What was Christmas lilke when you were a child?

[Mercy]

Any similarities? Any differences?

We always had an ancient artificial tree with lights and glass baubles handed down to us from my greatgrandparents and grandparents (really attractive, delicate things). Sadly mostly now broken.

A small turkey (not every yesar though) followed by either a homemade or shop bought pudding (which would need steaming for about 3 hours and was generally overdone)

Leftovers plus new pots and salad was a treat on Boxing Day.

My parents only drank alcohol at Christmas or on birthdays so went a bit overboard at lunchtime and when we were in bed!

One thing I do miss is the Salvation Army walking down our road, standing under the street lights and playing carols, ditto the float organised by the Rotary club or somesuch. All very well done.

We only had one present each on Christmas day, a couple of others from Grandparents and the like, but nothing like the orgy of present giving we seem to have today. It took my nieces about 2 hours to work through everything they got on Christmas day alone last year.

too exciting and magical,and i could never get to sleep with sicky excitement.

mum did a fab job for us. i loved those late 70's/early 80's xmas's.

dad always seememd to be away, but mum, me and sis had a special day. and she always bought 4 babychams

Oooh I might buy some babycham this year

Proper Christmas stockings!
We foraged in our sock drawer for our longest socks, (I envied my older brother's football socks!) and left one on the end of our beds.
In the morning, they invariably had an orange in the toe, chocolate coins, a handful of nuts and some small toys to keep us busy until after breakfast.
One year, mine had a tiny tortoise made out of a hollowed out hazlenut shell in it. I still have it! It's survived 10 changes of address and is one of my "treasures"!

i remember babycham,my nan allowed us one on xmas eve whilst mum and dad were on the town. snowballs were a favorite aswell.

we had new nighties, we always singed them though by standing too close to the gas fire.

i alwasy got a bottle of bubble bath with a dolls head on for some reason.

My childhood Christmas is so different from the Christmas we now have.

We are a Christian family and that is what flavours our Christmas. My childhood Christmas was much more materialistic (and disappointing when materialism failed to live up to expectations.)

Loads of people (about 30) in a 3 bed semi and somehow we all fitted. Used wallpaper pasting tables to extend my auntie's dining table to accomodate everyone. I was always in the extended part of the table where it took a right angle turn towards the kitchen.

Uncles were always quite drunk (although not before dutifully assembling and playing with all toys and doing the washing up) and lay down on the mattresses upstairs for a little snooze at about 5pm before tea.

Mum and her sisters got a bit tiddly on sherry whilst cooking lunch. One uncle who was a chef always did the carving. My dad used to be a chef but as uncle was still a chef he got the job.

Always new pyjamas and sleeping on a camp bed in my cousin's bedroom.

Very noisy, very crowded, occasional arguments but nothing mean spirited. Very happy days. Many of those people are now dead or left the fold but family still very important at Christmas as all year round. Hope we can make Christmases as special for DS.

Magic.

Just thinking about those days brings a lump to my throat as Mum died this year.

always wet and rainy

we would be to excited to sleep, get up too early and consequently melt down with exhaustion by about 4pm and have to be dragged out of the hosue for a walk to stop us throttlign each other - we'd give each house points for quantity and tastefulness of their decorations

hideous rows about who cheated at which game (Monopoly was the worst)

writing thank you letters immediately after opening presents in the first flush of enthusiasm

Mum always hovered with pen and paper to write down who had given us what so the thank you cards could be written asap - at absolute latest by New Year.

Monopoly was not a game we could play in our house - war would break out.

Being a young child in the early 1980s was a lot of fun.

They were lovely.

There always seemed to be a bottle of Advocaat in the house, plus a few Babychams and Cherry B's.

I would love a bottle of Cherry B right now! Can you still buy it??

First christmas I remember I was about 6. Was the same year I realised what I had been told about Santa might not be true! We had very small presents and stockings with fruit and we had a xmas eve ritual of drawing a special sign on the window so Santa could find us.

When me moved back to the country my dad would sneak into the forest and cut down a tree. I remember going with him at least once.

We lived in cold houses without central heating and one year we had a whole fireplace packed with wood.

Some xmasses we would go to see my dad's parents which was always quite formal but we got to see aunties and uncles and cousins which was cool.
I remember that at some point my parents started a vague rota thing so one of us kids (there are three of us) would get a bigger present than the others. I got a pogo stick which I used to make holes in my grandpa's lawn

When we were in west wales I remember a lot of snow and digging out of cars or walking 2 miles to the hop for chocolate and food. Also going to a lot of late night parties with my parents who would walk us across fields in the dead of night which was really exciting.

My sister and I would hang up our wooly tight sand my brother would tie knots in the bottoms of a pair of trousers, they were filled with nuts and dates and felt tip pens.

