The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

Ben and Ashley are decking the halls and hanging up stockings with Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt and you’re invited to the party! We’re doing a holiday Q&A but the big gifts arrive when Susan Noles and Kathy Swarts from The Golden Bachelor stop by! The conversation continues over at Bachelor Happy Hour!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. maybe find out how it ends by listening to the okay storytime podcast and the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts this is the ben and ashley i almost famous podcast with i heart radio this is the almost famous podcast we are here with some incredible guests some incredible talents and people you may know joan serena susan and kathy welcome to the holiday episode of the almost famous podcast yay we're so happy to be here yes we're back we told you we I want you. Joe and Serena, we're happy to see you too.

Hi, guys. Where are you? They're in New York. Yeah, we're in my parents' backyard in Markham right now. Oh, goodness gracious. Well, you got out of Canada. I heard the flight was canceled. Yeah.

It was a whole situation. I will say that Marco for the holidays is not a bad idea. It's nice and warm and always comforting. We're doing a holiday episode today. We're sipping Kim Crawford wine. We're enjoying our time together. Obviously, Joan Serena are celebrating with their family. We're celebrating here as a family.

That's right. We're family. We're family. At this point, I mean, we've obviously been around each other for some great memories now. Kathy and Susan, we've done quite a few. Quite a few things together. Would you get me? Do I get a gift?

Yeah, a big hug at the end of this. All right, I have some questions. And I'm going to go in order. I'm going to go to it clockwise. fashion here, just to keep this easy. Kathy, what is your favorite holiday tradition? You know, that's easy for me. I am a big needle pointer, believe it or not. And so every year, I love my family to come over and we decorate the tree with all my homemade needlepoint ornaments. So talk about needle pointing. Tell me more about what that actually is. So needle pointing is a

very time intensive with threads and needles and very small canvas with lots of small holes in it and you have to really pay attention and that's when I really focus making my ornaments. It takes a lot of time but it's beautiful colors of fibers and fabrics and I make them and then I have like 60 homemade ornaments. Okay, a couple follow-up questions here for you. You're now teaching your kids. Yep. And what, two grandkids? Uh-huh.

When did you start teaching them? So I'm trying to get my five-year-old granddaughter to start. It's, she's a little young yet. My 16-month-old, you know, would rather eat it than so. But it's one of those things that when they're old enough, I'm going to teach them because my kids come over, my grown kids, and they look at the orange. And they say, mom, I remember the year you made that bird or that sled or whatever it is. They remember. And what age were you when you started doing this?

I was 35 pregnant with my last child. Yeah. And I needed something to calm me down. And so I took a needlepoint. You know, I am expecting a child now in two months. I'm going to make you an ornament. Well, and I'm thinking I'm going to start needlepointing. That was my point here.

Let me tell you. That's the least. That's what you should start doing. Try and find the time for that. Breathe slowly. I don't do a lot right now. My role is very limited. Now, Susan, obviously we know you for how talented you are at cooking.

I was just going to say they all come home. Yeah. So I want to hear it's a two-part question that's going to be easy to answer. What kind of, my question is, what vibe do you expect to try to set up for that holiday dinner? And then what is your favorite, like, food to serve during that dinner? We start with Thanksgiving. And that's like a traditional thing. And I make all 20, some of them stand up and say something that they were grateful for.

But they like Christmas better because you can come in your jommies. Nobody has to get dressed up for Christmas. And I start cooking months before. And I freeze the meatballs, the gravy. Yeah. Everything's in the freezer so that when the time comes, I'm just defrosting and heating things up. and then making the pasta, of course, fresh and the ham. So you make the own sauce.

Like when you... Oh, yeah. And do you do the shells? Sometimes we do... So I go to the Italian dinner with my wife, because my wife's family is 100% Italian. Yeah. And the grandma always is making homemade shells, stuff shells.

And it's like a four-course dinner, and it's wildly awesome. And does she have the salad last? Yes, that is... True Italian. True Italian. I mean... We eat the popcorn. the pasta first, and then the meats, and then Uncle Vini does the prayer.

Why do I feel like I'm in a foreign country right now? Yeah. I have no idea what you're talking about. Either one of you. No, it's, it's, uh, Kathy, this is a good point to sit on. So when I married my wife, she is 100% Italian, I went to there, the holiday dinner with them. It was awesome, but it was unlike anything I've ever experienced because the whole family

gets together. It is coursed out. So you have the, the, the, what, uh, Susan, you're going to have to help me out here. So the meats, what do you call that? We do sausage. No, but what is that called? That's called...

