The Rock says the reindeer eat all the carrots (5 Good News Christmas Stories)

0:03 Calaroga Shark Media. Hey there, I'm Johnny Mack with five good news Christmas stories. Yes, we're getting closer and closer to Santa's Big Day, so I will be sprindling in more and more of these Christmas episodes. Today, I want to talk about this Christmas tree dilemma a lot of us are facing. You know, now the Thanksgiving's done, we're all thinking about Christmas trees. And there's this interesting question what's better for the planet, real or artificial. Now here's something interesting. According to Statista, about seventy percent of American households are planning to put up a Christmas tree this year.

0:45 And get this, forty six percent are going artificial, while twenty four percent are keeping it real. But you know what's kind of funny, a lot of people are actually getting multiple trees these days. Mac Harmon, he's the CEO of Balsam Hill, one of the big artificial tree companies. He says most of the growth they're seeing is from people buying second trees. I guess one tree just isn't enough anymore. When it comes to climate impact. We're not talking about huge numbers here, even if you only use an artificial tree. For one year, it produces about forty pounds of global warming gases, while a natural tree is about seventeen pounds. To put that in perspective, flying from Chicago to New York produces more than three hundred and fourteen pounds. But if you really want to help the planet, here's what the experts say. If you go real, try to recycle it properly. Mulching is best. Bill Lindberg from a Michigan State university says, recycle it, mulch it, get it chipped up. It can be a soil improver. Down in Georgia, they've got this great program called Bring One for the Chipper. They've kept over six million trees out of landfills. And if you go artificial, just make sure you use it for at least five years. After that you're breaking even with real trees in terms of environmental impact.

1:54 And here's a pro tip. If you find a used artificial tree where the lights don't work anymore, just add some new life and you're good to go. The Kansas City Mavericks hockey team just showed us they've got big hearts both on and off the ice. Between games and Thanksgiving celebrations. Six of the players, Justin McPherson, Luke Lowhit, Daniel Amesbury, j Powell, Casey Carow, and David Knowell took time out to visit Wayside Waifs, which happens to be Kansas City's largest no kill animal shelter. Now, these guys didn't just show up for a photo op. They really got their hands dirty. First, they got a tour of the place to learn about the shelter's mission. Then they got to have some fun with the newest arrivals, a bunch of puppies who just got into the shelter. The players rolled up their sleeves and helped unload an entire trailer full of donated pet supplies. We're talking food, toys, all the essentials these animals need. And since it's the holiday season, they stuck around to help decorate the adoption center and make it all festive for the animals and visitors.

2:48 The team's been doing even more and they've been donating a dog leash for every dog that gets adopted from Wayside Waifs. Hey, good news if you're tacky. It turns out a tacky crismith is actually the hot new trend this year. And if you're thinking, wait, isn't that just Christmas? Well you're not alone. Samantha Ulrich Herman, who creates Cozy content out in Portland, had the same reaction. She says, what they were showing was all of the stuff I grew up with and how my parents decorate. And I just thought it was hilarious because I'm like, that's just Christmas. Instead of trying to make everything match perfectly like you see on social media, this trend is all about bringing out those scratched up ornaments, the multicolored lights, maybe even that old trainset that goes around the tree. Erika Coacola from Pennsylvania puts it perfectly. She asks, what makes you feel more warm and fuzzy seeing color and whimsy and different figures and shapes and everything, or just a neutral Christmas tree? Instead of buying new decorations every year, people are digging out their old ornaments, hitting up thrift stores or using hand me downsk Cola says opening her Christmas boxes is like a trip down memory lane. I open the box and there's my favorite ornament. There's just so many memories attached to it that you just don't have when you're going to big box doors and buying new things every single year. As for calling it TACKI, well, Kukola thinks that's just because people don't know what else to call it. She says, they don't really know how to say. It's whimsical, colorful, vintage Christmas. I mean, that's a lot more words. Charlotte Motor Speedway is making sure

4:19 everyone gets to experience some Christmas magic this year. They're bringing back Signing Santa for their fifteenth annual Speedway Christmas on December sixth, from six to ten pm. Santa will be welcoming kids in a really special way using American sign language. Families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing can visit Santa in his workshop, share their Christmas wishes, take some festive photos, and just enjoy spending time with the big man in Red. Greg Walter, who runs the Charlotte Motor Speedway, put it perfectly. He said, in the spirit of holiday inclusivity, we are proud to bring Signing Santa back to Speedway Christmas. Presented by Atrium Health, our goal is to create an experience that celebrates community, spreads joy, and reminds us of the true spirit of the season, and I will leave you with the wisdom of Dwayne Johnson. The Rock says, you know how it's impossible to get kids to sleep on Christmas Eve, Well, the Rock doesn't even try anymore. He said, what we have started doing is we stay up late on Christmas Eve, not too late. Instead of fighting it, they just make it part of the fun, watching Christmas movies together until the kids finally pass out. What we'll do is we'll leave out the cookies that they made and their notes.

5:24 And you also got to leave out the oats and the carrots and things like that. For all the reindeer. It's crazy because in the morning when you guys have kids, it was like when you were a kid. The reindeer they eat all the food. It's amazing, man. And those are your five good News Christmas stories for today. Back tomorrow with a normal episode and then more Christmas Stories on the weekend. You have an awesome day.