Christmas 2020
Written by: Brian J. Sumner
My life over the past decade has become a bit of an ongoing circus, minus the clowns and tigers and fun. Or perhaps a traveling carnival that somehow never leaves one place. I’m rooted in day-to-day chaos from the daily grind of work and family and creative lulls and “Which in-law is at the house now?” and “Our daughter did WHAT?!” kinda vibes and, of course, my job.
Oh, don’t get me started on my “Santa Claus Apprenticeship Program.”
Working for FedEx has definitely put a damper on my overall outlook of Christmas and really just the month of December as a whole. While most families are regaling in the delight of festive-ness and baking goodies or watching holiday films, I’m one of the foot soldiers out in the grind, delivering online sales to the masses and watching the hours of the day slowly tick away and erase any hopes of myself actually being able to enjoy this time of year.
I know…real buzzkill huh?
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas, in general, hasn’t really changed for me. The job makes it difficult at times, but once I start noticing the November calendar get closer and closer to being flipped, my heart starts getting a little fuller and my cheeks start getting a little rosier and that twinkle in my eye starts getting....ok, I’m literally describing Santa Claus, what the Elf?! But seriously, when December starts creeping up, my love for the holiday begins to show and I can’t help but re-fall in love with the season, over and over again.
Every year.
Without fail.
Christmas was always a big deal growing up in the Sumner household. Time honored traditions like dragging out all the Christmas decorations from the attic almost immediately after the Thanksgiving Table was clear. It was considered sacrilege in those days to even think about decorating any sooner than 5:38 pm on Thanksgiving Day.
It was unthinkable.
Unheard of!
Of course there was setting up the tree and placing random homemade decorations about the house (the elf made with a cardboard tube from inside a roll of toilet paper still holds a place in my heart....even after my dad and I blew it up with a firecracker. Don’t ask). Over time, the Sumner holiday budget grew a little more and we incorporated actually placing lights on the outside of the house! So naturally, that became a yearly thing.
My moms “go to” ritual became setting up the intricate Christmas Village fully equipped with all the trimmings from a Parsonage to a Blacksmith, fully automated ice rink and a train!
Can’t forget the train.
Lest not forget the year my brother and I purchased the same grocery store piece as Christmas gifts for our mom to add to the ever expanding village.
“You take yours back!”
“I can’t take it back, idiot, it’s Christmas Eve!!”
“Well I’m still giving her mine.....”
“I hate you...”
“Merry Christmas”
“Awww thanks...”
We compromised by cutting logos for competing grocery stores from Owensboro, KY and taped them over the grocery store signs, which gave mom options for low prices in her fictitious town.
Point being is that Christmas has always been and will always be my favorite holiday. So obviously, it made sense that we would incorporate it into our show in some capacity. Episode 022 , our first Christmas Special, showed us just how big and how fun we could push our show.
Listen to Episode 022
Up to this point, we had done a handful of extra shows outside our normal format that would be known as Dudetable Discussions where we wouldn’t break down a movie I hadn’t seen, per se, but we would instead use that episode as a filler before recording a full episode. The idea being that sometimes we can just chit chat about movies that were in theaters or maybe films we had recently seen at home and then maybe have a few short segments with the intent of having something different outside the norm for the fans to enjoy.
When it came time to create a format for our first Christmas Special, talking about all the different ideas that Jim and I both had dancing in our heads (see what I did there?) made us realize that we really had two episodes worth of content that we were dealing with.
We knew we wanted to do a Christmas film for our special but we also had soooo many other fun ideas. Ultimately, we agreed that making a combined show (A Christmas themed Dudetable Discussion AND a viewing of a Christmas Film I had never seen) would be the best option and thus the Christmas Special was born. Once the format was set, that’s when the challenge of “decorating” the show became known and I was really excited to get to work on it. Gaining confidence in my editing skills with each episode we recorded was really what helped motivate me to be ultra creative putting the show together. A lot of extra work went into making the vibe for the Christmas Special fun, exciting and sentimental all at the same time.
My love for Christmas and the nostalgia of the past was like two little angels sitting on my shoulder guiding me through the entire process as I meticulously scoured YouTube for just the right music and just the right audio.
Christmas means so much to me and I wanted that reflected in my work.
While the first Christmas Special was great in the regard of being new and fresh from what we normally do on a normal episode, it’s nothing compared to our Second Annual Christmas Special, Episode 042. After the success of the first Christmas Special, I began looking ahead to the following year and the prospect of recording a second installment for year two. It’s safe to say that the ideas for the second outing began to take shape the day after we recorded the first special. I already had in mind the film I wanted to review for the special because it had almost been the film we reviewed for the first years Christmas Special. Once I had in mind the beginnings of the format for the second special, I purposefully abstained from watching that movie for a whole year in preparation for one of the greatest “Jim Miller Movie Reveal Reactions” ever!
