SHOW US YOUR #UGLYSIMMERPOT
Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
54:32
Car
Volkswagen Atlas
The Volkswagen Atlas is a large SUV that can fit many passengers and their belongings. It's designed for families and has a lot of space inside for comfort and convenience.
Car
Toyota Sequoia
The Toyota Sequoia is a big SUV that can carry a lot of people and stuff. It's great for families who need space for trips or activities.
Car
Mazda Flair
The Mazda Flair is a small car that looks a bit like older cars but has modern features. It's great for city driving and is easy to park, making it a fun choice for people who like a stylish yet practical vehicle.
Car
Chevrolet Traverse
The Chevrolet Traverse is a large SUV that can fit a lot of people and cargo. It's a good choice for families or anyone needing extra space.
Car
Hyundai Palisade
The Hyundai Palisade is a large family car that can fit a lot of people and their stuff. It's known for being comfortable and having cool features, which makes it a good option for families or anyone who needs extra room.
Car
Honda Odyssey
The Honda Odyssey is a type of minivan that is great for families. It has a lot of room for people and their stuff, making it very practical for everyday use.
Car
Toyota Grand Highlander
The Toyota Grand Highlander is a bigger SUV that can carry more people and stuff. It's designed for families who want a comfortable ride with lots of space.
Car
Lincoln Navigator
The Lincoln Navigator is a big, fancy SUV that has lots of room and nice features. It's designed for people who want a comfortable ride and plenty of space for passengers and their belongings.
Car
Subaru Outback
The Subaru Outback is a type of car that can handle rough roads and is good for outdoor activities. It has a lot of space inside for passengers and gear.
Car
Ford Broncos Sport
The Ford Bronco Sport is a smaller SUV that looks tough and is built for outdoor adventures. It has a boxy shape, which is different from many other SUVs that look more like wagons.
Brand
Chevrolet
Chevrolet, often called Chevy, is a car brand that makes many types of vehicles, including cars and trucks. They are well-known in the automotive industry.
Concept
nostalgia
Nostalgia is when you remember something from the past that makes you feel happy or sentimental. Advertisements often use it to make people feel good about their memories.
Car
Chevy Suburban
The Chevy Suburban is a large SUV that can carry many passengers and has a lot of space for cargo. The 1987 version is known for being durable and good for family trips.
Car
Bentley Azure
The Bentley Azure is a really fancy car that you can drive with the top down. It's known for being super luxurious and is often owned by very wealthy people who want something special.
LIVE
Welcome to the carpool podcast with Kelly.
But if you drive a Subaru, you have a real Christmas tree.
Yeah.
You're just into that.
You know, I mean, that's so, I'm sorry, I have a Subaru this week,
and I've had such an urge to go out and get a real Christmas tree.
And Liz.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
Cute.
It's time.
I'm so sorry if I just caused a car accident.
Your mom time off starts now.
Welcome back to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz.
And we're making it kind of like a special Christmas
edition of the carpool podcast.
I love a Christmas edition of anything.
Yeah.
I love a Christmas edition of a TV show.
I love a Christmas edition of a latte.
I love a Christmas edition of a song, of a cover.
So why not do a Christmas edition of your favorite podcast?
And you might be thinking like, it's a little early,
but it's not.
Because we plan on having just such a jolly filled episode.
I have been giving a lot of headspace to a topic
I want to talk about, which is cheaper free things to do
to get you into the Christmas spirit.
I feel like it was so like money this, money that,
consumerism, consumerism.
There's a little consumerism in here,
but only the necessities.
We're going to play assumptions we have about you
based on the car you drive Christmas edition,
because some of you guys out here are being crazy.
And we're going to call you out on it.
We are going to do a Christmas theme DTD.
Yeah.
So just have a jolly old time.
So buckle up.
I even have a Christmas edition of Industry News.
Oh my gosh.
Wow.
Q, it's time.
I'm so sorry if I just caused a car accident.
I am, I don't know.
I'm just feeling very Christmassy this year, which
is exciting.
I think last year we were like so foggy postpartum.
Like we had like what, two months old?
So that was kind of like a lot to navigate at the time.
This is like Libby's a more fun age.
My older kids are easier.
Fred is light years easier than he was last year.
So I'm just really excited to have a great Christmas this year.
Yeah, me too.
Me too.
And I think my number one tip for Christmas
is you guys have to be making sure you're taking your notes.
Because I had such, I don't know if you can see this,
Elizabeth, these were all of the notes I had for myself.
That's a lot of notes.
About what I did wrong for last Christmas.
Would you like me to read some?
Yeah, could you please?
So here's how I set it up.
I said highs and lows.
So I just made a section.
What were the highs of the Christmas season?
And to me, the Christmas season is December.
Like I don't do this before Thanksgiving crap.
So December 1st to December 25th, these are my notes.
I did highs and lows.
And then I just did like more thoughts and like some
schedule type things.
So the highs, we went to a movie on the 23rd.
We thought that like it was just like a fun way
to kick it off.
So we'll be doing that again.
High number two, I said decorating gingerbread houses.
I did target pickup for the candy.
And I did target pickup for the already made houses.
Don't get the ones in a kit.
Super fun.
OK.
I said have the have the makeup party at your house.
OK.
OK.
And hot chocolate bombs galore.
We are really into that.
Lows.
I need to get more organized with the kids' gifts.
My upstairs tree needs some more decor,
which is why that was hired out for all of you haters
because it was on my notes.
I said mom's Christmas was a cluster.
Moms is in our moms.
Need to feed kids lunch before.
Tell her less trinkets and treats.
One nice gift per kid that they can play with.
Yeah, we had a lot of notes for her Christmas this year.
We're doing things a lot different.
I said I want more religious decor and Advert Candle Holder.
Check Mud Pie.
Reason for the season.
Get Advert blocks for the kids.
I haven't done that yet, so I need to get on that.
Christmas Eve morning, I had that we made sausage,
pancake bites, and cinnamon rolls.
Easy and fun.
I made an ambitious kitchen sweet potato
and caramelized onion, bacon, and goat cheese quiche.
And it was phenomenal.
