I'm dreaming of a 1970s Xmas

[brizzledrizzle]

A single hazelnut in the bottom of my stocking, chocolate coins,
lovely paisley/flowery ankle length dress to wear on the day,
putting up the tree with glass (!) decorations.

No Whamageddon!

How did you have xmas in the 1970s?

I remember Christmas in the 70 s , all the cousins and aunties and uncles and grandparents bundle s into out house , we all bundled up top to tail in beds
My poor uncle having viral pneumonia and being terribly ill
Mum having the rage as dad washed up and poured the giblet stock down the sink
Soap on a rope
The fudge we made boiling away happily on the stove
Shops being closed , yet we survived

DSis and I had Tressy Dollls. I wound the hair on hers too far and it vanished into her head leaving a hole - looked like she'd been trepanated

When I was 6-7 , going to the Pantomine , DS was ill so I took a school friend. We were given a box of Rowntree Fruit Pastiles , a bar of Cadbury Chocolate and 5p each .
When I got home , my budgie said his forst words "Chirpy Good Boy" to my sister - the Traitor!

In 1976 , waiting up on Christmas night to watch TV because I didn't want the day to end (it was a SitCom with Elaine Stritch and her butler Robert) .

Orange juice as a starter , it was in a glass square bottle

ah, tiny tears,
spirograph,
satsuma in the stocking,

There’s a ‘Best Christmas TV ad’ thing on C5, Cinzano ads with Joan Collins and Leonard Rossiter and the Woolies ones.

Doilooklikeatourist

Your post has made me chuckle. I was born in 1959 so all the best Xmas' s happened in the sixties for us. I well remember adult relatives all piled into one room with us kids running up and down the stairs and in the hall outside. The adults were so busy gassing to catch up and swigging whisky or snowballs/sherry to care what we got up to, it was great.

The last time we had such a family gathering was the night before my wedding 1982. My DH was posted abroad and we returned from collecting him at the airport to find all the aunties, uncles and cousins crammed into our front room waiting to meet us. There were young cousins running up and down stairs or sitting on the floor in groups.

How I would love to turn the clock back to re-experience the atmosphere of that night. Many of the older family members have now passed on and although all we siblings and cousins keep in touch, we are scattered far and wide. In those days our family mostly lived in the same city or within easy travelling distance of each other. How times have changed.

Victor Kiam and his Fuzz Away
Girls World head
Tiny Tears
Sindy ( the brown haired one)
Sindy air hostess vanity cabin bag with blue eyeshadow and red lipstick
Tiswas Annual
Homemade long floral dress
Plastic princess slippers
Operation
Mousetrap
Guess Who
Simple Simon
Morecambe and Wise
Wizard of Oz

They don't make xmas like this anymore.

My mother checking out last year's advocaat

A walnut here, rather than a hazelnut, and a satsuma.
Cadbury's selection in the stocking too.
Morecambe and Wise and the Two Ronnies Christmas specials, plus of course the Wizard of Oz and the Sound of Music.
Newberry fruits, yes but also those little chocolates called Neapolitans - different flavour dark and milk chocolate bars, only ever got them at Christmas in our house and I loved them.
Mint and Orange Matchmakers, and the obligatory After Eights.

Glass baubles on the tree and "don't wear the tinsel, you''ll ruin it!"
Lights always going out because a bulb had gone - finding the dead bulb(s) was a Christmas tradition!

500W light for Dad to take cine film of the presents being opened - the glare of that, and the shadows on your eyeballs after it was switched off!

Roast turkey for (very late) lunch, followed by tinned salmon sandwiches and Christmas cake for tea.

Martini ad - anytime, anyplace, anywhere, there’s a wonderful world we can share

Popular perfumes at the time that I remember my oldest sister having were Tramp (!) Rebel Rebel and Charlie. Did anyone else have that knitted dress with a light top half and a darker skirt, with two Pom-Poms on strings coming from the neck? I was probably about 6 when I had it. I think all my friends had variations of them too.

