What was your favourite thing about Christmas as a child?

[ellentree]

Mine were:

Getting the radio times and highlighting everything I wanted to watch.

Decorating the tree and putting the presents around it while checking the labels to see which were for me!

Christmas Eve sitting in front of the fire with my sister watching tv while our parents did last minute preparation, then opening a present after midnight mass (a teenage happy memory).

As a younger child, being allowed the portable tv in my room on Christmas Eve so I could watch early morning cartoons and not wake anyone. And the best thing, finding my filled stocking (I don't recall remembering Father Christmas, so my memories are knowing it was my parents) and feeling everything in it before going into my parents' room to open it! I never unwrapped anything but used to feel all the gifts!

I also loved handing out the gifts from around the tree.

I still love Christmas, and having young children makes it even more amazing! We stay at home every year so we can do Christmas our way and pass down our happy memories to make new traditions with them.

Mine doesn't sound particularly exciting or unique so I will preface it by saying that I really loved Christmas and still do :)

I don't pretend that the gifts weren't a huge source of anticipation for the day. But it's the general magic around it, putting up decorations, the amazing food and the change of pace of the day. I also loved the tv on the day and in during the build up; I loved watching my favourite movies and shows. I love it all :)

For various thread-derailing reasons Christmas wasn't an especially enjoyable time when I was growing up HOWEVER I let out a wee involuntary squeak of recognition when you said this OP:

Getting the radio times and highlighting everything I wanted to watch

I totally did this too. Highlighter pen and everything.

We all always had to have a bath on Christmas Eve, had to be clean for Father Christmas.
I also always remember my mum saying on Christmas Eve (When shops shut for at least a week or two.) "Well, if we've forgotten anything, tough!"

All my family getting together, I still don't understand how some people say they are prioritising their children playing with their new toys rather than seeing family. It's just my opinion, obviously, but to me Christmas should be just as much if not more about family. I still got excited about my presents, but those are the times I really remember.

Nan mixing up the Christmas puddings in a big old ceramic wash basin that I still own.

Singing carols and particularly descants in the choir. And the coldness and acoustics of the church.

My mum's stories of Christmas when I was a kid, including the night she and dad finally finished assembling a pirate chest around 6am, and just before I woke.

Nan's Christmas cake: a sandy jewelled beauty, never replicated despite having her recipe.

My stocking in an old pair of mum's tights...a leg bulging with treats all carefully wrapped and with each item well disguised.

My mum singing along to the carols from Kings in her beautiful alto.

That's made me happy and sad at the same time. Lucky to have so many great memories.

We always used to go up to London for the day, at some point before Christmas and see the lights, also had a good look around Selfridges and Hamleys toy displays. This was back in the 1960’s! It was fantastic to a child to see so many toys, including ones that I’d never seen before because they came from abroad.

I loved the Christmas decorations, even though the tree was only about 2’6” high and silver tinsel, and we had no fairy lights at home which I would have loved. We did have cards draped around the lounge on strings, held on with tiny pegs.

My mum was always looking around Christmas fairs and markets for things to put in my stocking, there would always be a dolls outfit for whatever new doll I was getting in there.

It was usually just mum, dad and me on Christmas Day, and often dad was working for part of it as he was the matron in charge of a nursing home for the elderly.

My parents weren’t massively in to Christmas but did the usual stuff and it was still the best time of year. Advent calendar with just a picture, every other day because I had a sister. Shloer (sp?) counting the lights on either side of the car on the way home from family visits to see who has seen the most. Sharing a bed with DSis just for the night, we didn’t do stockings, just tree, so were allowed to choose a gift from under the tree to take up. Cool food that we never had normally. No recollection of finding out he didn’t exists, must have been gradual.
I on the other hand go a bit bonkers at Christmas and I’ve got worse as I’ve got older! I wonder what mine will remember about their childhood Christmas’s? Better be some good stuff in there.

The excitement and hope that I'd get what I wanted. The buzz of seeing all the extended family together, being crammed onto makeshift tables, 20 + people eating Christmas dinner at once. Me sitting on a piano stall or a sun lounger with my cousins to eat. Banana and custard for pudding and munching chocolates all day!

