The Todd Starnes Christmas Show

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From Memphis, Tennessee, it's the Todd Starnes Christmas Show with Mike Huckabee, plus musical performances from the Milan Hayes family, now from 4,000 miles south of the North Pole. It's Todd Starnes. And hello, everybody. Merry Christmas, and welcome to the Big Christmas Show live from Santa's Southern Command in Memphis, Tennessee. Ben Dieter hanging out with us today.

Ben, I have been waiting for this show all year long. It's finally Christmas. And after the year we had, I think the entire country collectively is just waiting for Santa. That's right. We have banned politics, so we've got you're not allowed to talk about politics over the next three hours.

Wait, but you're talking to Governor Huckabee. Aside from Governor Huckabee, that's allowed. Yeah, but, you know. But he's like Governor Huckabee. I know.

Folks, we have a great show lined up for you. It's going to be a lot of fun. Our good friend Aiden Pettit, who, by the way, is starring in one of the Hallmark movies this year, the Christmas movie, Aiden's going to be here to help us out with trivia. Also, we have, as you mentioned, Ben, Governor Mike Huckabee, and Sam Sorbo is going to be here. Her husband is a Hercules.

So she's Mrs. Huckabee.

So we've got an actress, we've got a pastor joining the program. We have the woman who knows everything about Elvis Presley, Alicia Dean from over at Graceland, and they are decked out in blue for Christmas. All right, so Todd, what are you drinking? Hot cocoa in there? I got some big-time hot cocoa with the little marshmallows.

It's very tasty. I'm drinking eggnog. Uh-huh. Yeah.

Okay. I don't want to ask what's in the eggnog. Also, we are excited to have Authentic Unlimited, which is a Grammy-nominated bluegrass gospel band, and they're going to be playing some tunes as well. All that. Oh, and Pastor Robert Jeffers is going to be here.

I know. We're covering all of our bases.

So, folks, we're going to have a lot of fun. Gather the family around the radio, or if you're driving to Grandma's for Christmas, just crank up the radio and get ready to have a lot of fun. And I'm very excited. And really, I think the main reason I want to do this Christmas special is because one of my favorite singing groups in America. They've come out with a brand new Christmas album, and it is the best Christmas album ever.

So well done. I'm talking about the Milan Hayes family. And right now on the newsmaker line, we've got our good friend, one of the members of the group. We've got Bailey Hayes with us. Bailey, Merry Christmas to you.

Merry Christmas, guys. Thanks for having me. Bailey, he's been blasting your Christmas music all throughout our station. I feel like I know every lyric and I know everything about you guys because Todd's been playing it all throughout the station. Man, that's awesome.

Well, don't get sick of us, but then we'll save it around for next year. How's that too?

So I just want to clear this up.

So you guys really are a family. It's not like you just found strangers on the side of the road and loaded up the bus. Right. We are a complete family. It's mom and dad, Milan and Wendy.

And then I've got a twin brother, so we can't deny each other. And so his name is Connor. I'm Bailey. And then our sister is a redhead named Kennedy.

Well, it's the music you guys produce is so much fun. And you guys are on the road, what, all the time? We do. We travel full time all throughout the year. And so just a couple of weeks ago, we finished up our Christmas tour.

And so it was called the Family and Friends Christmas Tour, and that was with Greater Vision. And so we toured nine different cities And so that just finished up a couple of weeks ago. And man, I am in the Christmas spirit 100% right now.

Well but here's my question. If you started a Christmas album, you didn't start in the month of December, you probably started, I don't know, in the spring, in the summer. I feel like I would be tired of Christmas after singing and recording and going on tours, singing all of your Christ Joy to the w I mean they're great songs, but are you Christmasted out?

Well, I got to be honest. I am one of the biggest Christmas gurus you've ever met in your life. And so when we decided we were going to do this Christmas album, we This has been like two years in the making. And so we I remember we sat down as a family and we started talking through some of our favorite songs and ideas of what we wanted to do. And so we ended up deciding and with our producer Trey Ivey, we decided that we would do something different and make it a continuous play album.

So when you start it all the way to the end, it's going to be continuous play, not quit. With a full 50-piece orchestra. And so we started the recording process in January of this year. And so we have literally been at it one entire year, all Christmas music. And I gotta say, though, it was tough to be in the Christmas spirit in July when it was 100 degrees outside.

But man, we threw up a Christmas tree in the studio to keep us festive. All right, Bailey, we're going to be playing a lot of music from the album, but can we talk about the title? Was this a tough one for you guys to come up with a name for? A Christmas album. Man, we decided, you know, we wanted, we all love the classic Christmas sounds.

And so we wanted to title it something that would kind of encompass even the feel of the album within the title. And so we were sitting around and I was, we were just spitballing ideas. And I actually came up with it. I said, what if we just call it a Christmas album by the Milan Hayes family? And so everyone ended up liking it and we took it to our producer and he was like, let's go for it.

And so we decided, you know, that's kind of a unique title there, but I felt like it pretty well sums up what the album even feels like. And it sure does. You guys just hit it out of the ballpark. It really is a great, great Christmas album. And Bailey, we're going to jump right into it with our very first song from the album, Bailey Hayes.

Merry Christmas to you and your family. Merry Christmas guys, thanks again. That's Christmas. Since the snowflakes are inquiries It's the good old Where the Mayo season went? Bones put runners on.

their stories and forget about There you go. Win a mandate. Becomes a boy. Once again. Oh, the first snow fall.

Jingle Snow bells bring a spell severity under wintry skies of grey. It was snowing on. The deal. And it showed no signs of stopping. Every kid with eyes a poppin knew he'd soon be.

Belly whopping Uneasy. On the third. No. Fall of the winter. Oh, that first snowfall.

Of the year The first snow of the year is just about the best snow. I prefer the wet snow.

Well, I'll say any snow is a pretty good show. Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow. Let's dear those sleigh bells jingling, ring, ting, tingling too. Come on, it's lovely weather forest. They ride together with you.

Outside, the snow is fun, and friends are calling you foo. Come on, it's lovely. They ride together with you. Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up, let's go. Let's look at the show.

We're riding in a wonderland of scroll. Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up. And just holding your hand everybody along with the song of winter. Our cheeks are nice and cozy and comfy, cozy are we? We're snuggled up.

Together like birds of a feather would be Let's keep that noble before us and sing a chorus or two Come on, it's lovely weather force to ride together with you Tis a Christmas party at the home of farm. Great. It'll be the pearl. Depending on a perfect day We'll be singing the songs we love to sing Without a single stop at the fireplace while we watch the chestnuts pie. There's a happy feeling.

Nothing in your World came by as they passed around the car. It'll nearly be lined up, shaping my career and eyes. These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives. These wonderful things are the things we remember all through life. Let's hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring, ting, ting, ting, to come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you.

Let's take that road beat for us and sing another chorus for two. Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together. Crank up the radio and throw another Yule log on the fire. The Todd Starns Christmas show continues after this. Folks, hang on tight because we're heading into one of the most critical elections this nation's ever seen.

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Keep your retirement golden. Text Golden to 24999 now. And welcome back to the Todd Starns Christmas show. Hope you guys are doing well out there. Maybe sipping some eggnog, some hot cocoa.

We're having a lot of fun today, folks. Coming up in just a little while, we're going to check in with our good friend Pastor Robert Jeffress. But first, let's check in with our other great friend from the beautiful state of Arkansas, former Governor Mike Huckabee, soon to be the ambassador to Israel. Governor, do we call you governor now or Mr. Ambassador?

You can just call me Mike. It's still nicer than what most people call me, Todd, but it'll be fine. And of course, I still have to go through Senate confirmation.

So. Until I'm through that meat grinder, it would not be appropriate to presume anything. And by the way, you were talking about sipping eggnog or whatever, hot chocolate. For all of your old Miss fans, and you have a bunch of them in that part of the world, I'm sure they're sipping their hot potties. Oh, yes.

Yes, of course. You know, it's interesting. There's a restaurant in downtown Oxford on the square, right around the corner from that awesome bookstore. And they actually do the hot toddies and the Bloody Marys. But instead of the Bloody Marys with the celery stock, they do boiled okra, which is a little weird.

But the point is, very weird. But they have a section that's like curtained off in the dining room. And I asked one day, I asked the waitress, I'm like, why is this roped off here? You can't see what's happening back there. She said, that's where the Baptists drink their Bloody Marys and hottie totally.

I'm like, of course, it makes perfect. I'm surprised it's not the biggest portion of the restaurant. Exactly. I'm fair enough. Governor, we're having a lot of fun here.

It's been a crazy political cycle. There's just been a lot happening in the world. And I think a lot of folks are just looking forward to stepping back over the next couple of weeks and just enjoying family and friends and gathering around the Christmas tree. What's that like for you guys in the Huckabee family?

Well, on Christmas Eve morning, my children and grandchildren, we get together for a mid-morning brunch.

So that'll happen this year at our house. Then in the afternoon, We will go to church together. And then after that We have a larger family that includes my sister, her family. and the larger group and will have Chinese food. We've been doing that for many, many years dating back to uh when my father was still alive and we I always wanted to go in Chinese food on Christmas Eve.

It's a long tradition. And once he passed away, We just kept the tradition in his honor and memory. And so we will be doing that for. Uh Another Christmas Eve celebrating Christmas with that. And then Christmas morning, We usually we go to Sarah's and watch her kids tear into their presence.

And then we get out of the way before they ask us to put something together because that would mean the toy would never work.

Well I remember I remember one Christmas, my brother wanted to be a drummer, and so my dad was setting up the drums in the wee hours of the you can hear cymbals crashing and other things. That was a very difficult thing. You know, we talk about these family get-togethers. I know the Starnings family, we do something on Christmas Eve, and then the other part of the family, we do something on Christmas Day. This year, I think we're actually trying something new, Governor.

And we're going to be doing, you know, those weird Christmas photos that are slightly inappropriate? I think we're doing that as a family this year. Oh, that should be epic. I hope you'll post it on social media so we can all laugh at it. Yeah, that'd be good.

