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?

We had an electic mix of 60s/70s/80s deccies and both gran's vintage ones.

Exactly what we had - plus, as soon as my sister and I were old enough to make them, home-made ones.

We also did the pinking shears thing to make gift tags.

This always sums up childhood Christmases for me:

If you love the Christmas specials you have to get the britbox free trial. It is literally packed with them. Even the soap ones.

I remember loving coming downstairs after a good Christmas "do" to the smell of stale fag smoke!!

Reading this thread has been lovely. So much magic and not an elf on the shelf, North Pole breakfast or Christmas Eve box in sight!!!

@SantasBritchesSpelleas

Yes!! They often came from Woolworths in an assorted box of 50!!

Born in 76'. Loving this thread. It's been a day of sunshine today amongst all the gloomy 'not feeling it' Christmas shite.

I remember the foil decorations you hung from the ceiling, they were in every bloody room. My mum would comment that the house looked like China town. It would feel so empty when they were taken down. I remember bright glass baubles on the christmas tree, pine cones covered in glitter. Wearing your best outfit and drinking snowballs.

Amongst my favourite presents were my Sindy campervan, a Fluppy and mountains of Carebears. I would also receive loads of stationery sets.

Does anyone else have memories of sitting down after Christmas, for hours and writing out little thank you notes to everyone that gave you a gift?

For me it was going to the pantomime that ONLY my grandad could get tickets for. Sweets we only had at Xmas and fizzy pop from the milkman in glass bottles.
Selection boxes that seemed the size if my head.

Good TV and lots of family!

Grandads cigars-still love the very rare smell of cigars
Snowballs in the small green bottle -Exactly the same as others my grandmother used to give them to us
Glass baubles - we always smashed one and had to walk carefully until all the glass was picked up which took about a week
Trifle - Heavy on the sherry no matter what age you were
Bath salts in a cube
Top of the pops albums

Born mid sixties.

Tiny Tears
That strange plaster cast thing that you'd pour into moulds shaped like aliens.
Avon Peaches and Cream toiletries.
Round yellow plastic balls of talcum powder called Kiku
Lametta and foil decorations
Pipe smoke
Twinkle annual

Memories are flooding... thanks OP !

It was me that mentioned after eights.

I have some in the cupboard now....I tried the gin and tonic ones but it just wasn’t the same!!

Ohhh I also had a big yellow teapot!

Never had (or wanted, TBF) Mr Frosty.
Wanted a Girls World (if that's what it was called) - a toy girl's head with hair for styling and a face for learning to put make up on. Never got one.
Pigs in blankets were not a thing back then, we had sausages and separate bacon rolls. And cranberry sauce had not yet reached the UK (or at least my house) as far as I recall.

The Saturday before Christmas, being sent around to put cardboard and luminous pink/red concertina decorations on their set places with sellotape loops. Not being allowed to have anything to do with the Christmas Tree (although the lights that plugged into a bayonet fitting set on a lump of wood and then were draped over the top of the fish tanks and plugged into the mains probably meant that was for the best)

Watching TV and wondering why it wasn't the slightest bit like real life, where Peace, Goodwill and Hope were things to be mocked. Especially Hope.

Asking to put out biscuits and milk for Father Christmas to be told that was a stupid Americanism and not to be so gullible.

Wishing I could hear bells jingling in the distance and looking out of the uncurtained window in the hope of seeing the sleigh and told to get away from the window before I fell through it and sliced myself in half.

Waking up in the middle of the night as a pillowcase was chucked on the bottom of it, but pretending to be asleep because if I was awake, I'd been told it would be taken away again. Taking it into her bed because I wasn't allowed to open them by myself.

Going downstairs about half an hour later to be told that as it was so late (9am), I didn't need to eat as dinner would be ready at 2pm.

Watching TV sat on the rug with the cats and dog and staying out of her way, except when the giblets came out of the turkey, as they'd be fried and I'd get to put the bowls down for the animals to keep them away from her.

Being excited to have the psychedelic weird shaped cow plates as it was Christmas and they never came out any other time. The smell of a packet of bread sauce and the onion infused milk (not allowed to have it, but it smelled great).