My parents didn't socialise much so if was such an unique occasion. But it's so rose tinted as a kid isn't it ?! Ignoring Covid, certain egos members of my family have made it impossible to continue the big family Christmasses. My own very young kids cousins are aboard and all teenagers and I think they will miss out on these type of fun gatherings.

Decorating the Xmas tree.

Having things like nuts and Mandarin oranges.

Chocolate money

My parents gave me a large brown paper sack which I would decorate with a painting of Santa. My parents would put my presents in it and I was so excited to get it on Xmas morning!

Watching Xmas TOTP, although it always clashed with Xmas dinner!

Gathering Christmas Eve at my nan’s house

Being shy with all the cousins I hadn’t seen since last year. An hour later all of us running around her farmhouse in a herd.

Everyone around her table eating and laughing

Everyone opening one gift under the tree

Dessert and wine after.

All the cousins spent the night spread out in the bedrooms and living room.

My nan playing Silent Night at midnight on her piano

Nestling under the covers , feeling safe and loved among family

I miss those days..

*God I miss Woolies^ As an adult, my Dad died a week before Christmas; so my Mum came to stay with us for the holiday. We always do stockings, so I rushed out to Woolies in my lunch hour and got a load of stuff in there for her stocking. You could get almost anything there!

Does anyone else remember the toffee and little hammer to break then with? Also, trying to use the cracker on nuts! lol

The countdown to Christmas really started when Blue Peter made their advent decoration from coat hangers and tinsel - does anyone else remember that?
I remember getting excited the first few times you heard Christmas songs on the radio or in shops. Getting the tree down from the loft and seeing all the favourite decorations again and arguing with my brother every year as to who got to hang up the big blue bauble we both liked the best.
Lovely thread, so much of this resonates with me

I remember the Christmas that my younger brother was born . Mum was still in hospital with him so dad , me and my brother stayed at my grandparents . My newly married aunt and uncle were living with nana and I was to sleep with them . I woke in the night and saw my sack of presents on the dresser but went back to sleep cos I thought that I would get into trouble if I woke them .
At 7 am my uncle shook me awake cos he was excited for me to open my present . He laughed when I told him that I'd not wanted to disturb them earlier and said I was daft and he had wanted to be woken .
I was 8 then and all the people are deceased except for my 80 year old aunt , me and my brothers , the youngest of which will be 59 this December .

Visiting family
Christmas Eve feast at my nans
Quality street
Having my mum and dad both home for one day (dad worked a lot).
Quality street
Prawn cocktail

@Wherearefoxssocks that is my number 1 Christmas moment every year and I'm now 34! It has changed from then going to visit Santa to browsing round the Christmas department! DD was born a week before Christmas last year, so I'm hoping some kind of socially distant viewing of the window is possible this year to take her down.

Others are:
Waking up at 3/4am and going into my DM's room, only for her to convince me to try and snooze in there for a little longer. When I reality, I'd just lie awake in the dark, shuffling about until she gave in and got up!
Highlighting the TV guide (I still do this even though we never get a TV guide at any other time of year)
Spending Christmas Eve in town with my DM. We'd wander about, shop in the early sales for ourselves and go for lunch.
A huge pile of presents under/round the tree. Like a PP I only got presents for Christmas & birthday, so there was always a mountain of gifts
The glass of Buck's Fizz with breakfast. It started as orange juice, then a splash of champagne was added and it increased until now it's maybe 50/50

@thelegohooverer I agree about Christmas lights from the 80's being softer colours. Our set had pink lights as well as red, yellow, green and blue.

There was one Christmas Eve when we children were blindfolded, and taken for a "sleigh ride" in the garden. We were actually sitting in the wheelbarrow with bells attached which was pushed round the garden. Even though I couldn't see a thing, it felt so real! We were also given carrots to feed to the reindeer, which we could hear being chomped in front of us.

The advent crown on blue peter, advent candles in school church you knew you were going home, from boarding school, visually impaired children boarded then carols the nativity. The tree going up, putting out a minced pie for Santa, no stocking, but the magic of knowing he’s been, buffets Boxing Day.

