Help me plan a 90s Christmas

[Iamasentientoctopus]

For the last few years, Christmas has felt like a juggernaut getting larger and more expensive. I spent so long last year putting all of my carefully selected ornaments up, two Christmas trees etc I actually felt quite flat when it was all done. My house looked like an instagram post. Then add on the Xmas eve boxes, elaborate meal for 12, mountains of presents etc. I can’t quite describe the feeling but it was like the opposite of the warm festive feeling. I know I’m an adult now so Christmas isn’t going to be the same but I want to try and recreate some old school Christmas magic. I’ve had the idea of going full 90s in both decor and attitude and I definitely want to cut down on all the waste. So far I have on my list:

• A real tree with coloured lights and TINSEL. I’m going to let everyone else help me and I’m not going to obsess over how it looks.
• Traditional stockings left on the beds with a tangerine and little gifts - not making the stockings another £100 each!

I’d love some ideas/memories to add to my list. I’d love to get some of those coloured lantern lights my nan used to have outside but I’m also conscious I don’t want this to be another theme and spend a load of money! Thanks 😊

Driving around the streets to see the Xmas lights, one of the advent calendars you open to reveal a picture and a 90s Xmas playlist for Xmas day East 17 etc playing Xmas day games like pictionary or charades. 90s food yule log, advocat etc

i actually threw away the last of the tinsel this year, previously wrapped around the bannister

When my children were small (they are only teens now) I did gingerbread parties between about the age of 5-9. They would invite friends from school - I had anything up to about 8/10 of them I think) to make gingerbread to put out for Santa. We did it Xmas eve or day before. I would make an enormous batch of gingerbread dough and extend the kitchen table and they would all use the cutters and make a tray each. I then would put out a load of different coloured icing and sprinkles etc and they would decorate. It was usually chaos but loads of fun and we would have Xmas music on in the background.

Sounds idyllic! Just one thing - you forgot the bread sauce! You HAVE to have bread sauce with turkey - delicious stuff!

You are absolutely right - and I forgot the sprouts too!

DD and I are big into crafts and love doing creative stuff, so we're going to keep an evening free every week in December to have a Christmas crafting/movie night. We're planning to make paper chains, paper snowflakes for the windows, salt dough decorations, and probably some other bits too. I remember doing all of this with my own mum but our modern life is so busy that unless I plan ahead carefully, this stuff just doesn't happen. We're also going to collect pine cones on our winter walks to decorate the house and make bird feeders. And I think we'll make some brown paper bag cut-out lanterns with battery tealights and then take them out on a walk through the village to see the Christmas lights up. We will also make some food gifts for people (biscuits, chutney, cakes).

We do have a winter lights trail booked which we do every year, and we will see Santa at some point, but apart from that we're not booking any expensive ticketed events. We have done all sorts of things in the past but I'm fed up of the same feeling of over consumption that you're describing. Back to basics and cosy nights at home, homemade food, homemade gifts and homemade decorations. Inviting family over for movie nights and hot chocolate.

If you have any pretty paper/wallpaper offcuts lying around, these look pretty: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/christmas-star-paper-decorations-craft-project

that's hilarious! My ex-IL's used to be like this. Roses chocs were passed around hourly - only take one, mind. One of the many joys of divorce.

I don't get all the extras that people do for Christmas these days. What the f* is a Christmas Eve box? Why do you need two trees? My MiL asked me what theme my tree was this year; i don't have a theme, i chuck everything on. Why do kids need 100+ presents. When I was kid we got little novelty things; chocolate, mini bubble baths, a christmas decoration in our stocking (which was the size of a large sock not a pillowcase) and maybe two or three 'under tree' gifts from our parents, one gift each from grandparents, extended family and friends. As we got older we started buying our own gifts for family and friends, some of the extended family stopped buying presents for us. Now my husband and I do stockings for each other and it's still just one or two presents for each person, (£20 max. unless see something special), little something from the cat. We rarely host; family scattered all over the country. Christmas doesn't need to be huge to be special, some of my best childhood Christmas's were only 5 or 6 people and the last few years it's been just the 2 of us.

Last week I saw a pub advertising “breakfast with Santa” at £15.99 a head FFS.

When I was little there was a wonderful toy shop in Wallingford. Their sale was post Christmas. So we had a few bits on Christmas day but on the 27th off we went to the toy shop. I bought bits for my dolls house, my brother bits for his toy village, cars, etc.
My dad had made my dolls house out of two orange crates. Screwed them together. Covered it all in something. Put a roof and chimneys on top

Mum then wallpapered the interiors, carpeting, curtains. I loved it. I especially loved picking up dolls furniture etc on 27th.

