Unwrap the Magic: Christmas Memories and Secrets from Santa

Merry Christmas and welcome to a very special episode of Talking Hospitality with me, Trace Rashid and my co host, Timothy R.

Andrews.

It's Christmas Day.

You've probably opened all your cards and presents by now and wondering what to do before the feast is ready to share.

Well, we have that extra stocking filler special for you.

Yes, we do.

Tim, did you know that the largest Christmas gift ever given was the Statue of Liberty?

France gifted it to the United States in 1886 as a symbol of friendship.

Well, I didn't know that, Tracy, but that is exactly what this time of year is all about.

Friends, family and loved ones and just being together to spend quality time and make memories.

Speaking of memories, Tim, what is your best Christmas memory?

My best Christmas memory.

My birthday is Christmas Eve.

I decided.

I hit a big number and I decided to have all my loved ones.

I wanted a quiet one, just go away.

And I decided only spend the day on Christmas with people that mattered.

The closest family.

And some of those people aren't around anymore.

But I will always cherish that memory because I'm glad I did that.

What about you, Trace?

Do you know what?

It's with my dad's parents.

So we used to spend Christmas with them.

And we literally would go for the whole two weeks of the school holidays.

We'd take the cat like it was.

It was that kind of level.

And although I remember Christmas Day and it was fabulous, but I always remember the cat either getting stuck or lost somewhere or completely destroying my grandmother's wallpaper.

So she used to get very upset every year that this happened to her.

Every single year.

And that room we were never allowed to go in, we were allowed to go in because that's where the Christmas tree was.

And I loved that.

And I'd always get a box of Fre Rocher.

That was always my gift from my grandmother.

And so I still love Frey to this day.

But that's.

Those are the two things.

The cat and the fre Rocher.

And that room that I was never allowed to go in but could on Christmas Day.

Your grandma was spoiling you.

No.

Anyway.

Oh, yeah, she was.

They need to bring the advert back.

Like I love badly Dubai.

So we can't do a Christmas episode without mentioning Santa, can we?

Really?

And I love that he's all about the spirit of giving.

His act of delivering gifts on Christmas Eve is a symbolic representation of spreading joy and kindness to children and adults around the world.

But wait, what's that sound?

It can't be.

Hello.

Ho ho ho.

Yay.

Oh, My gosh, they're really here.

They're really here.

We have got for today's special episode, Santas from far and wide who have helped make the magic happen just last night, funny enough, on Christmas Eve, by delivering gifts all over the world.

You must be tired, so thank you for joining us today and what must be your only day off before you start planning again for next year.

Santas, you have done an amazing job.

What's the secret to spreading so much joy and happiness during the holiday season?

Well, it's amazing.

All the boys and girls have been good this year.

Not all the adults, but all the boys and girls have been good this year.

On that note, my.

I've got two favorite presents that I've had.

One child came up to me one year and I said, what would you like for Christmas?

And she went, a horse roller coaster.

No one knew.

Literally nobody knew.

I was looking at the parents going, do you know?

They didn't know.

And I said, well, we can't promise, but we'll see what we can do, as you know, because you never promise.

And then the only time, the only time I've ever promised was one.

One child came up to me, said, what would you like for Christmas?

And he went, chips.

I went, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yes, yes, yes, that's fine.

Chips.

Yes, good.

Yes, I could, yes.

And we essentially did.

We went and got some chips for him because why wouldn't you?

Quite frankly, if someone says, I want chips for Christmas.

Well, good for you.

When the children come in to see me and I ask them what, what they want, I love the look on the parents faces and I think, you know, that the kids are, are loving, loving Christmas and they're looking forward to everything.

And the parents get taken back to when they were young and when they had the same experience and they're enjoying it now.

So I think when you've got them there as well, there's a lovely family moment.

Seeing the smiles on the children's faces.

And when they come and ask you what they would like.

When I asked them what they would like for Christmas, it's some of the simple stuff, you know, like I'd like a Rubik's Cube, but the best, but the best one I've ever, ever had.

And I had to stop for 15 minutes because I was just blubbering was a little girl about seven and she said.

And I said to her, come on in, Merry Christmas.

I said, what would you love for Christmas?

Of what would you like the best thing for Christmas?

She said, I would Just like my mummy to be happy.

What's that?