You know, and again, you know, you're going to be heading over to Israel. Will you be living over there? How does that work as being an ambassador? Yeah, when you're an ambassador, you post to the embassy. And so you live in the country where you're representing the U.

S.

So at some point after the Senate confirmation, we're not sure when that will happen, obviously, after Trump is sworn in. And then we go through the Senate processes, subcommittee to committee and then the full Senate. and then once sworn in, Uh we will pack up and move to Jerusalem.

So uh this time As I'm approaching Christmas, when people are saying, Well, tell us about what's happening. I say, next year in Jerusalem. That's where we will be sometime next year. And that's where I was trying to get with this.

So you're going to be celebrating Christmas next year, Lord welling and the Senate welling in Israel. Very well could be. And it's going to be a very different kind of experience for us to be away from our families this long. But it's something that I feel very strongly compelled to do. And frankly, it's the one thing that President Trump had asked me to do that I really wanted to say yes to.

I didn't ask for it. I didn't lobby him for it. I never talked to him about it. But he called me, which for me was out of the clear blue and said, I want you to go to Israel and be ambassador. And for me, it was an Isaiah moment.

Here am I, Lord. Send me. Because I've been going to Israel since 1973. I was seventeen when I made my first trip. And for fifty two years, I've been going to this incredible place.

I've taken tens of thousands of people to see it. and tours. I myself have been there about a hundred times. It's one of the places I won't have to get a tourist map to find my way around. No, you'll be doing well.

And then, are you going to be neighbors with our good friend Joel Rosenberg? I will see Joel quite often, I'm sure. I mean, we haven't made any plans, but usually when I'm there, we. We have dinner together, we get together and visit.

So, with that being the case with my living there, I feel certain I'll see Joel a lot. He'll probably get sick of me. Governor Mike Huckabee, soon-to-be ambassador to Israel, joining us on the Todd Stearns Christmas show. Governor, when you look at where we are right now in this country, this Christmas season is really interesting. Many of the stories have gone back to the original Merry Christmas marketing.

And it really, I think, do you sense that we're returning back to the traditions that maybe culture set aside in years past? I really do, Todd. I mean, what I sense, America got sick of being told. That they couldn't celebrate their country. And we were supposed to accept crazy things as normal things.

And there came a point in which Americans, sometime in the year of 2024, just said, nope, not doing that anymore. And we quit pretending that it was okay for boys to go to the shower with girls, that they shouldn't be competing against girls in athletic events. having a disadvantage over those girls. We got to where we didn't think it was right to mutilate little children. who weren't old enough to get a tattoo or driver's license, but They could make irreversible biological decisions about their bodies.

And I think I don't know when it happened. I don't know if it was any particular one moment, but something happened in twenty twenty four. And we just said, you know what, we're not a nation of racists, misogynists, homophobes, transphobes. We're just not. And we're not going to be anti-Semites either.

We're going to be people who love this country, who love free speech, who love. Even the speech of people we don't agree with or even appreciate, but we're America and we're going to start acting like it again. And even the big companies, from Walmart to Tractor Supply to Toyota, they started. Getting rid of their DEI nonsense and started just serving their customers and doing what they were supposed to do and what their stockholders wanted them to do. Go out in the marketplace, make money, serve your customers, and forget about which flag you're going to put up in June.

Just put up the American flag and call the day. There you go. And put up a Christmas tree and celebrate the reason for the season. I have to say, I had no idea. I really read this wrong.

I kind of figured you were spending Christmas in a duck blind and not the local Chinese restaurant.

So. I learned something new.

Well, you know, Peking duck is a very important part of a Chinese food menu.

So there you go. Unless you're at the Peabody and you're not allowed to touch the ducks. They're awful. I would not appreciate going in with the 12-gauge and busting ducks in the fountain at the Peabody. I haven't tried it, but I wouldn't encourage anyone to think that that was the way to duck hunt.

Not at all.

Well, all right, Governor, look, we appreciate you taking time away from your family and joining us on the Christmas special. Hope you and the Huckabee family have a Merry Christmas. Thank you, Todd. God bless you and Merry Christmas to you. Celebrating the reason for the season on the Todd Starns Christmas Show.

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They're extending their 60-day money-back guarantee until March 1st, 2025. Plus, all orders, $75 or more, ship absolutely free. Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, riding down Santa Claus Lane. Think soon, but suddenly all there's a reindeer, pulling all the rain. You know, Ben Jeter, I was not driving down Santa Claus Lane, I was driving down Elvis Bresley Boulevard.

And I mean, the Graceland is decked out. It's like Christmas USA over there. And you and like 600,000 people. I think you can see the Christmas lights from like the International Space Station. It's pretty impressive.

And a lot of those decorations. Are actual his decorations, which is crazy. They're like archive, they're like artifacts.

Well, it's Christmas at Graceland is a very big deal. And by the way, everybody, welcome back to the Todd Stearns Christmas Radio Special.

So happy to have all of you joining us from around the nation. Hope you might want to go ahead and get a refill on the hot cocoa and the eggnog. We are going to have a great conversation with the one lady who is all things Elvis. Alicia Dean is the spokesperson at Elvis Presley Enterprises. Alicia, Merry Christmas to you.

Oh, Merry Christmas. Thank you guys for having me back. I love being here so much. It's a lot of fun. And what you guys are doing at Graceland for Christmas, this is not something that you guys just manufactured as a marketing idea.

This is something that was really important to Elvis Presley. Oh, absolutely. Elvis Presley loved Christmas. And as you guys were talking about the decorations, yes, a lot of them are original. I mean, we have the original Merry Christmas from Elvis sign that still is in the front.

Yard. That was one of the original lawn ornaments that he bought in 1957. I'm pretty sure he spent like $300 on it, right?

So, I mean, we still put up Christmas trees and we still put up, you know, the there's like a story about Elvis. He didn't like to decorate. Other people decorated, but he would take the tensil, like their silver tensile on the tree in the dining room, and he would ball it up and kind of throw it at the tree. And so we still have that exact same tinsel. And so we still carry a lot of the traditions that Elvis.

Elvis had during the holidays. And he loved to, I mean, he just loved to give. He loved to give gifts. And he did that not only for his Memphis, you know, mafia, the entourage members and his family, but also for, you know, local charities. I mean, Elvis was really known to just write checks for, you know, $50,000 to all the local Memphis charities.

So he was really giving and he just he just loved the holidays and loved to share that with everybody.

So you're saying his favorite. Season and his favorite holiday was Christmas. Oh, I would say absolutely so. I mean, it was just a happy time of year, which means he got to spend it at Graceland. He loved Graceland.

He loved being at home and relaxing. I mean, if you think about it, I mean, Elvis spent a majority of his time on the road. If he was, you know, touring, doing shows, doing movies, he was always gone. But he loved Graceland. It was a place of refuge for him.

And so, of course, he had to do up the holidays. And I think it's so funny you guys talking about the decorations and how you could see them from the International Space Station.

Well, if you've ever noticed the blue lights that lie in the driveway, of course, that was Elvis' idea. He loved the color blue. Obviously, the song Blue Christmas, there's just a lot of blue that goes around Elvis. But Vernon, his father, was so worried about it because we're so close to the Memphis International Airport. He thought that planes are going to start landing in the driveway because of it.

Santa's on approach at Graceland. Santa wasn't going to miss Graceland. And in so much. But he missed some Christmases because he went to war. And I was reading, and maybe this is just rumor or urban legend, that he would leave up a Christmas tree in his office.

It was just in his office. I don't know if that's true, but he went to war missing some of those holidays with his family. Yes, you're right.

So he, so the first year, Elvis bought Graceland in 1957 and did not spend the night until later that year. But his first Christmas at Graceland, that's when he actually got the letter that he was being drafted into the army. And so if you can imagine, it's like, oh, I'm having this wonderful time. And now I've got to go into the army. But this was at the height of Elvis' career.

And so they actually sent in a deferment letter because he had already committed to doing the movie King Creole. And so they granted him that deferment. But that was kind of like the first Christmas at Graceland. And it's like, you just kind of get hit with, well, now you got to go to Graceless. Got to go to Germany.

And he did. And people were terrified. I think every young girl in America was horrified that he might have to get a buzz cut. That was like a big fear. And he did.

And he did. And he did. He wanted to, again, he wanted to serve his country. I mean, all this is very patriotic, and he definitely didn't want to get out of the duties that he knew he had to do. But he did.

He went and he got the haircut and then served over in Germany. When you look at his musical career, I always find it interesting that really the awards he won came from either the gospel the gospel music, and he's also incredibly well known for the Christmas carols, which are sometimes, you know, I don't want to throw shade on anybody, but sometimes they're throwaway songs for some of these big celebrities. But for Elvis, they were not. They were more than that. And honestly, they are still his Christmas albums are the highest selling albums to this day.

I mean, it's amazing because you can't turn on any radio at the holidays and not hear Blue Christmas, right? It's just Elvis is synonymous with the holidays. And I think that, you know, especially You know, Memphians and for people like me, I hear Blue Christmas and I, it automatically takes me back to my childhood because, you know, Elvis, he he transcends, you know, generations. Like, people, if you think about, you know, growing up in your house, you definitely heard Christmas music growing up, and Elvis was definitely a part of that. And I think we actually have Blue Christmas.

Let's take a listen. Have a blue. Christmas. For without you I'll be so blue. Oh, just thinking Oh about you.

Uh Deco race of rain. Oh no. Green, Christmas tree Whoa. Would be the same dear if you were not here with me when the blue Snowflakes start falling. That's when those blue Oh may breeze.

Star calling. You will be We do and are with your grace. Yeah, smoother what? But uh How about blue? Blue, blue, blue, Christmas.

You are You'll be due in alright with your grace, Mother Holland. But I have a blue. Blue, blue, blue, cream. Alicia Dean, the spokesperson at Elvis Presley Enterprise, is hanging out with us, and it just takes you all the way back. It does.

Doesn't it? It takes me back to my childhood. I remember growing up in Christmas time, and my mom's a huge Elvis fan, and she would play that song and sing and dance around the kitchen. And it just, again, it's just Elvis is synonymous with Christmas. It's funny you mentioned your mom.

