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 😊

Paper chains and that lovely advent wreath out of old coat hangers Blue Peter taught us to make (if you know, you know) - a little more 1980s but it will fit right in.
Honestly, it was just less fuss, but still a big deal. Lots of homemade decorations and no elf on the shelf.

Thank fuck I never had to do "Elf on the bleeding shelf"!!! I'm the parent who is frantically wrapping presents at 2am on Xmas eve.

You need to start by choosing your main gift from the Argos catalogue

1.Have a jigsaw on the table for people to put pieces in as they please- I get mine from charity shops every Xmas for a couple of pounds.
2.an advent calendar made just out of card no chocolates
3 crackers made out of toilet roll, also can use toilet roll cardboard and cotton wool to make snowman decorations
see what you can make JUST out of stuff you already have or can get free- holly, candies, tin foil

ps- this is a GREAT post and a fantastic idea, you can have so much fun doing this and spend evenings making stuff rather than looking online for Xmas presents! But overall this is about LESS effort so you could just eat Aldi mince pies and drink mulled wine every night ha ha

Go back to the 70s . Then you will truly know Christmas

We used to do paperchains one evening in December and hang them on the bannister.

Stockings often had some normal things in, a body spray or a flannel, it was just something to open before coming downstairs.

Step away from social media and you’ll stop feeling like you need to have the latest Instagram fads

Your 90s Xmas is still how we do things in our house, we never really bought into the classy modernisation side, it's tacky and retro and we love it.😁
Good luck with your pursuit, hope you have a lovely one this year.

I absolutely love this idea.
This year we're doing a fairly simple Christmas. It's MILs first without FIL as an adult.
Somewhere along the line we decided we were going to Butlins for the Christmas break. Myself and H are separated, but Christmas is about the kids and I want everyone to be happy.
Apart from kids we're doing a secret Santa and have a £10 limit on gifts.
We're going to watch a Christmas film each evening we're away.
One night eldest DD will choose. Next night will be MIL- that'll be home alone! Then me- miracle on 34th Street I think.

The kids have a strict limit this year, and only stuff I know they'll actually get use out of. Loads of family games and will see if we can watch some Christmas specials over the Christmas break.

I'm looking forward to paring it back a bit and also spending the Christmas eve with MIL like we used to. I've known MIL since I was 20, so we used to stay at hers on Christmas eve night so we would all wake up together, now being able to repeat that with the boys in a way makes it feel a bit like a tradition.

You have described our 90s Christmas and my children love the simplicity.

I bought some old roses and quality street jars and always decant the chocolates from the tubs into them. Last year I was super disappointed with how the individual chocolates look in the horrible paper wrapping. So this year I've bough coloured tinfoil and I'm going rewrap the chocolates 😊😊😊😆

I had a colour scheme in the 90’s and themed colours became more popular as the 90’s went on.

I'm thinking most people's Christmases would instantly feel more retro if we didn't buy into so much plastic.

My husband and I recently realised our nearly 5 year old is having an 80s/90s style childhood so far as that's when we grew up! No ipad, can't use a phone, tv is for watching a show or a film not you tube etc.
Our Christmas is quite simple and magical, like ours were. A traditional advent calendar to open alongside a chocolate one. Stocking is a couple of small toys, some chocolate and a satsuma.
We decorate the house and tree and our sons helps his dad put the outside lights up and we go outside to see them switched on, on the first night. We listen to carols and Christmas songs throughout December.
On the 23rd we go out for a meal, a walk around our town to see the lights,then we shut the world out for Christmas.
We go for walks in the countryside, eat a home made Christmas cake that I bake in October and feed with brandy every week.
Christmas Eve is all about the magic of Father Christmas and the reindeer, a simple mince pie, drink and carrot left out. We don't do matching pj's or anything boxes.
Christmas day is relaxed, stockings in bed, take our time over presents once dressed.
The only things that we didn't do growing up that we do now are a light trail at our local National Trust and tracking Father C on the Norad tracker (which I find absolutely magical!)

I love NORAD, watch all evening. I've still got felt stockings that the children stitched together 40 years ago. They're hung up over the mantelpiece.

I always say our tree looks like the elves threw up Christmas all over it. Every colour of the rainbow.

I do appreciate led lights and battery candles though. Fire safety.

