Anyone else wondering how their parents managed to make Christmas special?!

[MrsGrindah]

Mum and Dad always worked but were never well off. But we never ever went without at Christmas! No loans or credit cards in those days either.
Always loads of lovely food. Mum would start buying booze from about October to spread the cost but Dad would always find it.

I realise there’s probably an element of nostalgia here but now I’m all grown up at 50 I just wonder how they managed! And v grateful.

I don't know how they managed it. They just, um, did.

No drama (well except family dynamics). I remember getting nice presents and having a nice time. We lived within our means but remember getting the new bike or new jeans or whatever I had asked for that year.

I'm 31 and I feel the same. My Mum had 4 on her own and we really struggled throughout the year. Christmas was always full of food and we always had the gifts we asked for and more.

As an adult it really makes me grateful for what she must have sacrificed.

It makes me feel bad for running her down as she wasn't a maternal mother and I didn't have a very nurturing upbringing. She always made Christmas magical though.

I think part of it was the waiting and everything not being available as it is today. So it was exciting waiting for the Radio Times and to be able to circle it. It was exciting waiting for Top of the pops and who would be Christmas Number one. It was exciting waiting to see the Christmas Day film. As a child I remember Christmas being so very magical and full of being together. I will say that even as an adult Christmas at my Mum and Dad’s has the same laughing and togetherness.

Everything probably felt more special because your day-to-day food and life will have been more down to earth then; there will have been less pressure to have a month-long Christmas, so less craziness to save for; probably your expectations were lower....

My mum saved all year, and took out short term loans where the collector came to your house each week. I remember Christmas being really magical but looking back it must have been done on an absolute shoe string.

I think part of it is that with social media nowadays we think we have to go the extra mile to make Christmas ‘magical’ with all the needless extras - elf on the shelf, Christmas Eve boxes etc. We remember our childhood Christmasses as magical without all of that extra crap. Family, good food, and fun presents was all we needed.

And even then, “good food” did not have to equal everything from scratch and being up at 3am to baste the turkey etc. My mum would use aunt Bessie, Bisto etc and we would be just as happy. So our children would probably find Christmas just as magical if we stopped making life so hard for ourselves and just went back to basics, without us having to martyr ourselves on the alter of the perfect “social media” Christmas.

Yes Christmas definitely didn’t seem to last as long . But I know they must have made sacrifices...they just never let me know.Bless em.

I think there was much less booze, certainly in the late 60s to late 70s. Beer, a small sherry or two, maybe crack open the advocaat, and the cooking brandy after dinner.

Also, things were more seasonal then; Quality Street really was for Christmas, not life, so it always felt special, and things like twiglets and cheesy footballs weren’t an everyday snack. After Eights and Matchmakers were very sophisticated.

Finally, we just had less stuff in those days, maybe because there was less stuff to have, but still, a new board game was a source of excitement, and something we played together. A lot of gifts these days will be more solitary, particularly personal tech. I also remember when advent calendars had a picture behind the doors and nothing else, and I don’t think they were any the worse for that, it was all about the countdown to Christmas Day.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy Christmas, I do, it’s just changed in many ways since I was a child.

My mum bought things gradually and saved over the year

Just finished watching Back in Time for Christmas on iplayer - Christmas from the 40’s 50’s 60’s70’s80’s & 90’s, made me feel nostalgic for Christmas of my childhood ( 70’s and 80’s)