And you're like, but like I was, you know, so post-partum.
I don't know how I did that.
That was crazy.
Goat cheese, carb-wise, onion, quiche.
We opened mom and dad presents.
That was fun.
For moms, I brought Rotel Dip.
No one ate it.
I also made a Borsen caramelized onion and bacon dip
with Roots Crackers.
People loved.
See how I was like making the quiche with those ingredients
and then I translated it into an appetizer.
Oh, I said for Christmas Day dinner,
ramen bowls were fun and easy.
Prep a chuck roast on the 23rd,
and then have sassy ramen fixings.
Could be a good new tradition.
Don't forget to get a nice bottle of wine for you.
I'm so smart.
And this is why you do notes.
Cause like you would have totally forgot
about a bottle of wine.
Or sassy ramen bowls.
That's a perfect thing to have.
That was actually going to be our dish to thrive for.
So we'll get into that later.
Okay.
Final note, record carpool episodes
and don't take off you lazy losers.
Put one on here for us.
Yikes.
So that one, that one hit home.
I'm just letting you know,
those were some of the notes that I had for myself.
So it's important to start taking your notes now.
Just go to your iPhone,
type in Christmas notes 2025.
Doing this right now.
And start, if there's already something
that you're not happy with,
you can always organize your thoughts later,
but just start now by getting,
it's called a brain dump.
Just like, if there's already something
you've messed up on or something that you've loved,
get it in there now.
Cause you won't remember.
And you'll be, then you'll never be improving.
And we are always improving.
People.
Okay. Let me get off these notes.
That was fun.
I was like, done.
Tripped down memory lane.
So now I want to talk about Christmas.
I want to talk about what the Christmas season means
and how I plan to make it feel
more like a 90s Christmas.
Like that's kind of like the trend
that I've been seeing
and people are always like,
why do we hold those with such regards?
Like those were the best years,
probably because we were kids.
So I think we kind of all need to chill
and like not put so much pressure.
It's like, not so live in the past.
Like we were kids.
Like of course it was fun.
But I do want to take elements.
It's like, oh Christmas was more magical
when you were a child.
Yeah.
Shocking.
Yeah.
No, people really do be putting
too much pressure on themselves.
To like, and like they're just so quick
to blame the phone.
And it's like, yeah, you're also 34.
Yeah.
And now you're in charge of the magic.
Yeah.
Now you're in charge.
But anyway.
So it's not quite as much fun.
But I am looking on ways where we can like
make it feel not like a day,
like have fun with the anticipation,
slow down.
Yeah.
And ultimately prepare our hearts
for the new year and for the birth of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior.
So my first free activity.
If you're not, if you are, if you are Christian
and you're not going to church,
may I suggest the Advent season?
It is the best time to go to church.
It is wonderful.
Every the church is decorated beautiful.
There'll be Christmassy songs.
You'll hear a Christmassy message.
Like it's just such an easy.
It's a great excuse to like trial run
some of like your Christmas clothes
you might want to wear or like get
another wear out of them.
Like, are we buying these Christmas dresses
for day of and then we're wearing them once?
Well, if you're going to church on Sunday,
you can like wear them a couple of times.
So that can be helpful.
So, I mean, Advent is like such a beautiful time
in the church.
We've got the pink candles, the purple candles.
It's just, it's stunning.
If you don't want to take your whole kids,
I think that's a perfect time to tell your husband,
hey, I'm going to go to church today.
You can say it with the kids.
You will leave feeling more relaxed,
reminded of why we're all doing this.
That's my first.
And it ends free.
Free as can be.
Free as can be.
Free as can be.
Okay.
I wanted to get that one out of the way
because that is the reason for the season.
You know, that's kind of another thing too,
where everyone's like,
I'm trying to fix my attention span
and then people are just like filming themselves
sitting somewhere for an hour, not doing anything.
I'm not going to do that.
But where I can sit for an hour
without being able to like scroll on my phone, church.
Totally.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
So do it for no other reason.
Do it for that.
To fix your attention span.
Do it to fix your attention span.
No, I'm serious.
It's a good way, like, it's the best time to go.
It's the best time to go.
All times are good, but that's the best.
Okay, next, this is one that I have kind of taken
from my mother-in-law and kind of like
tweaked just a bit.
I've seen a lot of trends on like,
and again, there are content creators
whose content is over consumption.
Like that's their kitsch.
Like they're going to redecorate
their entire room for Christmas.
Like get a new rug, a new bedding,
new everything just for this, like that's crazy.
So I don't want to do that,
but something my mother-in-law does, that's fun,
is she has a collection of pillowcases.
And whenever our kids go over to her house
to spend the night or just take a nap,
the big thing that they get to do
is like they get to go to the drawer
and pick a pillowcase.
Like which pillowcase do you want on your pillow?
Barb is so into choices.
And so she recently kind of gave us some of the pillowcases
because she just had to clear out.
So it's been fun because my kids have very basic,
just like gray bedding.
It's like the beddies bedding.
They're gray, they're boring.
I don't need this like Pinterest-worthy bed
for a five-year-old.
Like I'm sorry, I think some of these things are crazy.
Like I'm just not, I don't need this.
So they get, so we do fun pillowcases.
So on sheet wash day, they know that like
when we're washing their sheets,
that means they get to go choose new pillowcases
for this time.
I literally have like 25 pillowcases.
It's so fun.
Well, I've never seen your pillowcase collection.
Oh yeah, I'll have to show you.
They're in there all from the 90s.
Like they're like vintage Barbie, vintage Lion King.
But I was thinking like a fun way.
We have one Christmas pillowcase that she gave me.
It's Snoopy Christmas and it's on Hattie's bed right now.
But I was like, wouldn't it be fun?
I don't need to buy them all new bedding,
but you can just buy pillowcases.
Okay, so it's way cheaper
than like buying a Christmas bedding, a Christmas blanket.
And like then what if around Christmas,
it's like we're gonna put
your special Christmas pillowcase on.
I mean, they're kids, like it doesn't matter.
It's huge, that's magic guys.
That's the Christmas magic.
It's magic.
So I need to try, I haven't bought any yet.