Pre Christmas activities - advent calendar, carol service, light switch on (though they are very early now), shopping or Christmas market (in your local town not Prague!) And none of them before December if you can help it. Tree up as schools break up (and not down until 12th night). Christmas eve - quiet day of last minute prep then crib service or carols from Kings on TV. Simple "treat" tea, whatever that looks like in your house. We'd have pizza. We often do get fish and chips. On the day - stocking made with an actual sock. Small gifts of fruit, sweets and "pocket money" items. Main gift should not be £100s either. For us in the 90s a main gift was a book or a tape. Maybe a top or shoes if my folks were feeling flush. For the younger kids it was action figures or board games or craft materials. Home baked goodies, simple but delicious dinner with family and traditional TV later in the day. Buffet of leftovers and a family game or two on Boxing day. Simple festive treats such as movies and mince pies for the full 12 days, even if you're back at work these can be incorporated. I think that was what made Christmas special - it was slower paced but lasted until you went back to school. Now people have ripped the tree down and bought Easter eggs by then. No sense of the rhythm of the year any more. As long as you can get everyone on board you could have an amazing Christmas by going back to basics.

Coloured lights on the Christmas tree (and anywhere else you can hang them) and non-coordinating colours of tinsel thrown over various pictures on the wall. A novelty paper/plastic tablecloth on the table from Christmas Eve and throughout the festivities. A copy of the Radio Times, a jar of quality streets and the television must be absolutely always on - watching any old naff Christmas special for 5 days solid. Those little pretzel snacks in plastic pots everywhere, and Branston pickle or salad cream with every savoury dish once Christmas dinner is out the way.

Make sure presents involve old style troll dolls, slap bracelets and tamagotchi. Get a radio remote controlled car that will be broken/out of battery by Boxing Day. Buy an old games system like a Nintendo 64 with the infamous Golden Eye game (or Playstation one or two with the game Tekken) and two or more controllers . Only watch movies from before the year 2000 (okay Love Actually can be the exception). Watching East17 rotating their white puffa jackets like they’ve been put in a giant Microwave, will really get you in the festive spirit.

When is was small in the 80s my Aunt had a 7ft tree in her window and as a child it was perfect.
No coordination just a mass of colour, children's ornaments, some old style foil and tinsel baubles, a star on the top and nothing matched.
My grandparents had the same but a smaller version.
My tree is based on this as I tried one year to have a modern tree in pinks and gold. Hated it.
So we are back to the explosion of colour and I love it. Its child friendly and holds so many memories.

I popped into church on year end of November. They had the old fashioned advent calendar. Each day was a picture of the Christmas story. It was beautiful. I bought one for the children. We still have the book of Christmas Bible stories somewhere. Fully illustrated.

Every year out comes all the Nativity figures arranged on the hall table. I have led stars on wire I wrap around it.

"Amazon.co.uk: Vermont Christmas Company: Advent Calendars" https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/page/F70DED3E-FF8A-4F8C-8722-7106BE4CFB24?ingress=2&lp_context_asin=B00VGQZDQ8&visitId=e92dff79-a0bc-48c0-a235-9778a82a3190&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto&ref_=ast_bln

Lots of real advent calendars here.

The adults still want a chocolate Christmas stocking 😁

I Think DH and I have been doing 90's Christmasses since we got together 20+ years ago. Our first Christmas was spent in separate locations north and south of England - the next Christmas we bought a fake tree and have added to the decorations -which by now - are a complete mish mash of colours with ornaments with each of the GKs names on. The tinsel is recycled year after year - some has fallen apart over the years and been replaced by good old woollies purchases. It may not be particularly environmentally friendly in what it is made of but that is made up for by the fact that it is re-used on the tree every year without buying more. I think tinsel on a tree is a great way to make a sparkly tree because the lights add flickers of extra brightness. We might be cheap skates but we love our tree and it still looks as good as it is did the first time we put it up albeit a little busier!

i love my fake tree, with a multitude of colours and mismatched baubles

TBH if you try to hard to recreate, surely you will end up feeling the same?
Just bung up your tree with help, forget the boxes and forget tonnes of presents. Buy simply, make lunch a simple roast and get everyone out for a good walk after lunch.

I don't think my Christmases have changed that much since the 90s? I was a teenager then and am now a middle aged adult, but still celebrate Christmas at my mum's house where she's still rocking the same decorations etc. Definitely lots of tinsel and random baubles. In my own house we also have tinsel and random baubles and cheap, possibly tacky, foil garlands. We'll go for a walk on the day, and probably play a game or watch a film. No one worries about insta photos.