Yes.

Yes, they've all been good.

They've.

All of them.

I know, I know.

It's a surprise to everybody.

Look.

Yes.

Yeah, this is.

This is Igloo.

He helps me out.

He's been training, just in case.

We need a spare reindeer, don't we?

Yeah.

My children have met Igloo and they loved him.

He first came, actually, when I was.

I was sent to for blinded deaf children.

And I was looking for something that was tactile, that was other than myself, because Santa, Phil, his beard is a little more permanent than mine and.

Well, no, mine is permanent.

As I say, it lives in a box.

However, it's.

It's.

The stroke of the beard is one thing, but then this sort of being able to stroke Igloo and he moves around and he's a bit cheeky.

It helped with that.

And then he's sort of.

He turns up every December.

So, yeah, he's a very good helper, aren't you?

Just for our listeners who didn't see Igloo, Igloo is a little polar bear.

He's come up to help Santa during Christmas.

Timothy, my secretarial secretary, Sparkle, said you was a naughty boy last week.

Last Tuesday afternoon, about 4:00.

Yeah.

Probably don't remember it.

I do tell him all the time, Santa, I do.

He needs to be a good boy.

You've got to stop.

You've got to stop.

I know.

I know what I did last Tuesday.

And I will say Santa feels not far off.

Right?

So the world is a big place, Right?

It's a big place.

So how do you manage to get all the presents to the children around the world in one night?

It's called magic.

And this, if you haven't got a chimney, this is the key that fits all doors on Christmas Eve.

So it is.

It is really magic.

And I think there'll be lots of children that are happy to know that just because they don't have a chimney, Santa can still come.

What do you do about dogs?

Dogs?

Well, they get presents as well.

I normally carry some tidbits in my pocket.

So if a dog is there, then I just give him a little and he's happy.

Secrets well prepared.

You've been doing it a few years, you should have learned a trick or two.

But you've got to be well prepared as Santa gotta expect the unexpected.

The cats are fine because they're just busy scratching on the grandmother's wallpaper all the time.

So it's not A problem.

So, Santa, what is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Oh, well, it's just so many, isn't there?

But I do enjoy mince pie, I must admit, possibly a little too much.

Sampling them a box at a time.

Yes, I've done that this year as well.

But that's another story for another time.

I think they're getting together with people.

It's important, isn't it?

It is very important.

It is very important.

Christmas dinner, Christmas getting together.

I know not everybody gets together at Christmas.

There's times when people have been on their own at Christmas, sometimes that's that.

But sometimes people are fine with that as well.

It brings people together, which I really do.

I think that's my favorite part of Christmas and my favorite Christmas tradition, so to speak.

My Christmas tradition has been, for the last five years, I've been helping out with a group of people that live in my area.

And they call themselves Home Alone at Christmas.

And.

No, and we've got a hall.

And they go in there like 7 o'clock in the morning and they start cooking.

And then people age, old age, pensioners, senior citizens come along, sit down and have a nice dinner.

And I come in and I.

And I give them a box of chocolates or a tin of sweets or something.

You know, I do like to give them the toffees because I like to see their gums going up and down and the teeth staying where they are, you know, More magic.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That is what I do every Christmas.

Every Christmas.

I just love it, love it.

I love that story.

I love that.

I love that.

I love that.

Mine's got to be the crackers.

I love a cracker.

You can't beat a Christmas cracker.

You don't know what you're gonna get.

They've got a rubbish joke in them and they're the best ones.

And then a crown that splits when you put it on your head.

You're never disappointed by a cracker.

My favorite is.

What do you call an old snowman?

Walter.

I like that.

Sadly, yeah.

Santa Chris, you probably get the same joke in nearly every cracker.

What is an elf's photo?

What is called an elfie?

Every child that I see will either get one of those.

What are you holding there?

It's a woolen Santa.

And how many do you make?

Tell you exact number I made last year, it's 2150.

And that's.

And that's how many children I saw last year.

So.

Right, we know about Santa Traveling the world.

Where do you guys like to go?

For a vacation.

Where does Santa go for vacation?

Where would he like to go?

What does he do?

Somewhere not too hot because, you know, I don't have good legs.

So, you know, Santa in shorts isn't, isn't the way forward.

We're not too hot.

