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The Holiday Hostess
1.1k Plays10 months ago
’Tis (almost) the season! After decking the halls, many of us are welcoming guests into our homes for the holidays! And whether you’re hosting a large family party or an intimate soiree with close friends, the thought and planning that goes into preparing to host can be overwhelming! But what if we reframed hosting this holiday season? From common stressors, to hosting tips, this week, we're chatting about why it's ultimately important that we, as a society, remain open to opening our homes to others and how, then, inviting others in has the potential to be one of the most special and intentional gifts we can give!
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Transcript
Exploring Liquid Invert Sugar
00:00:00
Speaker
Okay, but do we commonly use liquid invert sugar? Yes, it is. Yep. I can't recapture that. Yep, going down. Okay.
Podcast Introduction & Holiday Hosting
00:00:34
Speaker
Welcome back to the Modern Lady podcast. You're listening to episode 148. Hi, I'm Michelle. And I'm Lindsay. And today we are talking all about being a holiday hostess. Tis the season. After decking the halls, many of us are welcoming guests into our homes for the holidays. And whether you're hosting a large family party or an intimate soiree with close friends, the thought and planning that goes into preparing to host can be overwhelming.
00:01:04
Speaker
But what if we reframed hosting this holiday season? Perhaps then, opening up our homes has the potential to be one of the most special and intentional gifts we can give. But first, the best way that you can support the Modern Lady is by subscribing to our podcast on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts and by sharing us with your friends.
00:01:26
Speaker
We also welcome you to join us over at patreon.com forward slash the modern lady podcast, where for just $5 a month, you will get exclusive and extra content. We want to remind our listeners that we now have activated a free trial option on patreon. So while you can just follow the page for free, if you actually sign up for a free trial, you will have access to all of our extra content for seven days. And then you can decide if you'd like to join us as a paid member.
00:01:53
Speaker
And if you can't join us on Patreon at this time, a free way to support our show is by leaving it a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. It's a chance to tell us what you love about the show, and it helps others discover it too.
Support & Acknowledgments
00:02:08
Speaker
This week's shout out goes to a friend of the podcast extraordinaire and great in real life friend of both of ours, Sarah Gould. Sarah has been a long time fan of the podcast and has been such an incredible support to us that we knew we needed to thank her with a shout out this week.
00:02:25
Speaker
So from encouraging Lindsay aftermath on Sundays and me at our homeschool CC days, thanks Sarah! We also want to mention that Sarah has published a brand new Canadian Catholic planner for 2024. It is thorough, organized, fantastic, and available to purchase now on Amazon.
00:02:45
Speaker
If you would like to leave us a comment or message us about today's episode, the best way to get in touch with us is on Instagram at the Modern Lady podcast.
Baking Tips: Focus on Sugars
00:02:54
Speaker
But be sure to stay tuned to the end of the episode for other ways to connect because we would love to hear from you. But before we get into today's chat, Lindsay has our Modern Lady Tip of the Week.
00:03:10
Speaker
Okay guys, I'm still down this baking rabbit hole, but I'm done with flour. Today we are talking all about sugar. Every Christmas, one or more baking ingredients become a hot commodity. One year it was butterscotch chips, one year Rice Krispies, and every year it becomes hard to find those mini multicolored marshmallows. But this year, the word on the street is that sugar is hard to find. And it turns out that this is due to a strike at a sugar refinery in British Columbia.
00:03:38
Speaker
My parents finally found me some brown sugar at their local grocery store but I was almost going to have to try that hack that you might have seen circulating around for how to make brown sugar using molasses and white sugar. The majority of refined sugar in Canada is made from sugar cane and sugar in the US is also made from sugar cane but also equally from sugar beets.
00:03:59
Speaker
According to the Canadian Sugar Institute, you can break sugar down into three groups, sugar, specialty sugars, and other sugars. The first type of sugar is just called sugar, and that term encompasses granulated, liquid, sugar cubes, pearl, and super fine sugar.
00:04:16
Speaker
It also includes something called liquid invert sugar. And this sugar is what prompted me to look into sugar because I was watching an episode of my favorite YouTuber, Glenn and Friends Cooking, and he used that term and I had never heard it before. Liquid invert sugar is, okay, are you ready for this? It is a liquid form of sugar, thick or thin, in which water is used to break the bonds of sugar. Sugar is made up of glucose and fructose.
00:04:42
Speaker
and these two things are attached. When water and heat or certain enzymes are applied, the glucose and fructose break apart. And okay, this is the crazy part. The name invert sugar comes from the way light is reflected through the sugar. When polarized light is shined on regular sugar, it reflects back at a certain angle. But when it is shined on invert sugar, it is rotated back in the opposite direction.
00:05:11
Speaker
Hashtag science, hashtag did I really need to know that? Okay, but do we commonly use liquid invert sugar? Yep, it's an artificial honey, real honey, candies, and confections made with maple syrup, the syrups used in your fancy coffee drinks, and commercial baking.
00:05:29
Speaker
It's used in baking because it helps retain moisture and it keeps a smooth texture. The next category of sugar is specialty sugars, and this includes brown sugar, icing sugar, demerara, muscovado, and turbinado, organic sugar, golden syrup, and molasses.
00:05:45
Speaker
And finally, there's a category for other sugars, and this includes raw sugar and evaporated cane juice. Now let's circle back to the whole brown sugar is just white sugar with molasses mixed in thing. Is this true? Well, yes and no. Refined brown sugar is refined white sugar with molasses added back into it. And depending on how much molasses is added, you get either light or dark brown sugar.
00:06:12
Speaker
The other kind of brown sugar is unrefined which means that it has been processed less which leaves some of the molasses in place. So molasses is either added back in or not fully removed. Okay so what exactly is molasses? I feel like molasses was used a lot more when I was a kid. My grandpa liked to put it on his pancakes.
00:06:32
Speaker
It definitely has a unique flavor when it's eaten on its own. Mostly today it's used if you make gingerbread, although I've made a molasses sheet cake and my kids loved it. According to the Canadian Sugar Institute, it is a dark colored syrup that is a byproduct of the sugar cane and sugar beet refining process.
00:06:51
Speaker
So how does one make brown sugar at home? You add one tablespoon of molasses to one cup of sugar in order to make it light brown sugar. And if you want it darker, you add more a half tablespoon at a time. Icing sugar is also part of the specialty sugars category. And I just learned that not only is it milled and ground into a powder, 3% cornstarch is added so that it doesn't clump. Icing sugar is also called powdered sugar.
