Everyone knows that Christmas movies make for a fun family holiday tradition. How about starting one with podcasts this year? Podcasts take us back to when families gathered around the radio to listen to stories and shows together. Without the images of movies, they leave room for the imagination to fill in the gaps. They are also great for road trips or to put on in the background while cooking or doing other activities together.
We’ve gathered some wonderful holiday-themed podcasts to enjoy together this season.
Story-Telling
In the Santa’s Podcast, younger children can listen to stories straight from Santa Claus. Most of the stories are under 10 minutes, making them convenient to play throughout the season. Listen to one a day as a countdown to Christmas. Or, you can play one instead of reading books at night on days when you spent all your energy preparing a magical Christmas celebration for your family.
Welcome to Tinsel Town: A Christmas Adventure is an eight-episode story of a young girl named Holly who finds herself stuck in Tinsletown after making a wish. There, in Tinsletown, every day is Christmas, and Holly will need the help of her new friends to get back home. This complete story is perfect for a car trip or bedtime story leading up to Christmas day.
StoryNory provides free audio stories read aloud in charming English voices. Listen to classic Christmas stories like The Night Before Christmas or original stories like Katie and the Christmas Chimney and The ‘Cat’ who scared the Christmas Trolls, a Scandinavian folktale. In addition to Christmas stories, you can find The Nosy Neighbour, a history of the Jewish Festival of Lights, Song of a Dream, a poem about Diwali, the Hindu Festival of lights. By the way, you might want to keep this podcast in your pocket all year round!
All About Christmas
Older children and multiple generations that enjoy history and trivia will love the Christmas Past podcast. Full of the history of Christmas the show offers the “backstory” on subjects like Mrs. Claus, poinsettias, and slow globes. Listen to interviews of authors or the host, Brian Earl, as they read holiday stories. There are also quizzes and roundtables with guest appearances.
Cheer, a podcast for every holiday, brings you readings of stories like A Charlie Brown Christmas, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, or the Polar Express. Listen to reviews of holiday movies, T.V. shows, or toys. A favorite is Dear Santa, where the hosts read letters to Santa that range from sweet to funny to demanding. You might want to listen to these first or reserve them for older kids’ ears who won’t have their belief in Christmas jeopardized by some questioning children who have written to Santa. A family who loves all holidays put together the HolidayMoons Podcast. In their episode, The HolidayMoons Podcast Keeps the Holiday Season Going they discuss the history of the Three Kings Day and ideas on how to celebrate it and how Russians celebrate Christmas on Russian New Year’s. Or how about some fun with The HolidayMoons Podcast Rocks An Ugly Christmas Sweater episode featuring the original Rudolph story, a bit on A Christmas Story movie, and a discussion on the history of ugly sweaters?
In the Spirit
Millennial Santa is a fun-to-listen-to show that answers kids’ Santa and North pole questions like how do you train your sled dogs to what’s your favorite meal. The breadth and depth of questions show just how creative and thoughtful kids are! We love their caring questions like How do You Cheer Yourself Up? or slightly suspicious ones like Why Can’t Planes See You Flying on Christmas Eve?
Comedian Tim Babb shares his love for all things holiday-related year-round in the podcast Can’t Wait for Christmas. Listen as he discusses the White Elephant Gift Exchange or The Snowman: Christmas’ Sidekick, which includes how to say “Merry Christmas” in several languages, including Klingon.
‘Tis the Podcast will delight you with episodes like What Really Makes A Santa? All Santas Inspire Us With The Christmas Spirit, where they chat about the movie Noelle and how to keep the Christmas spirit alive all year long.
Really?!
We love the Santa Claus movie, but a 45-minute podcast for each minute of it? This fun and unique Santa By The Minute Podcast receives 5-star reviews like this one, “Informative, Fun and Festive! Two great hosts with infectious, bubbly personalities. Fun for the holidays or all year round with tons of fantastic trivia tidbits about this film. I’ve never tried a ‘by the minute’ style podcast before, but I’m glad I started with this one.”
Which podcast will you select to entertain, bond over, and keep the Christmas spirit alive this holiday season? Whether you listen in the car, at bedtime, or sitting by your decorated tree, we hope you will have a chuckle or two and be filled with warm cozy feelings with these family-friendly holiday podcasts!
