Holiday Wars - General Discussion

[mlp]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

The judges were really trying to sell a "oh they were fighting but now they're all getting along and working together" narrative for the team that ultimately got eliminated, but I wasn't buying it.

I was worried that they were going to keep them for the drama instead of the other team that did far better work.  They didn't even mention the poor quality of the horse.  Parker was an immature PIA but the other two weren't much better.

I feel like I should know the big guy on the other team, the one who was helping the woman who shouldn't have needed all that help, but I can't place him.

[Grizzly]

That whole situation with the new girl micromanaging and then the mean girls pitching in seemed manufactured. The judges kept saying the 2 older women were veterans but I've never seen them in other shows. The true veteran is Aaron. I remember him from something and he is talented. Glad his team won. I didn't like the theme this week. It led to so so displays.

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, Grizzly said:

That whole situation with the new girl micromanaging and then the mean girls pitching in seemed manufactured. The judges kept saying the 2 older women were veterans but I've never seen them in other shows. The true veteran is Aaron. I remember him from something and he is talented. Glad his team won. I didn't like the theme this week. It led to so so displays.

He was on Holiday Baking Championship last season and was top 4. He made the NYC cake and didn't know black/white cookies. I thought it was funny that he was the cookie expert here. He can bake though. 

[mojoween]

I for one am Team Parker.  But that could be because every time they told us how DARK Heather is I liked that team less and less.

The blond lady on the second place team looked familiar too, like maybe from Halloween Wars. 

[Rammchick]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

He was on Holiday Baking Championship last season and was top 4. He made the NYC cake and didn't know black/white cookies. I thought it was funny that he was the cookie expert here. He can bake though. 

Thank you!  I knew I knew him from somewhere!

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

That whole situation with the new girl micromanaging and then the mean girls pitching in seemed manufactured. The judges kept saying the 2 older women were veterans but I've never seen them in other shows. 

I guess he meant veterans in the industry, not necessarily on baking shows.

There was no way that was going to end well for them.  And although they rallied at the end to put up a somewhat finished piece, the nail was already in the coffin and the new girl walked away from the other two without a glance back.  

[MerBearHou]

Aaron is a favorite from HBC so it’s great to see him again! 

How are these teams put together — anyone know?  It often seems to me like these people don’t even know each other.  

Edited November 20, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Salacious Kitty]

23 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Aaron is a favorite from HBC so it’s great to see him again! 

How are these teams put together — anyone know?  It often seems to me like these people don’t even know each other.  

I was watching Holiday Wars reruns last night. A guy on the losing team in the finale said that they might not have won, but he has two new best friends.

I think the groupings are completely random.

[MerBearHou]

3 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

I was watching Holiday Wars reruns last night. A guy on the losing team in the finale said that they might not have won, but he has two new best friends.

I think the groupings are completely random.

Thanks, SK.  It certainly feels random.  

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Thanks, SK.  It certainly feels random.  

That is what I thought as well. 

So the one man on the team that left doesn't have a sense of taste or smell. That is interesting. 

[Salacious Kitty]

9 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

That is what I thought as well. 

So the one man on the team that left doesn't have a sense of taste or smell. That is interesting. 

Covid?

[RoxiP]

10 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

That is what I thought as well. 

So the one man on the team that left doesn't have a sense of taste or smell. That is interesting. 

I had a friend who didn't have a sense of smell due to allergies (years before covid) and when you can't smell you lose a great deal of your sense of taste (something I didn't realize until I met her).  She had to always have a fire alarm over her stove in case stuff started burning because if she stepped away from the stove she wouldn't be able to smell burning stuff.

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Covid?

Brain tumor. 

[libgirl2]

48 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Brain tumor. 

Yes. Seems like when he was fairly young too. 

[Salacious Kitty]

57 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Brain tumor. 

Thanks. Haven't had a chance to watch yet 

[Grizzly]

Anyone notice Aarti's emerald ring? So gorgeous, I'm jealous. I think the teams are finding their groove. There weren't any glaring errors, everyone finished. Sure, the giant gingerbread man was a scale issue. There was nothing wrong with their elements. But besides the windows of their background, what did the sugar artist do? Putting the mistletoe display in the bottom 2 was just nitpicking.  They should judge on the final piece, not on who did what. Knew the Santa display was winning. It was quite good and was the best at meeting the challenge. 

[libgirl2]

7 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Anyone notice Aarti's emerald ring? So gorgeous, I'm jealous. I think the teams are finding their groove. There weren't any glaring errors, everyone finished. Sure, the giant gingerbread man was a scale issue. There was nothing wrong with their elements. But besides the windows of their background, what did the sugar artist do? Putting the mistletoe display in the bottom 2 was just nitpicking.  They should judge on the final piece, not on who did what. Knew the Santa display was winning. It was quite good and was the best at meeting the challenge. 

