Ideas for an old-fashioned Irish Christmas

[AVeryIrishChristmas]

We are hosting MIL for Christmas this year.
She has dementia and is very confused/forgetful, but she loves talking about and remembering her childhood.

Unfortunately she can’t remember enough to tell me herself, but I’d love to include some little touches at Christmas that might remind her of her childhood celebrations.

She grew up in rural north-west Ireland in the 1940s.

Does anyone have any ideas of things like food, drink, music, decorations, games etc that might spark a recollection?

https://wearebornandbred.com/products/bearded-candle-makers-turf-fire

Just to say this is really lovely of you ❤️

I have my (Irish) MILs Christmas cake recipe if you'd like to dm me. Also you can tune into RTE via their app

Oh and you can get Kimberleys from budgens if you have one nearby

If you can tune in somehow to the Pope's Christmas blessing, she might appreciate that.

This sounds wonderful, and goose isn't that hard to cook just drain the fat regularly and use it for the spuds.

However I'll add a caveat as you're probably aware people with dementia may decide lunchtime is bed time so don't hinge the enjoyment on her. I seriously hope it goes well.

My DM (born early 30s) has fond memories of churning butter, making cheese amd buttermilk, and not so fun memories of drawing water from the well - it was then boiled in a big covered cauldron in the yard and brought to the kitchen as needed in big enamel jugs. Cooking was done at the huge open fire in the kitchen. They got a bottled gas oven in the 50s and I remember as a child around 1970 standing in the massive fireplace in summer and looking up the chimney.

They had a small mixed dairy and arable farm and also kept a few sheep. Eggs and meat came from chickens, and they preserved butchered animals in the farm store buildings with thick stone walls, everything wrapped carefully (beef, pork, lamb). They stored potatoes, onions, apples, and carrots over the winter too. Greens were eaten straight from the garden. Granny made lovely apple pies and stewed apples, and simple confections like shortbread, barmbrack, and seed cake.

My grandparents were very abstemious, so a small drop of whiskey or brandy might be the extent of a toast. They were crazy about dancing though.

There’s only one kind! Dug out of a bog!

I love this thread. I've always wanted to know more about my Irish roots and what a lovely way to start with Christmas.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your MIL 🥰

Oh my goodness Kimberleys……long time since I’ve had them and I was trying to remember the name so Thankyou
Also
Red lemonade
Pure white ice cream in a slab
Barrys tea

@LuluBlakey1
a peat bog

Its called turf or brickets where I’m from.

OP if no one’s mentioned it.
Try The Irish Shop online

louds there, Kimberley’s, red lemonade, brack, tayto crisps.

lots more

Well I have now put in my Christmas food order at the butchers and have gone with small smoked gammon joint, and then he recommended boneless chicken stuffed with pork and sage and onion sausage meat, hopefully that will be more than enough since dd is pesketarian so will have to get her salmon anyway. Then some peat-smoked salmon, and some chicken liver pate for evening time.
Then from the Irish food shop (thank you!) I’m getting soda bread mix, the fizzy apple drink, a jar of ham glaze, some relish to go with the pate, oh and some spring onion Taytos crisps that the Dc begged for .
I’ll make a fruit cake at the weekend and a Sherry trifle and mince pies on Xmas eve, and buy a Christmas pudding too and that should be plenty of food!

If she is Catholic or lapsed Knock Shrine has a website and they stream all their masses. Think they have a carol service one of the days too if you don't want to sit through a whole mass.

Definitely a little nip of Baileys. Great to make coffee with too.
Slice of Christmas cake with it too.

Asda we’re selling this a while back, labelled as brown lemonade 😁

@Snoopyandlucy red lemonade doesn’t taste like Tizer at all

Trifle was tinned fruit cocktail over Sponge and a dollop of sherry,, then jelly then custard followed by cream. You can buy Birds trifle in a box. Every house had a crib. A candle was put in the window on christmas eve . I think it was to show people that there was a welcome there. Mass was a definite. If there's a carol service near you that would be lovely.

McDaids Football Special is the fizzy drink in Donegal.
My great grandmother tried raising turkeys in the thirties but said that they were a nuisance because they caught colds.

Sprigs of Holly on all the picture frames

DS would love the football drink, never mind MIL! Might have to order that too.

If you look on the amazing site Bookfinder, Alice Taylor mentioned above has 3 Christmas titles (put in sterling as currency, and includes postage).
I think we first got a silver tinsel tree about 1965, before that it was holly and Christmas cards for decoration.
The war was known as the emergency in the Republic, I think there was a bit of dodgy cross border shopping!

@AVeryIrishChristmas how did it go? I hope you all had a wonderful time.

I wanted to say a thank you for this thread because I did two new things that I enjoyed and that my mum who is 85 enjoyed. We couldn't get to Mass so we live streamed the 7.30pm service from Knock and absolutely loved it. I'll do it every year and might actually watch more regularly. Mass near us is at 9am on Sundays and guilty as I feel I'm not giving up my Sunday lie in. I'm not one for reciting prayers but do say them in my head at various times. It brought church into our home on Christmas Eve and felt very special.

I didn't get to go and collect Holly because I ran out of time but I had a red led candle in the living room window to guide the holy family.

Next year I'll definitely get the Holly and do the advent wreath.

Thank you for this thread and all the contributions🎄

I know Christmas has passed, I hope it was amazing and your MIL enjoyed it.

If you are in London you can get the football special bottles in the London Irish Centre shop. I get them regularly for my husband.

Thank you, it all went off better than I hoped, the music was a particular success, MIL was singing along to a lot of the songs word perfectly!
We had the red candle on the table and it made it seem nicely festive.
All the food was great too. Everyone enjoyed the apple drink and the gammon and chicken, we reckon we actually prefer that to Turkey. MIL cleared her plate at every meal, which was a huge win!
thank you to everyone for all their ideas to help make it special, we all enjoyed our Irish Christmas.