My mom had literally had a blue suede Christmas stocking. Oh, wow. She was a huge Elvis fan. I love that. It's neat, though, because Elvis is multi-generational.

Yes. Which is interesting. Concept because I mean, I don't know much about Elvis except for two things. My grandma had a crush on him, and number two, I watched the movie. Right.

And this biopic that came out, and I feel like Elvis came alive to a whole nother group of kids out there. I say kids, Gen Z and Millennials. Have you seen that? Absolutely. You're exactly right.

I knew that that movie was going to be huge. Number one, because you know it was a Warner Brothers film. Number two, Baz Luhrmann being the huge powerhouse director that he is. And when that came out, I knew, okay, we're going to see an influx. But what I didn't think would happen, and it did, is that we received a huge influx of Kids, and I say genuine kids, because we run a Graceland Performing Arts Camp in the summer that's like a week-long camp that's truly a performing arts camp.

And it started back in 2018, and we always kind of averaged about 30 to 40 campers, which was great. We were very happy with that. As soon as that movie came out, the next year we had 80 campers. We immediately doubled our numbers, did not put a dime with marketing, and we had to cut it off. Like we maxed out, and it's because of the movie.

And that's just wild to me because our camp ages from six to 17.

So I don't know what happened to Austin Butler, but that guy, when you listen to the soundtrack, it's really hard to tell at times if Elvis is singing or Austin. Right. It was just a phenomenal film. Phenomenal. And Austin did such an incredible job.

Baz did an incredible job. And I mean, the way Baz Luhrmann does movies, he spends like five years on film.

So Baz actually. Came to Memphis, spent a couple months at Graceland in our archives doing the research, and he went down to the smallest of details. And he likes to put Easter eggs in the movie. And this is one of those things that you guys wouldn't know, but I know because I was told through people in the archives that, so you know, the KitchenAid mixer stands that most people have in their kitchen today.

Well, Elvis had two of them. And now, if you go back and watch the movie, you'll notice in the scene where they're moving into Graceland, there's two KitchenAid mixers that they're moving around while they're moving in. And that's an Easter egg that he threw in there that you would never know.

So, yeah, very much so. A lot of people may not realize it's not just the mansion anymore at Graceland. This is an entire really experience. Yeah, absolutely. We have our Elvis Presley's Memphis Entertainment Complex, which we opened in 2017.

And it is so incredibly massive. I'm pretty sure it's like a full city block. And what it entails is multiple exhibits that include, you know, Elvis Presley's cars, his jumpsuits. There's an exhibit. About Elvis being in the Army.

And we're working on a new exhibit that's going to open on Elvis' birthday, which is January 8th. He's turning 90, by the way. The exhibit's called 90 for 90. And that exhibit is going to showcase 90 different artifacts that are going to tell 90 different stories out of the archives that you've never heard before and you've never seen before. Real quick here, before we have to scoot on, because we've got, I think Santa is coming very quickly on the program today.

You've got an incredible coffee table book, and it's all about Christmas at Graceland. Yeah, absolutely. This is called from the Graceland Archives, Christmas at Graceland. And we put this together. We've never done anything like this before, but it truly showcases all of the artifacts that.

Pertain to Elvis' time spin at Graceland, what he liked to do during the holidays, Christmas cards that Elvis received, Christmas cards that Elvis sent, and then gifts. Like people gave Elvis gifts, and truthfully, that's a hard task, right? The guy bought everything that he wanted. And so I think it's really fascinating to go through this book and see what did people buy Elvis? Like, what did his close friends get him?

And so it's just a really fascinating book, and I highly recommend it to anybody who is interested in not only Elvis, but the holidays at Graceland. And by the way, folks, if you want to see Graceland, and if you're within driving distance, come on by and you'll be able to see it. But if you can't, you can actually watch those lights online on the Graceland cam and give us a website address. Absolutely. It's just Graceland.com.

Simple as that. All right, Alicia Dee, so good to see you. It's great to see you guys. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas.

Thank you for listening. I'd like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful new year. Shaw It's cold. Oh well. Mm.

Mm-hmm. Hold on. Holy enforce om the ram wild. Sleep Sleeping hell. Sleep and live and leave.

Come on. Slow. Shadow The bird's quiet. And the sight glorious cream. From heaven of forest singer.

Heavenly moon cry. Praise we must save your dears Christ the Savior. Your read. Grab a cup of hot cocoa and settle in for some holiday cheer. The Todd Starns Christmas Show continues after this.

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Live the Chumba life at chumbacasino.com. PGW approved no purchase necessary, board or prohibited by law. See terms and conditions, 18 plus. And welcome back. To the Todd Starns Christmas Show.

Good to have you guys with us. Ben Dieter joining us. Then I think I wanna go to Graceland. I am ready to get back over there. It's incredible.

Have you had one of the fried peanut butter and banana fried sandwiches? What about Elvis' favorites? No, I haven't. Don't tell my cardiologist. Also, the Nativity, you have to drive by there.

They have the old Nativity that Elvis put out there way back in the day. It's still up there and it looks just like it was yesterday. I'm shocked it's still there, but. You know, normally we've seen like a rash of Nativity burglaries. People are always stealing the baby Jesus across the country.

But you know what? That's sort of sacred ground over there. Todd, I have breaking news. No, you do not. Santa just delivered the naughty or nice list.

Wait, what? There's an official naughty or nice list, and I'm just getting this in the newswire. The North Pole has released its 2024 naughty or nice list in advance of the big day. And the Department of Christmas Affairs, that's who operates the North Pole government. And if you click the, it's an actual website, they have every name ever imagined.

And I went alphabetical order. And I got to the T's. And you are nice. Of course, I am.

Now, Toddy is naughty, but Todd is nice. No, it's true. It's true. That's terrible. All right.

Well, you always want to be on the nice list, not the naughty list. That's right. All right.

Hey, we just got a Christmas card delivered to us from some folks in Iowa. This is Johnny, Phillip, and Mike. Dear Mr. Stearns and Mr. Dieter, they called you Mr.

Dieter. Wow. Thank you for all you do every day on the radio. My dad, my brother, and I listen to you on the radio every day. We love listening to you guys and can't wait for a new year of you guys making us laugh.

P.S. We met Todd in Waterloo, home of KXEL, our good buddy Jeff Stein. Waterloo. And would like to see you again. Merry Christmas.

Well, Merry Christmas, guys. You know, that's what we're decorating our Christmas tree with. All the cards. Yeah.

We're going to need a bigger tree. And we also had a young lady, one of our listeners at KWAM, our flagship radio station in Memphis. She lives in Germantown, Tennessee. Her name is Kayla, and she dropped by a few minutes ago, and she had a beautiful pen. Painting that she did of Buddy the Elf.

It was amazing. And it looks like you, Todd. A slimmer Todd. And it's in now Todd's office. Skinny Elf.

Yes. Thank you. That was so sweet of him. It was very kind. And again, that just goes to show you, again, we have the best audience in all of talk radio, all across the country.

And it's so great to hear from so many of our wonderful listeners, our friends at WTU, and in Gainesville, for example, WSIC in Statesville, North Carolina, the talk station over in North Radio. We could go on and on. We could do an entire show just on how great our affiliates are. The best. Merry Christmas.

It is. All right, folks, hang tight. We've still got a lot more Christmas ahead, including Christmas trivia and more music from our good friends, the Michael and Hayes family, right here of the Tim Stars Christmas show. Mm-hmm. I don't really like working.

I'm gonna need a priority parking space. I only work remotely. How are your safe spaces? Can I bring my dog to work? Will your company protect me against microaggressions?

You're chickening me. Is this interview almost over? You don't run a daycare, you run a business.

So, why use high-priced recruitment agencies who charge you up to 40% of an employee's first-year salary?

So, they're focused on getting you the costly talent, not the best fit, which means you get more of this. What's their policy on paying employees to attend protests? I demand eight weeks of vacation. I need at least 12 weeks of paid vacation. I'm gonna need a lot of mental health days.

Do you have a gay room? My pronouns are Z's and Zer. Isn't it time you hired grown-ups? Call redballoon.work and skip those high-priced recruitment agencies. Call 833-880-0600 for a free consultation.

That's 833-880-0600 for a free consultation. RedBalloon.org. From Memphis, Tennessee, it's the Todd Starnes Christmas Show, celebrating the reason for the season from border to border and coast to coast with Ben Dieter and Aiden Pettit.

Now broadcasting from high atop Santa Slay, it's Todd Starnes. You know, one of my favorite parts of the holiday season, it's trivia. And I love Christmas trivia, love Christmas music, love Christmas movies. And we're going to have a lot of fun this hour of the show. Want to welcome in our good buddy Ben Dieter.

Ben is back with us for this hour, and also Aiden Pettit, who is really one of the top actors here in the Memphis area. Wow. Yeah, that's generous. That's generous. And also, we're going to have a lot of fun with our trivia.

Dieter, this is a big deal. We have some great trivia questions. This is where you are Santa Claus on the radio. We are. This is the one time when we love to give things away.

You don't have, well, you do have to give away a lot of things. You don't love giving things away in the summer. What is wrong with people?

Well, we're really not giving it away. People are earning a prize by getting the questions right. And so, guys, your job here is also going to be to help out these folks who are calling in because they're going to have to answer two questions to get a prize. Oh, two. Oh, wow.

This is Christmas. We're talking about the big leagues here. We have a lot on the line. It's gift-giving season. And let me give a shout out to the Todd Starn's Christmas crew.

These elves put together the best trivia questions in the country. It's not easy. It's not a simple Google job. We did research for these. Aiden, it was Ben really does like a whole like, he does a deep dive into this.

So it's like he, I showed up one day, he's dressed as an elf, churning. Out the Christmas questions. And I'm drinking eggnog and it is spiked. Oh, geez. Wow.

Okay. I knew we should have had a breathalyzer in the. You gave this guy a microphone. It's Christmas. What could I say?

Two Baptists and Ben. Yeah.