Watching TV and wondering how long it would be until food/my brother came downstairs. Being summoned to sit with a lemonade and watch them eat prawn cocktail and then wait for food to be dished up about 35 minutes later. Eating it with one eye on the TOTP Christmas special. Watching more TV. Hoping the afternoon movie was good.

My brother coming down with brilliant presents and taking them upstairs as soon as possible (to stay up there for as long as possible).

Not liking mince pies, Christmas pudding or cake, so being shouted to come and get some vanilla ice cream around 3.30pm.

Wondering when it was going to be OK to have some meat, pickles and cheesy snacks, as one piece of Turkey leg meat didn't go far.

Watching more TV.

Wondering how long it was until I went back to school again.

I got mr frosty for Christmas and can confirm it was rubbish. I always wanted a sindy house but never got one. I had the Cadbury dispenser and loved them

Does anybody else, through sheer force of habit (given that tree lights tend to be LED nowadays), always plug the lights in first before starting to dress the tree?

This is clearly a habit inherited from my dad.

Does anyone else have memories of sitting down after Christmas, for hours and writing out little thank you notes to everyone that gave you a gift?

Oh, yes. The thank you letters always had to be done by New Year.

'Dear Auntie Doreen, Thank you so much for the lovely talcum powder and lemon soap ...' and then trying to spin out a page worth of things to say because my mum deemed anything less than a page too short.

Coloured Christmas tree lights and Terry’s Neapolitans! It was all so cosy and homely and it seemed to not get going until December so it all felt all the more magical and fleeting. I do find that we seem to live half the year now working up to Christmas that it loses its sparkle by the time it actually arrives. Loved the old retro wrapping paper too. And I also wasn’t allowed a dairy milk dispenser! It seemed like the most exciting thing! Never forget the feeling of putting my hand into the stocking and pulling out my first present. Happy times.

@SantasBritchesSpelleas

Does anyone else have memories of sitting down after Christmas, for hours and writing out little thank you notes to everyone that gave you a gift?

Oh, yes. The thank you letters always had to be done by New Year.

'Dear Auntie Doreen, Thank you so much for the lovely talcum powder and lemon soap ...' and then trying to spin out a page worth of things to say because my mum deemed anything less than a page too short.

Using my country diary of an Edwardian lady stationary

Coveting:
Teddy Ruxpin
LA Gear
Get in Shape Girl

Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady! Wasn't that ubiquitous?!

@Eloradannin

Same era as me! I remember mini Dairy Milk dispensers and Quality Street in tins. Did you have a Sindy House?

I loved my Sindy house. Played with it for hours and hours. Happy days indeed.

@EveningOverRooftops I think I need a recipe for that Black Forest Gateau Swiss Roll!!

Oh yes the A la carte kitchen with the advert where the girl squashed a jam roly poly thing onto a plate of beans!
I wonder why so many of us didn’t get Frosty..
Opening presents, getting dressed then grandparents coming round and showing them everything Father Christmas brought you.
Writing sets in little sort of pastel coloured drawers sets, Care Bears, My little pony and some sort of fairy things 🤷🏻‍♀️
The joy of a new bike and going up and down the street on Christmas Day.
Muppet babies at Christmas on the tv, grandparents falling asleep in their chairs in the afternoons.
Speaking on the home phone, usually a beige dial one, attached to the wall, to your friends, running through a list of ‘What you got’

@Madbengalmum

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!

I got a Mr Frosty and it was indeed absolutely crap

I always wanted a Sindy house but never got one

Christmas was loads of family drinking snow balls with cocktail cherries and us kids arguing over Monopoly, my great Nan complaining about us making too much noise over the Queens speech, He man toys & Castle Greyskull & all the selection boxes

I used to love getting into bed on Christmas night and reading my new Misty annual, wearing my new PJs (never on Christmas eve they were always a gift) having bathed in my new toiletries. It was such a treat to have marks and spencer bubble bath. I had such lovely Christmases. I was lucky.