00:07:19
Speaker
Finally, I want to look into the difference between our sugar here in Canada and what they use in England because I spend countless hours rewatching Nigella Lawson's Christmas specials, and she's always using a sugar that she calls caster sugar, which from my understanding is a texture in between what we consider granulated sugar and super fine sugar sold here in Canada. Its smaller crystals make it easier to dissolve into a meringue, which is what Nigella and I make a lot.
00:07:46
Speaker
I've never bought Canadian super fine sugar, but when I make a pavlova, I've started grinding my granulated sugar down a little bit so that it dissolves easier into the whipped egg whites so that the pavlova doesn't end up having a weird crunchy texture.
00:08:00
Speaker
Castor sugar would also be easier to mix in with butter. I want to add that I wrote this tip over a week ago, but we got to late in recording this episode. And I can't tell you how many times I've already shared this knowledge because it seems like everyone is talking about sugar right now. And I felt super knowledgeable when I was measuring out icing sugar this week. And Jason asked, what is icing sugar? Well, I said, and I launched into everything that I just learned. And now you can too. Well,
Holiday Hosting Challenges
00:08:28
Speaker
wow.
00:08:30
Speaker
You see, between this and the flower, I just don't have room or bandwidth for so many sugars and the inverted sugar. The inverted sugar sounds so mysterious. I think I just have to like Google that a little bit too.
00:08:48
Speaker
But you know what, I think it's safe to say though that no matter what the sugar or how it's used, sometimes it's just the most enjoyable to just skip right ahead to the cookies and enjoy it the final product. Yes.
00:09:05
Speaker
It's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas. And maybe you have a holiday due or two that you're gearing up to host. A festive gathering should be a pleasant occasion for all, guests and hostess alike. But between the planning and the prepping, sometimes it can be a challenge as hosts to keep calm and carry on. Right, Lindsay? Yes.
00:09:27
Speaker
And now I actually feel like I'm contributing to that frazzled franticness by my last, you know, two tips of the week with like all of the flour information and all of the sugar. So I'm sorry if I've contributed a stressor to that. Yeah, you want to have fun as the person doing the baking and prepping.
00:09:46
Speaker
But we'll just put a, if we need to, we can put a pin in it and that can be like further studies for after Christmas. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, speaking of stressors, we looked up, um, what, you know, stresses out people the most when they're, when they're the host. And there was an article in the New York post and they shared the top nine hosting stressors. So should I just go ahead and list them, Michelle? Yes, please. Hey, well let's start at nine and we'll work our way up.
00:10:14
Speaker
The ninth most stressful thing is decorations. And then it's seating arrangements and making sure no one damages anything. Then it's what drinks to serve.
00:10:26
Speaker
And then it's having activities to keep your guests entertained. And then at number four, it's having enough room for everyone. And number three, cleaning up in time for their arrival, and then what food to serve. And the number one stressor is making sure everyone enjoys themselves. And this was done, they surveyed 2000 people. And so that's how they came up with this top 10 list.
00:10:49
Speaker
Jason and I were looking at it and we're like, yeah, we would move some things in the order, right? Like I don't really think about activities as much as I would think about what drinks serve. But yeah, that's the general list. Yeah. Yeah. When I was reading the list after you sent it over, I was thinking about like how growing up
00:11:10
Speaker
I generally attended and witnessed the hosting of large get togethers and parties. So that's really where my comfort still lies in terms of hosting. And I don't often host small gatherings. They actually, I would say they make me a little more nervous to host than a really big crowd.
00:11:28
Speaker
But even then having said that those top three stressors on the list, um, what was it? Making sure everyone enjoys themselves, what food to serve and cleaning and time. Those are the three. Yes. 100% I relate to. And I think they're just universal. Um, probably, probably just because with those three, I think we have a particular vision in mind that we're trying really hard to achieve it to perfection. Um, and we're just setting really.
00:11:58
Speaker
high expectations for ourselves. And so yeah, it can sneak in no matter what you're hosting. And I know our temptation, and we talk about this often on the podcast is to say, well, that's because of social media, right? Pinterest or like Instagram worthy dinners.
00:12:13
Speaker
But this is just not the case in this circumstance. There has always been pretty fancy expectations on hosting things, I think, that were even more than they are now, right? You look at the heyday of the hostwife in the 50s with her elaborate meals and having the husband's boss over for dinner and all that kind of thing through the 50s and 60s.
00:12:34
Speaker
And then you go back into the Victorian period, which was the height of the dinner table of the like dinner guests and the jelly molds and like the food, like just the elaborate presentation and table settings and stuff. So while we like to say that Instagram has made us feel self-conscious about this, I have to tell you, this is like 150 years of women feeling self-conscious about hosting parties.
00:12:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, maybe a little bit of social media. But no, and I think probably part of it is because like hosting people in your own house requires you to have this really intricate dance between like being wildly authentic. But also there are like some set universal guidelines.
00:13:24
Speaker
for hosting, which we'll probably talk about in a minute. And maybe that too is why we're stressed out and have always been stressed out because that dance has always been there, right? We think we have to perform in some way or that we have to present a specific vision or execute someone else's style of hosting to perfection or what you've seen and experienced yourself. And that can feel
00:13:50
Speaker
unnatural maybe or uncomfortable, but also, yeah, there's just a lot of different factors to marry along with your own unique personality that would make the experience unique for your own particular event. Yes.
00:14:05
Speaker
And so when asked if people actually enjoy hosting Christmas get-togethers in their homes, the article said that the majority of people do, but that number was 59%. So I'm like, yeah, technically that's the majority, but that really means that like over 40% of people don't like hosting people in their home at Christmas, which I found was really, really interesting too. And just a few more numbers here. They asked hosts what they're doing right before their guests arrive.
00:14:34
Speaker
And 62% of people are rushing around to tidy up. 61% are doing the cooking. 40% are preparing drinks. And this one surprised me because 24% of people said they're creating a music playlist before people arrive. And I don't use Spotify. I don't know how to create playlists on all those things, but I am definitely setting out a record player and records and stuff. So I do think about music. But yeah, I didn't know people are creating playlists.
00:15:03
Speaker
Yeah, I was gonna say the playlists I've actually never done either. And I think that probably goes along with the fact that I'm usually hosting large gatherings. Yeah. And sometimes music in the background seems like it might be a bit too much. So probably depend on the situation.
