a pipe because he thought,

that was going to be the better choice. Like a corncob pipe? No, like a really beautiful wood-grained, gorgeous walnut pipe. And he had Hollandia tobacco. You remember. Yeah, Hollandia tobacco. It was in kind of a maroon can. But yeah, I never could talk to dad. He just, I would ask him something. I wish so badly that I could have asked him more things like, why did you leave home at 15?

And what did you think of the Mormon church? And why did you end up north on a seismic crew trip?

Working with the older guys, I think I told you, Sarah, that, you know, dad talks about being with these older men. And by older men, I think he means like literally 22, 23-year-old guys. Yeah, yeah. And he said they drank so much on their time off. He said, Jan, we would have a 40-ounce bottle of rum between like five of us. And the mixer was a gallon jug of wine. So we would mix the wine into the whiskey. Oh, my God.

And that was like to cut down. And he said they just were so sick. And I think my dad really hurt his body back then. I feel like I'm going through that thing right now where there's so many questions or things I might not remember from when I was really, really young that I want to know. Oh, ask, ask, ask. Make sure you ask. I don't know if you've been getting served up these ads. I think it's like a holiday gift. I think on Instagram, I've seen it pop up. But it's like,

year of questions that you send to someone you love and every day they have to answer the questions and you get an email with their answer every day, but then at the end of the year it like Publishes a book and sends it in the mail of all their answers to the question This is the greatest thing ever right because I think in the privacy of one's own space with a typed out question Yeah, they can answer it without looking at you without being observed and

It's very difficult to tell your truth, I think, when someone is sitting five feet from you across a dinner table looking at you, waiting for the answer, because then there's always the follow-up questions. And I think when you present it in this way, you can answer at your leisure. And there's no interjection from Sarah Burt going, yeah, but what about... All my questions. I know, you say that now. Exactly. So then it becomes part B, C, D, and E. That is the most beautiful idea.

Having had both my parents go through memory loss and the holidays are especially difficult for everyone. I know this is across the board for people who have lost children, grandparents, uncles, you know, whatever. There's always that place at the table.

Like my mom and dad, when they came here, they sat at the same place at the table. Every time. When I went and visited at their house. I'm the same. I had dinner at my parents' last night before coming back here. I sit at the same spot I did when I was 12. Yeah. You don't change the routine of being human. And I was actually thinking about that this morning. My morning routine takes me half an hour. Poppy gives up. He goes to the couch. He sits in his second bed. He's got so many beds around here.

But just making my bed and as I'm making it and fluffing up the pillows and putting the decorative little pillows on and folding up the quilt that I put over my feet and opening the curtains and brushing my teeth and putting on my face cream and grabbing my vitamins that I take in the morning, I was thinking this repetitive action, for me, there's so much comfort in it. And even when I'm on the road, I adhere to those same, I really basically try and keep it the same when I'm in a hotel room

Poppy and I do our thing. I wake up and I open the curtains and I start making a cup of tea and I take my vitamins and I always make my bed in a hotel. I know that sounds nutty, but if I'm there, well, obviously if I'm not there the next night, I'm not going to do it. But if we're in a prolonged, even a two, three nights stay, that bed is made.

Anyway, routine is important. Those same spots at a dinner table. But here we are, another Christmas. I feel like I was just here 10 minutes ago. I was thinking about how fast time has passed this year. I'm like, what? It's already December. We're recording this on the Monday of this week, December 18th. I'm like, wasn't it December 1st, like yesterday? Like it's flying. Yeah. So we are, by the time you guys hear this, we are just three nights out from...

Christmas. It's on a Monday. What are your Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions? With growing up in my parents' house, Christmas Eve was always fun. We got to open our stockings, which was my favorite anyway. We got to open one thing and we all picked the stocking. I don't remember my older brother being there because he was already out on his own just

just committing petty crimes. Right. He was gone. I'm not kidding you. So he wasn't around, but Patrick and I were there. And yeah, just, I think a meal, mama always made scallop potatoes and a ham Christmas Eve. There was always a ham, scallop potatoes, just like a salad, eggnog. The eggnog always came out. I always used to have ramen eggnogs. I mean, I would have like

five rum and eggnogs back in the day. One of my boyfriends, like his family had a tradition where they didn't eat meat on one day and they would go to church at night. And I remember they were like, do you want to come to church with us? And I was like,

I don't want to hear about Jesus. But I'll have some of the ham. Oh. Christmas Eve. The Christmas Eve night was the big drinking night. So like after they only did like fish meals that day for some reason and then lots of drinking at night. Maybe that's something to do with Catholicism. I'm not positively sure that I know. But yeah, it was just, it really was nice. There was always a fire going.

And I don't know about your mom and dad, but my parents, the living room, this beautiful living room was somehow off limits 364 days a year. Same. The white couches. Don't go near it. Don't go in there. Like, why do we have this room? I don't understand. So we would be in there in these beautiful velvet wingback chairs. Yeah.