Yea, I didn't get the whole thing about them not working cohesively. It looked fine to me, though it was obvious Santa would win. 

Aarti's ring was gorgeous. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by libgirl2

[RoxiP]

I really have a hard time knowing who is on these teams.  I can't remember from week to week who goes home and have to do a process of elimination thought process...LOL!

[MerBearHou]

10 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I really have a hard time knowing who is on these teams.  I can't remember from week to week who goes home and have to do a process of elimination thought process...LOL!

Ha -- same here!  Literally the only 2 I remember week to week are Aaron who we've seen before (and I like so much) and the baby-voice woman from Ukraine (so glad she's gone -- I have a very hard time listening to squeaky voices like that -- I mute a lot).

The Santa winners this week -- I said "who's that?!!"  They did do great work so well done.

[RoxiP]

I can usually remember individual members from most of the teams but as far as knowing what the names of their teams are - no such luck.  I do know the eliminated team (and you are right - the Ukrainian woman and the cake artist I remember because they were the feuding ones one week) was Peppermint something.  The winners this week I identify the guy in that group because he looks more like he should be hanging out playing video games than baking, and then there's the team with the tall cookie artist whom we've seen before (is that Aaron?) and the lady the judges say takes on too many of the tasks, there is a team that has a blonde woman who I think is the sugar artist - other than that they all kind of blend together to me.

[Grizzly]

Again, the judges were commenting that Aaron's cake person always did their characters.  Well, the lady who did the shark always does their characters too. It's something all the cake artists do since they typically make big pieces. The undersea pieces were nice but nothing spectacular. Kind of happy that the sugar lady who kept bragging  that she did everything by hand went home.

[mlp]

I'm still having trouble keeping everyone straight.  I wish they'd show the winning and losing displays along side the teams when they announce who won and who is leaving.  Five minutes after the show ended, I couldn't remember which display was which.  ???

[Grizzly]

Sea horses went home, all woman team that hadn't won a challenge yet. Don't quote me but I think the shark won the night.

[mlp]

Thanks, Grizzly.  I wasn't sorry to see the all-women team go but I couldn't remember which display was theirs.  I liked the other teams better anyway.

[Spunkygal]

For Holiday Wars, I subscribe to the great Charles Phoenix’s “where’s the glitter? Where’s the holiday?” The creations weren’t bad last night but held zero festive or holiday interest for me. Bah humbug. I did love that the guy did the gin martini dessert. I long for a show with true holiday schmaltz. 

[Madding crowd]

I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t remember which team did each display. Each week when they announce who is going home I have to rewind to see what they made.

[Rammchick]

11 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I’m glad I’m not the only one who can’t remember which team did each display. Each week when they announce who is going home I have to rewind to see what they made.

The show doesn't make it clear either, by showing the team's piece when they're eliminated.

[RoxiP]

I was sad to see the only team I recognized eliminated last night but they were the right ones to go.  What were they thinking with their "stylized" Christmas design?  Honestly Christmas is all about vibrancy and lights and colors...even if they had accomplished their design well I think it would have been a dangerous design choice.

Now it is between the guy with the curly hair and the guy who makes interesting flavor combinations (that's how I categorize them...LOL!). 

[libgirl2]

30 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

I was sad to see the only team I recognized eliminated last night but they were the right ones to go.  What were they thinking with their "stylized" Christmas design?  Honestly Christmas is all about vibrancy and lights and colors...even if they had accomplished their design well I think it would have been a dangerous design choice.

Now it is between the guy with the curly hair and the guy who makes interesting flavor combinations (that's how I categorize them...LOL!). 

I think they could have had the color be bigger. It was just way too small. 

[mlp]

1 hour ago, RoxiP said:

I was sad to see the only team I recognized eliminated last night but they were the right ones to go.

I was sad to see them go too because I really liked the young guy in the glasses.  I can't argue with the decision though.  Their concept was interesting but it wasn't executed well and they had too much empty space.  The dark tree was ugly.  I think the remaining two teams are pretty evenly matched so I'll be OK with either winning.

[Grizzly]

I really liked Aarti's green dress. Very sorry to see Aaron and his team go. Maybe angled their display differently. If they had Santa and the window on the other side. Then the boy would have been facing the judges. 

To me, the remaining 2 teams are the preppies and the chain gang.

[Grizzly]

Finale was OK. I thought the challenge was to put lights on something that wasn't a house. So an elf house and a houseboat. Agree with the judges that the elf house could've been better if it were a different color. Red would've been nice. And the houseboat needed movement. So long Shinmin, see you in September. Anyone know what is coming in this time slot next?