I literally had the idea this morning
as I was brainstorming this
because I thought about like,
I was thinking to myself,
maybe when things go on clearance,
I'll buy my kid's Christmas bedding.
And I thought to myself, I'm not doing this.
I don't wanna store it.
Like, ew, who wants to store that for a year?
But I am gonna buy them all.
Like, I wanna buy like 15 though.
Christmas pillowcases.
And it's like, you know, twice a month in December,
like we picked the Christmas pillowcase
that we're gonna get.
Yeah. So fun.
So fun, right? It just marks the season.
That is fun, yeah.
Would you say that was a tangible takeaway?
I would say so, yeah.
Okay, next, this is something that I started doing in college
when I was just like really trying
to get into the Christmas season.
And it's so simple,
but change your phone background to something Christmasy.
So like my favorite photo that I have
is when I dressed all my kids up
like they were in the nativity.
And so like for the month of December,
that'll be my phone background.
Yeah.
So maybe like,
or if you like don't have like a great picture
or you just like want something more festive,
like go to Google
and get like just a darling Christmas scene
and make it your phone background.
You pick up your phone a hundred times a day.
It'll just be like a little reminder
if you feel Christmasy.
Okay. I love that.
Yeah.
Oh my laptop.
My iPad stopped working.
Hold on.
Okay.
Next, such a classic, such a fun, easy craft.
And like this isn't a Christmas craft
that requires Mod Podge
because I'm not a person
who wants to get out Mod Podge in my life.
But one of the most fun Christmas crafts
that you can do are paper snowflakes.
Okay. Yeah.
It is good for kids of all ages.
Kids of all ages who can use scissors
because don't get me wrong, like George and Hattie,
they would have fun doing it now.
If you have an older kid,
you look up a TikTok or an Instagram reel
of intricate paper snowflakes.
It will keep them busy because you can go,
you can do the least
or you can literally do the most
with these paper snowflakes.
So fun.
And then just hang them all around the house.
No, paper snowflakes are very good decoration.
They're very cute.
They're aesthetically pleasing.
Like unlike a lot of maybe the
crafts your kids can make for Christmas
like paper snowflakes are,
you can tape them on your window
or you can hang them from the ceiling.
They're stunning, taped on the window,
taped on the wall.
I'm actually thinking I might try to
let the kids do some for my party.
I thought that'd be like a fun thing to have.
Mm-hmm.
We'll think about it.
So, Anna, I mean, it's printer paper.
It's cheap as chips.
You probably have it downstairs right now.
Mm-hmm.
Okay.
So just to clarify,
like foam background free, paper snowflakes,
I'm assuming free because you have printer paper,
church free, pillowcases,
$3, $4, $6 a piece for a pillowcase.
We're not doing the whole bedding.
Also, I'm not a sewer,
but out of all the things to make,
I would say a pillowcase has to be one of the easier ones.
Yeah, yeah.
So if you have any,
like go to Jo-Ann's and get Christmas fabric
and then just make the pillowcases.
I'm gonna actually, I'm not gonna buy,
I'm not gonna buy anything.
I'm gonna put my mother-in-law on this.
She'll love this.
Yeah.
That will be so fun.
Kids can pick out their,
they could go pick out their pattern too,
if like you want to.
They could pick out their pattern
for their special Christmas pillowcase.
Yeah.
I'm obsessed.
Okay.
Next, I wrote down cookies.
Cookies, cookies, cookies.
Cookies or baking.
I mean, this is the season to get a little fluffy.
This is the season to like,
to just let yourself have some cookies,
have some fun and do some baking.
I think it's like the easiest way to sneak
like wintery flavor profiles into things.
And cookies are such a good ice breaker
to my next point,
which is neighbors,
which is giving back,
which is loving thy neighbor.
Now, there are a lot of people
who get really lonely around the holidays,
who get really bored.
There's a lot of people,
probably some of your elderly neighbors
who don't have their kids at home anymore.
So like you get to have Christmas magic every day
when your kids look at the tree.
They are desperate to like see
a cute child loving Christmas
or your local nursing home.
I want you to think about the elderly.
And I want you to bake some cookies with your children
or without your children.
And then I want you to take your children
to your elderly neighbors
with your Christmas card in hand.
I wanted to say like,
we just wanted to bring you these cookies.
Say Merry Christmas.
This is our Christmas card.
We hope you have a great Christmas.
It's such a good icebreaker to deliver cookies.
And when you do it with your kids,
it makes it so much less awkward
because to that person,
like, because I feel awkward about it.
Like, luckily my husband doesn't.
And my husband is the one who like is way better
at making our kids go to do these things.
But last year we made cookies
until I drove them around to all of our neighbors.
We knocked on doors
and we said Merry Christmas and gave cookies.
Cute.
And I just think you don't have to look far.
Like, just look at the people in your neighborhood,
literally in your neighborhood
and make them a plate of cookies
and then go over there with your children.
It's also a good lesson to teach your children
on how to like talk to people.
Also good for a lot of us who are stuck behind the phone.
I mean, how many of us don't want to go on knock on a door
and say hi to somebody?
Like, we're crazy.
Yeah.
We're crazy.
We need to work on that.
Okay.
Next is the,
this is a classic.
I love, first of all,
I love a candle.
Like I,
balls and fur,
bury me in it.
Like it's my favorite scent.
It's my favorite, favorite scent.
So I always have a balls and fur candle lit.
And if you don't want to do that, respect.
I get it.
Some of you guys don't like that.
That also costs money.
So I'm trying to make these like totally free.
Get on your simmer pot grind.
People are overcomplicating simmer pots.
You really are.
Here's what you need.
Orange peels
and cinnamon.
So my biggest hack is first of all,
cuties, they're in season right now.
Get some cuties and whatever,
then just take the cutie peels
or like your kid's half eaten cuties
or an apple that they half ate
and just put it in the pot.
You can have half eaten fruit.
And once I discovered that,
I was like, oh yeah,
it doesn't matter what it looks like
cause it's a simmer pot.
So if you have cinnamon sticks
and a dash of vanilla
in your kid's half eaten fruit,
you have a simmer pot is what you have.