And mom and dad had black and white carpeting that kind of looked like zebra. Oh my God, the 70s were a cruel time for decorating. Christmas with animal print. And,

And this fireplace. And we'd always begrudge going out into the winter because I don't remember a Christmas this mild. I just don't. And we would take turns grabbing the logs off the log pile and bring them in. And you were always scared to move a log because inevitably something was always moving. It was either like a squirrel or a mouse jumping out of there. Every time you took a log off, you'd discover something hideous.

And, yeah, we would just sit in front of the fire and actually chat. And it was the one time where if my dad had had a few drinks, he would be talking about

Well, my dad liked to have a beer. He'd go out behind the house and if mother knew, well, that would be the end of it. Caitlin Green is joining us now. Hi. And we're reminiscing about Christmas. I love reminiscing about Christmas. And Christmas Eve. So what did you guys do Christmas Eve? Christmas Eve, we would always watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Not the Jim Carrey one, but the original animated classic. Yeah.

And I loved doing that. So that was the night before it would be about getting the house all cleaned up and organized, setting out milk and cookies for Santa, and just generally me filled with a lot of nervous energy and very excited to see what I was going to get. It is. It was so exciting. It's weird because it was one of the few times where my family would be together kind of harmoniously.

just chatting. I remember my mom's back and the apron tied around her back and her standing at the kitchen. And she was there most of the time. I'm not exactly sure what she was doing, but when she sat down, there'd be this harumph and my mom would just have her, and I would always microwave whatever drink she was having, whether it was coffee or tea. And she felt so guilty about taking that half hour to

to sit there while things were on the stove and things were in the oven. And I wish I would have helped more. I mean, I was a kid that had a ton of chores because both my parents were working. My friend, Teresa always says, you were always ironing. And I was, I'm an excellent ironer, but yeah, mom's little stolen moments that she would take, um,

you know, during the holidays, she must've been exhausted. What was your favorite dish that you would have at Christmas? Well, we were just talking about scallop potatoes and I'm telling you, I love a scallop potato and I still make them the exact same way. Sands, the dairy, everything's swappable. So just know that, but I will peel up garden potatoes and lay them out in that. And I still have mom's glass corningware baking dish.

And there's lots of vegan creams and the cheeses and you just bake it. Oh my God. And the crispy edges. Yeah. I would be happy just with a pan, me sitting in front of the Grinch who stole Christmas, just eating everything.

with a fork. And I love taking a fork and taking the layers off. I didn't like digging down. I like to peel the layers off one at a time. And would you, so would you like the corner, you know, or would you want like a middle square? Corners. Corners. Yeah. Same. I'm a corner girl. Same for brownies. I'm not to say that I like, I'm going to love any brownie I have, but I like a crispy corner. Oh yeah. Have you seen the brownie pans? They're on Amazon. They're all over the place.

And it looks like a labyrinth and every piece is a corner. Oh, yeah.

So it's just these long trails. It's still a square, but every side of that brownie has a corner to it that it's on the steel edge. I love that. Yeah, I'm going to get you one. You should. Anyways, I want to congratulate my team. We just won a Canadian Industry Something Podcasting Award. Sarah's going to tell me what it was. What did we win? We won something this week. We did with an organization called Broadcast Dialogue. They've called you the best podcast in Canada for 2023.

Actually, let me read this. I just brought it up.

up. Awarded to the producer, on-air personality, and team who demonstrate creativity, originality, and excellence in podcasting, Major Market, the Jan Arden podcast through Orbit Media. You beat out, by the way, I just, we have to laugh for a second. You beat out these two men who are very well-known broadcasters, Jeff Woods and Alan Cross. I'm sure anyone listening to this podcast has heard their names before in the Canadian broadcasting industry. It's just a nice little dust off the shoulder. Yeah.

I always remember Alan Cross is like, I know that the ongoing history of new music, that's how I always know his like that intro. Yes, yes. He just did his 1000th episode too. Hey, we've got like 10,000. So you know, we're way behind him. We never miss a beat. And people have been asking, will we have something Christmas week? Yes, we will. Will we have something New Year's week? Yes, we will. We're not going to miss anything.

Sarah Burke has already, you know, she's gotten the whip out on Caitlin and I, and we're going to have something for you. You're the one holding the whip. I think of the three of us. No, I'm blaming Sarah. We didn't want to do best of. Anyway, we've got a few things that we want to touch on today as we are getting closer to 2024 and 2023. We're saying goodbye to that.

Caitlin had some great stuff. Just about this time of year, tipping seems to be on the up and up. So I'm going to just hand that over to you. I'm a good tipper. I want people to know that. Okay. Yeah. Because everyone wants to know if celebrities tip well. This is always a thing when they go out for dinner. They're like, how much did they put? What did they tip? They're watching. Yeah, they are watching.

