WEBVTT - Make holidays work for you

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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 to make holidays work for you. If celebrating

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<v Speaker 1>a holiday the usual way doesn't quite fit in your life,

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<v Speaker 1>mark the holiday differently. This past Mother's Day, I heard

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<v Speaker 1>about a woman who didn't have kids who sent a

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<v Speaker 1>text to her neighbors with pets who also had no kids,

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<v Speaker 1>saying Happy Mother's Day to those of us with fur babies.

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<v Speaker 1>One person replied with a photo of her cats, and

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<v Speaker 1>then everyone joined in with photos of their own cats

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<v Speaker 1>and dogs. On a day when some women may feel

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<v Speaker 1>left out, this text chain created a sense of connection

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<v Speaker 1>among the cat and dog moms of the neighborhood and

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<v Speaker 1>added delight two because who doesn't love cute animal pictures.

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<v Speaker 1>Gallentine's Day and friends giving gatherings arise from the same spirit.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are not in a romantic relationship, or even

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<v Speaker 1>if you are, celebrating Valentine's Day with friends can feel

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<v Speaker 1>more fun than a forced, expensive candlelight dinner. Same with Thanksgiving.

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<v Speaker 1>If your holiday doesn't look like a huge table full

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<v Speaker 1>of happy extended family members carving turkey, then a casual

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<v Speaker 1>potluck Friendsgiving can hit the spot. Or maybe you do both,

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<v Speaker 1>celebrate Thanksgiving with family and then Friendsgiving with chosen family.

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<v Speaker 1>Make the holiday work for you, or sometimes the holiday

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<v Speaker 1>celebration itself needs a little freshening up to customize your experience.

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<v Speaker 1>I heard recently about a woman who started doing fun

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<v Speaker 1>too for big family holiday gatherings because it kept every

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<v Speaker 1>one at the table longer. She was tired of spending

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<v Speaker 1>days in the kitchen working on a roast or a

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<v Speaker 1>turkey for the family to be finished eating in half

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<v Speaker 1>an hour. But with cheese fondue and oil fondue and

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<v Speaker 1>chocolate fondue, her family lingered around the table because they

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<v Speaker 1>had to. It was less work for her, and the

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<v Speaker 1>ratio of cooking to eating changed. Or instead of shrinking

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<v Speaker 1>the cooking time and lengthening the dinner time, you could

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<v Speaker 1>simplify the whole meal. I know of a pastor who

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<v Speaker 1>hosts what he calls a Jesus Is Risen hot dog

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<v Speaker 1>roast for pastors and their families every Easter. After all

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<v Speaker 1>those services, most clergy members don't want to cook ham

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<v Speaker 1>or another traditional Easter feast. He could be of service

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<v Speaker 1>to other tired clergy members and their families and throw

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<v Speaker 1>a very easy cookout because it takes almost no energy

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<v Speaker 1>at all to turn on a gas grille. Throw a

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<v Speaker 1>few dozen hot dogs on there and take them off.

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<v Speaker 1>Add some bags of chips of fruit salad from the

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<v Speaker 1>store and ice cream bars, and we have a wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>and very helpful dinner party. So if there is a

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<v Speaker 1>holiday that doesn't work for you in the usual way,

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<v Speaker 1>take some license to customize it to suit you find

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<v Speaker 1>others who would appreciate your new way of celebrating. With

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<v Speaker 1>a little playfulness and creativity, you can transform a holiday

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<v Speaker 1>that might have made you feel left out into one

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<v Speaker 1>that suits you. To a tea. If you have a

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<v Speaker 1>holiday that you celebrate in your own way, I would

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear about it. You can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. In the meantime, this

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our tie. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.

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<v Speaker 1>If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach

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<v Speaker 1>me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia.

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<v Speaker 1>Please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you

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<v Speaker 1>listen to your favorite shows.