Christmas Morning Present Haul and Unboxing Thanks Santa
Christmas Morning Present Haul and Unboxing Thanks Santa
Overview
In this special Christmas 2017 episode, John Daub steps away from Japan to celebrate the holidays in his home country, the United States. Broadcasting live from his brother's house in snowy Vermont, John shares a traditional American Christmas morning experience with his viewers. The video features an extensive unboxing session with his nieces, Corley and Lila, as they open gifts from Santa and family members.
This episode offers a rare glimpse into John's personal life and family dynamics outside of Japan. He contrasts the snowy, family-centric Christmas in America with the often quieter celebrations in Japan. Throughout the unboxing, John interacts with his brother Neal, other family members, and even the family dogs, creating a warm, intimate atmosphere. The video also touches on the expat experience, discussing the importance of returning home to visit aging parents and the differences between celebrating holidays in person versus via video call.
Viewers get to see a variety of gifts, from toys like Hatchimals and Lego sets to personal items like an Apple Watch and Vermont flannel scarves. John also highlights gifts sent from his wife Kanae in Japan, including a traditional Japanese doll. The episode concludes with John reflecting on the year, thanking his supporters, and teasing future content involving vintage photos from his early days in Japan.
Highlights
- 00:00 John Daub: Opens the stream with a snowy Christmas morning greeting from Vermont.
- 03:11 John Daub: Reacts to modern toys like Hatchimals, noting how different they are from his childhood.
- 04:16 Lila: Excitedly reveals a Lego Titanic set, prompting John to joke about Santa's sense of humor.
- 05:34 John Daub: Discusses a mask from Japan, connecting the US celebration back to his life abroad.
- 08:00 John Daub: Unboxes an Apple Watch and Vermont flannel scarves.
- 13:00 John Daub: Reveals a Japanese doll (Rika-chan) sent by Kanae, surprising the kids.
- 15:21 John Daub: Tests out a karaoke microphone gift with the family.
- 18:04 John Daub: Reflects on the expat experience and the importance of coming home for the holidays.
- 19:47 John Daub: Shows the heavy snow outside and discusses travel plans back to Tokyo.
- 23:09 John Daub: Thanks viewers and patrons, teasing a future episode with vintage photos from 1998-2003.
Timeline / Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction: Christmas Morning in Vermont
- 01:36 Entering the House: Gift Overview
- 03:07 Kids' Gifts: Hatchimals and Toys
- 04:16 The Lego Titanic and Magnifying Glass
- 05:59 Family Gifts and Handmade Cards
- 08:00 John's Gifts: Apple Watch and Scarves
- 12:07 Gifts from Kanae: Terrarium and Japanese Doll
- 15:21 Karaoke Microphone Unboxing
- 17:03 Family Dogs: Vaughn and Nova
- 18:04 Expat Reflections and Christmas Cake
- 19:47 Snow Outside and Travel Plans
- 23:09 Closing Thanks and Future Content Tease
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Rika-chan (リカちゃん): A popular Japanese fashion doll, similar to Barbie but with distinct Japanese styling. John receives one as a gift from Kanae, highlighting the cultural exchange between his life in Japan and his family in the US.
- Christmas in Japan vs. America: John notes that in America, kids wake up early (around 5 AM) excited for Santa, whereas Christmas in Japan is often quieter and less focused on morning gift openings. He mentions Christmas cake (Christmas log) is common in Japan, though he finds the one here less tasty.
- Expat Life: John discusses the importance of returning home to visit aging parents, a common theme for long-term expats. He mentions living in Japan since 1998, before the digital era, and plans to share vintage photos from that time.
Food & Drink Guide
- Christmas Log (Yule Log Cake): 18:04 John mentions eating one last night; notes it wasn't very good compared to expectations.
- Christmas Apple Pie: 18:04 Served alongside the cake at his brother's house.
- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups: 10:11 Received as a gift; John expresses excitement.
- Jelly Bellies: 05:51 Mentioned by Lila during gift opening.
People
- John Daub: Host and creator of Only in Japan Go. Currently visiting family in Vermont, USA.
- Corley: John's niece. Appears throughout the unboxing, opening toys like Hatchimals.
- Lila: John's niece. Excited about the Lego Titanic and Japanese doll.
- Neal: John's brother. Owner of the house where the celebration takes place.
- Kanae Daub: John's wife. Mentioned frequently; sent gifts from Japan including the Rika-chan doll.