Ugly simmer pots.
Ugly simmer pots.
Who's looking at them?
Ugly simmer pots.
And like, okay, if you have a pine tree,
okay, go get some needles.
Go outside and get some of those.
Like it doesn't take much.
And then you just like have a simmer pot going.
And that's just like, oh, it's like,
it's like having a pot of soup,
but it's a simmer pot.
Yeah.
It doesn't matter what it's like.
Like stop with these aesthetically pleasing ones.
Like it's just, you're doing too much.
You know, if you're giving that as a gift.
Sure.
What?
I want to start a trend, ugly simmer pots.
And like, I want people to tag the carpool
or me and Kelly and say,
and show us your ugly simmer pot
because that's actually hilarious.
I love that.
Like star anise, like calm down.
If you don't have that, like literally calm down.
I'm going to put some cutie carcasses
in a cinnamon stick on my stove.
And create the Christmas magic.
Today's episode is brought to you by Clean Simple Eats.
We just can't stop talking about Clean Simple Eats
here on the carpool podcast.
Kelly and I are both huge fans of Clean Simple Eats.
We're having a CSE product daily,
like it's CSE o'clock in our household.
I love their protein powder.
They have a variety of delicious flavors
and they are grass fed,
no seed oils or artificial ingredients,
third party tests in non-GMO and gluten free
and has 20 grams of grass fed whey protein.
The protein powder is also incredibly creamy and smooth
without that chalky texture that's found
in most protein powders.
I'm also a huge fan of their canned drinks,
specifically their energy drinks.
I love the island paradise,
island sunrise, something like that.
That one's my favorite one.
They're all delicious, but that one's my favorite.
And I also love their clear sodas
because it's a protein in a can,
but it's a little bit carbonated,
which I appreciate it as my afternoon pick me up.
So you can visit CleanSimpleEats.com
and use code CARPOOL10 at checkout for 10% off your order
if you're interested.
That's CleanSimpleEats.com code CARPOOL10
for 10% off your order.
The link is also in the show notes.
Okay, tell me things are not so good.
They're so good.
I don't know where you came up with all these.
Okay, next is very timely to what we're wearing.
Christmas clothes, where the life out of them?
Like where are the life out of them?
I think, you know, I'm so shook to my core
about like how much we just like buy clothes now.
And I know I'm kind of part of the problem
not necessarily the solution.
So here I am trying to be more solution oriented.
But like when it comes to the holidays,
like this Christmas sweater, first of all, I love it.
Get a Christmas sweater you love.
You probably have one.
And you're probably like saving it
because you're like, oh, well, I don't know
what I'm gonna wear that.
Like I might wear that to this event.
It doesn't matter.
It's your Christmas sweater.
Wear your Christmas sweater one to two times a week
the entire month of December.
I want you to be wearing holes in them.
And I want when you, I want like your kids
to fight over that because like mom wore that sweater
all the time in December.
That's what I want them to say about you.
Not, oh, I didn't even know she had that
because you like didn't want to wear it more
than once in December.
You're being crazy.
So this sweater, you're gonna get sick of me in it.
You're gonna get sick of me.
People are gonna be like, you're gonna be like,
is this like all one long episode?
Like every clip she's wearing that sweater.
No, I'm just wearing my sweater.
Okay, fair.
Fair, fair, fair.
You see him done with that.
Okay, and then my last one is, you know,
if you have the urge,
if you want to get a little razzle-dazzle,
like you want to go shopping.
You know I love nothing more than a thrift miss.
And I haven't talked about thrift miss much.
Mainly because I did feel like it got a lot harder
as my kids got older
and like had more specific ones and needs.
But do a Christmas thrift.
You can be thrifting for presents
or you can just go thrift for Christmas decorations.
Like they're all out right now.
And I think thrifting is fun
when you have a theme to it, you know?
Yeah, yeah.
So thrift for Christmas.
Thrift miss for Christmas.
And then the last one was I had was books.
I think that books are just like books and music,
media, if you will.
You can do other TV shows.
So fun.
I like the idea of having like for like Christmas movies.
I think something I'm gonna write down on my list is like,
I'd like to have a bit of a schedule with it
because it feels like, you know, the first week of December
like maybe we watched The Grinch on a Friday.
The second week we do Elf.
It's just like, it felt like too much all at once.
Like, which one do we choose?
So I'm thinking about doing like a movie schedule
for next year.
And you guys know I love my Christmas books.
And I try to be really intentional when like,
with like, if my kids, if I can tell my kids
need one on one time or like,
instead of just like waking up in the morning
and like turning on the TV, I say,
go get a book under, I keep my Christmas books
under the Christmas tree for a little extra magic.
I said, why don't you go get a Christmas book
and I'll read it to you guys this morning.
Or like, so I really try to get through my Christmas books.
So we also read them multiple times again,
so they get sick of it.
I've had, I've just been collecting Christmas books
for the last several years,
but you can go to your library
and you can get Christmas books.
Like go to library every week
and get two Christmas books and read them a lot.
Also, I bought a bunch of Christmas books
after the season last year
when they were on like mega sale at Target.
It was like $3 for a brand new Christmas book.
And we also go to like half price books a lot
and the thrift store, like you can buy all those.
Christmas books has been such a game changer for us.
My kids, James specifically, just is obsessed with books
and he needs about 15 books before bed.
And so I'm so, if I have to read Little Blue Truck,
rolls into the city one more time, I'm gonna, I'm gonna.
Oh, do you have Little Blue Truck Christmas edition?
Yeah, Little Blue Truck Christmas isn't very good though.
In my opinion.
That's, you're wrong for that.
That's smart. So anyway, we pull,
I have so many Christmas books
because I saw a real years ago
that was like wrap one in each day under the tree.
They can open it.
That's actually not a good idea in my opinion.
Pull them all out at once.
We have some in our main floor,
we have some in James' room
and it's new material for me.
It's new material for them.
I love having seasonal books.
I do agree.
I don't like the rapid.
That seems like an extra step.
That seems like a fight every night.
That seems like, I think it's one of the best.
They're expecting that they get to open something every day.
Like, it seems like unnecessary waste paper.