Okay, but do you think tipping culture has kind of run a little bit of muck? I wonder how tipping is going to go this year because people are getting really sick of being hit up for tips at every turn. So it's like, who do you tip in your life and how much do you give them? It's a conversation that started to pop up at our daycare because the ECE workers who are in the room with our son,

I'm trying to figure out what the right amount is to tip. You tip the workers in your daycare? Yeah, I think I'm going to. Oh, man. I know. Here's the thing. I don't think you have to. I don't think it's a no. But I do feel as though they are historically underpaid.

and they do like the most important job in my life. Like honestly, they're the two, other than my husband and my actual son, really close behind are the two women who literally take care of him. And then us. And then us, Sarah. And then you guys, yeah. Well, is that packaged as like an end of year gift or are you calling it a tip? I'm wondering. Like being on a cruise ship and putting some money in an envelope? Yeah, I think that's what it's like. So I think I'm going to give them something. It's not a tip, but it's, you know, it's...

It's a Christmas gift, really, is what it is. It is. And I think that's what holiday tipping is kind of all about, is it's a Christmas gift for the people in your life who you maybe have assessed don't necessarily quite make enough. I don't know. We also have concierge in our building. We have a 24-hour concierge.

I'm like, what do I do for them? I don't know. Where does this go? Because it used to be like, oh, the mailman. I'm like, don't mailmen make a lot of money now? Wouldn't it be like more of a bottle of wine or something for the concierge? Or is cash the way to go forward? I think it's cash. I think people are struggling and they need it. Okay. And they don't always drink. I gave my housekeeper one of my books. Okay.

But I pay them really well and I gave them a raise this year. Oh, that's the gift. So when gas went up, and I'm serious, so you tell me if this is terrible. She comes with her husband on a Sunday and I do it maybe once every three weeks.

I love cleaning, but it's just the stuff that I don't get to. And it really helps me out, especially if I'm traveling. Listen to me defending myself. I can't even believe I feel so funny.

But they've been with me, Beth and her husband, for 17, 18 years. Like it's been a long time. They're here about four hours and I do $275. Yeah. And you have a big house and there's two of them. Is that bad? I think it's good. I think it's good. I feel like they're making decent, like I think that's pretty fair. You know, I went up like $50 this year. I just thought, no, we've been here for a while. Yeah.

She was working with mom a long time before she was with me. And I always clean my house before she gets here because I don't, like I always clean the toilets. I'm not kidding you. I'm like, I'm cleaning the toilets. This is the Christmas edition. No, but like, it's just, you know what you pay them and you already gave them a raise. And sometimes I just feel though, I know what other people kind of make sometimes in certain industries and I don't necessarily feel that it's quite enough. And then

Other places, I think they do make enough money so then they might get something like a bit smaller. Like no one's tipping any of us. Like you're not tipping. Like the wine or the chocolate could be for those people. The wine or the chocolate or the candle. Yeah, or the candle. When I do cameos, when I do cameos, people tip me. Ooh.

The tips, it all goes to animal welfare. Not always. Like I said, the cameos are $99 US, but people, my grandma was so happy and they'll give, here's an extra $25 for the horses or whatever you're doing. Thank you so much. And that always comes afterwards. But

here's something from, it's funny that you bring this up because last week I came across a great little story on TikTok. This woman is kind of a fashion influencer. She's 50 some odd years old. She's so cool. Really always in front of a full length mirror doing her stuff. I love how she puts her outfits together. They're very awesome. And she gets changed with her underpants and

and bra like in her TikTok. She's not always like just ready, like boom. She's in her gaunch doing her thing. Anyway, she gets 15 of her girlfriends together and they call it $100 lunch day. And they pick a restaurant and she wants each girl to bring $100 and they book a table for the 15 of them. So it's always a pain in the ass for whatever server is going to get you.

And they have their lunch. They have a champagne and a mimosa and they do that. But they each put $100. When the girl brings the bill, we'll just put it on one tab. So when they hand her this envelope with $1,500...

it actually gives a person a chance to really do something in their lives, like make a mortgage payment or do something quite big. And they've been doing this for years. They do it every Christmas. And I just thought, what a great idea. I'd love to get four girlfriends together. Julie Van Rosendahl, we still haven't done the mystery...

people dinner party. Like we have to get on that in 2024. We were going to get six people together that don't know each other and have a dinner. But anyway, so the girl gets that. She's already thrilled with the 20% and then they hand the envelope with the $1,500 with

you know, $1,500 bills in there. It's their like big celeb tipping moment. Yeah. And they're just, I just thought it was a great idea. It's so cute. It's a bonus. It's equivalent of a bonus. It's a random Christmas bonus. But if you're on the hustle every day, and some people are terrible tippers, I'm going to tell you that right now. Like my dad, and I've talked about this before, we'd go to Tony Roma's. The bill was

you know, 98 bucks for the four, whatever. He'd leave $5, $5. That's bad. And that's good enough. They're already getting paid. He'd say to me, and he was the most miserable guy to serve. He'd literally hold a coffee cup up in the air and point at it. Oh no. Yeah. He just, he just was that guy. It totally depends how you're being treated too. Caitlin, I'm wondering about your concierge thing. Cause not all concierge,

fellows or women are the same in my building. Like some are very nice and some don't even like look up when you walk by. You know what I mean? Yeah. Very that. So I'm not going to give necessarily all of them something, but like the ones who I know by name and that I see every day and they always say hi to my son and he says hi to them.