00:15:22
Speaker
I like the idea though and kind of catering a playlist to the theme of whatever you're hosting. That's good. And it just kind of goes along with, you know, when you're hosting either consciously or subconsciously, you're kind of taking on the magic of the holiday to a certain extent, right? So all the considerations
00:15:42
Speaker
You know, but looking at that, like the things that most people are doing in preparing for their guest, it seems like a large percentage have a good handle on the important things that need to be done, right? Like if you break it all down, what you ultimately need is you need food and you need somewhere to sit.
00:15:58
Speaker
Yeah, food, somewhere to sit and eat. And there was one last little bit of data that they were talking about. And this is about the desire to leave a positive impression on your guests, which is what still people do want to do. You do want to impress people with your home, with the food you're serving, with even your musical choices, as we're seeing. And this desire to impress people
00:16:20
Speaker
And even as I was writing my notes, I thought, impress isn't quite the right word, but I guess it's more like leaving a positive impression, which is not quite the same as like impressing people. But this is important to people. It's important to 55% of the people that responded to that survey. And then here's the thing that made me sad, and we'll talk about this a little bit more, but it said that 31% of people were so busy making sure everyone else was having a good time that they forgot to have fun themselves.
00:16:47
Speaker
And I was reflecting on all of this stress. And I think that it's because most of us were not actually taught how to do the things needed to host people. And this is something that we're forgetting rapidly within our own generation and the subsequent generations.
00:17:03
Speaker
I have talked with hundreds of women over the years about this sort of thing. And most of them have told me that they barely know how to cook, let alone cook a large meal for a group, right? Like timing everything. Most are struggling with how to keep their houses clean on a regular basis, let alone clean it to have people over. And so it really did make me wonder like, is this a thing in the past? Is this rapidly like hosting people in our homes and throwing dinner parties?
00:17:29
Speaker
Is this something we're just going to start outsourcing like we have everything else and booking restaurants, right? With our friends instead of learning how to be a great hostess again and gifting that experience to our friends and family. So I believe it's still possible. We'll talk more about this as it's going on. But yeah, to see that 31% of people don't end up enjoying themselves, it just made me sad. And I want to encourage everyone that it doesn't have to be like that.
00:17:57
Speaker
That is a sad thought, but I could see how maybe not having learned the skills to be able to do that definitely feeds into the intimidation factor, right, of taking something like that on. But I do think like as with everything that is kind of an art and a skill, it's something that you can learn. And I do think there is a benefit to our modern age where there
00:18:26
Speaker
There actually don't seem to be many hard and fast rules to hosting right now. As opposed to say, if you were trying to learn this in what we were saying, the 50s, and your husband's boss is coming over for dinner or something.
00:18:41
Speaker
Now I feel like even if you had the desire to learn how to welcome people into your house and that's a really wonderful desire to have, you could probably space it out for yourself, try one or two new things each time and really kind of accumulate it gradually to the point where you do become confident in it and to kind of cut yourself some slack when it comes down to that.
00:19:09
Speaker
And I also think too, it's something to keep in mind that when we do want to have guests over, we can kind of cut the intimidation factor a little bit by reminding ourselves that for our guests, the night out in and of itself, or out of their houses,
00:19:25
Speaker
And your company and the thought that you took to even want them in your house already makes the night like 99% of what it's going to be in their minds. That's the case for me. I know for sure. Like if I get an invitation to someone's house, I'm just already so excited and grateful to have been invited over that I have almost no expectations.
00:19:48
Speaker
of what's going to happen there. So I think if we try to remind ourselves of that from the other side, then maybe our thought and our care could go so much further in taking off that edge of stress that may come with hosting in our house.
00:20:04
Speaker
Yeah. And I totally agree with you. I think that that's the core of it. That being said, as we move into kind of this next section of this episode on like how to be a great hostess, I do open with something that is like actually what guests are expecting. So it's like right at our core, we are just so excited. And that's the truth, right? That's what you and I are saying. The truth is they just want to see you.
00:20:26
Speaker
But of course, there's a lot written on the internet about what guests are expecting when they come into your house on a very basic level. So not to stress everyone back out again. Maybe that's my role in this episode is to stress you out and then Michelle brings you back down. But I think that it is a balance though. Yes, it is. Right? Yeah, because I totally get that. And I have also written and reflected on a ton of things.
00:20:56
Speaker
on what we can do to be a great hostess too. So I think it totally is that balancing of truly, as we said, knowing the art of hostessing. That is something to learn and it is something good to try to finesse for your guests sake.
00:21:14
Speaker
And then also marrying it with the idea that your openness plays into that in maybe a bigger way than we thought. But
Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere
00:21:22
Speaker
all those things should still be worked on and considered when you're hosting a party. Yeah.
00:21:29
Speaker
It's like with learning any new skill, right? What we're outlining here is like some of like the etiquette or the things that a lot of people have written on on what to expect as the hostess and as the guest. And you kind of take in that knowledge and then you make it your own, right? As you're practicing it, as you're learning it as a skill.
00:21:46
Speaker
So there was this really interesting article called the secret ways your guests are judging you from Epicurious.com. And I was like, Ooh, I need to know. And so we have talked about like, what is stressing you out as the hostess, but there are things that the guests are looking for.
00:22:05
Speaker
And it makes them feel welcome in your home, right, as soon as they enter. But it actually starts before that. So when you are inviting people over, did you tell them about that road closure that's near your house that they might encounter? Did you give them suggestions on where to park? Is your house well lit with a clearly identified house number? Did you salt your walkway and driveway if it's icy? You gotta start there, right? It starts with the invitation and with people making their way to your house.
00:22:35
Speaker
And then they enter your house and guests are made instantly happy. Apparently, according to this article, and I guess we would all agree if there are stacks out and drinks offered right away. So that's, that's your first step. Oh, I love actually.
00:22:50
Speaker
this whole idea of caring for and hosting your guests before they even get to your house. Because I think that's one of the few stressors as a guest is actually getting to the place. Right? And parking is always something that I wonder about when I'm going to someone's house. Being able to see the house numbers, especially if it's dark out. I know I was so sad when you took your iconic porch chairs away, Lindsay, because that's how I always found your house.
00:23:21
Speaker
We did have these chairs that everyone found our house with these chairs and they were falling. I couldn't glue them together another time. I'm like, I'm sorry, everyone. Announcement from the Marie family. The chairs are gone. You'll have to know our house number now. You'll have to look for the well illuminated house number like everyone else.