Listen to Episode 042
(Important Note - I actually had to edit his reaction down for time and explicit content! It was so hilarious!) The film, combined with his reaction to said film, made for a memorable holiday moment I will never forget. And no, I will not reveal that movie here, you’re just gonna have to listen to that episode to find out. Aside from the film, the second Christmas Special was also chock full of fun Christmas themed discussions and Reindeer Games as we like to call them.
Jim ruins Christmas
Another thing that made our second foray into the Christmas themed episode memorable was the fact I let Jim take creative control over an entire section of the episode which lead to a really hilarious segment where Jim would try and ruin The holidays by altering classic Christmas songs to have a darker edge. Krampus Karol was Jim’s baby from conception to introduction. He made all the audio files and did all the editing, he really took charge and showed that he, too, could be skillful at show editing and post production. By him creating this segment and with me being willing to relinquish some of that control on show production, it really made the episode that much richer.
It created an air of whimsy to the already fun episode. What makes the second Christmas Special so sentimental for me is the overall vibe from start to finish. I took great pride in putting together the final segment of that episode because
I wanted to send the listener home with a really good feeling as the show closed.
We literally take our listeners on an emotional ride throughout the entire episode and by the time you reach the end of the show, you feel ready.
Ready to wrap presents.
Ready to go driving and look at Christmas lights.
Ready to go shopping for the perfect gift.
Ready for Christmas.
One thing about Christmas that has always been a constant for me throughout the years has been laughter. Christmas is supposed to be fun and there is nothing better than a warm house on Christmas Eve filled with laughter. Growing up, my family always found ways to make Christmas fun. By the time I reached my teen years, my parents had discovered how much they loved going to Bingo every Thursday night and so when we found out you could actually buy Bingo cards at Big Lots, well, that just got the creative juices flowing for my parents.
My dad came up with the idea of having a “Sumner Family Christmas Bingo Party!” Basically your typical “Pot Luck” style family reunion but with Secret Santa gifts under $10, ugly Christmas sweaters, and of course, BINGO!!! We’d have door prizes and giveaways in between each of the bingo games (which where themed Bingo Cards - my favorite was the Christmas Tree) and let’s not forget the big meal followed up with a gift exchange. It was festive and fun and a great way to get all of my dads side of the family together (which was no easy task.....10 siblings total, 5 brothers, 5 sisters!!).
Sumner Family Christmas 1995
Since I get the majority of my sense of humor from my dad, it was only natural that when you got him and his sibs together, nothing but joke after joke after joke would keep the night going strong. The kitchen and living room would swell with rounds of laughter and as a young kid who adored his family, this was like hitting the lottery. Nothing could top that feeling till Jim and I decided to start doing a podcast together.
I can’t begin to tell you how many hours we’ve wasted during the recording process just laughing at something that either one of us did or said and it’s no more apparent than when you listen to any one of the three Christmas Specials. In the first and third installments, we introduced a Reindeer Game called Sing-along with The Duders, where we would start a Christmas song and then have to finish it when it was paused. Keep in mind, these games are designed to completely embarrass us, thus providing massive amounts of entertainment for you, the listener.
That’s my gift to you. You’re welcome.
While the first years go at the sing-along was pretty funny, it was the third Christmas Specials sing-along, Episode 052, that when I go back and listen to the segment, it makes me laugh so hard I almost choke on my own laughter. I’m not even exaggerating in the slightest, it’s a really hilarious segment.
Listen to Episode 52
The third Christmas Special wasn’t nearly as sentimental as year two, but the hilarity that unfolded on year three is so much fun. It really does harken back to that first Sumner Family Christmas Bingo Party where everyone, for one night, forgot about their day-to-day worries and stresses and just relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company as we laughed and played silly games all night. That’s the hope we have for our audience when you listen to our show. We hope you can escape your day and get lost in some great movie talk and funny conversation between two friends. And to further that point,
when you listen to our Christmas Specials, we want you to feel like you’re a part of our family, hanging out in the kitchen and laughing right along with us as the whimsy and pure joy of Christmas fills you up inside and makes you feel good like when you were a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
I could go on for hours talking about Christmas’ from the past or the overall feeling I get from the holiday season and I would never grow tired or bored during the conversation. It’s an important part of who I am as a person and I feel fortunate to have been able to find a way to honor that feeling in a fun, exciting way much like my parents used to do with our family Christmas parties. I’ve talked before about how Jim and I are more than friends and co-hosts, we’re family. To get to be able to do this podcast with my brother and use it to celebrate Christmas is a true testament to the spirit of the holiday season and a great homage to the memories of the past and for that I am always grateful and humbled.
Merry Christmas to all you Duders out there!!
Brian J. Sumner is the Host of Dude, What?!, & author of The Secrets of Dr. Killiecrankie. He loves slipper socks & has been known to use fruitcake for building blocks with his grandson.