Just the ones that I really. The ones that give dog treats? The ones that give dog treats. The ones that help you with all of your packages. Like they're just, you know, I'm definitely going to give them a little something, I would say. And then the ones if I don't even know their names and they kind of don't look at me or talk or anything, I don't know. They're getting a cookie. They'll get at least a cookie. There you go.

I've been trying. There's this older fellow who works for like all three of the buildings. Mine are connected with one concierge and he's so grumpy. I've been trying to like get a smile out of him all year and

Yeah. And like sometimes, you know, if I get home from a concert, it's like 1130 and I'll check my mail before coming upstairs and I'll be like, hey, how are you? I'm fine. Scrooge. He's just so angry all the time. So I want to give that man something this year, not because he's been so kind, but because he needs a smile. Oh, yes, he does. Maybe that's another angle to look at helping someone.

I would imagine the accumulation of 120 people in a building giving $5 really turns into something. So I don't think, when you think in those terms, I don't think you have to go, oh God, I got to give a $20 bill. I think...

$5 is, like I said, when a person gets 500 bucks from little donations in their building, not a donation, sorry, a tip. But yeah. And they did do a call out like through email. Hey, this is being collected for the staff of the building, blah, blah, blah. And I've chosen not to give to that this year and go directly to the people who have been so kind to me.

I think that's a good idea. And our daycare, our daycare sponsors a family like every year. That's nice. We sponsored a family and usually they are new to Canada. And I think this year we sponsored, actually no, this year we sponsored three. There were three families and one of them had recently landed here and it was a mother and two children and she'd lost her husband in the current war in Ukraine.

And so, yeah, so there is, you know, there's a nice community feel to our daycare. They're really, really sweet. We just got our photos back of our son's Christmas photos that they do at the daycare where they dress them up and have a professional photographer do holiday photos with them. So like it's a special daycare. That's the only reason why, not the only reason why, but I really kind of feel like they go above and beyond. So I want to do something a little extra too.

Well, you're right. These people make it possible for you and Kyle to work your jobs, to feel safe and secure. Your son is your absolute heart. It beats outside of my body now. That's right. That's right. He's just your dear, dear little soul.

And, you know, when you go to work every day, it's pretty nice to know he's in great hands. He's with people that really care about their jobs. So that's important. And this is the time of year to think about the people that do little things for you. And I love your angle, Sarah. I love the fact that you want to give something to someone who really doesn't show you a lot of kindness, but every story has a story behind it.

And if there was ever a time of year to think about why people are the way they are, this is the time of year to do it and to be a little bit more compassionate because when people are grumpy and I mean, who knows, he could be looking after his mother who's on a feeding tube, sitting in a little one room apartment somewhere and

and just trying to get by. Anyway, listening to the Jan Arden podcast and show, Sarah Burke, Caitlin Green is here with us. When we come back, caroling is good for you. We're going to talk about that. You're going to want to sing. You're going to want to sing and do something good for your health. We'll be right back. Don't go away.

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while putting a gut-friendly, guilt-free drink in your body. Cove Soda is available in 12 delicious flavors all over North America. So for our American friends, you can find it. They've got this fruity lineup that's fantastic. I drink those all the time. They've got the classic lineup if you like...

A cola or a cream soda, root beer, yes indeedy. And they've got their limited edition summer flavor, which will take you right back to the second grade. You gotta try the ice pop one. Head to janardenpod.com to find out where the closest place to you is where you can go and buy Cove. Go right now. Welcome back, Jan Arden Podcast and Show. Sarah Burke, Caitlin Green is here. Caroling is good for you.

Caroling is good for you. Singing is good for you. Just like Elf said. It was Buddy the Elf. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. So go ahead. Oh, so go ahead. No, you should sing. You're the singer. Listen, I sang some weird version of Happy Holidays that I wrote many years ago off the top of the show. No, I didn't write it. Silent night. Oh. Well, that just cost us $8, didn't it? That we have to pay somebody. I think that's public domain now.

Silent Night, Holy Night. Do you know what the second verse of that song is? Nobody knows the second verse. All is calm, all is bright. No, that's the second line. The second verse. I did enough Googling last week. I'm not Googling anymore this week. Okay, don't Google. Anyway, everyone knows a little piece of Every Christmas Carol, but then anytime the second verse kicks in, nobody knows that. Unless it's Feliz Navidad.

Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, no quiero cuando Feliz. So there's things in there that you, we all know the Feliz Navidad and then it's, then we're lost. A thing that happened to me when I had Will is that I realized I didn't actually know any nursery rhymes. I didn't really know any songs. I was like, what do I, I don't know, a lullaby? What am I going to do? Insensitive. Oh, you're, but see, but I don't know much of it. Like, and I'm not as good and it's kind of hard to sing. I think I'd have a better chance at...

