WEBVTT - No holiday is too small

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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 no holiday is too small or too

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<v Speaker 1>random to celebrate. If you are enjoying the holiday season now,

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<v Speaker 1>you might think about how to carry that festive feeling

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<v Speaker 1>into some less festive times of the year. So. I

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<v Speaker 1>know some folks are a bit ba humbug about the holidays,

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<v Speaker 1>but a lot of people like them for a very

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<v Speaker 1>simple reason. It's nice to have an excuse to get

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<v Speaker 1>together with family and friends. Life has plenty of rough stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>so it is fun to be in a celebratory mood

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<v Speaker 1>during late November to early January. There are holidays left

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<v Speaker 1>and right for lots of different traditions, but many other

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<v Speaker 1>parts of the year don't have such obvious occasions. The

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<v Speaker 1>solution find very minor, silly or made up reasons to celebrate.

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<v Speaker 1>You don't really need a special occasion. You can create

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<v Speaker 1>a special occasion and make it a fun part of

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<v Speaker 1>your life. So, for instance, if you know you are

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<v Speaker 1>going to be feeling a little bit of a post

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<v Speaker 1>holiday let down, how about marking your calendar for January nineteenth.

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<v Speaker 1>Apparently that is National Popcorn Day. While I am quite

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<v Speaker 1>certain that this was created by people who make a

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<v Speaker 1>living selling popcorn, who cares celebrating it could still be fun.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, you could mark the occasion, which happens to

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<v Speaker 1>be a Friday, with a popcorn and movie night, have

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<v Speaker 1>some neighbors over, and make lots of batches. You could

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<v Speaker 1>also decide to make an after work or after school

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<v Speaker 1>snack spread of lots of different flavors of popcorn. You

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<v Speaker 1>can order the flavors from a specialty store, or maybe

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<v Speaker 1>just buy several in a big grocery store in the

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<v Speaker 1>chip aisle, or make them yourself. I'm guessing you can

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<v Speaker 1>find recipes online for something caramel flavored, cinnamon flavored, chocolate drizzled,

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<v Speaker 1>paprika topped whatever. Or here's an idea, bring a tin

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<v Speaker 1>of popcorn to work and leave it in the break

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<v Speaker 1>room with a note that reads Happy National Popcorn Day.

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<v Speaker 1>Pack a baggy of popcorn in your kid's lunches with

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<v Speaker 1>a little note commemorating the occasion. Of course, National Popcorn

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<v Speaker 1>Day is just one example of what are literally thousands

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<v Speaker 1>of basically made up holidays. You could search around see

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<v Speaker 1>what others are celebrating. I know that the Wall Street

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<v Speaker 1>Journal's wine columnists have many times rallied people around in

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<v Speaker 1>open that bottle night, encourage people to actually drink that

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<v Speaker 1>wine that they had been saving for a special occasion,

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<v Speaker 1>which may or may not come. This Saturday could be

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<v Speaker 1>a special occasion. It is Saturday, after all, and you

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<v Speaker 1>can absolutely make up your own holidays. In January, my

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<v Speaker 1>family will be celebrating Gift Card Day, where we go

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<v Speaker 1>through and actually use whatever gift cards people have given us.

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<v Speaker 1>Why let the money sit on those retailers' balance sheets.

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<v Speaker 1>Given that there are so many options, you can be

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<v Speaker 1>strategic about figuring out which ones you're going to focus on.

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<v Speaker 1>For instance, maybe your family generally does something fun for

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<v Speaker 1>Valentine's Day, and then you also get together with family

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<v Speaker 1>for Passover, which starts April twenty second in this coming year.

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<v Speaker 1>This leaves a pretty big gap in the middle, So

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<v Speaker 1>you might come up with a fun reason to celebrate

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<v Speaker 1>something in mid March. Maybe you can create your own

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<v Speaker 1>mini cherry Bussom festival in honor of the blooming trees.

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<v Speaker 1>You get the idea. I know that the post holiday

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<v Speaker 1>doldrums will be settling in for a lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>and a little over a month. It happens. But you

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<v Speaker 1>don't need an official federal holiday to bring people together

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<v Speaker 1>or to do something festive. You can come up with

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<v Speaker 1>any reason. No holiday is too small. Life in general

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<v Speaker 1>is worth celebrating. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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