No, and it's on the menu. Like, it's... Joe knows. It's like a... Antipasto? Antipasto? Yeah, antipasta. I win. I got it.

I'm not even Italian. Welcome home, Kathy, welcome. So there is... Okay, so we have a couple of Italians on the podcast right now. Walk me through the different stages of the dinner that is. Well, we start with the soup. I say the scutrol soup, but it's escarole soup with the little tiny meatballs and the escarole and chicken soup. That's the start.

And then what's next? And then we start with our pasta and our meatballs and our sausage and our brajole. Well, when's the ante pasta come? That's on the table the entire time. Yeah, see, there's a whole different course that's already there. Wait, is this for Christmas Day? It's for every holiday. It's for every Sunday.

It's literally every Sunday that you exist. I'm exhausted. It's wild. All right. So we're going to go to Joe now. Joe, you're probably hearing all this relating to the Italian dinner, right? A fellow Italian, yes. It sounds familiar then, Joe.

Joe, are you still doing this every Sunday with your family? No, no. But on Christmas, Christmas Eve is the Italian dinner, and that's with all the fish. We don't do the seven fishes. We don't do the seven fishes, but we just, We probably have like five fish. Wait, I'm sorry, for those of us who are not Italian, why seven fishers? Why seven fishes? Why not five? Why not six?

It's something to do with. It's biblical. Yes, right? I think it's a Catholic. I think it's a Catholic thing. Yeah, it's the seven, like, it's the loaves of bread and the fish that Jesus did the serve the whole thing. It's a very, like, traditional, like, there's a reason behind it. So, Joe, you're, I know you're a massive fan of the Bachelor and Bachelorette. Um, you can't. Of course. Get enough of it. And so I thought of this question when I thought of you,

if there was a dish that you would have for your holiday dinner that you would give a rose to, which dish would that be? Bake clams. Why? Tell me more. I've never eaten baked clams at one of your family functions. But you, okay, grant that you've never been to Christmas Eve, because you got COVID.

No, it wasn't COVID. I was like really, really, really sick. But to me, bake clams. Did you have baked clams when you went? I always had bay clams. Okay. Bay clams, that's my favorite for the holidays. And it also,

bay clams really just remind me of Chicago, Chicago Italian restaurants. It makes me feel like home. And if I was the bachelor, I would probably give the woman that made me feel like her. home my first rose. Okay, John, I'm no, Joe.

I would have done baked clams. No, she would have ordered out. Okay, I would have ordered the men. I, honest to God, I've never heard of baked clams. I'm from New England. I've never heard of baked clams. Really? She lives under a lot.

I don't even think it's that. I guess it's an Italian dish, but I feel like. It's like, honestly, I never had them until I went to Chicago with him. And we really only eat them. at a time New York restaurants New York restaurants and New York

and Philadelphia and Jersey they all have it yeah yeah I would say it's big in Jersey yeah yeah

Serena what's your favorite meal Serena what's my favorite meal yeah well tonight my mom made

beer can chicken which I don't know if you guys know that it's beer in the butt it's beer in the butt chicken right totally I've done it

wait I have made that Beer in the butt Can you believe it Susan? I'm not eating but Wait you have a can of beer And you put it up the butt of the chicken

And bake it, am I right? You are correct So we made that tonight And Joe was saying I don't know why we have turkey On holidays Because we should just make chicken on the barbecue Like this is so much better

Chicken is a superior burn And I feel like Turkey is controversial Like not everyone is a turkey fan but I love turkey on the holidays because really the only time we eat it is like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter. Yep. I do a holiday.

Serena, you and I grew up together. Exactly. That's the only time you eat turkey. So you don't get a ham? You don't do a ham on any of the holidays? Do a ham sometimes too. I do ham. Like throughout the year more often than I will turkey.

I'm totally fine with the rest of my life never eating turkey or ham or Thanksgiving dinner ever again. I'm with you, Joe. No more turkey. Yeah, I think Thanksgiving dinner is, like, maybe one of my least favorite. Well, that's why we have the pasta. You know what? That I had never had until I started dating Joe was you guys put marshmallows on your sweet potato.

Of course. That's really not a Canadian thing. I never had that until I had thanks to me dinner with his family. I was like, what is this? What's under these marshmallows? Serena, let me just start with you celebrate. Thanksgiving on the wrong day. So let's start with that.

My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Well, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her. on. Now hold up, isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well,

according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor and they're the same age. Then it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Serena, that is a question that I'm curious about. You are from Canada.

