Libby Hill (aka Todd's current wife, and Amy's future wife) joins the podcast to discuss the immortal "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," and she succeeds in mostly convincing Todd and Amy it's one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time. We dare you to listen and not come to the same conclusion! Also: Todd decides to start Christmas shopping, Amy celebrates a Saturday spent at home, and Libby thinks neural networks should write our Christmas carols from now on. With music by Kay Porter and the Jubilee Singers and Gayla Peevey!

Music journalist Kelsey McKinney joins Todd and Amy to talk about "We Three Kings," a song none of them particularly like. Listen as Kelsey diagnoses why the song sounds so good in church and so crappy everywhere else. Thrill as Todd searches the roots of the word "orient." Dazzle as Amy explains her first encounters with true winter after being raised in the South. With music by Lou Rawls and Dolly Parton!

Todd and Amy get a jump on the new year with a discussion of the most famous New Year's song of them all, and what William E. Studwell seems to think is the only carol Scotland ever came up with. Included are thoughts on 2018 resolutions, thoughts on New Year's Eve 1999, and a brief dramatic reading from Amy's teenage journal. With music by the Sacred Harp Singers and The Yobs!

Todd and Amy gather for a more melancholy episode on going home for Christmas (and not going home for Christmas), the long-term effects of adoption, and the role World War II played in Christmas history. But that doesn't mean they don't have time for such frivolity as the return of Sleetstack the Christmas Shark! With music by The Kinks and Caiola & Ortolani!

Todd and Amy join together again to discuss three songs released in the last 10 years that Todd thinks should be come new standards, including Nick Lowe's "Christmas at the Airport," Tracey Thorn's "Joy," and Frightened Rabbit's "It's Christmas So We'll Stop." (Go to Tumblr for links to the full versions of these songs.) With music by Over the Rhine and Dan Wilson! With a special bonus selection by one of your podcast hosts!

Todd and Amy discuss the final week of Christmas countdown, as well as their second song in three days by Johnny Marks. This time, though, there's a lengthy detour to discuss TV Guide's 1997 list of the 100 best TV episodes of all time, as well as the movie Home Alone, Christmas carols about Christmas trees, and the precociousness of Brenda Lee. With music by Toni Stante and the Harry Simeone Chorale!

Todd and Amy are joined by a very special guest star: Todd's mom, Mary VanDerWerff. The three of them will chat about "O Holy Night," including why its critics have attempted to ban it several times, but there's also plenty of time to check in on what Todd was like as a kid, what the weather's like in South Dakota, and what Amy did the night she found out she was going to be a mom. With music by Feist and Luciano Pavarotti!

Todd and Amy take a look at this classic, learning it wasn't originally recorded by Burl Ives and so many other wonderful things. (Todd even digs up the original version for the end of the podcast.) They'll also discuss the last weekend before Christmas mania, Todd's inability to wake up in the morning, and Libby's desperate gambit to get Todd to stop buying her books for Christmas. With music by The Weepies and the Quinto Sisters!

Todd and Amy present "the international carol," as Todd reads an exceptionally long William E. Studwell entry while Amy has to step away for a bit. (It's LONG.) They also discuss where "O Come All Ye Faithful" tends to fit in at church, why TV shows always suggest it's light before 7 on Christmas morning, and a host of other things. With music by the New York Philharmonic and the Milton Street Revival Band! (Seriously, buy their CD. It's great.)

Todd and Amy start out talking about "Winter Wonderland," but the story behind it is just kind of there, so they end up talking about many other things, like how being a parent has changed Amy's view of the holiday, Todd's thoughts on taking kids to meet Santa (when he has no kids of his own), and where Sleetstack the Christmas Shark would appear in their opening credits. With music by The Pipettes and The Ramsey Lewis Trio!