Dec. 12, 2025

The Christmas tree made from 100,000 balloons

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mack shares five Christmas-themed good news stories. An English hotel features a unique Christmas tree made from 100,000 balloons, designed by artist Naomi to raise money for charity. In London, an AI-generated Christmas mural baffles viewers with its distorted figures. Dr. Claire, a music psychologist, curates the world's happiest Christmas car playlist, naming Brenda Lee's 'Rocking Around the Christmas Tree' as the top song. Buffalo, NY, is crowned the Christmas Capital of America, boasting numerous holiday events and significant snowfall. Lastly, a Phoenix couple wins ABC's 'The Great Christmas Light Fight' with their extravagant holiday decorations.

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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Caloroga Shark Media. Hi there, I'm Johnny Mack with five

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good news Christmas stories. In England, a hotel has unveiled

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a Christmas tree made from one hundred thousand balloons. Yeah,

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there's also a transparent dome to protect the tree's parts

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from popping or blowing away. That's good. Naomi is a

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balloon artist and the owner of Balloon color Blending. She

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came up with the idea as a way to raise

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money for charity. Each balloon could be sponsored for a

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little over three bucks, while thirteen bucks or so can

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purchase a memorial balloon in honor of a lost loved

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one one hundred and sixty five dollars can purchase a

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branded ornament on the tree. She explained, way to massive team.

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We had engineers, blowers and a design team. We brought

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together one hundred thousand biodegradable balloons, precision engineering and a

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bespoke globe to create something magical, all while supporting vital

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local charities. That's fun. In London, people were left baffled

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by what appeared to be a botched AI generated Christmas

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mural showing a Santa like figure with a half orange

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beard and revelers with disfigured faces. Oops. At first glance,

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you think it's just, you know, a fun crowd enjoying

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Christmas season. But closer inspection reveals a disturbing array of figures,

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including people with warped faces, a snowman with strange facial features,

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and dogs with the heads of birds. Father Christmas is there,

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his eyes are shut and his beard is half oarnged

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and half white. One social media user said, the entire

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thing is horrendous. Apparently the mural is being removed and

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that's your good news. Music psychologist Doctor Claire has created

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the world's Happiest Christmas car playlist, designed to help keep

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everyone smiling during stressful holiday journeys. According to doctor Claire,

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the tune that scientifically ticks every box of the formula

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is not Mariah Carries All I Want for Christmas, even

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though forty five percent of drivers in a poll said

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that song brings them the most joy. Oh No, the

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correct answer is Brent to Lee's Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.

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Other songs that meet their criteria include Felicie Navidad by

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Jose Feliciano, Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms, and Holly,

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Jolly Christmas by Michael Boublay. Congratulations to Buffalo, New York.

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According to a new study, that might be the Christmas

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capital of America. Boy, there's one of these every episode. John,

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I know this one was sponsored by an online crypto casino,

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and they say Buffalo takes the crown after telling up.

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It's hundreds of holiday events, as many as eight hundred

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and it's very on brand. December snowfall of more than

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twenty five inches of snow. They say the odds of

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waking up to snow on Christmas or a healthy fifty

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three percent. One of the big draws is the Buffalo

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Holiday Market, a European style setup filled with artisan crafts,

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local food, and of course Santa stops by. If that's

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not enough for you, there's a Tom and Jerry trail. No,

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that's not a cat and Mouse cartoon. It's twelve stops

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serving the old school rum and brandy drink. That's like

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Eggnog's tipsy cousin number two. Aspen, Colorado been there, can

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totally see that. What a pretty place. Not cheap. Park City,

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Utah came in third. They get thirty inches of December snow.

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New York City fourth place because of its iconic markets,

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skating ranks the roquettes and department store windows. At number five, Minneapolis,

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Congrats to a Phoenix couple. They grabbed one of the

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biggest holiday bragging rights around. They won ABC's The Great

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Christmas Light Fight. Carl and Patty walked away with fifty

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thousand dollars after their four bedroom house outshown competitors from

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California and Maryland. What started in twenty fourteen has turned

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into a packed wonderland featuring glowing blow mold snowmen, a

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twenty two penguin colony that's neat, a kid sized winterfest village,

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a pun heavy Gingerassic Park, and even Arizona's tiniest Christmas

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tree viewable through a microscope. Those are your five good

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News Christmas stories for today. Have a good day.