Tempting fate with a Blue Peter annual

[FairNotFair]

When I was a child, we never received annuals, diaries etcs from our parents at Christmas. Instead, they were presented to us on New Year’s Day. According to my DM, this was because my DF was very superstitious and didn’t want to tempt fate by giving us something with “1981” in the title, for example, when it was still late December 1980.

At the time, however, I thought this was completely normal. I only discovered that it wasn’t when I attempted to do the same thing to my own small DC and DH was . It turned out that other people got their Blue Peter annual on Christmas Day rather than NYD. So was this just my DF, or were there other batshit parents out there?

I always got my annuals at Christmas but dh is weird with the calendar so maybe his parents were the same. He hates it if I turn over to the next month too early, even the night before. I bought our 2019 calendar today and he won't even have it out on the side, he's buried it in a drawer.

I got annuals at Christmas too.

My mum always bought my annuals the week after Christmas as they were half price then. She saved money and I had something to look forward to after the excitement of Christmas had gone flat.

I liked getting my annual a week after Christmas too - it helped prolong the excitement. But that definitely wasn't my DF's intention. Clearly it was too dangerous to contemplate reading about Lesley Judd and Peter Purves a week ahead of schedule...

My Blue Peter annual came in my stocking each year.

A strange superstition indeed. Even now I get my mum a diary and a calendar, opened on Christmas Day.

We had annuals on Christmas Day, but then, on New Year's Eve, you had to look out for 'the man with as many noses as there are days in the year'* and, if you spotted him, you left a shoe in the hallway overnight. He'd then visit and leave a small money gift (half-a-crown), chocolate (e.g. an Aero) and a pocket diary.

Sorry - it doesn't answer your question - just getting nostalgic with the

*it's a riddle because, of course, it was the last day of the year, though, as a bit of a pedant, it doesn't really make sense

They're often cheaper after Christmas.
We buy calendars in mid January at 75% off