I don't care for that.
I love just pulling them all out.
It does seem like Christmas pillowcases
are a little harder to find than I was expecting.
Oh no, so it sounds like Barb might be making them.
Okay, I found a couple.
What about like Etsy?
Like, could you support a small business?
100%, I could.
100%.
Okay, well that was really fun.
Thank you for that, Kelly.
Thank you for those reminders.
And do you guys have any more, like sound off?
Like, I mean, I'm looking to adapt more.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Okay, are you ready for
assumptions we have about you
based on the car you drive?
Christmas edition.
You know it.
So are we doing like,
am I giving you the car?
No, let's just go,
I mean, you prepared some, I prepared some.
Let's just go back and forth and say them.
Okay, I'll start.
If you drive a Volkswagen Atlas,
you got all of your Christmas shopping done
on Black Friday.
You secured the deals.
Everything's coming, you're done.
You're relaxing all of December.
The Atlas people have,
and if they're not done, like don't take,
if you're not done, it's for good reason, you know?
It's because they know that
they had to get that in store
or like it was more of a boutique type gift.
Like, it's like a one off, like sure,
you're one off, you haven't gotten
your mother-in-law one yet.
Like, sure.
But like everything else.
They're Christmas gift spreadsheet people.
They, those are Atlas people.
That's an excellent take.
Thank you.
I have no notes.
So just know if you are getting a gift
from someone who has an Atlas,
it's been bought for a while.
Okay, this one could be controversial,
but it's not because
I'm 100% right on this.
If you drive a Toyota Sequoia,
you're a colored light family.
Yes.
Colored on the trees, colored on the house.
You are into the colored lights.
You're fun, you know what I mean?
Well, you're like, I'm not buying
into this neutral Christmas.
Like you're trying to give the 90s,
the 90s flair, so like we're going colored lights.
We're going Jolly, we're going Mary.
And it's colored in a very classy way.
It's colored in a very...
It's not an LED color.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
No, it's a nice color.
Yeah.
Okay, if you drive a Chevy Traverse,
your favorite Christmas movie is the Grinch.
Like when you, like you buy Grinch decor,
like you have Grinch,
like Grinch is your favorite Christmas movie.
Traverse people are Grinch people.
And it's not that you're not a Grinch,
you're actually the opposite of a Grinch.
No, like you're in the Jolly way,
like you just love the movie,
like you love the book,
like you like the decorations,
like you will just like the Grinch.
Yeah, you like made a real flag,
but what will I, wow, like that's you.
Yeah.
In your Chevy Traverse.
Okay, if you drive a Subaru, doesn't matter.
Doesn't matter, you're a maker model.
What matters, make.
But if you drive a Subaru,
you have a real Christmas tree.
Yeah.
You're just into that, you know?
I mean, that's so, I'm sorry.
I have a Subaru this week
and I've had such an urge
to go out and get a real Christmas tree.
Wow, that's crazy.
Like I've driven into the outback
for a total of 45 minutes
and I'm already thinking about pulling over
to the nearest Christmas tree stand.
Like it's just, I don't know what it is about there
because I can strap it to the roof.
Totally.
Yeah.
Subaru people love a real Christmas tree.
They do, and that's great for them.
Okay, if you drive a Hyundai Palisade,
your Christmas decorations
have been up since like early November.
Like November one, you are,
you're pulling the boxes out,
like goodbye Halloween, hello, Christmas.
Yeah, yeah.
You're really, you're soaking,
you're squeezing the orange.
And if I could go a step further,
I do think that on the exterior of their house,
Hyundai Palisade people are white Christmas lights.
They are white Christmas lights.
I do agree.
It has been up since November 1st.
Depending on the trim of your Palisade,
you may or may not have an inflatable, you know?
Oh yeah, for sure, yeah.
Like calligraphies don't, but like limiteds do.
Yeah.
You know what I mean?
You can just like totally tell.
Totally.
Okay, Odyssey.
If you drive an Odyssey,
your favorite holiday tradition
is decorating Christmas cookies, of course.
Like that's just like so Odyssey coated.
You though are a little, you know,
you've got, it's, you've been doing it with your grandma.
You make like so many different types.
It's your favorite tradition.
You say it's your favorite tradition.
It's really not.
It's actually a day that's full of stress for you.
And you also totally are the kind of person
who won't share a recipe.
Like you make the basics,
like you make the Rolos,
you make the little like snap pretzel ones.
And then you have like the best chocolate chip cookie recipe
and when people ask you for it,
you're like, oh, I'm sorry, I can't tell you.
Yeah.
And that's what you say.
And you need to stop that.
Share the cookie recipe.
Share the cookie recipe.
Or bring some.
That's so, that's so Odyssey.
And you're so right.
Like they so have just like incredible memories
of doing it as a child.
And now they're like,
I have to recreate these memories.
And they're just not as fun when you are the mom.
But you're trying your hardest.
And that's, that's great.
And your kids are loving it.
Okay. If you drive a Grand Highlander,
you totally bought into the Ralph Lauren Christmas aesthetic
that everyone's doing this year.
Like maybe a time ago, like the Grand Highlander.
Totally.
Maybe a few years ago,
you bought like all the neutral Christmas,
like you were a neutral Christmas girl.
And now that Ralph Lauren Christmas is upon us,
you plat is everywhere.
You're tying red bows
on every neutral Christmas decoration that you have.
Like you are just trying to make
the Ralph Lauren Christmas magic happen.
That's so Grand Highlander.
Not the hybrid.
Not the hybrid.
I don't think the hybriders are doing that.
I think the other ones are though.
That's a really bold and specific one.
Grand Highlander people weigh in though.
I'd like to know what you have to say.
Yeah. Yeah.
Wait, last one, if you drive a navigator,
you have multiple Christmas trees
and the Christmas trees have a different themes on them.
So you're not like quite as flash in the pan as Ralph Lauren.
You never really left Ralph Lauren Christmas,
if you know what I mean,
if you're in the navigator space.
You've never been a minimalist
in terms of your Christmas decorations
and you have trees.
You have trees in your kids' bedrooms.
You have trees in the living room.