00:23:40
Speaker
That being said, we always joke that Jason also drives past our house at least once a month and we've been living here for 11 years. But this is actually, you bring up a great point because we live in one of the newer subdivisions and the properties are so much more narrow in these cookie cutter subdivisions that there's oftentimes not even enough width in front of the lawn to park a bigger vehicle, a mini van. My dad's old pickup truck.
00:24:06
Speaker
So parking, if you're in an older neighborhood, you get the long driveways, there's a wider lawn space, parking is a little easier. But yeah, in these new cookie cutter subdivisions, parking is actually quite hard to accomplish sometimes for a lot of people.
00:24:21
Speaker
It'd be funny if it started to become a thing to have like a shuttle to your house. Valet parking. You get your teenagers who just got their license to serve valet everyone. Oh my goodness, at the carpool parking lot down the street. You know, has something to consider.
00:24:42
Speaker
Okay, so they're in your house, they've had snacks, they've been offered a cocktail. The next thing is guests want to eat at a reasonable time. So most people, it turns out, and this is really good information, would rather have a less elaborate meal if it means the cook gets the meal to the table without too much extra cooking and without too much extra time spent in the kitchen.
00:25:04
Speaker
don't slave over something super complicated. Get just the food out there. People are happy to sit and eat and would rather something less complicated but having you at the table at a reasonable time. Yes, totally. And that's one thing we've learned over the years of hosting is that if you have a signature dish that you enjoy making for your guests,
00:25:27
Speaker
That ends up cutting out so much stress and time out of your duties so that you can get back to your guests more quickly and I know because Phil and I we have a couple of things that we do make a lot if we have people over and it seems sometimes like Surely my guests don't want this same dish
00:25:48
Speaker
that I cook over and over again. But again, we have to remind ourselves that this is our home and not theirs. And what we think has been done and repeated over and over may not necessarily be for them too. So not to be intimidated by that factor either. And yeah, because our guests, like they really do care more about spending time in our company than a complex meal, so to speak.
00:26:15
Speaker
unless it's in your wheelhouse or your capacity to do so or it's a great passion to try new and exotic recipes for people because that could be the case too. Otherwise a great way to simplify for yourself as a hostess is to pick a menu that you really are well familiar with and that people just generally always enjoy and to lean on your well-earned experiences so that you're free to enjoy the night as much as your guests are.
00:26:42
Speaker
I love that. Now, the next thing is to make sure you have enough food and drink, enough extra. People aren't going to critique the food and drink choices as much as they may feel a little let down if there's not enough to go around, right? If they're still hungry and they're kind of like there's not anything else. So go cheaper if you have to on the quality of the food or drinks, just so that there's enough for that people can feel full when they leave and satisfied.
00:27:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think that's a good tip too. And maybe when you're planning your menu, I find that there are food items that you can put out where like a little goes a long way. Yes. In terms of fillers of food, right? So like potatoes. If you have a lot of potatoes on offer, plus buns like having a basket of dinner rolls as well goes a long way too. It just really helps to round out the meal.
00:27:37
Speaker
And I find it's those side dishes that often give people that sated feeling at the end. And so that can really help too as you're planning a menu. If you don't maybe have enough to go around in terms of specialty items like meat or something like that, then your sides can really be the star of the meal in that sense too.
00:28:00
Speaker
Yep. And then it's back again. We're going to just touch on music again right now because it's about setting atmosphere. So we were already talking about creating playlists, but like music, lighting, flowers, we want the atmosphere to be nice. And this is where you want to also assess like the volume of the music you were talking about, to having a lot of people at your host, Michelle. And the last thing you need is another voice, right? Right.
00:28:21
Speaker
Complicating things so just really soft jazz music or something like that in the background. I'm very very picky with lighting I want myself to look good. I want you to feel good like so The appropriate you need enough so that you can keep cooking or serving things safely But then where people are gathered, you know definitely light some candles and again maybe go unscented for people who have allergies or sensitivities to sense and
00:28:46
Speaker
I also open like crack open our windows because you know it gets hot very quickly in a house but you want that fresh air to circulate as well and remove some of the cooking smell so be very very considerate about the atmosphere you're creating.
00:29:01
Speaker
Talk to me a little bit more about lighting because I'm going through a bit of a thing right now where, I don't know if this has happened to anybody else, but for the last little bit, we've had bulbs burn out and haven't gotten out fast enough to replace the bulbs. So we've kind of just cobbled together what we've had. And it was this mixture of a lot of different temperatures and things like that.
00:29:25
Speaker
We're hosting this weekend and I wanted to get our light bulb situation sorted out. And I do prefer, and I know we've talked about this before, but a warmer bulb in our lights. I think I went too warm now. And is there such a thing as too warm and what temperature looks best so that we all look great?
00:29:48
Speaker
I think the key is, and you're not going to be able to do this before your party this weekend, but if people have the chance to put things on dimmers. So regardless of how cool or warm the light is, you can at least adjust how bright it is. So dimmers are a game changer right off the bat. And you can upgrade any of your lighting in your house to dimmers.
00:30:09
Speaker
Um, but yeah, so the problem now, Michelle, and I could do an entire episode on this. This is like something I'm very passionate about is how you cannot find incandescent light bulbs anymore because of the environment, blah, blah, blah. They're bad for everything.
00:30:24
Speaker
But I am obviously a huge fan of a classic incandescent bulb. There is a glow that they give off that is never going to be replicated by the new, are they plastic? The new LED light bulbs? I think they're plastic. They have a plastic base to them at least. I think some of the actual bulb part, at least the IKEA ones and stuff are plastic now. I can't give a proper recommendation because we're just starting to replace some ourselves as things are burning out. So I'm trying to find proper
00:30:54
Speaker
Properly warm, not too blue light, bright light, daylight type of LEDs. Now that being said, this is a huge contentious issue in my house because I feel like Gen Z, so my teenagers, they like the bright white lights. They all the time, they're like, we're not doing warm lights like in this house. And I'm like, fine, I guess I'll be bringing my own light bulbs to your house and switching them out when I come in and visit you.
00:31:21
Speaker
We talk about it all the time. But yeah, there are some that you really just want to look for warm and have lamps on, right? We're big fans of lamp o'clock when you go around and turn the lamps on your house. Candlelight, you want to do different types of candlelight so you don't just have tapers that are like obscuring people's faces. So do your low level tea lights put throughout.
