While it’s still summer, we’re looking ahead to Christmas plants that may be in the ground this very minute being grown & prepared for the upcoming season.  Vikram Baliga of the Plant-thropology Podcast joins us to talk about Christmas Botanicals.  And here’s a disclaimer… Rikki takes no pride in admitting the fact that she knows nothing about plantlife.  That’s why she’s called in a professional. 

The Hallmark brand is famous for greeting cards, keepsake ornaments, movies, and so much more. Holidays would not be the same without it!  This episode features a conversation with Samantha Bradbeer, company archivist and historian for Hallmark. She takes us through the long history of this incredible company. And it starts more than 110 years ago.

On this episode, we learn all about “The Santa Box” – a new film made in Utah by Spanky Dustin Ward. It’s about a girl who thinks she’s cursed by Christmas, and what happens next when she moves to a neighborhood that goes all out for the holiday. Plus, this week’s Christmas News!

What about children with hearing issues…and how they interact with Santa? Or when a child asks, “Santa, do you visit daddies in prison?” We have so much to talk about in this episode we call, Santa Hears you.

The family tree comes to life for the holidays with an ancestry tree donned with vintage photos, lights & the spirit of relatives & history long past.  And have you ever marked a Xmas season because you’re grieving? The holiday can become a harsh reminder of who you’ve loved and lost. Create a memorial tree of your own.  In this episode, we’re taking on a unique way of honoring our genealogy with an ancestral Christmas tree. Author, medium, historian Craig McManus shares his original creation of 3-generation ancestral Christmas tree with tips of creating your own.

Chris joins Rikki to chat about his podcast, Yuletide TV.  Chris and his cohosts, former college friends, review a wide variety of TV holiday episodes ranging from years gone by to current times.  Each host gives his very candid opinion about each featured episode followed up with their custom ratings of “Classic” for the whole family to watch year after year, “Socks” which its OK to have on in the background while wrapping gifts, or “Coal” which is self-explanatory.  All episodes are found on streaming services so you can watch and decide for yourself if you agree with the guys from Yuletide TV podcast.

Take a trip down memory lane and enjoy a bit of history to learn how General Electric lit up the trees, including the National Christmas Tree.  Broadcast engineer Jeff Carter joins Rikki Meece with his wealth of knowledge on GE Christmas history. 

Mistletoe is in our name, and it’s the month of love, so let’s talk about kissing! This episode shares a love story where mistletoe helped seal the deal. Romance and Christmas surely go together, don’t they?