A good old fashioned Christmas

[RosesandRugby]

Ive heard this phrase dozens of times over the years and people keep telling me they want to experience/enjoy a good old fashioned Christmas again, how it used to be.

The thing is what is this exactly ?

How would you describe your ideal 'good old fashioned Christmas' ?

I think it depends on your age and family traditions as a child. For me, a good old Christmas is making Christmas pudding with my Nan, a big family Christmas party, cheesy Christmas songs and watching The Muppets Christmas Carol.

It seems people do a lot of traveling now which must suck. And lots of discussions about which tablet to buy etc which I don't think is the point of Christmas, being honest.

For me, a good old fashioned Christmas is like a Sunday, but better.

"Like a Sunday, but better" - fab description.

For me there is a certain smell which reminds me of Christmas which is a mix of my mum's perfume, turkey, a warm house and carols playing on the tele.

In front of the fire with mulled wine and no annoying rellies to entertain

With Christmassy music or films and a VAT of posh chocs/stollen/Florentines

The family all together undisturbed by day to day life IMO. So no worrying about silly things, no distractions from gadgets either. Everyone sat together in the warmth laughing and being happy. Corny but that's my take on it.

Lots of food, booze, posh cheeses and chocolates, home baked christmas cake and mince pies help .

Elderly relatives sitting about moaning about Christmas not being what it used to be whilst wearing badly fitting paper hats, drinking Baileys and whisky and watching Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials on the telly. Dreadful chocolates that have been left in the bottom of the tin because someone else has got to all the nice ones. Christmas Top of the Pops. Buffets. Presents of bath cubes (later bath pearls), hand-knitted jumpers and pastel stationery sets. Elizabeth Shaw liqueurs. Church. Christmas night spent driving round the houses of various other relatives for the compulsory drink, mince pie, whiskery bristly kisses on the cheek and enforced charades. Ah, the traditional Christmas

A traditional Christmas, to me, means carols by candlelight at church on Christmas Eve, then the family singing carols on Christmas morning (all very Waltons ). Big lunch, too many chocolates, and the post-lucn walk in the woods, followed by The Christmas Afternoon Film (usually Mary Poppins or The Wizard of Oz, iirc). Lots of people (I'm one of six). Sacks of presents. Mum insisting on the Queen's speech, even though she nodded off halfway through.

Stockings were baked-bean coloured ten deniers, collected over the years by our mother. Made for very interesting lumpy shapes when viewed in the half-light at five a.m, from the top of the bed.

Log fires, home-made mince pies, and a surprise gift that Father Christmas 'forgot to deliver' in the dining room on Boxing Day (large puzzle/table football/board game).

The bell-shaped musical box that had a string that you yanked as you went downstairs for a tinny rendition of Jingle Bells.

Obviously nowadays I can't have a lot of these (only two children, for a start ) but we've adapted some things. E.g, instead of carols by candlelight we read 'The Night Before Christmas' before bed. And there's a better choice of films on in the afternoon.