00:31:44
Speaker
Word of warning though, our family was lighting the second candle on our Advent wreath on the weekend and my son was holding the lighter and he was my teenager was leaning over it and the flame didn't touch his face but the column of heat coming up started to burn his hair and I look over and smoke was all coming off of his head and hair was falling down and burned pieces.
00:32:08
Speaker
So the flame hadn't even made contact with him, but the heat from that candle, yeah, we were a second away from a disaster. So be very, very careful with floral arrangements and tablescapes and napkins and think very much about how much clearance is around each candle on your table. I know things photograph well and look beautiful on reels to have all those candles lit, but think about who's sitting at your table, how old they are, who's passing things over the candles.
00:32:36
Speaker
Yeah, very, very much candle safety and make sure you have a fire extinguisher handy, you know, near your kitchen. So
Hosting Safety Tips
00:32:46
Speaker
lamps. Or battery operated, right? There's all these great battery operated candles now. Got it. No candles.
00:32:59
Speaker
I'm team pro-candle and I saw my son's head smoking. Totally. Totally. Oh my gosh. Well, it kind of goes along with what I was thinking too about atmosphere. Yes. And another great way to make your guests feel comfortable is to look for what I think of as perching areas. Yeah.
00:33:20
Speaker
So if you can anticipate where in your house guests would likely land to chat or sit, if not at the table, then to go to those areas and make sure that they're clear of clutter. If you are lighting candles, that it's safe. Because you might not always be keeping your eye on those areas, right? Yeah, so you kind of almost want to make them self-sufficient areas.
00:33:48
Speaker
Um, there's already a couple of places set up to sit in the vicinity. Um, and that there's what I find too, is to think of whether there's a suitable surface nearby where people are going to be able to place their drinks or their plates and their elbows as they're leaning and talking. Yeah.
00:34:06
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So if you want to set up some of these areas, I find like a good ratio is to consider like two or three seats to every one surface and like little clusters of that throughout. So that's great. Yes. So you can stock that area with maybe some coasters, a stack of napkins or Kleenex scattered throughout the house. A little bowl of snacks, a little bowl of nuts.
00:34:31
Speaker
Yes, yes, exactly. And that could be just another little thing that goes a long way when your guests are looking for somewhere to sit or perch. And another area where you perch and you could start on fire. Sorry, I can't stop with this. It's important. It's important. It is the toilet. And I have thought so many times about it. I'm sorry, Michelle.
00:34:55
Speaker
I have in our bathroom, I have a row of tea lights in our powder room and every time we've guessed over, it looks great if you light them on the back of the toilet before anybody's using the room. But anytime a woman with longer hair like myself goes in there, I think, oh my goodness, if she sits down the back of her hair could go up on fire. So maybe no tea lights on the back of your toilet. In fact, I know a lot of people who light candles in their bathrooms when company is over, but no one's in there to watch it. Kids can go in there, maybe just no candles in the bathroom at all.
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good tip. I seem to remember, I feel like my mom may have lit a candle, but it was in a wall hanging votive. So it was like, what are the ones called that are a bit bigger than a tea light? I'm drawing a blank. Oh votive, yep.
00:35:45
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, okay. So an actual votive. Yeah. And she would hang that and it was higher. It was maybe about eye level for me as an adult. And that would give off a bit of the scent maybe that you want from a candle burning. Yes. But very safely not near anything else. That's a great tip. So that could be an option too.
00:36:02
Speaker
And this is a little bit of my old Pier One candle knowledge coming out. When you're using votives, which are the ones that liquefy, right? That fill a votive cup. You can't put them on like a tealight holder. But before you put your candle in, you just put a little bit of water, just a little bit lining the bottom of the votive cup.
00:36:18
Speaker
And that candle, when it's liquefied, will pop right out of there, no problem, once it's hardened back up again. Or you can pop them in your freezer if you need to get them out. But I actually find a little bit of water in works better if you're using votive candles. That's a great tip. Okay, so speaking of the bathroom, we'll just finish up here. I do think it is reasonable that guests
00:36:36
Speaker
Expect a clean bathroom, right? A clean bathroom, a clean kitchen. If you're serving them food from it, you might not be able to get your whole house clean. But I think a bathroom that has a clean towel, they want soap in it, right? That is definitely something you should make a priority of.
00:36:53
Speaker
And this leads me right into just this other little list. It's from signaturemaids.com and they talk about the six things that your guests might notice in your house. And so, yeah, definitely the cleanliness of your bathroom, the smell of your house. We're already talking about that pet hair and again, having a clean towel in the bathroom.
00:37:13
Speaker
and a clean entryway. You don't need to focus on everything, right? Like if you just have those basics down pat, you're on your way. Yes. Yeah, I know. I was just talking to my mom as we're preparing to host this weekend and she's just reminding me. She's like, if I don't get to the complete and utter deepest of deep cleans that I hoped to get to,
00:37:39
Speaker
Even if I don't get to that, it's the tidiness, the order, the cleanliness of the space that matters the most. And I have a whole hierarchy in my head of what I need to clean and order. This is like when it's maybe crunch time. And you're like, oh my gosh, I have to start prioritizing things and triaging things. So bathrooms are number one, for sure, always. If I can do nothing else,
00:38:08
Speaker
I try to have a clean bathroom. I feel like that makes not so much of an impact if it is clean, but possibly the most negative impact if you don't get to it. And then to go along with that, I think my floors would be next just to sweep or vacuum or wash them if I can get to them, just because walking across things is also one of those things you don't notice. Yeah.
00:38:35
Speaker
But you will if there are crumbs on the floor sticking to people's feet and things like that. And then after that, it's all like if I have time.
00:38:45
Speaker
then you clean up your kitchen, as you said. Um, and then the last, actually it's interesting. Like the last thing, if people can physically get into my house, then the last thing I do is put those like finishing touches on, right? Um, like lighting the candles. Some of that, I feel, depending on your comfort level with guests, as that list goes down, there are some of those things you could be finishing up.
00:39:10
Speaker
as your friends come in, right? Like as you come in and you're just lighting the candles or you're putting out the tablecloth or the napkins or something like that, if a time crunch is what you're dealing with, having a priority and a hierarchy of cleaning things, I think will set your mind at ease in a big way, which will help you enjoy Welcome Your Guests. And when they arrive, even if not everything is
00:39:35
Speaker
completely finished as they start arriving. Yes. And I think that there is actually a skill to this.
