Lauren Riihimaki Shares Holiday Tips and Discusses Her New Podcast

Mediaplanet chatted with Canadian YouTuber, Television & Podcast Host and DIY expert Lauren Riihimaki about her favourite holiday activities, dealing with holiday stress, her new podcast, and more

What’s your favourite part about the winter months and holiday season?

I absolutely love the holidays. Living in LA, it’s my favourite time to come back home to Canada. The energy around the holidays feels different in the best way and my time spent here is always focused on family and catching up with loved ones. Canadian winters used to be my worst nightmare, but snow becomes much more exciting and magical when you have the privilege of hopping back on a plane to the sun a few weeks later. With that said, I hope and wish with every fibre of my being for snow at Christmas. 

How have you spent the holidays differently living in LA versus Canada?

I think we’ll always try to make it home to Canada for Christmas! Between my boyfriend and me, our families are in the Niagara Region, Ontario, and Chicago, so we do a bit of a holiday loop to see everyone. We had our first LA Christmas last year, not by choice. It was incredibly difficult to be separated from family and I think it really confirmed that we prefer to be in the colder climates with our families to really feel the true holiday spirit. 

Do you have advice for anyone dealing with holiday stress during these times?

Holiday stress is real. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve embraced the gift of quality time more than anything. It’s easy to get excited about the physical gifting element of the holidays, especially when you’re younger but more than anything I just want to spend time with loved ones. Try to focus on being present instead of literal presents. There can be a lot of pressure around holiday gatherings and family drama, but I think it’s so important to cherish family traditions and connection. Being away from home in a different country for the majority of the year has grown my perspective immensely.

What are some of your favourite holiday activities to do with your family and friends?

As a family, we typically visit a Christmas tree farm and hand select and cut down our own tree. We usually stop at Tim Hortons on the way home and spend the next day or so decorating the tree and laughing at the eclectic collection of DIY ornaments I’ve made throughout the years. There are a few baby photo ornaments of me that are particularly unflattering that we love to joke about. Christmas Eve is shared with my parents’ anniversary, so we usually celebrate with steak and lobster, champagne, and a nostalgic Christmas movie. 

How do you include your mini Bull Terrier, Moose, in the holiday activities?

Being raised in sunny LA, Moose does not enjoy the cold — to the point that we have to shovel out a little area in the frozen grass for him to use the bathroom, because he wants to touch the snow as little as possible and shivers even with the warmest doggy coat. He really enjoys the indoor holiday festivities, though. He has his own stocking at our house and my parents’ house, gets his own presents under the tree to unwrap and is on high alert for dog-friendly Christmas table food that might fall from the counter. He’s the only dog in our family, so is deservingly spoiled and receiving love nonstop. 

Can you tell us more about your podcast series Wild ‘Til 9?

Wild ‘Til 9 is the podcast that I co-host alongside my boyfriend Jeremy. We tackle topics that most 20-somethings experience at some point — everything from being ghosted by your love interest, pop culture, and mental health to dating and surviving the holidays under different dynamics of family stress. It’s been great having a long-format platform to host our honest and raw conversations around relatable and entertaining moments for our audience.     

Is there anything that we should be on the lookout for from LaurDIY during the holidays?

Watch out for Season 2 of Craftopia holiday episodes, streaming on HBO Max in the U.S. and on Crave in Canada. We’ve got four holiday-themed episodes that you’ll binge in a single sitting. Each episode has three adult expert crafters going head-to-head in timed challenges to compete for $10,000. Our judges are full of holiday sass and aren’t always bringing the holiday cheer in their honest opinions. It’s so much fun, guaranteed to impress everyone at home, and a great holiday show to share with your family.