Where I can, I can just chill out and relax for, to recover for next Christmas.

Well, obviously we're working all year round.

However, I do, I quite like somewhere hot.

I must admit.

Santa's got better legs than I've got.

That's all I can say.

Thailand would be quite nice.

Although this year I'd settle for a weekend in Blackpool.

I'm at that point.

Yes.

So I don't mind.

I don't mind.

Somewhere lovely.

Somewhere lovely.

That would be good.

Relaxing.

I have got another outfit that I wear.

It's like a shirt, shorts, red and white socks, slip ons with bells.

I've got a deck chair that I take with a palm tree and I just go somewhere and plonk it down and sit there and relax.

Sounds like typical English holiday, doesn't it?

Bring your deck chair, bring your umbrella, bring your scarf.

Got it covered.

Yeah.

And I've also got an, also got an umbrella tucked underneath the seat.

Ready?

Reindeer.

First of all, do the reindeer ever play pranks on each other and are there any more reindeer?

Well, sometimes, sometimes they do.

Yes, they do have reindeer games occasionally.

We have stamped out any issues where.

We'Re all the old.

They're all included.

So you know, the song has changed now.

So don't worry, don't worry.

There's no laughing and calling names anymore.

So you know, you have got Rudolph, Dancer, Prancer, Dasher, Blitzen and all of the others.

And there is another, there is another reindeer that we.

You don't know about.

Yes, it's a female reindeer and it is actually in the song.

It's hidden in the song.

It's Olive, the other reindeer, Olive, the other reindeer names.

That's why she doesn't get to go on there.

She's on probation.

These Santas are slaying their puns, aren't they?

Right.

You know, I know you don't have your favorites or maybe you do, but let's just say in theory because no parents should have their favorites.

Who's your favorite reindeer?

I think it's Dasher because Dasher is, is one of the eldest ones and he.

I know Rudolph's out in front, but Dasher sort of controls, controls the, the back four if you like.

I'm, I'm gonna go Rudolph because He's been through a lot.

As I say, there's a whole documented thing of him being bullied and he's really stepped up and he's gone to the front and he's led that slave for many, many years.

And I'm very impressed with him.

He's done very, very well.

So all the others, I don't really have favorites, if I'm honest.

They're all lovely, but he's done very, very well.

Very, very well.

Did you know that you, Rudolph, is you less friendly because they plug him in every night?

Oh, he was a man of his before the times, wasn't he leading the way?

In many ways.

In many ways.

No carbon footprint.

So how does Donna feel about Olive?

Actually, is there a bit of, like, rivalry going on there?

Hold on.

How are we only asking about rivalry between the female reindeers?

Rudolph one, he leads from the front.

There's a whole song about it.

You should hear it.

You should hear it one day.

Yeah, send it over, Send it over.

Thank you so much, Santas, for joining us and making this Christmas a little more magical.

We really have had fun speaking with you today.

But before you all go for a well deserved nap, do you have any advice for kids on how they can stay on the nice list?

It's.

It's always a big thing at Christmas.

There's a lot of pressure on everybody because when you come and see us, it's been built up all year round that you know we're going to be there and we see you when you're sleeping.

We know when you're awake, all of the above.

So it can be overwhelming.

It can be.

So the parents obviously have to bear that in mind on occasions that this is a big deal and so it might look like they're being naughty and that they're not.

It's just a big thing where they're coming to see.

We tell children all year round, don't go and speak to strangers.

Then we take them into a shed to see a man in a disguise.

So it does contradict itself ever so slightly.

So bear that in mind.

But I would say, you know, children on the whole have been pretty good this year.

So there's a lot going on this year, but they have been pretty good this year.

Listen to your parents, do your homework and try to be as good as you can.

I would say my favorite Christmas joke.

Why can't Elsa have a balloon?

Don't know.

Say so.

Could I say cushy?

Let it go.

Let it go.

The big question is where?

Where does Santa get his reindeer?

Yeah.

Where does he get them from?

From the clouds, darling.

Thank you Santa's Big thank you to our listeners.

I hope you're having a great Christmas and thank you for tuning in to Talking Hospitality on this very special day.

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Until next time, spend time with those you love and stay magical.

Thank you for listening.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Ho ho ho.

Merry Christmas.

Have a lovely time with your family.

Inspiration.