No, not could I be your girl. No, it would have to be insensitive or maybe good mother. I don't think I would. Listen, I don't know the words to my songs. I use a teleprompter. You heard it here first, people. But I wound up singing one of my first lullabies to Will, which was Jingle Bell Rock. Aw, that's a good lullaby. It's mostly sung very quietly in his room. But I thought of it because you're right, I don't know the words. And even that one, like I knew some of it. So I would just kind of. Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock.

Jingle bell time and jingle bells. I don't know. Dancing and prancing and jingle bell square in the frosty air. Yeah. We know bits and pieces, but we really don't know the song. I was an alto in the school choir, as you can clearly hear. So any sort of, oh yeah, I was the only girl always in the alto section. I was like, you know what? Choir's not for me. I can't deal with this anymore. I'm going to have to sing with the boys for the rest of my life.

but that one was the first one and I liked it and he liked it and he loves a Christmas song. Oh my gosh. He just adores them. So that's so great. How about a non-traditional Christmas song? Like, do you know people who have written like satirical versions of these songs? I have one that's popping into my brain right now. Police, not my dad. What? What?

Police nabbed my dad. It was the... Police nabbed my dad. Oh, God. That... It kind of works really well with the... Police nabbed my dad. The rhythm. So there's this Santa Claus parade in London, Ontario, and I was in school there and then stayed and did broadcasting there for like 10 years. And it was...

It was an annual thing that this guy, Bob, who fronts a rock band called Bob Noxious, he has a float in the Santa Claus parade. He does so much for the community, I will say. So many donations, so many events, so many things. But he would be on this float singing, police nab my dad, going downtown. Well, I'm sure that is the story for a lot of people at the holidays. Anyway, caroling is good for you. Studies show that singing...

Singing, especially with other people, releases feel-good emotions. I mean, listen to us. We're just chuckling away here because we were having a great time singing songs we don't know. It helps you bond with people and it lifts your spirit. So sing along with people. I absolutely agree. When I think about my life in music and what it's done for me,

I can't even begin to thank the universal people for the opportunities that I've had. I'm trying to be non-denominational. Whoever it is that's been responsible...

It has been an absolute joy to sing and to make my way through the world like that. Have you ever gone caroling? Well, I don't know if you can think back to a very famous Halloween episode we did here. I've talked about this a few times. Leonard and Dale and I, when I first moved out to Springbank, Alberta, you walk a half mile to get to each house to get the stuff. And a lot of people made us stand there and sing something.

I'm like, what in the F is going on? It's Halloween. Just give me the goddamn candy. Trick or treat. Halloween apple. Stick it in the bag. It's a lemon tart. Lady, I've got a sack. I can't be carrying this tart. But we'd have to sing something. And Leonard and Dale just acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. And we'd be singing blue suede shoes or anything that we...

We knew. Twinkle, twinkle, little star was very popular from house to house. But it wasn't little drummer boy. It was more of whatever you could pull out of your hat, so you got that lemon tart. Yeah, but we would laugh. We'd stand there and just eat stuff. I was so full by the time I got home. But anyway, I think caroling... My friends Lisa and Bev were here last night for dinner, and she goes...

Something really fantastic happened to Bev and I yesterday. She's South African. I'm not even going to attempt it. She said, we had actual carolers come to the house. Okay, that's what I was going to say. We heard singing outside the door and I said, Biv, what is going on? Am I going crazy? I can hear, is something on in the house?

And so they went to the door. These kids are standing there. The parent was on the sidewalk. And she says, they were so terrible. I don't even know what song it was. Anyway, they rushed to give them some date squares or something. They gave them something. And she said it was so heartwarming.

They couldn't believe it. I can't believe it because I've never seen it happen in real life. I've never known it to happen in real life. But I also am a jaded city slicker. And so I would see it happen in movies. And I always wonder to myself, who has ever encountered like IRL actual caroling? I haven't. But I like hearing that Bev has seen it. Bev? Bev? Bev?

I'm telling you, do we have something? Is there really one? I'm telling you, I can hear something. And sure enough, here's these teenagers at the door. You should do this on TikTok. You would go viral. You should go around randomly caroling on TikTok. That would explode. You can go with Biv. Biv, come with me. We're going to sing... To see the reaction of someone opening the door. Okay, well...

Maybe I could just go up to Ding Dong and sing Good Mother standing on their steps. Yeah, I like that. But can you imagine if you just like one day you heard singing at your door and it was Jan just belting out Good Mother? Well, maybe I'll do that. Maybe I'll see if I have a day next week. You know, I really need Leah for that. I need to enlist Leah because she's so good at that kind of stuff. You're right. I'm not kidding you. Maybe I should do it. What's your favorite Christmas song, by the way? You haven't even told us. I

I'm dreaming tonight of a place I love even more than I usually do. And although I know it's a long way back, I promise you I'll be home for Christmas. You can plan on it.

There'll be snow and mistletoe and presents by the tree. That's my favorite one. See, go caroling. Okay, this is, I mean, not to toot my own horn, but I love this idea. Okay, well, maybe we'll make it happen. There's a reason people cannot stop watching Christmas movies. And I know we are some of those people.