Maybe that's what we named this segment. Maybe that's what we needed to do. But Cassie, Chief Elf, Cassie, and Dylan, well done, everybody, on the trivia questions. And we're going to throw the first one out here. What is the name of the snowman who comes to life in the classic Christmas song?

There is a snowman who comes to life in a classic Christmas song. If you know the answer, give us a call, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. And that will get the conversation going. Guys, have you finished your, you got everything ready for Christmas?

I mean, your Christmas shopping is all done, or are you waiting until the last minute? I wish I could say yes. There's a couple more things I have to get. I would say I'm. I'm probably 80, 90% done.

There's a couple more things I got to put under the tree, but for the most part, I'm done. I haven't started. Oh, wow. I start after Christmas. Oh, yeah.

You just wrap up a bunch of like IOUs? I tell them that I ordered it online and it's coming. It's not coming at all yet because I want to get the after-Christmas holiday deal. Oh.

So I tell them it's coming. That's clever. I actually wrap up the product, put it in an empty box so they're excited, and then I get the after-Christmas deal. You know what I do? This is terrible.

It's cash. I just give cash. You know, but that's the most valuable dollar bill. I don't think anyone's ever going to be disappointed with, oh no, you gave me money, you know? You get a hundred bucks, you get a hundred bucks.

There you go. I mean, that's the way to do it, right? Are are we talking just like $100 bill? Is it like physical cash or gift cards?

So last year well, last year I did I I think everybody got more because I did the gift cards. Um I went over to the Hallmark store and uh by the way, they don't play the Hallmark movies in the Hallmark store. I don't know if you know. Oh, interesting. It's it's kind of what do they play?

Just Christmas movies. It was kind of a letdown, actually. But anyway, they had all these gift cards. Wait a second. I'm going to just do the gift cards.

And so I just pretty much cleaned them out of gift cards.

So that that and that's how I do it. All right.

Wow. We've already got a full line, full rack of calls here. Let's go to Tracy in North Carolina. Tracy, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

It's dead. All right, now, Tracy, we're going to help you win a prize here. You got to answer two questions, though, all right?

So, you got to work with us. But the good news is the guys are going to be the ones who ultimately win you a prize.

So, first of all, we need to know the first question here: what is the name of the snowman who comes to life in a classic Christmas song? Uh see the snowman was very happy though Yeah! Wow. Not only did you get it right, you do have a lovely singing voice.

Well done.

Well done, you Tracy. Wow. All right.

So we've got one down, and now we've got to see if we can't win you that prize. And this is going to be. No, what are you doing here? Ada's trying to look at the questions. Oh, am I supposed to help ask you?

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

You guys are playing trivia. Oh.

I was wondering. I was like, I don't have a copy of the sheet this time. That's what makes sense. I get it.

Well, I didn't see anything.

Okay. Here we go, gentlemen. And Tracy, you just hang tight, and you're going to have to agree or disagree with these things. Oh, the pressure's on us. What kind of animal pulls the Grinch's sleigh?

What kind of an animal pulls the Grinch's Sleigh? It's the dog with the antlers strapped around its head, right? It is a dog, a goat, a reindeer, or a horse. A dog. It's a dog.

Named Max. Is it named Max? I don't know. Are we sure? Are we united in our I'm saying dog?

Can I ask Tracy real quick? Tracy, what do you know what animal pulled the Grinch's sleigh? Definitely a dog with uh fake reindeer antlers. There it is. Yeah, uh, that's right.

Okay, yeah. Wow. Congratulations, Tracy. You are correct. Guys, you are correct as well.

Well done.

So 1-0. All right.

Very nice. Tracy, congratulations. Elf Cassie is going to put you on hold, and we'll get your information there. What are you laughing at? That doesn't sound Christmas at all.

It sounds like something from Lord of the Rings. Elf Cassie. Elf and Cassie. We actually have a family member, and this is kind of funny. We have a family member who's really into the Lord of the Rings kind of stuff.

It's your cousin, Dylan. And he speaks one Christmas, he spoke elfish to us. Yeah, that was interesting. Todd, do you wrap your own Christmas presents or do you have someone rap for you or do you put it in a bag? I cannot rap.

I'm a white guy, but I also can't wrap presents. I'm not a good rapper.

Okay. I just got that. Yeah, yeah. You seem like the type of person that would pay for it at a shopping mall. Wow, that hurts.

No, it's better than just dropping it into a bag. But it's true. Yeah, I know. I have done that. I mean, a good Christmas bag is a very, very acceptable way to present a present.

I agree. Or just a paper bag, or, you know, yeah. The best part is when you go to Kroger. You go Christmas shopping at Kroger. At Kroger?

I was going to get you. I was soup with you. I thought about you the other day. You'd drink the bone broth, and I was on that bone broth aisle. I think it was the soup aisle.

Yeah.

And I asked you, I remember I texted you. I said, hey, what do you. That's right. Oh, I just told you what I got you for Christmas. Stick a bow on it.

Stick a bow on the bone broth. There you go. All right.

Here is our next question, ladies and gentlemen, as we work through our trivia. There is a Christmas song. Oh, Aiden's got to know this. You're a big singer.

Okay, well, that's a lot of pressure.

Well, hypothetically, we'll see. What is a big singer? A big singer. He's like I mean, he should be on like American Idol or The Voice. I don't know about that.

No, I've seen some of the people. He's got a great voice. That's very kind. What Christmas Song begins with the lyrics City Side Walks Busy sidewalks. What Christmas song begins with the lyrics, City Sidewalks, City Sidewalks.

If you know the answer, give us a call, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926. Guys, back to the question, though, about when do you buy your Christmas presents? There's a survey, coupon birds, and they say one in three men wait until Christmas Eve to buy. Their wife a Christmas present.

That's not shocking.

So, yeah, gotta be honest. Have you been into a Walmart tonight on Christmas Eve? Have you seen Walmart? It sounds like a Black Friday kind of situation where it's like it's dangerous to go shopping, you know? The day before Christmas when everybody's like scattering to get their presents in.

I believe that. No, that's when they're in the doghouse. Like, if you are buying a Christmas gift for, even if it's a girl buying one for if it's the night before Christmas and you're buying them like a cast iron skillet, nothing, nothing wrong. It's probably not going to be something that you put a lot of thought into. Yeah.

It's sort of like Valentine's Day when you get the gas station roses. Oh, yeah. And they kind of know. They know. They know.

That relationship's not going to go anywhere. One in 30 men. That's a lot of people. That's a lot of people. Yeah.

I'm shocked. I thought it was more than that, to be honest with you. All right, let's go to.

Well, we're not going to go to the phones just right away, but again, 901-260-5926. We've got one trivia question out there, and we're going to throw another one.

Well, you know what? Let's take a break first. All right, we'll get our bearings. 901-260-5926 is our telephone number. That's 901-260-5926.

We'll be right back. Celebrating the reason for the season: the Todd Starnes Christmas Show. And welcome back to Christmas Trivia. I'm Todd Stearns with Ben Dieter and Aiden Pettit. Having a good time hanging out, talking Christmas.

Let's go to the phone lines and say hello to Beth in Louisiana. Hi, Beth. How are you today? I'm great. How are you, Todd?

Well, I'm doing well. Thank you for asking, Beth. We're going to try to win you a prize here. But first, you have to answer this question, and then the guys are going to ultimately win you a prize here. But we want to know the Uh the oh, geezaloo, where's my I lost my question, Ben Dieter.

And I almost said the answer, so get to that question. Wow, we're at. This is terrible. All right.

Todd, talk about your Christmas traditions real quick while I find it real quick. Oh, my goodness. This is absolute insanity. I've got it right here. Here we go.

A What Christmas song, Beth. What Christmas song begins with the lyrics: City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks. Silver bell. Film the bag. There you go.

Wow, that's well done. In the city. Yeah, so you guys, well done. We could have like a quartet here. Great singing bath.

All right.

So that's your first question. And now the guys are going to have to answer this one to win you the prize. Here we go, fellas. Principal Jennifer Sinclair of Omaha, Nebraska became known as the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. She told teachers not to celebrate the reason for the season at Manchester Elementary School.

She posted a memorandum listing all of the Christmas contraband. No Santas, no trees, no singing of Christmas carols, no ornaments. But it was a beloved sweet treat that really triggered the principal. What sweet treat did Principal Sinclair ban at the school? Was it gingerbread people?

Candy canes or chocolate-covered cherries. Oh, my goodness. Um, I can't see it being chocolate-covered cherries. I feel like that's not too Christmassy. No.

I'm going to say gingerbread man. Oh, I was going to say candy canes. Oh.

I think it's because we don't know what a man is anymore, and we definitely don't know what a ginger woman is. This conversation went south quickly. There's 45 different genders according to this. I would say candy cane. That's my personal.

All right.

So, Beth, we've got a split decision here. Ben says gingerbread people, and Aiden says candy canes. Who do you want to go with? Mm, I'm gonna go with Aiden and Candy Canes. It's a good thing you did.

There we go. I feel like, you know, it's red and white. That seems like the right answer to me. That reminds me of Christmas, you know? Good answer.

Good answer. So it turns out, guys, this is a true story. The principal said the candy cane is shaped in the form of the letter J for Jesus, and the teachers were banned from decorating with candy canes. But they could use gingerbread people along with snow people. They don't call them snowmen there.

Snow people and Olaf from the Disney movie Frozen. Oh, God, I love Olaf. What a guy. I mean, that's stretching to find a J out of a Christmas. A candy cane.

I mean, it is a cane. You know, canes were a thing. You know, they're just canes. It was like a shepherd. My understanding is that the history of it was it was created in the form of a staff, a shepherd staff.

Oh, that would be offensive for a lot of people out there. Very offensive. Very offensive. Hey, Beth, congratulations and Merry Christmas to you. Thank you.

Thanks for all y'all do. And I still love you, Ben. Love you back, Beth. Good choice, though. You got Todd's book.

Thank you. All right.

Hang tight, and we've got Cassie the Elf, who's going to help you. You're right. It does kind of sound Lord of the Ringish. Jeez a lou. All right, here is the next question in our list.

