Olly shares his newfound enjoyment of Elf On The Shelf, turning it into a playful family tradition. A listener sparks a debate about what qualifies as a variety pack of stock cubes. Stories flood in about the complexities of sharing names, leading to humorous misdirected emails. Heartfelt revelations unfold as listeners recount discovering their donor-conceived roots. The conversation deepens into what truly defines family, blurring the lines between biological ties and chosen connections.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Elf Game Became A Morning Ritual
Olly Mann started using a naughty elf toy to entertain his children and ease supermarket trips.
The kids laugh at morning scenes like the elf positioned on the toilet which Olly finds worth the small cost.
insights INSIGHT
Two Flavours Aren't True Variety
Olly argues two flavours don't constitute a true variety pack and wants more options.
Helen and listeners treat 'variety' as three-or-more to count as meaningful diversity.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Cliff Richard's Gravy Uses Eight Oxo Cubes
Olly recounts Cliff Richard's gravy recipe using eight Oxo cubes split across flavours.
He notes the surprising celebrity recipe and muses about branded variety packs.
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Hello! Here is this month's edition of Answer Us Back, full of your feedback on AMTs old and new - mostly pretty new. On today's menu:
Olly Mann himself has a change of heart about Elf On The Shelf since AMT392.
Laura found a variety pack of stock, as yearned for by Olly in AMT407 - although is two flavours enough to count as 'variety'?
Several people wrote in to chip in on AMT412's discussion of people with your same name using your email address; here we hear from Margaret and Daniel.
After hearing AMT411's question from Charlie from Canberra - whose mother had lately found out she was the biological child of a prolific sperm donor and thus has 600+ siblings - we heard from many of you reflecting upon your similar experiences of finding you were the child of a sperm donor, or your parent learning that they were. David, Breanne and Jo share some remarkable responses.
If you’ve been storing thoughts about AMTs 1-412, send them to us for future episodes of Answer Us Back.
And as always, send in your questions, in voicenote or written form to answermethispodcast@googlemail.com, for all new AMT413 which will be in your podfeed 24 December 2025.
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