Getting the boxes of decs down, same ones every year, same knackered boxes they were stored in
Testing the lights (cussing from my Dad)
Tree up, decorating it.
Lots of foil garlands everywhere
Argos catalogue (because Santa came from Argos right?)
Counting xmas trees on the way to mass
Waiting for Santa but falling asleep
Extra nice food - dates my mum bought nobody ever ate
The smell on xmas morning, the feeling, it was a very definite feeling
Waiting to go in the living room which looked magical
The table set out for xmas lunch - it looked lovely, I got to do the napkins all fancy
Xmas tea which was cold turkey with salad and the xmas pudding and crackers, the crackers were a much fun as the presents when you were very young.

I have loved creating the magic for my two but think they are just on the cusp of not believing. Great thread @ellentree
(my mum was Ellen )

Alcoholic snowballs with a cherry on top! It was 7/8ths lemonade but I did feel it was a once a year Christmas treat!

Our lovely next door neighbours who were same as family popping round every christmas morning and my dad giving them a sherry.
Then later on my nan and grandad arriving , a massive feast then in the evening relaxing in front of morecambe and wise wearing my new pippa dee stripey nylon nightie , reading a new book and admiring the gifts from my lovely nan who always picked something perfect.
I would love to go back in time to experience my 70,s christmas once again .

Having a chocolate advent calendar and forgetting sometimes then opening a few doors at once (I remember having a Mars one and the picture was a Christmas village scene at night/from space, it made me feel so fuzzy and cosy looking at it, anyone remember it?? I can never find it on google image search)

We used to go out for a meal on Xmas Eve with a few other families and it was always so lovely to get together and us kids all play together. We’d get home and open a small present and be so excited. I loved those times and knowing it was Xmas day the next day made it even more special.

The school play and rehearsals always got me in the mood.

Decorating the tree listening to Xmas music or Xmas films on in the background and sneaking a couple of chocolates off it!

We always got a huge stocking stuffer to with chocolate; selection boxes, quality street, chocolate oranges, toblerones... that was amazing but funnily enough I don’t remember eating much of it after Xmas day (my Mum must have hidden it away!).

Sledging in the snow with the other kids on our road in the field near our houses.

Grandmas house being decorated with those classic 80s decorations. There was always a glass bowl of quality street too.

Watching The Snowman in front of the fire (makes my cry as an adult but loved it as a kid!).

Circling stuff I wanted in the Argos catalogue

When the tv section of the magazine had double pages for Xmas eve and Xmas day and the excitement of knowing what was going to be on.

The presents! I was given some lovely stuff over the years even though my parents didn’t have loads of money.

Making stuff from my Xmas craft book.

Love it all!

Christmas crafts with granny which she would then display round her house.

Going to a pantomine with granny on xmas eve before coming home for tea, bath and bed before santa came.

Baking things with granny to leave out for santa.

Basically granny lol.

School Christmas parties, where everyone wore those puffy party dresses! Visits to town for Christmas shopping and a visit to Santa, used to love seeing the shops and shopping centre all decorated with the lights and Santa's grotto etc.

Always had an apple, a satsuma and chocolate coins in our stockings and when I was wee our stockings were my dad's socks, clean (hopefully!).

Always remember all those foil decorations people used to stick all over their ceilings etc, I loved them but my mum always said they were tacky, to me, as a child, all the multi coloured lights and decorations were the best!

Christmas crackers at dinner time, loved pulling a cracker with whoever was next to me.

The snowman coming in at some point during Christmas day and watching it with granny and grandpa.

Being off school for two whole weeks and getting to play with all the new toys.

Ah so many things actually, wonder if my kids will say the same when the grow up about their Christmases.

My mum and dad used to always throw a xmas eve drinks party for all the neighbours and lots of old friends - I loved it, and now Mum has gone I co-host it with my Dad - gutted we won't be able to do that this year.

I too stil get the Radio Times, only time of year I do and DH laughs at me for doing so, but I always do.

I bake cookies for my sons and we decorate them, even though they are now 14 and 16.

I always clove oranges in December and have a bowl of them in the kitchen, the smell is Christmas for me.

We always watch Love Actually at some point in December.

I adore Christmas, although the wrapping of gifts has become a bit of a chore in recent years, will be glad to have a lower key celebration on the actual day this year tbh.

Christmas when I was a child was alot like PP have said, the excitement of the weight of the stocking on my feet when I woke up, opening them on our parent's bed with my sisters, all the family coming to us, getting dressed up etc. Loved it all and still do.