In a Christmas story, one of my favorite Christmas movies, what is the name of the toy Ralphie wants for Christmas? There's a specific thing that Ralphie wanted for Christmas. Was it a train set, a toy cowboy hat, a sled, or a Red Rider BB gun? If you know the answer, give us a call, 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-5926.

You know, guys, we talk about Christmas traditions. Dieter, you're from Pennsylvania originally. Do you guys have any traditions back home? We do. We do.

We go to the Christmas Carol in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Christmas Eve. Except for this year, it's tough because Christmas Eve is on a Tuesday.

So the whole Wednesday it being Christmas Day is making it a little bit difficult. But yeah, Christmas Carol every single year.

So you do that every, you know, like Christmas morning. Do you guys have like pancakes and breakfast and then you open the presents? I sleep underneath the Christmas tree and I'm an adult. That has been a tradition in our family ever since I was one year old. You mean, like physically sleep?

You sleep right there next to the presence? Yes, staring up into the tree. You're looking up, you can see all the twinkling lights. It got more difficult as I got older. Actually, one year, the whole tree toppled over.

I believe it. Yeah, it was like a 17-year-old sleeping under a tree. I mean, that's a new one. I have not heard that one as far as Christmas traditions go. It's a Christmas tradition.

I will say, as we've gotten older, we've had to move to the couches in the living room. And then when my sister got married, that took one of the family, that took one of the kids away because we weren't going to allow a A brother-in-law to sleep under the Christmas tree with us. That would be inappropriate.

Now, what about you? Because you have brothers and sisters, but all three of you are. Same age, yes, sir. Same age, triplets. We are triplets.

Wow. Triplets? Yes. Wow. No, that's insane.

Yes. So as far as Christmas traditions, I mean, we obviously always decorate. We try to set up decorations as a family, although that was difficult this year because we were all in school, of course. But we always, Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story out of the Bible. Nothing really unique as far as Christmas traditions go, but definitely a lot of family time.

We're trying something new this year. The family has decided we're going to stage one of those creepy Christmas family portraits. Have you seen those? Yes. A lot of them are back in the church back when the church used to have directories and used to have really weird looking.

So we're going to try that this year. That's funny. We'll see how it goes.

So you're dressing up.

Well, yeah. Just looking creepy. I think we're kind of a little bit of a... You've got to dress something. I think we've been.

I was trying. Dylan, your mom's in charge of coordinating all of this, and I think we've been told to wear pajamas. Oh, funny. Yeah, that's all I know. All right, hang tight.

We've got to take a break. When we come back, we're going to get right back to trivia. Again, our telephone number: 901-260-5926. That's 901-260-600. Todd in pajamas.

I'm trying to get a visual of that. That's a funny job. I don't know about that. Yeah.

Footy pajamas. Oh, footy pajamas. Todd in a onesie. Oh, a onesie. It's a good look for me.

Trust me. Not a onesie. Jeez. Hello. We'll be right back.

This is the Todd Starns Christmas Show. And welcome back, everybody. Great to have you with us on Christmas Trivia. Let's get right to the phone lines. We're going to go to Frank in Iowa.

Hi, Frank. How are you today? Merry Christmas. I'm good. Merry Christmas to you, too, Todd.

All right.

We're going to try to help you win a prize here. But first, you've got to answer this question: Christmas story: What's the name of the toy Ralphie wants for Christmas? You know this one. Red Rider BB gun. Yep, that's it.

Congratulations. Yes. By the way, the Stearns family, we actually have the leg lamp. Yeah.

It works too. That's disturbing. The thigh is very bright. You can see it across Lakeland. All right.

Frank, I want you to turn down your radio there so we don't get too much of feedback. And now we're going to let these guys try to seal the deal for you. Oh, dear. Gentlemen, we need to know the name of the head elf. In the Santa Claus movies, was it Elmo?

Buddy? Timmy or Bernard. The Santa Claus movie. I've never seen them. You've never seen the movie?

I've not. Is this a movie or a Netflix series? Oh, no. I think I watched this on Netflix last night. How do you know?

It's not going to be Elmo. That's the uh the the creepy pop. Not Elmo. I don't think it's buddy 'cause I think that's too I think that's Elf. All right, give me the other two options.

Bird. Timmy is in the Christmas Carol of Ansar Scourge's guy. I'm going to go with Bernard. I can't think of anything else to do.

So you're going with Bernard? I don't. I'm going to go with Timmy on this one. Frank, you've got two choices: Bernard or Timmy. Or Debbie?

Wow. Nice. Man, I'm shooting for two. Good answer, good answer. Wow, congratulations there, Frank.

Here's the deal: whatever Ben Dieter says, go with Aiden. No, it was actually Timmy in the Netflix Santa Claus movie I watched on Netflix. There you go. Well, Frank, congratulations. Merry Christmas.

We're going to put you on hold, and Cassie will get your info. Here is the next trivia question, and this is a fun one. What Christmas character famously said Bah humbug? A famous Christmas character said bah humbug. Who was it?

Give us a call. 901-260-5926. Do you know the answer? I know this one. I know this one.

Don't answer the question. They got to answer it. 901-260-5926. You know, you mentioned Christmas traditions, guys. There's an interesting story out.

Apparently, most Americans would rather have new Christmas traditions.

So, like, instead of turkeys, they would rather celebrate with hamburgers. That sounds very American, I will say that. But I mean, that's you can't replace a turkey in Christmas. Like, hamburgers are great for Fourth of July, any time during Memorial Day, you know, any time during the summer. But like, for a festive holiday, you gotta stick with a turkey or a ham.

Something like that, you know? I mean, hamburgers would be good, but that's for the rest of the year, you know? Dieter? I don't eat on Christmas. At all?

No. What's wrong with that? That's like the only wrong answer. No, because I have eaten so many sweets, fudge, every day. I have no appetite on Christmas Day.

I've just eaten every sweet thing in the house. I really don't eat. Speaking of that, so we always, it's my job to go and get the chocolate Santa or the chocolate turkey at Digitals. And that's like our go-to place for the Stearns family here in Memphis, one of the best chocolate shops around. Absolutely.

And they have something called Cashew Crunch.

So that's a big deal. Are you a traditionalist, Todd? Christmas traditional. Oh, yeah. Except we're not, I'm not a big turkey guy.

I would much rather have like roast beef or something like that or ham. See, I'm always going to go turkey over ham. I love turkey. Oh, yeah. I think it's great.

I thought you would do barbecue, Todd. No, I'm not. Barbecued Christmas. It's such a taught thing to do, just a pork roast or something like that. Maybe a Memphis-specific thing for Christmas, like barbecue.

I could see that happening. According to their survey, the top 10 Christmas traditions American would be open to swapping. Number one, sending Christmas cards. You guys still send Christmas cards? Absolutely.

I mean, my mom's in charge of it for sure, but she's great at it. Do you guys do the letter, like the family letter, where you're like, all right, so Aiden did this? But we get one from family members. We do. And you know, you always get the ones from the family members who are like excelling at everything.

Right. And then quite proud to write it on. They're like, oh, man, I really suck. My mom is that mom that if like my siblings or I were. We're dating anybody like they would end up in the Christmas letter, and then there would be breakouts.

That's risky. And then the next year, they wouldn't be in the Christmas card or the Christmas photo or the Christmas letter. All right, somebody offered this as a great life hack.

So let's say you've got the girlfriends, the boyfriends over for Christmas. When you take the family picture, you want them on the outside. Yes, like on the ends, easy to crop. Easy to crop. That's it.

This actually literally happened. My mom sliced it up with scissors. Oh, that's funny. All right, let's go to Trace or Terry rather in North Carolina. Hi, Terry.

How are you today? I'm doing fine. How are you doing today? Terry, we're doing well. Merry Christmas to you.

Merry Christmas to y'all as well. All right, so which Christmas character famously said Bah Humbug? I believe that'd be Ebenezer Scrooge. And I believe here. Absolutely correct there, Terry.

Well done, you.

Now let's go to another question, gentlemen. And you're going to try to win Terry a prize.

So, Terry, hang tight. Guys, in Home Alone. Where is the McAllister family traveling when they leave Kevin behind? You haven't seen Home Alone, have you, Ben Dieter? I haven't, but I do know Donald Trump's in it.

That's Home Alone 2. Down the hall and to the left. Oh, that's great. I just, we watched it. It was airing on television like maybe three, four days ago.

My whole family, we just watched it. That's brilliant. Gosh. All right, and Home Alone, where is the McAllister family traveling when they leave Kevin behind? Are they going to Paris?

Are they going to New York? Are they going to London? Um All right. Paris, New York, London. One day.

Ah, wanna say New York? I don't know. All right.

Now, Terry, you can disagree with both these guys, and I would strongly encourage you to do so. Ouch.

So, your choices are Paris, and the guys pick New York and London.

So, what do you think the right answer is, Terry? I'm going to say that he's going to Paris. Yes! Men were fired. All right, what am I now?

Four for five. That's a ton. I can do it. Congratulations, Terry. We're going to put you on hold, and we're going to get you.

Guys, that was pitiful. Good job. That was not a hand. You're better than us, man. That was rough.

Wow. That was rough. Terry knows his home alone. By the way, Home Alone 2. Where was, you know, Kevin, they kept leaving that poor kid behind.

I mean, how do you keep leaving your kid behind? You know, he's going to have, he probably had to have therapy. This was the days before helicopter parenting. Helicopter parenting, that would never happen.

Now, now the parents are all over the place. I don't know, because I feel like even in the movie, they are helicopter parents. They just manage to miss it every time. I think that's the funniest part. Because the first movie, they're counting and they count a different kid, right?

That's how they leave him behind. And then the second movie. Today you would be thrown in jail if you did that. I'd love to get behind. I'd love to be sent to the penitentiary.

I mean. It could happen to any well, I don't know if it could. I feel like that's the whole point of the movie. I don't know. All right, guys, we're going to throw out another trivia question and go to break here.