- Family Members: Various relatives (Grammy, Pop, Nana, Amanda, Kevin) mentioned as gift givers.
- Vaughn & Nova: Family dogs who make a brief appearance during the stream.
Key Takeaways
- Expat Perspective: Celebrating Christmas in person with family holds a different weight than doing so via video call, especially for those living abroad.
- Cultural Differences: American Christmas traditions (early morning unboxing, snow, large family gatherings) contrast with John's usual experience in Japan.
- Family Connection: The video emphasizes the importance of visiting aging parents and maintaining family ties despite living overseas.
- Nostalgia: John hints at sharing vintage photos from his early days in Japan (1998-2003), offering a historical look at his expat journey.
Notable Quotes
- 00:00 John Daub: "This is not Japan, although this is the Only in Japan Go channel. I've decided to do a quick live stream here on Christmas morning."
- 03:48 John Daub: "They kind of look creepy. I don't know. We never had stuff like that when I was a kid."
- 04:20 John Daub: "Santa's got a sense of humor." (Regarding the sunk Titanic Lego set)
- 13:00 John Daub: "That's a Japanese Barbie. Here show me. That's a Japanese Barbie."
- 18:04 John Daub: "This is the reason why expats come home. And this is why yeah it's nice to come back to the US every now and then just to celebrate Christmas in person."
- 19:47 John Daub: "The best present of all I think might be all this beautiful snow."
Related Topics
- Expat Life in Japan
- Christmas Traditions in Japan vs. West
- Family Vlogs
- Vintage Japan Photos (1990s/2000s)
- Traveling Home for Holidays
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #christmas #vermont #unboxing #presents #family #expat #snow #christmas-morning #john-daub #rika-chan #live-stream #usa #holiday #gifts
Full Transcript
00:00 John Daub: Alright, hello everybody. It's Christmas morning. Merry Christmas from America. This is not Japan, although this is the Only in Japan Go channel. I've decided to do a quick live stream here on Christmas morning. Yeah, it's a white Christmas because I'm up here in Vermont. And this is a place with lots of snow. It's still coming down. Merry Christmas. Thanks for the messages, everybody. Yeah, you can see it just snowed last night. I guess we got about five or six inches, which is like 12 or 13 centimeters of snow. And it's really quite amazing to wake up to this. It's really caked on the car here. And it was one of those Christmases, you know, this is the one thing I think that separates Christmas in Japan to Christmas in America. You wake up on Christmas morning in America. And you know, kids get up at 5am because they want to see what Santa has left behind. And I'm sleeping in the living room next to the Christmas tree. And I heard all these noises around three in the morning. And I thought, was that Santa? What is it with those weird sounds? That was the kids upstairs because they're really excited. These are my brother's children, my nieces. And they're about, I guess, like six and eight now. But they were really excited. And Santa left behind an amazing haul. And I thought I would take you inside and check out a little bit of Christmas here.
01:36 John Daub: This is my brother's house where I am at now. So it is really cold. But it's nice to have snow coming down. I hope you're having a really wonderful Christmas wherever you are in the world. Because I know everybody is from somewhere else. And I have friends here that are watching from the Philippines and from Thailand. And from places like Singapore that they don't have snow at all. This is a lot of presents. I think Santa was pretty generous. Hot diggity dog.
03:07 Corley: Corley, what's your favorite present so far?
03:11 John Daub: Um... The one with the egg. You haven't opened a lot? So there are still many of them that are not opened yet. This is from Corley. This is Corley. From Santa. I wonder what that could be. Yeah! What did you get? What's that? What's a Hatchimal? What's a Hatchimal? Hatchimals. A Hatchimal. They kind of look creepy. I don't know. We never had stuff like that when I was a kid.
03:48 Corley: Oh, is that what you wanted? Yeah. Wow. This looks like a Hatchimal. It looks like a disaster zone. It does. I want to open my other one from Santa.
03:58 John Daub: Lila, what's your favorite present so far? Uh huh. Which one do you like?
04:04 Lila: Oh, I want to have one now. No! What is this? This is like Enchantimals.
04:11 John Daub: Oh, Santa got... Whoa! Santa got what? What is it?
04:16 Lila: He got the Titanic. Yay!
04:20 John Daub: Really? You're happy about this one? Yeah! She saved it. It's not... It has been... Here, Neal. A Lego Titanic, but that's sunk. This has a very tragic story. I don't know if that's a good present. Santa's got a sense of humor.