Personalized Guest Experiences
00:39:40
Speaker
And I know like proper etiquette would dictate that everything's done, but I actually think that it's kind of comforting and like really welcoming to have the husband take the other husband off and like sit and have their drinks and you, the wife kind of follows you around and as you light the candles and you chat and kind of catch up as you're getting those things done. It's really about how you handle it with your personality more than what's been done, not done.
00:40:01
Speaker
what your house looks like. It really comes down to how warm you are as the person welcoming people into your house. People can forgive and overlook a lot. They will overlook 99% of things, right? So yeah, we're always at all different levels of readiness when people come over to our house. That's unavoidable when you have kids who have last minute pressing needs.
00:40:21
Speaker
Um, there's always, you know, we're never, we don't always have everything done, but if you, if they come in and you're being jovial and friendly and going, Oh my goodness, I can't believe we didn't get this done. Um, you know, follow me along as I, as I do this, let me get you a cocktail. People don't care. They're totally fine with it.
00:40:38
Speaker
And I think that this is where that great partnership in your marriage, if your husband is there to help you, he can really help, right? He can then direct guests into the other room. You'll discover that dance between husband and wife hosting people. One of our earliest episodes from the first season was having our friend on our mutual friend, Anita Healy, and her and Michael are like
00:40:58
Speaker
amazing hosts. They've got seven kids and they always open up their house to people and they do a beautiful job of hosting, of co-hosting together as husband and wife. And they've really perfected their roles. And she talks about that a lot in that episode. So definitely go back and listen to that interview with Anita Healy. But that's where I found like whatever I need to finish up, I need Jason then to take over with the guests and he does a good job of that.
00:41:22
Speaker
And as your kids get older, I remember my mom delegating that to us as we got older when we had guests over. She's like, you entertain the guests while she finished up in the kitchen. So yeah, a family can really work together in that way.
00:41:39
Speaker
So then I found an article from Oprah.com about something called Empathetic Hostasing and this is about creating a personalized experience for your guests that make them know that you thought about them ahead of time. Now this article is mostly about having people come and stay in your home as host guests.
00:41:56
Speaker
And we're obviously talking mostly about hosting like a Christmas party or a Christmas get together, but I still think the point stands because it is a really great this idea of thinking about what they want and what they might benefit from ahead of time, whether they're at your house for two hours, right, or two days. So the person who wrote this article said, before your guests arrive, spend some time picturing their lives, not yourself, your house, or your reputation, but their lives from their point of view.
00:42:24
Speaker
When you walk in their shoes, what creature comforts sound tempting? What diversions are most diverting? What would you like to avoid for a while? And I thought this is just such a great way to create an environment within your home that is like a temporary escape for guests, right? Like you were saying at the beginning where it's like, you're just happy to get out of your house for a couple hours. And so when you think about like, what do they need a little break from? So I was laughing when you're talking about sending in the kids, because I'm thinking sometimes like, keep the kids away.
00:42:56
Speaker
The last thing they want is your kids like coming in with a recorder from school and playing a song. Now send the children in to entertain the Von Trapp children in to entertain the guests. But yeah, I just thought like maybe you know, we need to be always aware like maybe they want a break.
00:43:13
Speaker
for kids everywhere or whenever it is they want, right? So I love that. This is again about steering back the conversation from you trying to impress them versus creating a positive impression. And that involves thinking about what will make their evening great.
00:43:30
Speaker
I do just have to kind of piggyback on that. I think that's a really good point about considering what your guests need and that perhaps sending in your kids is not the greatest. When I said that, we were adult children living at home. So to clarify, okay. It was like, go do that play, that nativity play you guys have been practicing.
00:43:54
Speaker
Oh my gosh, the Christmas concert songs. Go sing the whole repertoire, whatever we have all learned. We'll be ready in 20 minutes. You guys go do the concert. Yeah, but I do love that because in a way though, because that could just seem like something else on your plate, but I actually think that makes hosting a lot easier.
00:44:16
Speaker
Because then you are taking pressure off yourself. It's not how you can perform to impress people. And it gives you a guideline. It gives you like an idea or a theme or yeah, it kind of narrows down all the many, many options that you can have in terms of decor or flow or itinerary of the night. If you consider your specific guests, then that really tailors and narrows down your own to-do list too.
00:44:45
Speaker
Like for how I won't play board games with Jason, but if you and Phil invite us over, right? And you set up board games, you're catering to Jason's needs and you're kind of relieving me of that burden of having to play games with him. But also when that happens, I want you to know too, that I'm trying to pick a selection of games that I think could also appeal to you as well. Because I think we have general tastes in games too, like to have a couple of options with party games. And then if it's like a big strategic game.
00:45:16
Speaker
to just already know in my head that we'll lightheartedly leave the men to their strategy and we'll just grab a drink and sit on the couch. Just to have it in your mind. I love this. It's something I think we do without thinking about it but I want to be more intentional about creating that evening for what they want and in this article it says give them what they love and not what you love.
00:45:38
Speaker
And while I definitely think both things should be taken into consideration, right? Because sometimes I'm like, Oh, we've been loving this dessert. So we wanted to share it with you. Like, that's definitely something to take into consideration. This idea about focusing in on what you can provide for them about something they might really be needing in that season of life.
00:45:56
Speaker
I thought is great. Like what you were saying, what a great way to take the pressure off yourself, right? And trying to create this perfect night. And they talk about that in the article too. They're talking about how we always think of empathy as doing everything for everyone else's sake, right? But it says here, empathetic hosting, really as paradoxical as it sounds, it does please yourself as the hostess to know you gifted that to someone. You end up feeling, you reap the benefits of that as well. Yeah, absolutely.
00:46:23
Speaker
Okay, so what if my perception is correct and the younger generations and the newly wedded people right now aren't doing this anymore like what if we're not hosting people in our houses anymore because it's so stressful and it is and it's so much work and it is and it's expensive and it is like it is all of these things we still believe it matters and we still believe that what you do in your home has an impact on everyone that comes into your home and
00:46:50
Speaker
And
The Decline of Home Hosting
00:46:50
Speaker
we've said this so many times, we believe that you're a homemaker, whether you have a job outside of the home or not, right? You, your husband, your kids, you all make your house a home. And I believe, and you believe Michelle, that we have a uniquely feminine desire and talent, whether it's been fully realized or not.