This is about holiday traditions and a delicious holiday beverage typically made with Milk, cocoa, sugar, and marshmallows. This holiday beverage made with I think DeCassie the Elf write this apple cider.

Okay. Wait, what? This sounds horrible. A holiday beverage made with milk, cocoa, sugar, and marshmallows. What is it?

If you know the answer, give us a call. 901. Do we have hints at least? 901-260-5926. Are you kidding me?

Cassie, the elf. Maybe this is the thing in her family. Oh, why don't I just throw out another trivia question? I think he's a little bit of a city. Who do we celebrate at Christmas?

Wait, you know it? Yeah, I know. Ben, are you serious? You drink serious beverages? No, can you break?

Okay, we gotta go to break. It's the spiked eggnog. Can we get Dr. Phil O'Mallagher? I need somebody.

I drink that, Phil. Wow. All right.

All right.

One more time. What holiday beverage is typically made with milk, cocoa, sugar, and marshmallows? Cocoa, sugar, marshmallows. 901. I drink 5926.

That's 901-260-5926. I can't believe he's serious. We'll be right back. Decking hauls and jingling bells on the Todd Starns Christmas Show. All right.

Welcome back to the world's easiest Christmas trivia show. Not for them. Let's go to the phone lines. We're going to talk to Mary Lou in North Carolina. Hi, Mary Lou.

How are you today? Hey, I'm great. Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

All right, Mary Lou. You guys are fun. You know that? You really make my day. You're good.

We try. We try. Mary Lou. It's like Cindy Lou. Cindy Lou.

Mary Lou. And Mary Lou. I know, I'm just trying to be festive. Oh.

All right, Mary Lou, we're going to try to win you a prize here. First, we need to know what holiday beverage is typically made with milk, cocoa, sugar and marshmallows? It's gotta be hot chocolate. It is. It's got to be hot chocolate.

There's literally nothing, there's no other option. These two aren't drinking the eggnog, Mary Lou. There's a difference. Not what he's looking at. Two Baptists in bed.

Maybe. Oh, well, but there you go. Baptist take. Come on. You need to sneak it in there when they're not looking.

I know. There you go. There you go. All right.

Mary Lou, we've got to toss this question to the guys here for you to win a prize here. Gentlemen, let's talk about the Miracle on 34th Street, great Christmas movie. We need to know the name of the department store, the name of the department store, and Miracle on 34th Street. Was it Macy's? Was it Gimbal's?

Was it Bloomingdale's or Saks Fifth Avenue? I have not seen that movie. Uh. Ben, I'm going to throw it to you. Macy's.

Macy's, you got to be. That was my guess. I would say Macy's. Macy's. All right.

Bloomingdale's is something. But Bloomingdale's? That's from somewhere. I don't even know where that's from. All right, Mary Lou.

You have Ben who definitively says Macy's, and Aiden was like, I have no earthly idea, but Bloomingdale sounds cool. Yeah.

That's about it. I believe it was Macy's. There we go. Let's go. Ben Deeter.

Ben's making a comeback. Let's go. After hot chocolate. Yes. Two redeeming show.

Yes. Congratulations. Mary Lou. Congratulations. Well, thank you.

Merry Christmas to you. Hang tight, and we're going to get you hooked up with a great prize. And we just wish you the very best. All right.

Let's throw out another trivia question for the listeners here. Let's talk about the Grinch who stole Christmas. What is the Grinch's heart said to be? Is it two sizes too small, three times too cold? a lump of coal or missing entirely.

The Grinch's Heart. Two sizes too small, three times too cold, a lump of coal missing entirely. Give us a call, nine zero one two six zero five nine two six. That's nine oh one two six zero five nine two six. Do you guys have a favorite Christmas movie?

Uh I don't know. Uh Home Alone is definitely up there. Home Alone and Home Alone 2, just 'cause those are Pretty entertaining just to watch. I really enjoy those. The Polar Express.

Ooh, that's a good one. The Polar Express. I watch it every Christmas. Is that right? I'm all over National Lampoon.

Their Christmas vacation. I'm realizing how many Christmas movies I haven't seen. I haven't seen that one either. All right, the bigger question: Die Hard. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie, yes or no?

I'm going to go with yes because I think that's the popular and correct answer, but I also have not seen it. Wait, what? I haven't seen it. Guys, I have not seen it. What are they teaching you in the middle?

Absolutely. I wish I could take a class on Christmas movies. I feel like that'd be entertaining. Die Hard. I'm looking at the trailer right now.

What? You haven't seen it either? This can't be a Christmas movie. See, but that's like the age-old question: is Die Hard a Christian movie? And I still haven't seen it.

It's a fair question. All right, let's go to the phone lines here. We've got Kelly in North Carolina. Hi, Kelly. How's it going today?

Merry Christmas to you. Merry Christmas. It's so nice to be finally getting through. I've only called every single time and with and biffed it. Let's go.

Let's go. Happy you're here now. All right.

Here we go, Kelly. In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, what is the Grinch's heart said to be? Two sizes too small, three times too cold, a lump of coal missing entirely. I believe it was three sizes too small. I don't think that was even.

Oh, oh, oh.

Well, you know what? We've got to get help. We've got to help Kelly. I'm sorry, we've got to do a do-over.

So we're going to do a do-over. All right.

All right.

Let's try Charlie Brown Christmas. All right.

Kelly? In a Charlie Brown Christmas, who directs the Christmas play? Is it Linus? Is it Lucy? Is it Charlie Brown or Snoopy?

I believe it's Linus. Are you stopping? Wait, no, no, no, no, no. Kelly, third time's a charm. I didn't know it was hot chocolate, and they were screaming at me.

So let's give her one more question. Y'all should have heard us over the break. That was hilarious. Let's give her another question. All right.

No, no, we're going to stick with Charlie Brown Christmas. There's a process of elimination here. It wasn't Linus, but was it Lucy, Charlie Brown, or Snoopy?

Well, now I'm stressed. I'm going to. Lucy was kind of bossy. I'll say Lucy. Yes, it was Lucy.

What are you trying? We're firing. I can shoot it. Yeah.

You gave Kelly and me a heart attack. Yeah, I felt. Wow. All right, yeah, get Kelly. Dylan's getting cool.

That's it. All right.

Kelly, congratulations. Hang tight. Let's go to Samantha in Tennessee. Samantha, how are you today? Good.

How are you? Samantha, ask me that question after the trivia hour. But. We're going to try to win you a prize here. We've got a brand new question.

We want to know the very first song. And actually, we're going to let the guys guess this. Oh, no. The very first song ever broadcast from space. Ooh.

What is this song? Clearly, why would they play a Christmas song? Is it Silent Night? jingle bells, Frosty the Snowman, or Deck the Halls. Guys?

I don't think it's the first option. Um frosty the snowman. I'm gonna go with jingle bells. Who would you go with? I I think I've heard this before actually.

I think it's jingle bells. Let's go. Jingle bells is like a university Christmas song, you know? It is. That felt like it fit the best.

If a bell jingles in space, can you hear it, though? I don't know. Does it ever make a sound? We need to get Dr. Phil on here.

That's a philosophical question. Samantha, congratulations. You are a winner. We're going to put you on hold, and we thank you for playing Christmas trivia. Guys, this has gone by so fast.

It is. Oh, are we almost? Oh, wow. It is. We are wrapping up.

We are wrapping up here, guys.

So, anyway, Ben Teter. Merry Christmas. Happy holidays. I'm kidding. It's the eggnog talking.

All right, get this guy. All right, Aiden Pettit. Merry Christmas to you as well. Merry Christmas to you. Yes, sir.

All right, folks. We have a lot more show coming your way, so stick around. We're going to have a lot of fun as we continue to celebrate Christmas, a lot happening in the world. But we believe that Jesus is the reason for the season on this radio program, and we celebrate accordingly. Hang tight, everybody.

We'll be right back. From Memphis, Tennessee, it's the Todd Starnes Christmas Show, decking the halls and jingling bells across America.

Now, from 4,000 miles south of the North Pole, it's Todd Starnes. And hello, everybody. Welcome to the third hour of the Todd Starnes Christmas Show.

So great to have you with us today. Hope you and your family are having a very Merry Christmas. I'm here in studio with Ben Dieter. And dater. Release me, Todd.

I have to get to Memphis International Airport. I have to fly home to see my family.

So you're going back home to Pennsylvania? As soon as I get off air. All right.

So do you guys do a lot of like crazy traditions back home in Pennsylvania? We do some. There's some that we haven't done in years past. As we've gotten older, I remember doing cookies for Santa, leaving the milk. For the reindeer, elf on the shelf, that was one.

But as I got older, I feel like some of the magic kind of dimmed for me because I've gotten older and more mature and wise. I think, though, that for older people, for adults, it's the fun, you know, watching the kids have fun and making sure they have that awesome Christmas experience. And that's a little harder to do as you get more and more into the digital age. But, you know, what is old is new again. I mean, you look at the incredible light displays.

I know our family would always dress up in the pajamas and we would hop into the van and we would drive around and look at all of the Christmas lights around Memphis, which are pretty spectacular. And a lot of people have these different traditions. For example, down in Louisiana, if you are on the Mississippi River, they have the giant levees. And for about a hundred miles, there are these giant bonfires they set up on Christmas Eve, Bendeter. And these things are like four or five stories tall, massive bonfires.

And they light those on Christmas. Eve. It's a huge tradition going back generations in Cajun country. And the reason why is that they want to make sure when Papa Noel, who is the Cajun version of Santa Claus, when Papa Noel is going to deliver the toys to all the good little Cajun boys and girls, and you know, they don't have, Papa Noel did not have reindeer. He had alligators, right?

Boudreaux, and it was great. But anyway, they light the bonfires so that Papa Noel will know where he's going. That's crazy. I've never heard of that one. It's a great one.

And then there's the pickle one. Have you heard about the Christmas pickles? Oh, yes. It's a beloved American tradition. Did you guys do this in your family?

No, we did not do this in my family. What about Dilly Pickle? Dylan, the producer, Elf Dillon. Yeah, no.