So obviously, Thanksgiving is not a holiday that you would traditionally celebrate. So to come to the U.S., be living in the U.S. now, and to celebrate Thanksgiving, is that a new thing? Or is that something you're, like, familiar with? Like, what is it, like, there's a lot of traditions I'm sure in Canada I am very unfamiliar with. Like I don't know about. So were you familiar with what the United States does on the third November or the third Thursday of November? So yes and no. Like we do celebrate Thanksgiving.

It's just the second Monday of October usually. It's early October that we celebrate it. And I would say it's similar in terms of like food and being thankful. But you guys take it to a whole other level. Like it's a way bigger deal. Like we'll try on a sports game. have dinner with our family, like our extended family, and it's great. But going to the U.S., just like Cyber Friday, like Cyber Monday, Black Friday, the football game, like it's just

way more of an event. So, Serena, my sister is a Canadian citizen. I think you know that. She lives in Canada, and they always say Canadian Thanksgiving. In Canada, you guys say Canadian Thanksgiving. Yeah, that's true. I guess we do. Good point, Kathy. Well, because in all, All, like, most movies and TV shows and a lot of pop culture, like Thanksgiving specials, like the Friends Thanksgiving special or the Gossip Girl Thanksgiving special would always air end of Thanksgiving. So we would kind of feel that festivity with you guys, even though we weren't celebrating. But I will say, celebrating Thanksgiving middle of October, the leaves are changing.

It's still a little bit warm out. It's better weather, and it just feels very fall. I like that it's before Halloween. I mean, like, I feel like going into Thanksgiving for you guys, it's like, you're just waiting for Christmas to that point. We only have so many days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's so like a mad rush. Kathy's already cooking for Christmas when you have Thanksgiving happened. You're right.

I mean, I don't cook. She's not cook. I don't cook. I don't cook. I don't cook. I'm like, who's inviting me this year, but you're right. She goes and buys the wine. Yeah.

It's a very talented tree. You take some of all. Look at copper. Yeah, that's a big deal. You can have a bottle of candy. Kim Crawford brought right about. Can I just tell you, there's nothing better than Kim Crawford, Salmignon Blanc. It's one of my favorites.

I agree. So who's born? Yeah. There you have it. We have in the fridge. We'll get it right after this. All right. So I think everybody in this room right now is a vibe center.

I think they care about their times together with people. And I think they care about their families. So rapid fire. We'll go around the circle again. What kind of like vibe do you want to see? at the holiday season. Like what do you want when you go to bed and you lay your head on that pillow at night?

What do you just hope to remember or feel or know about that day that you spent for the holidays? Kathy, we'll start with you. Okay, so Christmas for many people is about gifts. And yes, I want my kids to be and my grandkids to be happy with their gifts. But honestly, I want my family to remember what the holiday is really about,

at the birth of Christ and the grateful, being grateful for their lives and feeling together as a family and appreciating each other and going to bed being so thankful that we have each other. It's beautiful. So how do you help cultivate that then? Like how do you help cultivate the fact that your grandchildren and your kids are leaving whatever place that you're celebrating going? I'm just happy we did this.

Because at dinner, we talk about Christmas and what our year has been like and what we, something we love about or something we're grateful for. We do it at Thanksgiving, but we also do it at Christmas. And I want my children and my grandchildren to know that above all, there's nothing more important than family. Yeah, beautiful. Susan. It's about sharing time together. and we have a lot of laughter on Christmas, silly things. Nobody gets in trouble for doing anything. And my kids are mostly grateful because I'm not a freak about cleaning up after everybody.

I just let it go on Christmas. Teach me. Teach me how, because I'm very not okay with that. I'm not okay with it either. It's bad. I got a trash came right over here, a trash bag for the wrapping paper. And I just, I breathe through it and just let, especially my grandchildren, just rip it apart.

And I hate when their mom and dad, them open things, certain things that I'm going to find pieces or colorful things on my white carpet and things like that. But when I lay my head down, I'm so grateful for the laughter and the bonding that we're all together. Everybody's there. That's the best part for us. What about you? What about you, Ben? You know, I think I would just like mirror a lot of what you said. For me, my family makes a fun of me because I have this common question that I don't even mean to ask that I ask every time we're all together is everybody doing okay. So for me it is this kind of like

vibe of I just want everybody to experience the joy that not as expected but as desired. And I just want everybody to be happy being in that moment. So you ask them, are you okay when they get there for the holiday? No, no, no, no, like, throughout the day. Like, I, like, you know, randomly, like, hey, you're doing okay? Let me just say, if you give them enough alcohol, they'll be okay. What about you guys? I mean, we're on different pages. No, wait. Say, I bet you give the same one. Say one word to describe Christmas on three, okay, the one word. But that's not, I'm not thinking just Christmas, but okay. Okay, ready? Three, two, one. Crazy.

