WEBVTT - Make Christmas plans at Thanksgiving

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that if you celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas or

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<v Speaker 1>Hanukkah with the same people, it can be convenient to

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<v Speaker 1>make your December holiday plans at Thanksgiving. It is often easier.

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<v Speaker 2>To make plans in person than over text or email.

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<v Speaker 2>Plus it's helpful to have a plan in advance so

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<v Speaker 2>no one has to scramble at the last minute. Many

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<v Speaker 2>families have some sort of routine for their holiday celebrations.

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<v Speaker 2>For instance, maybe your family always gathers for a meal

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<v Speaker 2>around four o'clock on Christmas afternoon, with everybody contributing a dish,

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<v Speaker 2>though the entree and the person hosting may vary from

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<v Speaker 2>year to year. Or maybe every year your family gathers

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<v Speaker 2>at your parents' house on the second night of Hanukkah,

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<v Speaker 2>so various branches of the family can gather with their

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<v Speaker 2>other relatives on the first night. If your family has

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<v Speaker 2>a basic plan you follow every year, Thanksgiving is a

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<v Speaker 2>great time to take that plan from vague to specific.

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<v Speaker 2>For example, if you will gather in December for a

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<v Speaker 2>big family meal with each person contributing a dish, or

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<v Speaker 2>to figure out a Thanksgiving who is bringing what? You

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<v Speaker 2>could circulate a sign up sheet or ask each person

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<v Speaker 2>what they want to bring and take notes. If the

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<v Speaker 2>adults usually draw names to exchange gifts, you could draw

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<v Speaker 2>names at Thanksgiving. Just be sure to make provisions for

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<v Speaker 2>anyone who is not at Thanksgiving dinner but will be

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<v Speaker 2>part of the Christmas gift exchange. If you give gifts

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<v Speaker 2>to multiple people in December, Thanksgiving can be a great

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<v Speaker 2>time to ask these people if there is anything in

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<v Speaker 2>particular they would like. You will be able to ask

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<v Speaker 2>them questions live and maybe even go through some options together,

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<v Speaker 2>or quickly work out a group gift for someone without

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of digital back and forth. Of course, your

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<v Speaker 2>family may have default plans that you follow every December,

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<v Speaker 2>but those plans may not be working for everybody anymore.

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<v Speaker 2>If that is the case, Thanksgiving can be a great

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<v Speaker 2>time to reimagine what your December gathering could be, and

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<v Speaker 2>if your family doesn't have a basic plan for celebrating

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<v Speaker 2>the December holidays, Thanksgiving can be an ideal time to

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<v Speaker 2>do big picture planning while you are gathered in the

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<v Speaker 2>kitchen cleaning up from Thanksgiving dinner, you can talk about

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<v Speaker 2>your hopes and plans for Christmas or whatever else you celebrate.

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<v Speaker 2>You can talk about what you'd like to do while

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<v Speaker 2>you are seeing each other, who will host, and when

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<v Speaker 2>you will gather. Even if you don't figure out all

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<v Speaker 2>the logistics at that time, you can get a shared

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<v Speaker 2>vision and pave the way for more specific planning. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah,

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<v Speaker 2>and Christmas come fast on each other's heels at what

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<v Speaker 2>is usually a very full time of year. If you

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<v Speaker 2>gather with the same people for each holiday, planning for

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<v Speaker 2>the next holiday while you're to gather at Thanksgiving can

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<v Speaker 2>ensure everyone has plenty of lead time for doing their part,

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<v Speaker 2>and it means you can plan live rather than needing

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<v Speaker 2>to do it all remotely, so you will probably be

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<v Speaker 2>more efficient and cheerful during the planning process too. In

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<v Speaker 2>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 2>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 2>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 2>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 2>from iHeartMedia, Please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or

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