So this is where you basically have a pickle ornament. Your aunt makes the best pickles. She should have done this. Oh, Aunt Sarah, yes, in West Memphis.

So you hide the pickle ornament on the tree, and whatever child finds the pickle on the tree first is the first child that gets to open a Christmas gift. It's a huge deal.

So you're not actually eating a physical pickle. This is an ornament.

Well, you can if you have Aunt Sarah's pickles. Oh, those are good pickles. You just have to put an ornament hanger on it. Oh, my lord. You know, Todd, my grandparents lived in, guess what?

The North Pole. North Pole, Alaska. Get out of here. Are you serious? North Pole, Alaska is the Christmas capital of the world.

And they actually have a Santa Claus house where the real, when you write your letters to Santa, boys and girls out there, it goes to the North Pole. And my grandma actually worked at the Northpool Santa Claus house.

So she would get the letters from the boys and girls. They hang them up every year, just plastered in that. And that really neat building, Museum of Sorts. And of course, another great tradition, which is handled by volunteers from the U.S. military, they have the Santa tracker at NORAD, and so they actually work.

They have people who can volunteer. Nobody gets paid. And for all of Christmas Eve, they're taking calls from boys and girls all across America, checking in to see when Santa Claus is going to be arriving at their town. Wow. Wonder if it's picking up any of those crazy drones.

Sorry, not doing politics. Stop. Off the East Coast. I'm sorry. I'm concerned about that.

Is that Santa or a drone? I'm concerned about Santa flying over New Jersey. That's, I'm just really my thoughts and prayers, Santa Claus. Yeah, you don't need to worry about him flying over Tennessee. Hey, you know, we've got to kick off this great hour with some incredible musicians.

They are Grammy-nominated, and we are so honored to have them with us. The group is called Authentic Unlimited, and it's a fun, modern twist on bluegrass and gospel. You are going to love it. Folks, we are celebrating the reason. For the season, Todd Starnes, Ben Dieter.

This is the Todd Starns Christmas Show. Ha Behold. Um forward. Christmas You can plan. We have snow.

And Mesu To. Press. Santa Tree Christmas seed. Yeah, well. Find me where the love light gleams I'll be home for Christmas if only Praise have stood and is so tall and present under the tree.

For me will find me where the love light gleam I'll be home for Christmas if only Hello, I'm Master Sergeant Richard Kreitz, United States Air Force. 18 months stationed in Okinawa, Japan. We just want to wish a Merry Christmas to our family in Hanover, Pennsylvania, and Statesboro, Georgia. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

My name is Sergeant First Class Curtis Williams. I'm from the 230 DLD, and I'd like to wish my friends and family a Merry Christmas. Hello, my name is Steph Sergeant Victoria Thompson. I'm stationed here in Allied Forces South Battalion, Naples, Italy. I want to give a shout out to all my family back home, sisters, and parents, and wish them all a very Merry Christmas.

Just ahead, we're going to Dallas, Texas, to see how folks in the Lone Star State celebrate the Yule Todd season. This is the Todd Starns Christmas Show. You know, I just love Christmas. I love everything about Christmas. I love the season.

I love the decorations and the concerts and the presentations. And I know one of the most popular places for folks to go to celebrate Christmas. Is the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas?

Some of the finest music, some of the finest people I know are there, including their awesome pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffers. And he is on the Newsmaker line right now. Dr. Jeffers, Merry Christmas to you.

Merry Christmas to you, Todd. Thanks so much for having me. You know, I just have to tell you, I was watching the big Christmas celebrations that you guys did, and just absolutely phenomenal. I'm always wondering if you are ever going to make a guest appearance, because a lot of people don't realize you yourself are musically inclined.

Well, some would challenge that, but I'm an accordion player, and occasionally I appear to do my favorite Christmas song, Jingle Bell Rock, but only on selected appearances. I love that. I've never been lucky enough to see that performance. Maybe one day, Dr. Jeffers.

Make that a life goal, Todd.

Okay, I'm writing it down. It's on my bucket list. You know, I'm curious, Dr. Jeffers. We see you all the time on cable television, and of course, Pathway to Victory, this wonderful program.

And a lot of folks want to know what is it like when you walk out of the church? You go home. Do you guys have the big decorations? You have a big Christmas celebration of the Jefferson. Household?

Well, we usually go over to my oldest daughter's home, and we have triplet grandchildren. They just turned seven, two boys and a girl, and so Christmas really is kind of centered around them. We have some children. Chili, and then open gifts, and then watch our favorite Christmas movie, Elf. And so that's our tricky Christmas tradition.

You see, I would have guessed you for like, I don't know, a Jimmy Stewart guy, not a Will Farrell guy. No, I'm a Will Farrell guy. I probably shouldn't tell that, but I am. Pickleball, accordion, Will Farrell. This is amazing.

We're getting to see the real Dr. Jeffers here. Yeah, it's not a pretty sign. You know, I am curious, though, having grandkids now, have you noticed the Christmas Day festivities? Do they change?

Well, they have. It's really become very child-centric, which I guess is appropriate for Christmas. But it's a chance for them to kind of experience Christmas, and we get to experience it in a new way through their eyes. And so it's really been a blessing for the last seven years to have them here because they were really a miracle of God. My daughter had three miscarriages, and she and her husband had prayed that God would give them triplets, one to replace each life that was lost.

And I told her, Julia, don't pray for that. You're just going to be disappointed because we don't have that in our family. I'm such a great man of faith, Todd. She said, but she said, Dad, if you want to see God do big things, you have to pray big things. And she did, and God gave them triplets in answer to that prayer.

And so every time I see them, I think about a miraculous God who's able to do all that we ask him to. You know, you mentioned that, and you look through some of the things that have happened at the First Baptist Church in Dallas this past year with that tragic fire that destroyed the sanctuary, and yet. Out of those ashes, you guys are building something new. Yeah, that's right. And it was a four-alarm fire.

130 firefighters tried to save our historic sanctuary that you've been in before, but it burned to the ground. And it was kind of a gut punch to our church, had a lot of inconveniences. But now we've removed the debris and are ready to build again. And I think it's just a sign of God's faithfulness. I have to tell you, I talked to President Trump a few weeks ago.

The first thing he wanted to know was about the fire and how we were doing in the rebuilding process and what the new sanctuary was going to look like. And, you know, he went to the Notre Dame opening as well. And he was one of the very first people who reached out to us because he cares about churches. He believes churches represent faith that is the spiritual glue that holds our country together. And so we were grateful for his interest in what we were doing.

I'm so excited to see the president. And how the Christmas celebrations are going to explode in this upcoming year. I mean, Christmas is Christmas, but one of the things that I've noticed is that there haven't been so many attacks on Christmas. The war on Christmas hasn't been raging as much. And I think a lot of that has to do with President Trump and his leadership going back to the idea that it's okay to say Merry Christmas.

Yeah, and you know, people made fun of his making that a big deal: Merry Christmas. But those of us who know him know that was code for we need to put faith back in Christmas. Christmas is not just a secular holiday, it's about Jesus Christ. And I think he created an environment that made everybody more faith-friendly and faith-cognizant. It's interesting that you mentioned that because there is a new survey out from Lifeway Research, and they found that U.S.

adults, American adults, are kind of split on whether they're going to be at church sometime this Christmas. Are you finding that to be the case? Case? And if so, why is that? Why would adults be split on where they're going to celebrate Christmas?

Well, we haven't experienced it here at First Attas Dallas. People pack into our Christmas Eve services and Christmas Day services.

So we're not experiencing it. But I think the fact is, Todd, every indicator is the world is becoming more and more secular. But, you know, the darker the world becomes, and I think it's progressively getting darker, the light of the gospel shines more brightly. And so I think the church has a great opportunity to be that light in the darkness to represent the light of the world, Jesus Christ. Does it take a lot of time for you to figure out, okay, it's Christmas?

Do I have a traditional message or do I do something new? Take us through that process. First of all, I don't try to do something new. I don't want to change the plot. I mean, the plot is.

It's a good story.

So my job is just simply to tell the good news, not to create the good news. And so, but I don't want to do. the same thing every year.

So I have a list of about 10 or 12. Key passages relating to Christmas that I go through and try to put a fresh In on a 2,000-year-old story that represents the hope of the world. Real quick, Dr. Jeffers, before we have to let you go, let you scoot out. Do you have a favorite Christmas Carol, a Christmas song?

Yeah, my favorite song, and we close every one of our Christmas services with it, is Joy to the World. You know, most people, Todd, don't know that Joy to the World was written originally not about Christ's first coming in Bethlehem, but it's about his second coming when he returns again. He will rule the world in truth and grace and cause the nations to see the wonders of his love. That's all about the second coming of Christ. And, you know, Christmas wouldn't mean anything if it was just the representation of a baby born in a manger.

But this baby was someone special, the son of God who died for the sins of our world. And one day he's coming back again. And that's the hope we have as Christians. This life is not all that there is. Christ is coming back.

Well said.

Well, Dr. Jeffers, we just want to wish you and Mrs. Jeffers and your whole family, the grandkids, everybody, and everybody at First Baptist Dallas a Merry Christmas. Thanks so much, Todd. And remember, you'd always visit at First Baptist Dallas.

I'll be there, and I'm waiting for that accordion player.

Okay. Alright, Dr. Robert Jeffress. In the world the Lord is come. Let's go!

As we see. Drinking. Let every heart prepare. And heaven and nature scene heaven and nature scene. Heaven, heaven nature sees.

Join to the earth the Savior. Reigns that may the sun One field ten floods, one field ten. Please. Repeat the sound in joy, repeat the sound in joy, repeat. Repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth. Fun race and Makes the nations free. The glories of his righteousness. And wonders of his power And wonders of his love, and wonders, wonders of his love. Heaven and nature scene, having a mentor scene, having a mentor scene, having a nature scene, and nature seemed to make your scene of heaven and nature seem to make your scene and welcome back, everybody.

Great to have you with us. Merry Christmas to you, America. And I am so excited about our next guest. You know, it was about a week or so ago that she was on the Todd Stern show on Newsmax. And I thought, we got to get her on the Christmas show.

