Nov. 8, 2025

The best Christmas Markets to check out this 2025 season

Show Notes
Transcript

In this festive roundup, Johnny Mac shares five uplifting Christmas stories. Country legend Willie Nelson releases a new holiday single, 'Christmas Love Song,' part of his latest album 'Working Man, Willie Sings Merl.' Kevin the Carrot, Aldi's mascot, proposes in a new ad campaign, celebrating his 10th anniversary. Holland, Michigan transforms into a Hallmark movie-like holiday destination with various events including a parade and ice rink. Travel experts highlight Europe's best Christmas markets, from Vienna to Stockholm. Finally, Netflix's holiday movies, including 'Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas,' 'No Sleep Till Christmas,' and 'Same Time, Next Christmas,' promise to add some cheer to the season.

5 Good News Stories is a daily podcast with five positive, uplifting news stories to brighten your day. New episodes every day. Follow on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Part of the Caloroga Shark Media network

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Calaroka Shark Media. Hey there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news Christmas stories. Boy, this first one has me

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missing my mom. My Mom was a huge Willie Nelson fan.

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I've got a big giants at blown up picture of

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her and Willie and she looks just so happy in it.

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Mom is gone. Willie Nelson's still around. He has released

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a new holiday single. It is called Christmas Love Song.

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It features Mickey Raufael and Harmonica. Christmas Love Song is

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part of Willie Nelson's new album Working Man. Willie sings

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Merle eleven renditions of classic Merle Haggard songs that came

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out last week. Willie Nelson is back. Baby. Have you

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been following the saga of Kevin the Carrot? Honestly I hadn't,

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and then I saw this and I was like, oh,

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that's kind of fun. This is an ad campaign for

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the Aldi's Supermarket, and we have learned that Kevin the

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Carrot has popped the question in a new Christmas ad.

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That's that's right, al these beloved mascot, Kevin the Carrot

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is down on one knee. It's Kevin's tenth anniversary as

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a advertising carrot. The ad opens on a snowy evening

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outside Katie the Carrot's cozy home, where they're excitable. Dog

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Callie dog wags his tail beside a sparkling diamond ring

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on his collar and a scene that mirrors the iconic

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cue card confession from the two thousand and three film

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Love Actually, Kevin the Carrot silently flips through messages that

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read to me, you are twenty four Carrot C A

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R A T. Merry Christmas. But just like in the

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original movie moment, viewers are left hanging. What's Katie's answer?

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Al these hasn't told us yet. They're gonna roll out

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two more ads. What do you think she's gonna say, Matt?

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She says no, And this whole thing is like depressing.

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In the end, that would be amazing. Julie Ashfield is

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the chief commercial officer. Julie says, we know how much

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our customers door Kevin and Marcus tenth anniversary. We wanted

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to bring an extra sprinkle of magic and romance to

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his story. Now. Is it just me? Or is it

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weird that they both have the last name Kevin Garrett

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and Katie Carrett? Are they cousins? I don't want to

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go there. In Michigan, a town turns into a real

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life all Mark Christmas movie. That's right. Holland, Michigan transforms

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from a sunny beach destination into a snow covered holiday dream,

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complete with glowing lights, reindeer, and steaming cups of cocoa

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on heated sidewalks. Heated sidewalks, that's cool. Tech Kara is

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Downtown Holland's marketing coordinator, and Kara says, I've heard time

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and time again that it's like a town from a

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Hallmark movie, and I couldn't agree. More. Festivities kickoff on

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the fourteenth with the opening of Holland's brand new ice

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rink and the annual Shop Till You Drop a event.

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Other exciting events include the Holiday open House. On the

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twenty second, you can meet Santa peta reindeer, and enjoy

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roasted chestnuts. The Parade of Lights is December second. Center

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Clause Shuffle is a Dutch inspired celebration with lanterns, festive stops,

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and Center Clause himself on December fifth and sixth. On

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the sixth, thirteenth, and twentieth of December, Strolling Santa, You'll

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see Santa walking around downtown shops, and then on the

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morning of the thirteenth its shopping jam. Early morning shoppers

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can score major discounts. Head on over to Holland and

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Michigan details of Downtown Holland dot com. If you're more

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of a world traveler, the travel experts tell us Europe

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remains the spiritual home of the Christmas market, with Vienna,

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Basil and Strasburg leading the way in festive charm. Vienna's

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Rothasplaz transforms into a winter wonderland of reindeer trains, ferris

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wheels and gingerbread scented air Boswol's barfuser plots and mootster

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plots feature over one hundred and fifty stalls in Switzerland's

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signature cozy Cheer in Strasburg, one of Europe's oldest markets,

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which dates back to fifteen seventy, still in chance millions

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with its timber Shelle's Great Christmas Tree and rivers of

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mulled wine. In Scandinavia, Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens brings fairground rides,

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fireworks and one thousand Christmas trees to life, and Stockholm's

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Sconsin keeps the Swedish spirit alive In the world's oldest

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open air museum a little close at her home. In Toronto,

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Distillery Winter Village transforms the historic district into a festive

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maze of stalls. In New York Bryant Parks, Winter Village

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been there many times myself. There's a free ice rink

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there too. I've been there, done that. That's a lot

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of fun. And in Chicago, the Chris Kindle Market, modeled

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after Nuremberg's, now has three locations. Come by for the

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broughtworst beer and traditional gifts. Sign me up. All right.

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When we last left, I was telling you about Netflix

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Christmas movies out today. Ghosting the Spirit of Christmas, a

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Christmas romance with a strange, fantastical twist. We followed Jess,

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who was a perfect first date, and then, oh my god,

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something not at all good happens. What kind of Christmas

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movie is this? Let's just say she ghosts her date.

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Think about it? Yeah, what do we do in Netflix?

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All right? No sleep till Christmas. Hopefully this one goes

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a little better. Businesswoman Lizzie and bartender Billy strike up

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a connection when they learn of the one thing they

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have in common insomnia. Okay, and then there's the same

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time next Christmas. This one's set in Hawaii. Olivia returns

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to a Hawaiian resort where she reunites with her childhood

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sweetheart after being separated many years prior. Yeah, that's why

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we're looking for, not that plotline of the first one.

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What are you guys doing. There's some more coming out

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on the fifteenth, but we'll tell you about that next time.

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And those are your five good News Christmas stories. You

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have an awesome day.