Most holiday movies are cheesy. They really are. They're cheesy. There's always a happy ending. That's why we watch them. Except in Love Actually, there's not always a happy ending in that movie. But it's still,

All those life lessons. Love Actually is playing at Chinook Theater on the big screen. Really? I just saw it there. Yeah, I was there just doing last minute little things. Chinook is a huge mall in Calgary and they have 20 theaters. It's a massive complex. Love Actually was one of the shows. And I believe The Grinch with Jim Carrey, it's on the big screen. And the theaters are packed.

So explain that to me. Yeah. I mean, there are some happy endings in Love Actually, but then there's some real bummers. And those ones, they just, I was like, you know what? I needed, I needed Laura Linney to get together with the hot Spanish guy instead of going and getting yelled at by her brother who was not doing too great in his, wherever in the hospital. Like that drove me nuts. I was like, why are you answering this phone call right now?

Well, we need to rewrite it. I love Laura Linney, by the way. Laura Linney was roommates with Alison Cornell, my violin player. Oh. Yeah. They were at Juilliard. Oh my gosh. So we're thinking about you, Alison. Anyway, Dr. Pamela Rutledge of the Media Psychology Research Center. That's a mouthful.

It lowers stress. Watching something that you know has a good outcome literally physically lowers your stress and it reinforces feelings of hope and renewal and all those things that Christmas is supposed to bring. So when you are watching the same movie year after year and you know where it's going, your body leans into that feeling. There's no unknowns. You're not sitting there watching some kind of horrific... There's some horror Christmas movies. I always think, what?

what a bad, bad idea to do horror themed Christmas movies. Shame on you. Krampus, for instance. Okay, wait, isn't Krampus the name of like the twisted, like evil Santa that like puts kids in his backpack or whatever? Yeah. Yeah. Who's watching that? That's not cozy at all. Well,

it is if you're a horror fan. Do yourself a favor and do not watch Leave the World Behind this holiday season. What's that? That's on Netflix, the new Julia Roberts one. It's a very good film. It's like a big statement about society in the current age, but it does not have a happy ending and I left depressed. I don't need a non-feel-good holiday movie, so no Krampus and for unrelated other reasons, I'm not watching that either. What did I watch on the plane? On my plane ride home, I watched...

What the... Oh, I watched For Your Consideration again. Do you guys remember that? Yes. Absolutely. That whole team, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Catherine O'Hara...

They are the biggest a-holes, the most wonderful a-holes in the world. And they just, it's that discomfort that you experience from watching how they approach these scripts. I don't know if it's just suggestions. If Christopher Guest just says, okay, here's the scenario, go. I have a feeling that you just can't stop those people. Caitlin, you were in Mystique, which sounds exactly like what it is.

And it looked like you were having a great time. We were a little bit jealous. So tell us about your trip. It was a 40th birthday for one of my longest best friends. She and her husband have birthdays that are about two weeks apart. So they plan this big, huge trip. And well, he really planned this big, huge trip. And they are quite well to do. And they're very, very, very generous. And he loves to plan a good time.

loves to travel, loves to go out. He's a Sagittarius. And so he wanted to really show her a big, big party. And they achieved that by having us stay there at Tommy Hilfiger's house for a whole week.

You're not kidding, right? No, I'm not. Was it on like an Airbnb site that they like rented it out? How did they find it? So Mystique is a private island, meaning that it's not actually like the country of Mystique, but it is, but it's owned by the people who own homes on the island. And then they together form a company called the Mystique Company, which personally handles all the private home rentals that you may want to do on the island. And they also run the only very small boutique hotel on the island called Cotton House.

which is frequently where a lot of celebrities stay. Otherwise you're staying at someone's private home. And usually the very wealthy who own these properties, rent them out for astronomical prices per week. And so that's how you would go and stay at one of their houses, but it's small. There's almost no one on the Island. You get around either in a teeny tiny car or on a Kawasaki mule. They're called mules. It's like a little forerunner. And so that's what we've ripped around on the Island with all week. And it's like you and some turtles and,

and then just casually Daniel Craig and his wife, Rachel Weisz. So we see them. That's day one. We just see them casually with their families and friends. And nobody bugged them. They just got to be them. No. I think some people do, but it seemed as though the other people who bugged them were...

also themselves rather elite, super wealthy British people. Because just to be on the island, I think you're sort of in that class or you're tagging along with it like me. And then I'd be too self-conscious, so I wouldn't go right out. But there were these kind of like drunk older British men who I just saw waltzing up to James Bond.

and being like, oh, hello. And so I think they got away with it. And then the other thing is because the homes are private and there's really no one on the island, everyone invites each other to each other's houses for cocktail hours because all the houses have staff and stuff too. So they'll say, oh, well, we're throwing a cocktail, a beach party, a barbecue, whatever. Come for beverages from five to seven. Ryan Adams lives there. Yeah, exactly. And so like one person's house manager tells another house manager and then everyone gets invited and blah, blah, blah.