It would not be a perfect Christmas show without. Sam Sorbo, who you see in the movies and on TV, and she has an incredible new book out that she co-authored with her husband Kevin Sorbo. It's called Christmas 40-Day Devotional. Sam, welcome to the show.

Well, Todd Starnes, thank you so much for what a lovely introduction that was. Just incredible. And Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. I'm curious before we get into the book, how big of a deal is Christmas in the Sorbo household?

Well, let's say we don't take, we leave a tree up all year and we start decorating in September. Does that give you some indication? Oh, yeah. My co-host, Ben Dieter, is laughing here because I'm notorious for not decorating that much for Christmas.

Well, Sam, let me jump in here. Ben here. It's clearly not a real tree, then. You opt out for on authentic uh the the the fake trees if it's going up in September. Yeah, if I had a real tree, it wouldn't survive twenty four hours, I don't see.

But but my husband's a big decorator. He loved Christmas and he loves to decorate for Christmas. And So I just hold my tongue and he puts up Christmas lights and they stay up all year long too. You know, back when uh I was growing up, my grandfather was a big train guy and every Christmas he would um he would set up this huge train and uh cityscape underneath the Christmas tree and it was always so fun to, you know, just to see the the cleverness and the creativity and it's one of those great great Christmas memories, uh the decorating for Christmas. Yes.

And I think it's so important that we transform our environments a little bit. To reflect the season. What I try to do in my book is to encourage people to bring that sense of the season, the reason for the season is Jesus, of course. And the joy that he brings into our lives, that he permits us, the hope that he has. For us.

so that we can then share that with other people. Because, of course, we're called to evangelize, we're called to disciple people, and that's what this is about. The idea that we can promote this holiday as a way of promoting the forgiveness that Jesus offers us. Is something that I think is very important. And that's something that you experienced as well in your life, that transformational power of a relationship with Christ.

Absolutely, and it's very freeing, in fact, and so I wouldn't want to deny anybody that. It also makes you a better person. We certainly need more of that in the world, not less of it. I I want to talk about this this great devotional, Christmas forty-day devotional. Our good friend Governor Mai Kakabe, who's on our Christmas special as well, wrote the foreword to the book.

Tell us about the devotional. Yeah, so it's just a way of encouraging people around Christmas. I grew up. And um and eventually I just got tired of the holiday. I wanted I didn't want to have to shop for gifts.

I felt it was so onerous. And I think that it's easy to let the commercialism of the holiday sort of overwhelm you. When you really should be focused on the reason for the season. And so the devotional is put together, it's 40 days, so it starts with Advent. It it continues through the twelve days of Christmas to the epiphany.

Um and the the idea is just It takes 30 days to form a habit. Why not do this for 40 days and form that habit, the habit of acknowledging? that Christ is your Savior. For the and that hopefully that will carry you through the rest of the year.

So every day of the devotional includes a couple of what I call Christmas commissions. And those are just ideas for spreading the holiday To other people, I also would love to take back this phrase: Merry Christmas, it's not happy holidays. It's Merry Christmas for a reason. It is. You know, every time people say happy holidays, I'm like, all right, what holiday are you talking about here?

I mean, we got a lot of 'em. I mean, it's it's Christmas. Merry Christmas. I kind of want to answer happy birthday 'cause I don't really know what else. Sure, whatever.

Happy hol like so yeah, so let's let's be a little bit more focused. And not be ashamed. And I love we're entering into a little bit of a new phase, it seems, in the United States. where people are less embarrassed. uh to support a conservative In office?

And to hope for better things for our nation and to show a little national pride even. And so I'm hoping that this will help people to engage that as well because we've got better days in front of us, I'm sure. And I'm looking forward to them. I am too. And I know, Ben, you grew up in a Christian home.

Your dad's a pastor. You're a PK, a preacher's kid. You went to a Christian school. I know our family, a big tradition is sitting around and reading the Christmas story, you know, getting everybody together before we open the presents and there's all the chaos. And I noticed there's a new study out from Lifeway Research.

And they say that few Americans are actually confident they could actually tell the biblical Christmas story. Sam, I think that's one of the reasons why books like yours are so vitally important. We've got to put Christ back into Christmas. Yes, I mean, we get distracted by Santa Claus, and that's on purpose, right? And so I refute it.

And I would hope that others but Todd, I mean, my big mission in life is to empower parents to educate their children themselves They're more than capable. They've just been rendered to feel incapable because they went to school. And the schools have really done a a tremendous amount of damage to our culture By removing Christ. And the Christian ethic. From our culture.

This is why we're seeing an uptick in violence. It's not just the people that are coming into the country, it's our country itself that has sort of renounced. to a certain degree, the morality that we inherited um our moral capital, if you will, from the Christians who founded the nation. And we can lay the blame, unfortunately, at the feet of our schools. Who took the Bible out, took prayer out, and refused to acknowledge any spirituality.

Look, even the pagans were that believed that there was a God, right?

So but in our nation, you know, this post post Christian nation, this uh post scientific nation, We need to we need to recapture some of our traditional values and beliefs. In order to regain the cultural significance that we want to help.

Well said.

And Sam, we're going to leave it there. But, folks, get yourself a copy of this wonderful, wonderful devotional. It's called the Christmas 40-day devotional. You can get it wherever you buy your books. Sam.

Actually, can I send people to SorboStudios.com? Go to SorboStudios.com and do sign up for the newsletter so we can stay in touch because social media is wonky. And thank you so much. Sam, Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Calling. What you may just a winter holiday. Or a season filled with fun and fair Yeah. Call it any Anything you wish. But December 25th.

We will Always Yeah. Christmas. To me. It will always be. To me It belongs.

Always be Christmas. To me. This one. One sacred day. Will forever stay the birth.

Of my save. Your N key. It will Always Merry Christmas too. When I see the lights, I still think about the night. When a wonderful star showed over Bethlehem In the children's Caroline.

I still hear Yeah. Announcing Christ is born once again. It will always be clear. Christmas to me. It belongs.

Always be Christmas. Do me This one One sacred day. Will forever stay the birth of my Savior. It belongs Always be Christmas. Yes.

Every time I say Merry Christmas, those words mean so much more for they have. Help me too. Remember what they said. Celebration is for it. Will always be Christmas to me.

It will always be Christmas to me. This one sacred day will forever stay the birth of my Savior and King. It will always be Christmas. It will always be Christmas. It will always Always be Christmas.

To Coming up, Todd reads the Christmas story and shares the real reason for the season on the Todd Starns Christmas Show. You know, we have been through so many different stories today, great songs, hilarious trivia. And it's always important to remember the reason for this season. I mean, it's really not about the presence, and it's not about Santa Claus or the reindeer or the carols we sing. It's really about.

What happened so many years ago in a manger, in a quiet manger. And there was. Probably no finer presentation of that story than. The Charlie Brown Christmas special back in 1965. And what I find fascinating about that story is that it almost never happened.

As a matter of fact, just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong with the creation of the Charlie Brown Christmas. As a matter of fact, CBS executives We're not even sure that they were going to broadcast this beautiful cartoon. And the reason why is because it just flew in the face of modern convention at the time. I mean, imagine a Charlie Brown Christmas cartoon that was actually voiced by children. No, that was unheard of.

Or the fact that they had this beautiful jazz soundtrack, or the fact that there was no laugh track and that it was a slow, methodical story. Everyone thought it was going to be a complete failure. Failure. And then there was that Bible verse. The Christmas Story, delivered by Linus.

Delivered in the Old King James Version. And many of those CBS network executives says, Oh, no, we can't have that on national television. That's just that s a step f too far. But Charles Schultz, The creator of Charlie Brown stood his ground. He said, Guys, you have to trust me here.

We're going to do this and it's going to work. And something very amazing happened because the CBS News executives really thought that they were in for a disaster that night on national television. Little did they know that That 50% of the televisions in the United States of America. We're tuned and the Charlie Round Christmas. It really was a remarkable thought.

thing that happened that night As a matter of fact, the Coca-Cola, which was the sponsor, was overwhelmed with letters and postcards from people saying they had never seen such a remarkable story. on television before. This gentleman writing in from Grand Rapids, Michigan, he said, I'm writing the first fan letter of my 52 years of a rather full life to compliment you on sponsoring a Charlie Brown Christmas television program. I don't know when any program has delighted as many adults as well as children, and I'm writing to express the hope that you might be able to sponsor additional Charlie Brown programs. And as Paul Harvey used to say, Now you know the rest of the story.

So what better way to conclude our time together than than to hear the Gospel story presented by Linus. Sites, please. And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night, and lo the angel of the LORD came upon them. and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not. For behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David. A Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you.

He shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. And shame. Glory to God in the highest. An an earth piece Good will toward men.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. And that's what Christmas is all about, America.

Well, we have had a wonderful time together on the radio for these past three hours. I can't thank you enough for joining us, and I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. But also, we should remember some very important people who are not celebrating Christmas at home this year: the men and women of our armed forces serving all across America, standing guard so that all of us can celebrate with our families safely. I hope you remember them, and I hope you pray for our fighting men and women all around the world. Folks, it's been a wonderful, wonderful celebration.

I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. We wish you the merriest. the very The merriest, the merriest. We wish you the merriest, the merriest, the merriest. Yes, yes, the merriest.

We wish you the merriest, the merriest, the merriest. You'll cheat on the You the happiest, the happiest The happiest, yes the happiest We wish you the happiest, the happiest, the happiest, the happiest New Year May your tree be filled with happiness this year. Happiness prevails. Let's go. May your heart be filled with cheerfulness, happiness, and cheerfulness for all.

Me with you luck. The happiest, the happiest The happiest, yes, the happiest. We wish you the merriest, the merriest, the merriest. Your cheer power. And the happiest may your dream be filled with happiness happiness and friendliness for all may your heart be filled with cheerfulness with happiness and cheerfulness and friendliness for all we wish you the happiest, the happiest, the happiest.

You're the happiest story. You're the merriest, the merriest, the merriest, your cheer, and the happiest, the friendliest, the merriest new year