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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to go all in on cheap seasonal fun.

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Speaker 1: You can take the pumpkin challenge or do something similar

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Speaker 1: for other holidays and just make any time feel more festive.

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Speaker 1: Last year, at about this time in October, Sarah heart

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Speaker 1: unger my co host for my other podcast, Best of

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Speaker 1: Both Worlds, described a trip to Trader Joe's with her family.

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Speaker 1: They bought everything pumpkin that they could find. Pumpkin samosas,

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Speaker 1: pumpkin pasta sauce, pumpkin salsa, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cookies,

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Speaker 1: even pumpkin hum us. What fun. Even if they didn't

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Speaker 1: end up finding their new favorite foods, it was a

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Speaker 1: great way to revel in seasonal treats. If you are

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Speaker 1: looking for a cheap seasonal outing some rainy October Saturday,

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Speaker 1: why not follow Sarah's example and take the pumpkin challenge.

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Speaker 1: Gather your family or a group of friends, head to

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Speaker 1: Trader Joe's, Target, or just a nearby grocery store. Give

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Speaker 1: everybody a few dollars to buy the pumpkin items of

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Speaker 1: their choice, then go home for a taste test, have

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Speaker 1: everyone vote on the most delicious, most creative, and string

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Speaker 1: just pumpkin items. There's an astonishing array of pumpkin items

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Speaker 1: out there, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin cream, cheese, even pumpkin dog treats.

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Speaker 1: If you want to get your pets in on the fun,

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Speaker 1: who knows what your brood will come home with. You

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Speaker 1: could do similar sorts of silly fun for their holidays too.

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Speaker 1: In November, send everyone to the backyard, the attic, or

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Speaker 1: the junk drawer to find supplies for making turkey sculptures.

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Speaker 1: Then use the sculptures everyone creates to decorate the table

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Speaker 1: for Thanksgiving dinner. In December, decorate gingerbread people to look

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Speaker 1: like your favorite movie stars, sports icons, or cartoon characters.

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Speaker 1: Or play charades to guess the titles of your favorite

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Speaker 1: Christmas carols. The Little Drummer Boy and Broodolph the Red

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Speaker 1: Nose Reindeer may be easy to guess, but the Holly

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Speaker 1: and the ivy and jingle bells might be a bit harder.

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Speaker 1: The morning after the first big snowfall, don't settle for

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Speaker 1: an ordinary snowman. What about a neighborhood contest with each

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Speaker 1: household making a self portrait out of snow. Now, trust me,

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Speaker 1: I am all for more meaningful and sometimes more sacred

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Speaker 1: holiday traditions. Writing letters of gratitude at Thanksgiving, ok, it's

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Speaker 1: Christmas pageants, neighborhood caroling, gathering with family near and far,

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Speaker 1: teaching young relatives the story of the first Thanksgiving, Hanukah

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Speaker 1: or Christmas. But in addition to these deeper holiday experiences,

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Speaker 1: why not add some whimsy too. Seasonal experiences have a

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Speaker 1: way of evoking delight, silliness, and camaraderie and even the

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Speaker 1: most serious of people. So this year, consider taking the

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Speaker 1: Pumpkin Challenge or engaging your crew in another sort of

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Speaker 1: silly seasonal fun. You'll add delight, create memories, and have

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Speaker 1: a shared experience with people you care about. If you

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Speaker 1: do engage in silly seasonal fun, I would love to

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Speaker 1: hear about it. You can reach me at Laura at

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Speaker 1: Laura Vanderkam dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything. Else,

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Speaker 1: just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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Speaker 1: before Breakfast pop that's B the number four, then Breakfast

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Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com

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Speaker 1: that before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For

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Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

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Speaker 1: favorite shows and aga