Smart Money Happy Hour with Rachel Cruze and George Kamel
Cringe or Festive: Judging Your Holiday Traditions
18 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What holiday traditions are being judged in this episode?
Today, we're either co-signing your favorite holiday traditions or mildly judging them. Tis the season.
It feels like a lot of effort in a season to get nothing out of it. Wow. I guess except for joy.
Let's talk about Elf on the Shelf.
Our elf is Sprinkles. Sometimes she is so tired.
We're going to get roasted for this one. I'm going cringe.
Shoot, George, I was too. Are we the same person? Hey, guys, I'm Rachel Cruz.
I'm George Camel.
And this is Smart Money Happy Hour.
Cheers, George. Cheers.
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Chapter 2: How is the Elf on the Shelf tradition perceived?
And Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.
Merry Christmas. I do feel like my effort towards your clinking these days. You noticed it finally? I did, actually, just now. Because you did. You were reaching far.
I'm going to have the team create a montage of every time you clink. Can I reach?
Yeah, listen, you got it. Cheers, George.
To show you just how little effort you go. Like, I think my arm is actually elongated just by doing this show.
I think I end up doing this and, like, making you.
Well, honestly, I just think maybe she has an arm situation where she can't extend it that far.
I think I'm just like a clinking princess. That's what I'm going to call myself.
Well, honestly, I don't want to make Rachel do too much work.
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Chapter 3: What are the hosts' thoughts on Christmas lights?
Yeah.
So I respect those that do.
Okay. How about this? Any yard decor. Meaning like a nativity or the reindeer in Santa. I'm thinking Christmas vacation. But like anything.
Oh, you're not for it? I do. Here's what we do. I know. I'll green light this one. We do the, like our little reindeer. It's tasteful. And little like gift boxes that are lit up.
Okay, cute. Yeah.
And they're like tasteful. They're not like hokey looking. They're classy.
I got it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's all we have out there. And a wreath on the door. I love a door wreath.
Oh, we have wreaths on our windows. Oh, that's classy. It was my dream. We did it like probably three years ago and we've done it every year since. It literally makes my heart so happy. I know. I just love it. That's something I need to look into. All right, next up, matching PJs.
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Chapter 4: Are matching holiday pajamas considered festive or cringe?
A lot of them are from Salt Lake City, yes. But Rachel Parcell, I have followed her for like 10 years. And every year I follow her during Christmas because her and her husband put on, I guess it's at their house. I can't remember. This elaborate adult thing. gingerbread making contests. And the table of like ingredients is like, I mean, it's like a dining room table.
It is full and all the adults come and it's like this whole thing. And so that's fun to watch via my phone. But I don't know if I would participate.
Because it's like the most excessive, craziest, coolest version of it.
Yes, which is great for them. Like it's not bad. But I'm like, I just am not creative. Like I don't even know architecturally where I would begin to make a gingerbread house on my own.
You know, Winston would be good at that though.
Yeah, he can build things. So, yeah, maybe if he was my partner in it. But I'm going to go cringe all the way around. I don't know. I don't like it. I just – I don't know. It's too much.
I don't want to do it if it's at a party and they're like, we're doing gingerbread houses. I'm like, I'll pass. I'll be out on the back porch drinking my – Your eggnog. My martini. All right, next up on the list, cringe or festive, Christmas-themed restaurants.
Ooh, so festive. Yes.
I'm going festive, but I'm also going –
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Chapter 5: How do the hosts feel about gingerbread house making?
I'm going festive.
I do think it's festive, but then here's my dilemma. I don't know what to do with it after.
I know.
Because I collect it.
Yep. And then a year later I go. January hits. I know. You got to throw them out. Well, here's the funny thing. The reason I think people did them is so that you can update and show everyone your family year to year because no one sees them. But now that we have the internet.
That's true.
We see the families all the time.
And here's the other thing. I love getting them. So it's not that I don't think it's cringe to do them.
No, and we do them.
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Chapter 6: What is the verdict on Christmas-themed restaurants?
And then it's like poisonous if my dog eats it. I'm like, I can't handle this right now.
I think those are poinsettias that are poisonous, right?
Either way, I've told my wife that are poisonous to dogs so that we don't get one.
You don't have to do the cleanup.
It's true.
I think it's fun when people have them, but I can't. Yeah. I don't have time. I can't do it.
But here's the cringe part about real trees. People who think they're better than the fake tree people.
Oh, that's true. There's a pride there. That's what's cringe. Will you humble yourselves, people, before the Lord? Humble yourself. That is, don't be judging.
In the Advent season, may we all humble ourselves before baby Jesus.
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