You have trees in like an office.
You have a tree in the basement.
Your exterior is pretty simple.
Like it's just simple white lights,
but you also wrap your trees,
but your interior is wow, wow, wow.
Wow.
Totally.
That's what I'm looking for. Those are so good.
I feel like those are 100% accurate.
No, I'm feeling,
I'm feeling, let us know if you disagree,
but I'm feeling as though those are spot on.
Since you shared all of your Christmas tips,
I wanna share like two things.
Actually, one is a free thing for Christmas magic.
And another thing is like what my approach
that me and my girlfriends are taking to like Christmas.
I'll share the free thing first.
So, you know, Maddie and I just renovated our house
and we always seem to have like a big project going on.
So we just tell each other like,
hey, let's not do presents.
Both of our birthdays are in December
and Christmas is in December.
So we just don't get each other anything.
But something that I started for Maddie
and I actually started this year for my kids as well
is for Maddie, I went to Target and bought a notebook.
And inside the notebook,
I wrote like dad's great big book of letters
or something like that.
And on his birthday, on Father's Day and on Christmas,
and if there's any other like special occasions
that occur, I write him a letter
and I've like had the kids like,
I've like put Sloan's footprint in it,
like when drew a Christmas tree around it.
And I like had James like color and something
and I taped it in there.
And Maddie and I, since when we first met,
he had, he was deployed for 13 months.
So like letters have been such a big part of our relationship.
And the thing with letters is they're great
and like I have them saved somewhere,
but it's hard to like keep them all in one place.
So I was like, we're already running each other letters.
Let me get you a notebook.
And through the years,
you can easily access all letters I've written you
and you can see as the years go on,
how the kids have been able to draw
or have been able to write and it's all in one place.
And it's in a nice little book
and we can put it on a shelf.
I love that.
So we do that, that's just important to us.
I know letters aren't like for everyone,
but like that checks our box.
What I did for the kids is I kind of went
a little bit, took an extra step
and I ordered on Etsy custom notebooks,
like with their names on them.
So I want to like write a little letter to them each year
and just sort of capture like my thoughts for them
as at two and one.
And I don't know if they'll ever read it or not,
but if they do like it,
then that will be something really special for them to have.
And if they don't, then it's a fun exercise for me
to just like gush on my kids and just like love
and just share my love in like that letter writing way.
I love that.
So that's sort of like the free thing that I'm free,
like you buy the notebook, but then it's free every year.
The not free thing that me and my girlfriends are doing,
we are every year going to do like a brunch or a dinner,
just a little girls day, it's just three of us.
And we were like, should we do gifts?
Like should we do Secret Santa?
Like what do we want to do?
And my friend had the idea,
she was like, why don't we just like get each other an ornament
or some sort of Christmas decoration
because we all are new households.
Like we don't have this grand collection of Christmas decor.
I'm not going to go out and spend $500 every year
on Christmas decorations.
Like I want to slowly build up my Christmas collection.
And so that's what we're doing.
So that's the theme is Christmas decor or Christmas ornament.
And every year we're going to do this
and we will slowly build up our Christmas decor.
I love, see, I want to do something like that.
Just like you just go out to like a nice brunch
or a nice Christmas dinner.
And it's the holidays, like you wear your sweater.
Oh, we didn't even talk about the most obvious free one ever.
It's the holidays.
So anything, any, you just like,
whatever you're wearing you add an earring to.
Yeah.
Like the just like constantly dressing up, it's the holidays.
Constantly dressing up.
So I just love that like I,
if my friends got me like a lip gloss,
I would like love it and I would use it.
And then I would forget about it every year.
I don't know what they got me out.
We haven't had it yet, but I know what I got them.
Every year, like they're going to put,
I don't know if they listen to the podcast or not.
Well, just tell us.
And if you're listening, don't listen.
Okay.
I got, honestly, I feel like my friends
probably don't listen to the podcast
because like who needs to hear me talk more.
I got them some tea, some like tea towels,
like some candy cane tea towels
and then like a gingerbread light up house.
Oh.
So I kind of did like a little,
I kind of did like a little bit more.
I spent like $45 on both of them.
Okay.
But they were really cute.
And so now when they pull that gingerbread light up house
out, they're going to think of me every year.
It not just like the slash in the pan lip gloss
that I could have gotten them.
That's sweet.
That's sweet.
Okay.
I have another Christmas tip, not even tip,
and a way that I'm spreading cheer.
I've talked with this before,
but let's go back to tipping culture for a second
and how like, you know, it's so crazy that we're asked to tip.
I think it's crazy that you're asked to tip.
Like every time you get a coffee,
every time like you order food about a kiosk,
like they're always asking for tips.
And I feel like everyone's kind of like,
it's kind of over like,
cause now we're just like so used to it.
But, and I still will tip like here and there.
What do you do?
Do you tip every time or no?
I tip most of the time.
Most of the time you tip.
I tip sometimes, but I make sure the month of December
and the month of June, I tip the full 25%.
That's just like, and I just like,
so I actually don't really tip outside of those months,
but during those months, every time I get a coffee,
I'm tipping 25%.
Cause it's like, it's a holidays.
I'm happy to spread a little cheer.
So that's another thing that I do in December.
Okay, that's a good one.
Definitely not free.
Definitely not free.
No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
But no, it's a good rule of thumb.
Like, okay, yeah, I'm not going to tip you in July for this,
but like come December, you're going to get,
you're going to get an extra tip.
Well, and I don't know, I've been,
I'm getting less offended by it the more I see it.
Also like the coffee shops,
the thing is it's like I go to the same coffee shops a lot.
So I actually like, when I go to like,
when I go to my guy Hank,
like, you know, Hank gets a tip every time.
Like I would never not tip Hank because like,
I need Hank to be same business at all costs.
But if it's like, I'm going to a Starbucks
on like a random Tuesday,
like I don't know this barista from Adam.
Like I'm sorry, it's not December.
Sorry, I'm not even you a tip.
Yeah.
Like my Ryder dies at tip every time.
Okay.
Okay, are you ready for industry news
where I spilled the hot tea going on in the auto industry?
I sure am.