Oh yes to the knitted pompom dress

Winterberriesonatree

I'm a 1959 born too and recognise every thing in your post.

If anyone is Worcestershire based, Hanbury Hall is doing a 1970s/80s Christmas this year, complete with a bar selling babycham and snowballs!

I posted the same thought on my FB a few weeks ago OP

Sitting on the staircase at 3am!! - me and my 4 other siblings like the Von trapp family. With my brothers hands on my shoulders to try and calm me down I would be shaking so much - waiting to be allowed to ‘enter’ the lounge. 5 kids = 5 cushions on a 3 piece velour suite!! Tree shaped, netted chocolate filled stockings. A Raleigh 14! Strap on roller skates, connect 4, an active Sindy with crocheted clothes!! One year my mum made a ‘me sized’ Andy pandy that attached to my feet so that I could dance around with him. My older brother made wooden stilts for me. Glass bobbles, my Nan drinking warnings Advocaat. Over boiled Brussel sprouts! Getting my first BHS trainer bra (was mortified!!). Smelly gift sets where even the cardboard smelled nice! Wow - I could cry the memories are flooding back!

This Woolies ad is from 1981 but is a classic .

The Quality street in is 3.5 times bigger than today’s puny effort ( and tasted better ) it cost £6.89 which is the equivalent of £26 today !

Would you pay that much ?

However today’s plastic tubs contain 720 gms and cost £5 .so if you bought 3.5 tubs ( stay with me guys ) the same weight would cost £17.50 so no wonder they are rubbish now !

Also check out the price of the stereo in today’s prices that would be over £500 !

cracking christmas advert 1981ADVERT HERE

Winterberriesonatree your post has made me cry remembering all the people I have lost over the years. So evocative

MIllie2013 If anyone is Worcestershire based, Hanbury Hall is doing a 1970s/80s Christmas this year, complete with a bar selling babycham and snowballs!

Thank you, I'll tell my brother - he lives up that way and finishes work today for the holidays, he'll probably need want a snowball or too.

I still have my Tiny Tears, complete with my mothers blue eyeshadow I put on. Shes probably around 48!

My Nanna knitted her a dress with matching coat,(hat and booties long gone) and a pair of knickers all in my favourite colour, lilac.

A very treasured possession.

We found a mummified satsuma in DD’s stocking when we got it down from the attic last week .

The "helicopter rides" were a much-loved staple of Christmas. In turn, we were blindfolded, taken to another room, stood on a chair, which was then lifted off the ground, while a commentary was given "Oh look at all the tiny houses below, now we're going really high!" A book would be gently lowered on to our head, to make us think we had hit the ceiling (or the sky). We'd then have the choice of taking off the blindfold and being amazed we were actually still near the floor, or jumping off the chair ("coming down by parachute") and feeling as if we were jumping a very long way! It was scary but we loved it.

stringbean we used to play Newmarket with my Granny and use matches to bet with. I can't remember how to play it now
I only recently worked out why Tressy was called Tressy! My sister had her, I remember pulling her hair out while pressing her belly button

@winterberries and @nightsky , I was born in 1960, so same age
Happy memories

This is the best thread EVER!

I remember getting the Slade and Gary Glitter (sorry!) records I had asked for - mainly because I had to go and get them myself! I remember the shite decorations that mum hated and us kids loved. I dunno how old they were - paper chains and paper bells.

I also have fond memories of my cousins joining us and us all staying in the one bedroom. It was fun! Drinking cherryade and calling it wine. The lovely angel carousel - I actually bought one for me and my two brothers a few Christmases back!

In 1976 , waiting up on Christmas night to watch TV because I didn't want the day to end (it was a SitCom with Elaine Stritch and her butler Robert) .

I was thinking of this programme just the other day and wondering what it was called!!!!