Snow and Christmas lights, busy malls, gifts to be wrapped, and Mariah Carey on repeat. It's that time again. The last stretch before Christmas can get really busy, but when the work is done, there's nothing better than cosying up at home with some excellent podcasts.

We've got an assortment of seasonal selections to make you think, help you bask in nostalgia and learn something delightful.

Santa's elves work hard building toys to bring joy to children's hearts … but have you ever thought about the person who writes the lyrics to the songs those toys sing? Every Little Thing introduces us to the number one "toy songwriter" on his tricks for coming up with earworms for kids.

Plus, Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a holiday staple – it's sparked retellings by the likes of Mickey Mouse, the Muppets, and even The Simpsons. But when you think about Dickens, and the rest of his body of work, focused on the plight of people living in poverty and exploited by the industrial revolution, it's a bit surprising he's come to be so closely associated with Christmas. The Allusionist host Helen Zaltzman unpacks how it happened.

Warm up a cup of cocoa, get your slippers on and find a cosy place near some twinkling lights and enjoy these festive listens!

Featuring:

Every Little Thing: Listener Megan asks guest host Ian Chillag about who writes the weird lyrics for her son's talking toys. Premiere toy song writer Jay Elkinton tells us all about how he writes super short earworms for kids.

The Allusionist: "Charles Dickens wrote about the plight of the impoverished and destitute members of British society. So how come his name is a synonym for rosy-cheeked, full-stomached, fattened-goose, hearty merry 'God bless us every one' Christmas?"

Secret Life of Canada: "When candy maker A.J. Russell created a recipe for puffed wheat bars in 1913, it became a popular dessert. But only in one half of the country."

The Moth: "Mark Redmond works with a homeless shelter in Vermont."