Okay, who else? You said there were other sightings. So we find out our group is invited to a cocktail party at the hotel. And it's a special invitation from like the head of the Mystique company or whatever. So they invite us to go. So we go with a bunch of other people. And as I'm walking out to go to dinner, who do I walk right past to say, oh, hello, like hope you're enjoying your stay. Oh, great. Thanks. Hi. It's Robert Pattinson and his wife, who's, or I think girlfriend, who's currently expecting, Suki Waterhouse.

She was in Daisy Jones and the Six, and he, of course, is Batman. Wow. That's crazy. So that was crazy. And then we also found out that on the island at the same time as us at some point was Chris Martin from Coldplay. There were Harry Styles rumors. And then the house that we rented was across the harbor. I'm not saying we. The house that my friends rented was across the harbor from Mick Jagger's.

I think Brian's next to Mick. I think his house is next to Mick Jagger's house. Anyway, how much can you even say? What do you think it is for a week to stay in the Tommy Hilfiger house? Is it like 100K? Probably. It's probably close to it. I mean, like off season. So peak season is usually according to the people on the island is over the Christmas holidays, midweek.

New Year's and then Easter is a big one. So I think that those are really, really expensive. And then like you might be looking at somewhere between like 80 to 100 because it's a really big property. And he has one of the few homes with an actual beachfront. It's very mountainous. So a lot of people have these spectacular views, but they don't actually have a beach. They have a gorgeous pool. And so everyone tends to go to the hotel to use their beach. You're just allowed to stroll up and have drinks and they say, which house are you staying at? So but the last night we were there,

My friends are huge country music fans. And so they... Flew in Luke Bryan. No. No, no. I don't think they could afford that. They were already spending way too much money on the house and the blues and everything else. But they flew in one of the members of Lady A, formerly known as Lady Antebellum, Charles Kelly. Yes. And he performed...

privately at the house and they did like a whole setup for him and everything. And he is fantastic, man. This guy can sing. And he's also a great storyteller and he's funny and he's, he'll do any cover you want. And he's like talking to the crowd, a great time. Like, I mean, whatever they paid for it,

And he was just on his own with his guitar. Him and his guitar player. There were other people because the night before that, we had a reggae band from St. Vincent on the Grenadines at the Beach Cookout they threw. And I think they were actually some of that band was supposed to perform. But a bunch of the equipment got held up in Spain somehow. And so he wound up doing an acoustic set. So it's just him and a guitar player.

And at one point he realizes or he's told that Mick Jagger's place is right across. And he says, if you can get him over here to sing with me, I won't charge you. And then he saw my friend's husband pick up his phone and was like, never mind. I take it back because he was like worried that he could actually pull it off. But then everyone joined in a performance of Honky Tonk Women. Oh.

Oh, deep dog woman. Caitlin on the cowbell. In the hopes that he would at least hear it across at his place, which was really fun. So I mean, yeah, it was not real life. I have nothing to do with it financially. I am like the poor tag along, but I will do that all day long. It was great. 35 people total. Some truly amazing people, like really just fantastic. So much fun. We have a big group chat now. We have like a shared photo album.

Does it seem surreal to experience something like this? Obviously you and Kyle, I love you, but I don't think you could do a hundred thousand dollar house thing.

The thing that I really love about you, though, is I know how much you appreciate this and how much you're just like, this is not real life. And this is something that will be a beautiful memory. And plus, you were away from your son for the first time in your little life so far. Yeah, that was the hardest part. But he was with my dad and my dad's partner. And so they were having an amazing time. We were getting all the updates from daycare. He was doing well.

But yeah, no, we definitely appreciate it. I mean, my friend's husband, who I just could not thank enough for the generosity that he showed everyone on this trip. I mean, the effort, the money, just incredible. And he said, I don't think I looked over and saw you not smiling at any single point on this trip. No matter how hungover I was or how tired I was, it was still the best time ever. And he organized a massive, rather involved tennis tournament. And a lot of people there are quite athletic and good athletes.

and competitive, and I've never held a tennis racket before in my life. Now I want to take lessons. It was actually really fun, but it was an intense match. Just do pickleball. Do pickleball. It's like the junior version of tennis. You still get some exercise, but you're not chasing the ball quite so much. A former NHL hockey player was there, and he's obviously quite talented and tall. His name's Jonathan Erickson. He used to play for the Detroit Red Wings. I unfortunately know from an ex-boyfriend who used to be a Detroit Red Wings fan.

Yeah, loveliest guy ever. Him and his wife were there. And he was fantastic. And there was another woman who was fantastic as well. Her name was Robin. And she used to be a host of something on the Discovery Channel. Shoot, I forget the name of the show she hosted. Anyways, we were up against some fantastic athletes. And they were all very, very nice to me. So...

Well, that's great. Well, listen, those are the kinds of things that really make you, I think, realize just how lucky we all are sometimes. I mean, there's not a day that I don't wake up here in the trees and just think, and yes, I've worked hard. We've all worked hard for the stuff that we have, but I know it's hard work and it's luck and it's the opportunities that get presented to you. And we lived vicariously through you. The pictures were great. It just looked so idyllic and so...

