We're So Xmas

Did you know there is a Christmas tradition that involved pickles? Cliff found out about it when he was at the Germany pavilion at Walt Disney World and it's a pretty cool way to slow down your Christmas mornings (and to maybe bring you a little bit of holiday luck!)

If you are lucky enough to live in a city that has a really high pet adoption rate (like we are in Seattle) and you are traveling for the holidays, you might be the perfect candidate to grant one of our four legged friends Christmas wish! Heather talks about how easy it is to take a pet from a overcrowded shelter and bring it back to your home city where they have a way better chance of finding their furrever home.

If while you were reading Harry Potter (or watching the movies!) you ever thought that Hagrid had a pretty cool living situation going on in his groundskeeper cottage, then do we have the contest for you! For just over $1, you can enter to win a seven day Christmas vacation at an amazingly detailed reproduction of Hagrid's cottage plus all sorts of gifts and special encounters. Hurry and enter though, this contest disapears on Oct. 31!

Finally, if you are a book lover you are going to LOVE this amazing holiday tradition that Heather found. It's called Jolabokaflod ("The Christmas Book Flood") and involves books and chocolate!

Science says that if you love Christmas, it's never too early to put up your Christmas decorations! If you get that nostalgic rush when you think about decorating your tree, then putting up your Christmas decorations early might actually make you happier! And if you need something to listen to while you do it, Warm 106.9 (the wonderful radio station that makes this podcast possible) streams Christmas music all year !

Looking for a way to get in the holiday spirit early? Heather wants to encourage everyone to knit a blanket or hat for an animal shelter or hospital or to volunteer and a homeless shelter or food bank. Want to take that a little bit further? Ask for gift cards for Christmas and then donate them to local shelters or the homeless. Cliff also recommends Kiva.org as a cool way to use microloans to help people better their lives.

Finally, why would you make a gingerbread house when you could make a Cadbury Cottage! This adorable Christmas cottage is made of incredible Cadbury chocolate, which everyone knows beats gingerbread any day. It looks like it might only be available in the UK, but Cliff is talking to some elves to see what we can do about that! For now, you'll just have to ask Santa (or hope you have a friend that can buy one from their website and ship it to you!)

Heather decided it's time she allows herself to just buy her own engagement ring. This is what she's selected: https://etsy.me/2KUmcuj

Cliff HIGHLY suggests gifting a streaming service like the Disney + bundle which includes ESPN and HULU: https://bit.ly/2MBMyTA

BOTH Cliff & Heather think you should ditch the stress of cooking and try a restaurant for the holidays.

Happy Christmas in July! There are only five months until Christmas (that's only 151 shopping days!) and Heather is already planning her lean holiday meals to avoid the 4% weight gain that the average person manages to put on between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you would also like to be able to button your pants up come January, check out these amazing recipes she found. Cliff, on the other hand, is planning out the concerts he wants to see this holiday. LeAnn Rimes isn't bringing her "You and Me and Christmas" tour to Seattle, but Brian Setzer and Mannheim Steamroller will be making an appearance. Heather thinks that a Christmas WDW vacation might be out of her budget, but thinks that NYC for the holidays might be great, especially if she was able to check out a John Water's Christmas or see the Rockettes. And finally, Cliff is in LOVE with the new Disney Christmas ornaments that are coming out this year (perfect for the Disney lover on your Christmas list or maybe...for yourself.)

Heather and Cliff give you all the details on the new Christmas movies that Hallmark is debuting in July as part of their Christmas Keepsake schedule, which includes 178 Christmas movies between July 12th and July 28th! Worried that you won't be able to watch the debut of Christmas Camp or A Merry Christmas Match? Cliff has all the details on how cord cutters can still get their Christmas movie fix.

Heather found some absolutely beautiful Disney Princess dresses that would be perfect for that Christmas wedding you've been planning (or if you want to make a HUGE splash at this year's Christmas party).

Finally, do you prefer a real Christmas tree or do you take the artificial route? Heather has some really interesting reasons that you might want to think about getting a real tree this year (in addition to the way they make your entire house smell like Christmas of course).

Christmas Camp: http://bit.ly/2J4LuUc

Steam the Hallmark Channel:

https://try.philo.com/https://www.fubo.tv/welcomehttps://www.playstation.com/en-us/network/vue/channels/https://www.directvnow.com/https://www.sling.com/

Amazing Disney Dresses: http://bit.ly/2JaG4XV

Heather and Chrysanthemum Cliff the Christmas Elf talk about A Mermaid for Christmas (which is destined to be a classic Christmas movie), Tinggly gift boxes for easy holiday gifting, going to Disney World for Christmas, simple holiday decorating from Deckd, the right amount of time to leave up your tree and sending out holiday greetings from celebrities using the Cameo App!

Link

A Mermaid for Christmas: https://warm1069.com/who-wants-a-mermaid-for-christmas/ Tinggly: https://www.tinggly.com/Deckd: https://deckdhome.com/ Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party: http://bit.ly/2HCtXU2

It's HERE! Love to YOU for celebrating each day with us :-) We promise to check back in January. XOXO, Tori & Heather

Hallmark's "Mingle All The Way," Thyme (Is on your side), Northwest Harvest

"Married By Christmas," Amazon PRIME delivers Same Day! Northwest Harvest

"Eve's Christmas," Onepiece.com (The greatest Onesies EVER), Northwest Harvest