00:47:10
Speaker
to make things beautiful and special, to create these special nights. But our idea of what is special and beautiful really has been distorted over the years, especially because of social media. I ran into my parents' neighbors. I was out at home since and ran into the people who live across the street from my parents, who I've known since I was four years old. And we're talking and the mom and
00:47:35
Speaker
She grew up in a big Catholic family in a small wartime house. You know the houses I'm talking about, like the two bedrooms upstairs, kitchen, bathroom, and tiny living room on the main floor, and that was it, right? Very, very small. And there was nine kids in that house, and when their mom would host Christmas, they would have 40 to 50 people in that house.
00:47:55
Speaker
And her mom, so Ann was telling me that her mom and dad would go to mass before midnight mass, and then they would send all the kids and their boyfriends and girlfriends and spouses all to midnight mass while she prepared the meal. And they would all come home at 1.30 in the morning, 40 to 50 people to a huge feast that this mom in her 50s would spread out
00:48:16
Speaker
And then a couple hours later, she would set out Christmas dinner, right? She would go to sleep for a couple hours and then do Christmas dinner. And this just idea of everyone cramped in this house and having such fond memories of this, you hear this from person after person after person talking about their great aunt's house or their grandma's house and talking about how it was nothing
00:48:36
Speaker
special, but it was everything special, right? It was the tables all pushed together, people squeezing past, everyone loud, and it really does seem like we all want that, we all long for it, we all appreciate it, but we all don't expect that it would work for us, that it needs to be so much better when we're the ones hosting it.
00:48:57
Speaker
Yes. Oh my gosh. I love that story. Um, that was my whole experience growing up at my grandma's house too. You said like everyone has the story, right? Yep. And my grandparents as well, they were, um, immigrants to Canada. They hosted a lot of family that came after them. Um, they had six kids. My grandparents had six kids. This is my mom's family. Um, and they had one of those very small houses and they would host in the basement and these six kids, like people would be,
00:49:27
Speaker
everywhere, but the joy and the community and everything that everyone felt. And then once we came along too, it was, everyone went to my grandma's for Christmas. My grandfather was very sick, so he couldn't really travel. So we always went to them. And it was like, as we started getting older, so this is the grandkids now, the grandkids and our spouses, our kids, I remember bringing
00:49:53
Speaker
like our oldest Claire and her playpen and my cousins were doing the same with their babies. Oh yeah. We would just claim
00:50:04
Speaker
one of the rooms in the basement and all of the play pens go in there and all of our babies, we try to hush them and put them to sleep because we stay late. But they are some of my very, very fondest memories. I love that line, it was nothing special, but at the same time it was everything special. And I love that and I do hope
00:50:26
Speaker
that culturally we do reclaim that because I think we've become very individualistic as a society, right? And we shy away from these things or spending so much time together. But maybe by hosting and rediscovering this art, especially during the holiday season where it can seem a little bit more natural to do something like this, it can reintroduce us to that togetherness that modern culture sometimes
00:50:52
Speaker
Seems very intense on eradicating completely. Yes You know that whole concept of like normalize this normalize that like I always just brush that off and normalize Small houses hosting a lot of people for Christmas again, like love it. No one hated it No one no one was like it was too busy like everyone has fun memories of that and I
00:51:13
Speaker
I think we have completely lost sight of what is special about hosting in our own homes. You know, our homes are often, most of us have homes that are too small, too outdated, too lived in, but it's perfectly imperfect. This just reminds me so much about this trend on TikTok that Gen Z is doing about longing for nostalgic Christmas.
Gen Z's Nostalgia for Imperfect Gatherings
00:51:37
Speaker
I've seen those.
00:51:38
Speaker
So they're all over TikTok and Instagram. And this is the first time Gen Z is starting to feel nostalgia about stuff, right? They're 16, 17, 18.
00:51:48
Speaker
they're starting to share images and memories that they're longing for. And let me remind you, because I needed this reminding that when they're putting together these compilations of reels with these images from Nostalgia Christmas, it is a half-lit Christmas tree with the ornaments falling off, right? Which is my Christmas tree this year, just so you know. Half my strings burnt out and I don't have time. Oh my goodness, that's literally pictures of that.
00:52:15
Speaker
It is like the tackiest plastic poinsettia printed tablecloth, right? It is like the paper plates. It is all of that stuff. It is the way the snow sits on the Christmas lights outside on the bushes. It is like, it is just, that's what they're longing for. So our children and our teenagers and the 20 year olds, they don't need it to be perfect like Instagram. That's what they miss. That's what you and I miss. That's what's making me tear up right now.
00:52:43
Speaker
we my grandma did christmas once in her unfinished basement and the buffet was laid out on the washer and dryer we laugh about it we look back and we all that was the only room we all fit in was their unfinished part of their basement and yeah you went and scooped your mashed potatoes off from on top of the dryer
00:53:01
Speaker
There's nothing wrong with that. And so you can relieve yourself right now, right now, listening to this podcast of the expectation and the burden placed on you by social media to create this perfect Christmas dinner. That's not what people are longing for. They want the closeness. They want the perfectly imperfect.
00:53:22
Speaker
You know what this episode is so timely with me having to host because I know these things But I know and we we have said it in this episode when it's you though. Yes hosting you're like, but do they really care? But just talking about it out loud and stuff. It's making me feel so excited again Yeah, like just to just to be
00:53:47
Speaker
considering of what our guests coming in are going to need or want and then setting up our house and then just really embracing and enjoying having them all here and being all together. I'm so excited. And it just, it makes sense. It's just a gift to those you're welcoming in. It's the gift of time, ultimately, right? And that could be argued to be the most valuable gift in our modern age, right?
00:54:11
Speaker
To think of how incredible it is that amidst the hustle and bustle of the season, someone invited you to spend time with you, not only while you're there, but they also spent time to prepare for your coming, thinking and anticipating your needs, preparing your home. That just warms your heart just thinking about it and how wonderful it is to be able to gift someone else the idea that you care so much.
00:54:36
Speaker
that she would lavish your time on them in such a way. I just think that's such a beautiful way to enter the season. Yes, and we cannot lose this. So I am really inviting our younger listeners, these newlyweds, you know, you're in your 20s, you're having your first babies.
00:54:52
Speaker
You can do it. We want to empower you that you can do this, that your mothers did it when they had a couple babies and they were in the trenches, your grandmothers did it, that this idea of welcoming people into your home and whatever state it's in right now, this has a ripple effect on the community that it is a really, really special gift like what you're saying, Michelle.
00:55:14
Speaker
I was just thinking about how we're losing that intimate connection with our families and friends. We're popping out for dinner with them in restaurants and leaving. Bye, see you next year. This idea of when you're in a home together, there is an intimacy there that this welcoming in, this exposing yourself, this risk of making a faux pas or an error of burning something. It's a risky behavior in some ways.