Wait, well, first of all, our press conference week
is you're going to be gooped and gagged over it when you see it.
I know you keep talking about it.
Because it's the Subaru Outback,
but she's been redesigned in such a way that's like,
you know the saying like,
that's what makes a Subaru a Subaru?
Yeah.
This is not a Subaru.
Like it's not giving Subaru.
It's way more comparable to like,
it's giving like,
it's kind of giving like a better looking
like Ford Broncos sport.
If you can kind of imagine that,
it's like less of a wagon style,
more of like a box of your midsize SUV.
I think you're going to like it.
So is this just a full blown redesign
or have we just not seen it?
No, it's a redesign.
Sorry, Sam wrote me, oh my gosh.
I have my notes from Sam before the tour
and she wants me to try to do three across.
She says, 55 inch second row hip room large
but has side bolsters and rigid buckles
and weird variable seat height.
What does any of those worth me?
No, I know what they mean,
but this is why it's so confusing.
This is why you can't just be like,
like this is why you can't just,
this is why you just need experts.
I mean, this is one of those things
you just need experts for.
She goes, I suspect a poplar gray copay will fit,
but I'd like to see a my fit gray copoplar.
I'd also like to see a peg gray copoplar.
Like she's giving me all the,
Sam it's 19 degrees outside
and she wants all these combinations.
Sorry, Sam.
You're going to get one.
No, she'll get more than one.
I need to bring it into my garage.
Okay, that wasn't like the hard hit.
That wasn't our holiday story though.
Okay.
Have you seen Chevy's 2025 holiday commercial?
I have.
I have.
Memory lane.
Yeah, I'm not prepared for that.
Chevrolet has developed a reputation
for producing holiday commercials
that can bring tears to even the toughest
wrench turning gear heads.
The 2025 Christmas commercial continues
the tradition with precision.
This year's spot titled memory lane
leans heavily into nostalgia,
family bonds in the passage of time
in a way that feels grounded and relatable.
The 2025 memory lane ad centers
on an older couple taking their 1987 Chevy suburban
on their annual holiday drive to the family cottage.
Throughout the commercial,
the suburban transforms from a winter beater
into a time capsule.
As the couple drives the video flashes
between decades and memories.
The holiday commercial seamlessly transitions
between Eras and Chevy's creative team
utilizes the familiar shape of the suburban
as an emotional anchor in every scene.
It's worth looking at.
Nothing makes you like,
it makes you so thankful
for the phase of life that you're in right now.
Because you're like,
okay, I will take the blowout in the backseat.
Like, yeah.
It's...
You're gonna cry?
No.
But it did get me.
It's just like, I love it,
but I also like hate things that remind me
that this isn't forever.
Well, that's what I'm saying.
I need more the best is yet to come.
I just feel like I'm in the part of my life
and this is what I,
and I just think this is maybe I am
and maybe I just need to learn with that reality.
But just, you go your whole life being like,
just wait, like the best is yet to come.
And then everyone's like,
you're gonna want these days back.
And I'm like, well, I thought the best was yet to come.
And now is this the best?
Cause it sucks.
You know, I do think someone who,
someone who can tell you that the best is yet to come
is mom, cause I do think she is thriving.
And I do think that she has a like,
the other day I FaceTime turned,
I was just like in the basement with my kids.
And you know, they were just playing and she goes,
oh, I remember the basement days.
Janice and I would just spend so long
on each other's basements.
It sucked.
Okay, mom, well, it's not that bad.
I'm not having like that terrible of a time.
Spending time with my kids.
Yeah.
Well, you know, you just gotta get what you can.
You just have to not take moments for granted,
but you have to be able to,
you have to have the,
the moments are going to pass.
And you have to,
I don't know, in a way get over it.
I don't know.
I mean, that's what mom says.
She's like, I did that.
Like, and I loved it and it was great.
And like, you just,
that's just not how life works.
Like, I think if you,
I think it's important when you are older
and you like your kids are out of the house
to like have hobbies and to have friends
and to have things to do.
Because I think if you don't have those things,
then you're going to forever be like,
oh, well, my life was so much better back then.
And it's like, it was, it was just different.
So luckily, like mom and dad have like so many hobbies.
They have a wonderful relationship.
They have a ton of friends.
And that fills their cup.
Well, and I think it goes back to,
it's, I think when you,
when you're a parent to young kids,
you have such purpose.
Yeah.
And like, even if other aspects of your life,
you don't feel like you have purpose.
Like even if you like,
you don't have a ton of friends
or you don't have a great career
or you don't have any of these things,
you have the kids and like the kids are your purpose.
And I do think you have to be mindful
about not totally setting your life up
to solely revolve around your kids.
And that's, that's a hard,
that's a hard truth I think to hear sometimes
and I fall victim to it a lot.
But when they're grown, what are you gonna,
like who are you going to be?
Maddie and I say that a lot.
I mean, and I know we only have two kids
and everything, but like we've always said
that it's important that even when we have kids
that we both have hobbies.
And so if he needs to go play rugby
or if he needs to do like once this remain
in the Marine Corps or I wanna go do yoga
or I need to go hang out with my girlfriends,
like we really try and prioritize that for each other
because we don't wanna wake up one day
and our kids are grown and we're like,
we have nothing that fills our cup.
Like we want to have some constant.
And for him, it's like, oh, it's constant.
Well, he won't be able to play rugby forever.
But for me, oh, I can still go do my yoga.
Like I've been doing that for so long
or I can spake or whatever.
It's just, it's important to have hobbies
and it's important to prioritize each other's hobbies.
The best way you can.
And those hobbies can be micro-hobbies.
Like that is okay.
They don't have to be these like big full blown
like you're into fishing.
But keep doing the things that you enjoy.
And I think, I also do think,
I think young married couples
or married couples with young kids,
you always get the advice like
make sure you're getting in a date night.
And it's yes, also make sure to your point
you're getting some time to go work
on something that you want to do.
Cause I actually think that is something
that gets forgot about.
And then these couples just like try to put the bandit off
like, well, let's just go to dinner.
If we go to dinner every week, things are going to be fine.
And it's like, well, no offense,
what are you going to talk about?