I'm assuming you fly in on a very tiny little plane to a little airstrip. We flew into an island called Canawan and then you get in another puddle jumper to fly over to Mystique. And on the way out, we flew to Barbados and then we flew direct back to Toronto from Barbados. And it was such a spectacular, beautiful plane ride. The runway into Mystique is like

curved. And I haven't even posted even 10% of what I have. I have to go do another update, but it's really special. And it's also like, it's nice to be with a bunch of people who are all just honestly sweethearts and so happy to be there. And so giving of their like time and everything. So it was lovely. Highly recommend going somewhere warm also the week before Christmas, because then you get back and it's like not really a real work week. So you kind of feel like you have just this straight run into January now.

I marveled at everything. I think it's wonderful. Listen, we're going into the new year next week. There's lots to look forward in 2024. 2023 has certainly been challenging. I feel like we got out of COVID and sort of these personal hardships and these obstacles that we faced because of a health crisis the last few years. And now the world is seeming to be a little bit unhinged. There's a lot of

difficult stuff going on, but we assure you, we want to talk about so many positive things and so many great things that are happening in the world going into 2024. So we're not going to be the harbingers of doom by any stretch of the imagination, but we also want you to know that we're not sitting here ignoring what's going on and being irresponsible to not know that there's a lot of people going through a lot of stuff. But having said that, we've got some really fun stories planned for you guys. We've got some really fun stories about

about our new year's resolutions. I don't want the girls to talk about it now, but whether they have some or don't have some or some past stories, uh, lots to talk about. We want to hear from you and we want to hear about your new year's resolutions as well. So you have time to DM us, send us a voice note to the Jan Arden pod on all the formats, uh,

Don't hesitate because we'd love to answer some of those questions. And if you do have resolutions for 2024 or things that you want to do or stuff that you want to tackle, please tell us about it. We want to share in your joy. So thanks for listening. Jan Arden Podcast and Show, thank you for giving us the opportunity to be the number one podcast in Canada, beating out two guys that are on their thousandth podcast. We

We will take it. We will take it. It's the you, the listeners that make this work week after week after week and all your kind comments always. Russ Richards, you're the top fan this year again. Oh, we love him. We're related, Russ Richards, because my last name is Richards and I'm Welsh. That's true. So we've got to do some ancestry.com next year. And I'm even

thinking, Russ, that we need to have you on the show. So make room for your schedule. Even if you phone in, you don't have to have all the fancy stuff. You don't have to have microphones and headphones and all that crap. I have a sneaking suspicion you do, but we're going to chat to you next year because I know you've been through a lot too. So look after yourselves. We've got lots of fun stuff coming up. I hope you have a great Christmas.

What does Christmas Eve look like for both of you in Christmas morning? I just need to know as a Jewish person, I'm living through you. I got three visits. I got three stops. I got to make a poppy and I are doing the rounds. We're, we're going to do a gingerbread thing at one house. We're doing a bunch of hors d'oeuvres at another house, like guacamole. And people keep saying, we've got vegan stuff for you. So it's the sweetest thing in the world. And probably sitting in front of my own fireplace, just to reflect and get ready to have everyone over to my house and

for dinner on Christmas day. So I think I'm having eight people over and people coming and going. So yeah, I'm looking forward to it. That's so cute. Um, Will goes to sleep at seven, so it'll be very regular bath and bottle before then. And then honestly, we are likely going to collapse on the couch and maybe have like a really nice bottle of wine, maybe get some

some sort of like a pot pie going. I could see a pot pie happening and some snacks. I love a dessert. So this is my season right now. So I'll have a delicious dessert. We'll watch The Grinch. We'll watch something else and we'll wrap some presents. And then we'll, this is the first year he's really going to know what a present is all about. So I'm really excited to see it. What did you get him? Can you tell us?

He has a bunch of things. He has like his own, he loves a vacuum. He truly is his mother's son. Get him cleaning early. Get him cleaning early. This is good. It's a little vacuum that sucks up like, like what looks like these plastic coins and everything because he's obsessed with the vacuum. He's got a little ride on scooter. He has a little DJ machine that you can like mix and record music with. He's got a little microphone. He's got these big giant cushions to collapse into because he's basically climbing the walls of our condo right now.

So yeah, no, he's got, he's got a few things. Okay. I'll show you guys his Christmas photo. I'll post the Christmas photo and we can share it with everybody. Cause I, I mean, not to toot my own horn, but he's, he looks pretty cute. Be kind to yourself. Enjoy the day with your family and your friends or your found family or whatever they are. And just know that we are thinking about you. You guys have been a gift to us, not to sound too corny, but it's been proven to be good for your health to be corny.

So thanks for all the gifts you've given Sarah and Caitlin and I, we just, uh, we just appreciate it more than, you know, so we'll see you on the other side of Christmas. We'll go into new years. Don't forget to drop us a note, subscribe to our show, leave us a, a review. It always helps people find it. Merry Christmas. Happy Hanukkah. Happy Kwanzaa. Happy holidays. Happy whatever you celebrate. We love you. Totally do.

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