04:46 Lila: I can't read it. Ha ha ha. Can you read it? I don't know. What is it? It's a magnifying glass, it looks like. You don't have to open it.
04:52 John Daub: What? You got a magnifying glass and you're like six? That's a really mature present. Can I have it? Can I have it? Oh, please, please! I want it! Ah!
05:01 Lila: I love the Titanic ship.
05:03 John Daub: Okay, I'll trade it. We should try the building next instead. Merry Christmas, Santa.
05:07 Lila: Aw, thank you, Tyler. That's nice. Merry Christmas. I want a totally different one.
05:10 John Daub: Really nice. Really nice. You didn't even think of that, did you? No, I didn't even know they had this. What is it? It's really heavy. Well, it's not Lego. It doesn't even have Lego. There must be a hundred thousand pieces in there. No. Look! It's got the iceberg.
05:28 Lila: That's the mask from Japan that the guy was dancing with.
05:34 John Daub: Here, put it on. Put it on. Put it on the face. Now I can open this one. Just put it on. Just put it over your face. Put it on. Oh, that's it! Yeah, you're supposed to jump and stick your tongue out and go bleh. From Grammy and Pop. It's sanitized. It is sanitized. Well, not really. I think the guy wore that.
05:51 Lila: It can't be anywhere from the Jelly Bellies. Thank you! I got them too. I got them too.
05:59 John Daub: Two Daddy from Viola. Thank you. I got two. I got... I think seven. Oh! What is that? I've never seen most of these presents. There's so many different presents and gift ideas. There's just like a bicycle. Oh, look what I got. Oh, that's pretty nice. Wait, Cassie.
06:19 Lila: Oh, yeah. Lila gave that to me.
06:21 John Daub: Lila made it? Well, her teacher took a picture. Oh, wow. That's pretty nice. Thank you, good. Noah's stepping on the presents. Very nice. I just want the Mommy's. What's this? I got this here. Uh-huh. This is Grandpa. This is... Good job. Love, Lila. That's Lila. Mom, what are these? These are eight. Okay. Who took the picture? Did you see this, honey? I gave me... I got that. I got that. Who took the picture? The teacher. Oh, the teacher took it. Yeah. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Will. I love it. Thank you, Mom. Matt, that's my Christmas gift. Send me the digital picture. I hope you have fun Christmas.
07:00 Lila: Oh, yeah. My card. That's not spelt right, but that's okay. My card. My card.
07:09 John Daub: John, you got... Oh, he's gone. I actually wanted this one, too. Yeah. I wanted this one. This is my present from Lila. Lila, this is from you? I'm being real careful. Oh, look. Kevin, did you get the present? This is what I wanted.
07:29 Lila: It's a silly guy because you're so silly.
07:35 John Daub: It's a what? A silly guy? Yeah. Because I'm silly? This is a silly guy because I'm silly. Who mom got it? It's a clown. It's a clown for me? Oh. Is this... Because I'm a clown, he made that.
07:50 Family: An iPad and an Apple Watch? You better go spend some time with the Apple. Uh-oh. My mom got an Apple Watch. Thank you. Watch out.
08:00 John Daub: Let's see. Are you happy with your Apple Watch? Yeah. I'm happy. You were there when I bought it, so... John. Oh, wow. It's a beast, John. Wow, look. It's for me. It's for me. I got all these presents, too? Look. Uh-oh. What's this? A credit card? I don't even know who this is. This is mine. That's my wrap, John.
08:24 Family: It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me. It's a gift from me.
08:30 John Daub: Who taped this thing? It's like Fort Knox. It's open next year. You got to earn it. Oh, my gosh. It's a gift. Did you get this? Vermont flannel. Well, Nana kind of got it. Merry Christmas. The scarf. The Vermont flannel scarf company. I got another scarf. What's that? I got one from Amanda and then one from my brother. This is cool. What is it? Yeah. What is it? Nice. I got the pumpkin. Here. I don't have any more. Look, John. Look what I got for you. Here. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. I got the pumpkin. What is it? What is it? You got a check. Look at all the wrapping. Wow. Oh, my God, really? Really? No. No. How much was that? Don't say that out loud. Oh, my God. That's not right. No. It's $5. Oh, no. All right. Put it in the way. It gets in the way. It doesn't wrap. Yeah. No, it's going. It's going forever. You got it. There's a lot of opening going on here. Thank you Reese. Thank you Sandy MP. Merry Christmas.
10:11 Family: What's that? But I'm really excited. Show me