So I actually think it could be better to like
not put so much pressure on like the weekly date nights
but put more pressure on like the weekly hobbies,
the weekly things that you want to do.
And then, you know, still try to get in the date nights.
I just, I don't know.
I think there's sometimes too much pressure on that
or find a hobby to do together.
Yeah.
Sometimes I just feel like Tyler and I will like,
I like schedule a date night and we'll go to dinner.
And it's like, this sounds bad,
but like it didn't really do much for me
because it's like, we just talk.
Like, I don't know.
We talked.
I want to go do something, you know?
Well, we've talked about this a long time ago,
but like it's creating new memories.
Like if you just go out to dinner,
you're not necessarily creating a new memory.
But like if you do something different,
if you try something new,
if you like do something together,
there's a higher chance you're going to create a memory
and you're not just going to remember like having a cocktail
and sharing an appetizer
and like talking about your kids the entire time.
Yeah.
Like stretch yourself.
Go out of your comfort zone.
Tyler and I this weekend are actually doing this
because we are playing something called dart ball tomorrow.
Oh, I don't know what this is.
I don't know what it is,
but we're in a dart ball tournament for our church.
And I don't,
I'm friends with this girl and she's very much
if you're friends with her, she keeps you busy.
You know what I'm saying?
Like she's actually the perfect friend to have
because it's like she's signing up for committees
you didn't even know existed.
You know, you're like, oh, yeah, no, I'm a part of that.
And we're on her dart ball team and it's adults only.
And I guess it's kind of like washers.
I need to actually, if you don't mind,
I'm just going to do a quick Google
because I do think it's kind of crazy.
I do think it's important for you
to look it up before you get there.
You're doing that tomorrow.
Well, I'm doing it Saturday,
but yeah, by the time this podcast comes out,
it'll be tomorrow.
So it's kind of like baseball.
And OK, so it's like baseball.
It's like baseball with darts.
So like this is what like the board looks like.
And then you throw a giant dart at it.
OK, sure. OK.
Anyway, so I'm hoping we make a fun memory from that.
Stay tuned. OK, I love that.
OK, are you ready for a ditch to the drive-thru now?
Will we give you an easy dinner recipe
to mix it up to get you out of your dinner?
Right, that ditch to the drive-thru?
Mm hmm. Yeah, I'm ready.
OK, well, you heard it.
I teased it a bit.
Um, ramen bowls.
Now, I think it's important.
Speaking of cheap, I for I like ramen noodles.
Like, first of all, my kids love them
and they're so fun to have every once in a while.
I'm sure they have a ton of sodium.
That's not the point of this recipe.
But I have to have meat with every meal.
Like we just need more protein in my life.
So last year for Christmas, I made sassy ramen bowls.
And now they weren't very sassy
because my kids are like so kiddy still.
But I had a chuck roast.
I had beef ramen.
And so we just put like some of the beef in the ramen bowls.
And then I could take mine up a notch.
I could add mushrooms.
I could do a chili oil.
I could do green onions.
I could add a soft boiled egg.
Throw some extra soy sauce in there.
And it was just like a fun.
It kind of felt lighter in a way
because it's just like a soupy bra, like with some meat in it.
The kids loved it.
I was together in minutes
because I already had the chuck roast, chuck roast made.
And I think it'd be a great.
Or for some reason, I just feel like any Asian inspired food
on Christmas is fun.
Also, Asian restaurants are normally open on Christmas.
So if you don't even want to like cook.
Yeah, but if you want to just go to the rice group.
But take out or maybe make it the tradition,
like go get the Trader Joe's orange chicken and fried rice.
I just think it's kind of like a fun and different flavor profile.
At least for me, like I've eaten so much like American home grown
like hams and turkeys throughout the last month that it's like I'm ready
for just like something totally different.
Like if I could somehow figure out how to get sushi in my life, I would.
So, yeah, that's my dish to drive.
That's a good idea.
I would love to do that.
That sounds delicious.
Now, your chuck roast or how are you made?
How are you like seasoning editors?
It's like a Mississippi roast.
Like, what are you doing?
No, I just do like a salt pep.
OK, because I kind of like.
Yeah, sure. Butter and the crock pot.
Oh, I'm sorry. I do the Azure Gravy mix, but I didn't do the ranch.
OK, OK, OK, OK, got it.
Yeah, that sounds really good.
I want to make a roast.
I just think it's important to have a chuck roast.
Like make a chocolate.
Just plan a chuck roast around the Christmas season.
It's so versatile, to be honest with you.
Yeah, yeah, it is.
OK, well, guys, that's going to be our episode.
So thank you so much for listening to the carpool podcast.
Hope that there were a lot of tangible takeaways.
We'll talk to you next time.
Mary Chrysler.
Thank you for listening to the carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz.
Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode.
And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody, you know,
there's room in the car for everyone.
About this episode
A festive Christmas edition filled with fun ideas to embrace the holiday spirit without breaking the bank. Kelly and Lizz share their personal Christmas traditions, including creative ways to decorate and celebrate, like using pillowcases for seasonal flair and making simmer pots. They also dive into assumptions about car owners based on their vehicles, adding a humorous touch to the episode. Listeners can expect heartfelt discussions about family, nostalgia, and practical tips to make the most of the holiday season.
Original notes
It's December and the perfect time for an all-Christmas edition of The Carpool Podcast! Kelly is kicking it off by reviewing her notes from last Christmas. Then it's on to ideas to get you into the holiday spirit that are either free or super inexpensive. Festive Christmas pillow case anyone?!?!
Next, it's time to make Christmas assumptions based on the car you drive. Which drivers are more likely to have their Christmas shopping already done? Who is most likely to have a real Christmas tree? They all make sense.
Finally, it's a Christmas edition of Industry News with Chevy's newest commercial that will make you cry and holiday meal ideas in Ditch The Drive-Thru.
Today's episode is brought to you by Clean Simple Eats. Use code 'Carpool10' at checkout to get 10% off your order. CleanSimpleEats.com
The Carpool with Kelly and Lizz
The Car Mom LLC / tentwentytwo Projects
0:00
54:32