That's what I also miss post Christmas sales, in the 80s. We'd go to Chester, Browns, C&A, BHS and buy clothes for the children. It was a fun day out.

Blue Peter coat hanger Advent decoration 😅

Buying the tree together, the switching on of the town lights , obv the 90s viennetta and chocolate gateau. If I think back I don't think I really cared about decorations, like you say other then the tinsil and same old fashioned lights (but I think the ones had had already as good memories there). Drinking grape juice from wine glasses and the paper hats. some nice chocolate on Xmas morning , and a good family game. Doesn't have to be much more does it. I'm pretty unwell and don't manage much more than that. It's all you need really.

I think time together was a big one, there was no streaming so we all sat together and all watched the same films/tv, or played board games, there were no phones (could you do a phone box/ban so they're not on people?) Disposable cameras so you can get them developed in January and have real photos? Experiences as gifts instead of actual gifts, or secret santa to reduce the rampant consumerism? I think focus on the people with you, what they actually like (rather than what the Internet tells you they should like) and what you actually really like (rather than what Instagram tells you that you should like).

I’ve really invested time this year buying vintage baubles, the bright ones but more from 50s/60s that my nan still used in the 90s. I’ve got a whole collection now going on my real tree and I’ve invested in some pickwick coloured lights. They’re led but closest to the traditional 90s ones which I do have but they’re so temperamental and a set always breaks every year I use them. We’ve also paired back on gifts and don’t go over the top. I’ve got lots of vintage items from charity shops, Facebook marketplace and Vinted. I’ve seen some of the lantern lights you mentioned on Vinted too.
the way I see it, I decorate our home for us, not for insta. Already excited to decorate and get the Christmas feels.

This may be more seventies but Father Christmas always brought an annual a diary a book chocolate orange sugar mice felt tips and little bits and bobs. We made paper chains for decoration and had a ring of orange and lemon jelly slices

First thing to do is stay OFF any form of social media, that will certainly stop the feeling of it not quite being good enough. Stuff what other people (sheep) do with their matching PJs and the 'He's been' Christmas Eve Insta 'perfect' photos, when we all clearly know that they are not!! The Christmas Eve 'he's been' photos with a mountain of presents drives me absolutely up the wall as that is something which is personal to each family and shouldn't be posted for the world (and any would be burglar) to see!!
Also scale back the gifts and stick to the mantra of what I've recently seen, which is:
Something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read.

No mobile phones! Only four or five channels on telly. Smoking indoors (maybe not that retro) . Only one type of stuffing! No Christmas pyjamas.

Oh and Christmas jumpers were just daft patterned jumpers. Not an entire fashion genre

Love the ideas thank you! I’ve thought I’ve got loads of bright wool so we could make a big Pom Pom garland for the tree to add some colour without spending any money. My daughter isn’t too well at the moment so will give me something to do whilst she is poorly and we can’t leave the house! I will certainly add a picture of our mismatched colourful tree in a couple of months 🤗

The run up to Christmas was the best. So start with an Argos catologue (even if I didn't get everything I ticked I loved doing that) Radio & TV Times to plan any TV. Don't do to any of the fake big German markets the school or church Christmas fairs are a must. We always went to a local pantomime after Christmas but between new year. Christingle service and midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
Make your own Christmas Cake & Pudding, Atora have a good recipe for pudding. To end the evening you definitely have to play charards.

Some amazing ideas here! Thanks @Iamasentientoctopus for starting this thread! We used to have a silver tinsel tree at Christmas and lots of homemade decorations. My mum used to wrap matchboxes in wrapping paper and tie cotton around them to look like parcels to hang on the tree. I do remember unwrapping a couple at one point and being slightly disappointed 😁

To me, 90s Christmas is;

• Multi coloured lights in the tree
• mismatched wrapping paper
• 90s Xmas movies
• Christmas music
• normal chocolate advent calendars
• stockings of 'bits' - highlight of a choc orange
• Christmas cards
• tinsel and lamenta (lameta? I can't remember its name
• the snowman on Xmas Eve
• Xmas PJs that I've worn for the last couple of years and are getting too short for me
• crackers with a jumping frog in or a spinning top
• all the Xmas specials on tv

Keeping it simple, nothing 'matching' and just enjoying it! More about the feeling, lees about the perfect insta photos!

My sister in law used to make the crackers, providing a little gift for each guest. They were beautiful.

Oh, and an advent calendar with a picture behind the door. Chocolate ones were so posh, even when we did get one in the early ‘90s my sister and I had to share it 😂