Retro Christmases

[Grinchycrinchy]

I was born late 70’s, so an 80’s kid, 90’s teen.

The things I remember from childhood Christmases were..selection boxes, Jackie annual, Wizard, huge gatherings with relatives drinking and smoking in the houses, a Father Christmas float that came down the street, a feeling of complete excitement and magic

Anyone else?

Babycham from our nana 🙈and a fiver in an envelope.
Buying friends hampers from Body shop, usually White musk (teen years)
Getting a pink radio cassette and dozens of tapes

I am reliving the 1980s by watching The Snowman with DS (6) while eating matchmakers.

@EvilPea

The cadburys mini dairy mills that you could never buy the mini ones to refill. Gutting when you realised.

We had one of those. It took 2ps. My sister and I just put the mini-chocolate bars back in again!

Late 60's born here. The things I remember are:
Being allowed a drink of Babycham or a Snowball as a teenager.
Having a buffet a gran's with a hedgehog of pineapple & cheese/ cheese & pickled onion on cocktail sticks.
A humongous homemade sherry trifle

Born in the mid 70s, I remember making those gummy paper chains. My dad used to help with the local charity Father Christmas float, so we’d be knocking on doors with our charity boxes. One thing I was reminiscing about the other day were Harlequin chocolates....

@alltoomuchrightnow Ah the school post box and receiving your little cards from others 💓

Proper advent calendars with pictures behind the window, and always the double window showing the nativity on 24 December.

None of your modern nonsense with chocolate or cosmetics!

Christmas TV specials. I love re watching the only fools and horses ones as they take me back.

The Father Christmas float from the round table people coming down the street was so exciting! 👌

We had homemade paper chains and the foil decorations hanging from the ceilings as well as some holly. It always took us a few attempts to get the lights working on the tree and we had to fiddle with the bulbs. I was always the best at getting them to work!

I remember I loved it when I’d finished school for the holidays and just sitting in the room all warm as cosy with my sisters with just the Christmas tree lights on.

When we were a bit older we went to midnight mass and walked across the fields in the dark to church, was great fun. We always got a tube of sweets to ourselves that we could eat whenever we wanted and a big tin of Roses for after Christmas dinner, my Granny always bought us a box of Thornton’s mixed toffee.

We would go to our Nanny and Grandads on Boxing Day and my Nanny always had these fruit iced buns she got from Copland, they were round and quite big, so she sliced and buttered them.

I remember being so excited in the lead up to Christmas and it seemed to take ages to get to Christmas Day.

One year we had fish and chips really close to Christmas and were allowed to eat it in the living room in front of the telly - which was something we never did. We watched Watership Down.

We always missed the end of the Christmas film as dinner was ready. The ones I loved watching were E.T, the India Jones ones or Crocodile Dundee. Happy days.

Why were dates and bags of unshelled nuts only a Christmas thing then!? Could you even buy unshelled!? Brazil nuts and walnuts were a nightmare! I'd get some in the toe of my stocking...can't imagine kids today would be thrilled. Managing to get a little crack in a brazil nut shell with the nut cracker then almost breaking your teeth to get the rest open...throwing the walnuts out of bedroom window in attempt to smash them..
My Nan moaning about half hour of TOTP yet we'd have an entire day of Songs of Praise and anything with hymns and church in it. Heating turned on full (never happened rest of year) for said gran as we all sat and sweltered.
Only alcohol we ever had was pomagne.
One year we had only grape juice. Both grans thinking they were drunk on it.
Being bollocked for eating too many Quality Street before Christmas dinner and therefore only wanting to eat a ball of stuffing.
Playing with brother's new Star Wars figures
I always always had similar items in stocking.. eg a mini jigsaw (usually of kittens), mini colouring book rolled up to fit inside (The Muppets was one year) , a party roll out whistle thingy, a pencil top (usually Mr Men) , tiny beanie doll in a match box with a hard plastic head, etc,, stockings were the best.. I much preferred to 'big' presents..
When I was a kid I don't think the Wizard of Oz was ever NOT on at Christmas..

Grandfather who had grown up as one of six children in the austerity of the 1920s telling us every year when we opened our presents that we were spoilt and all he used to get for Christmas was an orange.

Would give anything now to have him here saying that!

Yes to foil decorations..think my mum still uses hers 😂

Watching Totp after Christmas lunch

70s child 80s teen blue Peter advent crown
Waiting for Santa you dare not move in our house
As a teen top. But for me the magic died at 13.

Crackers covered in crepe paper.

I always remember my parents wiring the Christmas tree lights into the table lamp and blowing the fuse every year.

I do miss mini Bournville bars in the roses box and eating my weight in twiglets and onion rings.

The foil decorations all over the ceiling and the banisters.

No stocking we just used pillow cases, also my advent calendar had no chocolate or toys - just a picture under each ripped up square (and I loved it!!!. Always got a selection pack as well

My mum drinking babycham and my aunt used to bring her little bottle of malibu.

Wizard of Oz and Sound Of Music on Christmas Day

Zulu on Boxing Day!

and trying to see which bulb had blown on the tree lights!

crepe paper twirly things on the ceilings and banisters

I love retro Christmases.

We have foil ceiling decorations up this year and lametta on the tree

I've gone off having tinsel on our tree but I have some draped over the book shelf.

I'm not remotely stylish

Thanks guys, this is a brilliant thread.

I was born in 76 so this is exactly my era. These are definitely my favourite childhood memories

I longed for a mr frosty, but was never allowed. However, i have it on good authority it was crap! I remember the dairy milk machine, etch a sketch, fashion wheel, my little pony and sindy house. Sindy was soo much classier than Barbie!

Can we just do a quick straw poll? Did anyone get a Mr Frosty for Christmas? I have lots of siblings and cousins and we all asked for a Mr Frosty every year for over a decade, but never got one.

@SantasBritchesSpelleas

Crackers covered in crepe paper.

Yes to Crepe paper - on crackers, and wrapped around the bottom of the bucket that the tree was in, plus twisted ribbons of it draped across the ceiling. Never see the stuff anymore. Also, doing a tour of the neighbours houses for drinks parties - remember thinking my Mum and the other ladies were v sophisticated with their little glasses of Cinzano!