[Maverick]

It's usually Worst Cooks in America in January.  

[MerBearHou]

I thought both final bakes were really charming and I liked both of these teams.  I agreed with the judges about the pale elf house up against a pale background -- you would think that these bakers would know from past shows that things need to differentiate and stand out / not blend in, especially if they're a light color.  Same with last week's odd choice of so much black in their piece.  

I was absolutely good with the decision on the winner -- that houseboat and dock with lights outlining it and all of the little details were just delightful and again, I really liked all 3 bakers.  

 

[mlp]

Both teams did a good job but the elf house did need more contrast.  I actually liked the houseboat better so I was glad that team won.  I also liked the team members on that one.  They worked well together all season without bickering.  I liked the man on the other team but not the women so I wasn't sorry they lost.

[RealityCheck]

A new season of HOLIDAY WARS will premiere Sunday, November 3rd at 9PM ET/PT with judges Kardea Brown and Shinmin Li and host Jeff Mauro.

[Grizzly]

The right team went home. Their movie wasn't clear and the tasting element wasn't successful. Did anyone notice the one baking assistant who was standing in the background at one of the teams with her hands in her pockets? I always wonder what the assistants are given to do. The bad gnomes were adorable. I think he was on the Christmas cookie show last year. And yes, Theresa should know by now what the judges are looking for by now. Wasn't she just on the Halloween Wars?

[mlp]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

The right team went home. Their movie wasn't clear and the tasting element wasn't successful. Did anyone notice the one baking assistant who was standing in the background at one of the teams with her hands in her pockets? I always wonder what the assistants are given to do

Their piece was cute but I didn't understand it and the workmanship wasn't good.  I didn't get why Santa was vacationing with a robot.

I've wondered about the assistants too.  They never seem to show up on camera so I've never had any idea about what they contribute.

At the very beginning as they showed all the teams, I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan who was just on the Halloween baking show.

I like Kardea's glasses.  I hate Jeff's very short haircut.

[mojoween]

I wonder if Kardea stepped in because this show and Halloween Wars are recorded back to back, because Aarti seemed like she was getting more ill by the last two shows.

[mlp]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

wonder if Kardea stepped in because this show and Halloween Wars are recorded back to back, because Aarti seemed like she was getting more ill by the last two shows.

Aarti has been ill?  I didn't know that.

[Salacious Kitty]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

Aarti has been ill?  I didn't know that.

She seemed very congested in the last few episodes of Halloween Wars. I just figured they swapped her out for Christmas. 

I like Kardea, but her look was all whitickey whack. The hair and glasses did nothing for her. 

[Rammchick]

On 11/3/2024 at 9:36 PM, mlp said:

I've wondered about the assistants too.  They never seem to show up on camera so I've never had any idea about what they contribute.

Yep, I said the same thing this time, and I've noticed it before.  How is it possible that they never manage to capture any of them on camera?

 

On 11/3/2024 at 9:36 PM, mlp said:

At the very beginning as they showed all the teams, I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan who was just on the Halloween baking show. 

Yep, I saw him as well.  I thought I also saw Briea, but the shot was so quick, I wasn't sure.

[Splashy]

On 11/5/2024 at 11:22 AM, Rammchick said:

I'm pretty sure I saw Jonathan who was just on the Halloween baking show.

Yes, it was Jonathan. Looking forward to seeing more of his work. I think I saw a few other familiar faces. I just started watching the Wars shows last year, so I'm not that familiar with the history of the series. 

[RoxiP]

For a moment when they first showed Kardea I thought she was Gayle King.

[Pepper the Cat]

Watching that cake fall was heartbreaking. Good on them for making a comeback

 

[Salacious Kitty]

25 minutes ago, Pepper the Cat said:

Watching that cake fall was heartbreaking. Good on them for making a comeback

 

Not to mention they survived and advanced! Quite a feat if they really only had 20 minutes to fix it. 

[Grizzly]

Oh darn, I really like Javier. I thought his tasting element would push them across the finish line. Snow Good was by far the best team tonight. Their parkour display was nearly flawless. And they worked well together, very supportive. Such a veteran move by Jonathan to say we need to all work on Santa. 

[Rammchick]

The decision made no sense to me, however.  The other team's display was awful, and no one could taste the chili in their tasting element.  And yet, they were saved and the team with the fabulous tasting element was tossed out.

[RoxiP]

I guess they are recycling contestants these days - I know I've seen Javier (and of course Jonathan) before.  I thought the team that went home's display was underwhelming.  There was this giant Santa and this giant snowman but nothing else - the beautiful cookie pine trees were disproportionate too the characters and the characters were so large that they took up all the space.