00:55:40
Speaker
But the payoff is so huge. As I was writing my notes, I was reflecting back to my childhood in the 1980s. And I'm sure you experienced the same thing where our moms, whenever they would get a dessert, they'd save half of it in the freezer in case people popped by. My mom still tells me, well, make sure you put some in the freezer in case people pop by. And I'm like, people don't pop by.
00:56:00
Speaker
Like that whole idea of spending time in people's houses, which I think we need more than ever because life is so expensive. Going out and meeting people and doing things out in the community costs money. If getting back to that cup of coffee and a half of frozen cake that you just took out of your freezer,
00:56:16
Speaker
and welcoming people in, right? It doesn't have to be a dinner. It's just this idea of opening your homes back up to people, creating, normalizing again, popping in and visiting, visiting. This is the Christmas season to do it. And it doesn't just have to be on Christmas day, right? A lot of people already have their Christmas days planned. You and I did a whole episode on the 12 days of Christmas, the whole Catholic idea of that Christmas starts on Christmas day, but open up your house for those 12 days after. Just do it. Get into the habit of doing this again.
00:56:44
Speaker
We really think it's important on a societal level. So
Welcoming Guests with a Drink
00:56:51
Speaker
I think if there's a takeaway, the biggest thing is how you greet people when they come in. I've always found if you just get that cocktail into their hand or a hot coffee or a tea.
00:57:01
Speaker
Once they have a beverage and they're holding onto it and you start laughing and talking, everything falls into place, right? So just a good welcome, get them in, and then you sit and enjoy yourself too. And one little tip from Nigella, our favorite hostess. She said everyone always makes mistakes, right? You're going to screw up something if you're making a bunch of things for dinner. Her rule is you apologize once. That's it. You don't keep over apologizing. You don't keep mentioning it when people are tasting it. You apologize once.
00:57:30
Speaker
and you move right along and I've been trying to practice that myself. Yeah, to be a little bit light on ourselves so that we can bring lightness to our guests. So after everything we talked about today, we want to remind you that it is everything within you that makes you the hostess that you are. And that is exactly what your friends and family are looking forward to when they get an invite from you.
00:57:56
Speaker
The decor, the food, your home, these things don't actually mean as much as you think they do. You bring the warmth. You bring the flavor. You are the reason people are visiting. So have fun and make sure that you are enjoying the party too.
00:58:12
Speaker
And with that, this is our last episode of the year 2023, except if you're on Patreon. We have one last thing planned before we take off for the holiday season as well. So stay tuned for that. And if you are interested, please join us over on Patreon. But in the meantime, Lindsay and I want to wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas and a blessed Christmas season. And we will see you again in the new year.
00:58:48
Speaker
OK, it's time for our What We're Loving This Week segment of the show. So, Lindsay, what have you been loving this week? Well, this is where I share something I've alluded to in this episode, and then I've talked about many, many times, but I have loved it. I am loving and I will continue to love.
00:59:04
Speaker
Nigella Lawson's Christmas specials and her cookbook, her Christmas cookbook in particular. Her Christmas specials are my happy place. They are what I turn on when I'm feeling anxious or stressed. Even if it's the middle of summer, I watch them then. I have watched them probably 100 times and have them mostly memorized. So even the specialist food items that she talks about and uses, these fascinate me. Like she talks about preserved lemons, brandy butter, frita, mostarda,
00:59:34
Speaker
which is like a preserved spicy style fruit that she uses on cold leftover turkey. And finally, finally, I'm flipping out. I finally bought the thing she always gets in her stocking every year. I bought it for myself for my stocking. It's marron glace.
00:59:50
Speaker
candy to chestnuts. They are very, very hard to find here. That's all I'm excited for Christmas morning. So anyways, the allure of Nigella, which extends beyond her resplendent beauty and her way of connecting with the camera, is her realness when it comes to cooking and hosting. She isn't about perfection. She's all about eating and gathering as a pleasurable experience. And she wants to enjoy it just as much as her guests. And every time I watch her shows, especially her Christmas ones,
01:00:18
Speaker
I remember that it's my Christmas too. So I make myself a Christmas cocktail and get to work in the kitchen and remind myself that it can be as much fun as I make it. So if anyone needs a little bit more motivation beyond this episode and you and I, please turn to the queen herself. Nigella's Christmas specials. You can purchase some on iTunes. Some of them are on some of the British channels and there's some on YouTube.
01:00:40
Speaker
Oh, I 100% agree. Nigella Lawson just brings Christmas entertaining, cooking and hosting to another level, but not in an unattainable way. So I also highly recommend. She's very ambiance. She just sets the mood when she's in your living room TV. Yes, she does. So Michelle, what have you been loving this week?
01:01:08
Speaker
So a couple of weeks ago, we binge watched the new adaptation of the novel, All the Light We Cannot See on Netflix. And we loved it. It was so good. I remember reading the book years ago, but I didn't remember almost at all the plot. And so the TV adaptation, I was kind of looking it up afterwards to compare. As is often the case, it is a bit different from the book.
01:01:35
Speaker
Honestly, that never bothers me too much. So I'll just focus on the TV show for now. So the story focuses on two main characters. There's Marie-Laure and Werner. During the final days of World War II, in a small French town, right as the Americans are making their way to liberate Nazi occupied territory in France. So Marie-Laure is blind, but she's incredibly intelligent and she has ties to the French resistance.
01:02:04
Speaker
Werner is a young German soldier stationed in this small French town and what connects their stories is a radio program that each of them used to listen to when they were children hosted by a man who simply went by the professor and who would speak to children and tell them the truths about the world. So as they try to survive and navigate these final days of the occupation and war
01:02:29
Speaker
a series of events connect them and bring them together in ways that they did not expect. So I enjoyed watching this so much. I thought it was very well produced. There is a little bit of profanity, like especially during the war scene, some of the fighting sequences. So please be aware of that. But otherwise, it's a beautiful story to sink into and well told. So be sure to check out all the light we cannot see available on Netflix.
01:03:01
Speaker
Okay, that's going to do it for us this week. If you want to get in touch and chat with us about our topic today, you can find us on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com, or leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at The Modern Lady Podcast.
01:03:20
Speaker
I'm Michelle Sacks and you can find me on Instagram at mmsacks. And I'm Lindsay Murray and you can find me on Instagram at Lindsay Homemaker. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great week and we will see you next year.