Cookies. I like holiday-scented candles, decorations. I love being in New York for the holidays because it's such a festive city. I want, like, Friends Thanksgiving on, different Christmas movies, holiday movies. I want Chevy Chase on my screen a lot. I like cookies in the oven. I like decorations. He likes gifts.

I love gifts. I love this. I'm a child. I'm a child. Yeah. Christmas to Joe is still what it was when he was, like, eight years old okay well wait hold on joe i want to know serena who makes all that happen for joe does he no i will say he really he really does a lot he really does a lot we will decorate together but like he's like we're going out we're getting christmas decoration okay wait hold on

real tree or real tree or artificial real tree or artificial we live in new york York. But in my childhood home growing up every year we have, we go and cut down a real treat, like still to this day. Serena for Christmas last year got me the Home Alone 2 experience, which was what a eight-year-old boy got when he was living alone in New York. She got me the same thing. I was probably more excited than him. Yeah, you were really happy. I surprised like a night at the Plaza Hotel. I got it to a limo to go to dinner, like a stretch limo with a Joe's pizza inside, and then we went back, and we watched home one, too, and an ice cream Sunday. And honestly, I don't think I can top it this year.

Like, I took me two months to plan it. Oh, that's amazing. Did them all the godfather's tapes. Scrooge. So, Serena, is there anything you would add to this, like, when it comes to the vibe that you hope people experience? I mean, I think the word that my dad always used growing up was mad. Like he just felt Christmas was so magical and he's like, obviously having young kids helps that.

But I think as two adults with no children, it's still important to create that sense of magic. Even like we're adults, right? Like it's easy to just kind of let go of that and have it become like a lot of chores and a lot of cooking and a lot of planning. But I feel like we do try to keep the magic alive and still feel like kids on Christmas. With every adult, there's a kid inside. Joe, what's your favorite Christmas cookie? I mean I love gingerbread I love the gingerbread men

I also love like just the jingle cookies with the sugar cookie cookie you like the regatta or scotties or no he likes a sugar cookie I'm Italian I eat those year around In another world I feel like Joe's nickname could be

Snickerdoodle Snickerdoodle I just see it I love a good chocolate chip now we're closing up here final thoughts on uh kind of the holidays and what we all experience now we're just entering into this season uh i guess to end i think it would be special to share in 2024 just one thing what are you most thankful for and i can start i have a baby doing three months it's pretty exciting yeah snap snap snap so happy all right kathy i am so grateful

for my family and my grandchildren and their health and their love for me and my love for them i am so grateful and feel so blessed for the year that i'm having it's been a fabulous fabulous year i'm thankful for i'm thankful for getting into the game of golf I feel like it's a new hobby that I can keep working on and getting better as years go on and I'm just really excited for this journey and I, Sarita's been so supportive.

I've been openly unsupportive and I'm not ashamed. Serena, Sarita, you can get him a new club for Christmas. You know what? He has everything you could imagine golf related. Hey, Joe. You've been playing. Bad, I'm a 40 handicapped.

I walk through the airport. I got all brand of stuff, the titleless hat on. Do you think I'm a professional? For our apartment, I wake up in the morning and go out to make my coffee and he's putting in the middle of our time, one better. Serena, I'm just letting you know that's not uncommon nor is it unexpected, and it just gets worse and better all at the same time. Sorry, I appreciate the morning.

Let me just say some of the best views in the world are on golf courses. Oh, man. Some of the best views. And some of the best memories ever made. Absolutely. So let me add one thing. So when I started playing, I actually told my ex-husband, I apologize. He goes, what do you mean?

I said, I get it. I used to be watching the clock. It should only take four hours to play 18 holes and he didn't drink. So why would you go to the 19th hole? Why does it take you so long? And now that I play, I'm like, I am so sorry. I understand. Translation, Susan spends a lot of time at the 19th hole.

Yeah. Joe, welcome to the club and welcome to the club for everybody here. This has been part one of the holiday episode. This has been the Almost famous podcast. When we come back,

you can check out the second part of this on Bachelor Happy Hour. We're going to start out with this question. So you all think about it. Okay? This is how we're going to start

that episode. It's going to be a good one for us to begin on. It's going to be what is the most dramatic holiday gift reveal. you've ever witnessed, and we're going to go rapid fire, I think. We all have to answer it. What is the most dramatic holiday gift reveal? Or let's go this way. What is the most dramatic thing that's

ever happened on a holiday that you've witnessed? We'll be back. On Bachelor Happy Hour with Part 2. Until then, I've been Ben with the Almost Famous Podcast. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her.

Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.