One christmas we pu on a play and sang songs for our grandparents, we practiced for days before.

We were always poor but even now that we are all settled and fairly well off we still only spend £30 - £40 on eachother.

Always beautiful. We would decorate the tree and Mum (on a step ladder) would put up the ceiling decs. They were very important and Mum knew exactly where they went. The huge big one over the fire, and the others sort of gelled into that. We had polystyrene tiles so it was easy.

Lovely vases, covered with cotton wool and a big snowman head on top. Just scrunched up paper and we stuck the cotton wool on.

Dad always coming in at the last minute, if he could, with fab pressies for all of us.

The best bit for me was my stocking. It carried on until I was 21 and Mum died.

When I was pre-teen christmas was Magic, pressies dressing up, big lunch, playing with new toys in the afternoon turkey and stuffing sandwiches for tea

Teens - realised how stressed Mum was that everything was perfect.. timing everything so that we had enough time for stockings before breakfast, enough time for breakfast before chuch, etc.. a forced air of happiness.

DESPERATE not to do that to my boys.

We always had my gran over plus her small dog. I'd go a fetch them with my dad in the morning, dog would be sick in the car and then as soon as it arrived would wee in our kitchen. It would then be off around the house in pursuit of our terrified cat who had to spend Christmas shut away upstairs. So part of my Christmas routine was frequent trips upstairs to check on the cat. I remember all of that more vividly than everything else!

Plus in the evening playing whatever new game someone had received and the grandparents struggling to cope with understanding the rules!

Very poor, VERY few presents. Hundreds of us squeezed into 2 bed council house. Slade; Chas and Dave on the record player. Drunk uncles, advocat, babycham. Everyone sitting at odd chairs at different heights around the kitchen table.
Just magical actually

Lonely. Dad was a vicar, mum a social worker. I was an only child who came a long way down the list. Sometimes decorations didn't get put up, once I remember cooking dinner when I was probably about 12. Only way we'd have had it. Dad always fell asleep after all his hard work and I had to be quiet. Often (when he was a hospital chaplain) he and mum would spend the afternoon visiting wards of large mental hospital and I'd be left home alone. Sometimes I got to go along and play my violin to the patients.
One year we had dinner at the hosp canteen because it was free. On plastic plates and you had to queue up for it. I knew no-one.
One year my main present was a duvet - no cover for it though so I couldn't use it.

While I now rarely go to church there's far more love, warmth and family fun in our house these days.

Tree always went up on my birthday every year (3rd dec), probably a bit too early for some, but as a child I thought it magical to have the tree and all the decorations up for my parties.

Dad trying to light the big coal fire in the front room. Cant remember any of the hussle of cooking when I was small, was probably being kept busy by much older siblings while the cooking went on in the kitchen, but, I do remember that magic of waking up in the morning and going thru to see what santa had brought, there was always this distinct smell in he room I could never figure it out,but, as an adult I presume it must have been the newness of all the parcels. Lovely, can smell it now just thinking about it . Loads of selection boxes too (I hated the lion bars), and not forgetting that all important stocking with apple, tangerine and nuts.

Oh plus the snow and watchin everyone trying to ride down the hill outside on their new bikes without falling on the ice lol

Oh Swedishmum that's really sad, they both forgot charity begins at home....

My DSis (the oldest of us children) hated the thought of an old man, Santa or not, in her bedroom, so on Christmas Eve we would put our pillowcases over the backs of the chairs in the living room, put out a mince pie and drink and off to bed. When we got up in the morning we had to wait for Mum & Dad to get up (~8?) to go downstairs and see all the presents that had arrived piled up under the tree and our pillowcases now full. We had tongue or ham sandwiches for breakfast, sitting in the living room so we could get on with presents! (Yet still get something inside us before we found the chocolate) Pillowcases first, then presents from under the tree, with Dad's tape of carols playing in the background. Once presents opne, a wuick clear up of wrapping paper, then get dressed and go to see our grandparents who lived next door, then Dad's sisters who also lived in the same street. One of these aunts had a big family and they would still be into present unwrapping when we got there, so we would watch them, and have drinks with them before going home for lunch. Mum and Dad always had asti spumante or similar with lunch and we all squeezed in the pudding with custard and cream and ice cream afterwards! (God bless our stomachs!) Top of the Pops after lunch (while trying to avoid the washing up!) then a walk on the local heathland in the afternoon. Grand parents would come from next door to us for tea, then we would play games and watch a little TV and eat tangerines and nuts and chocolates.

That's my memory of Christmas from as young as I can remember until my grandparents died when I was 18, always the same, I loved it. 20 years on I love Christmas still, though it is a bit different now, especially since meeting DH and now we have DD. But I still love the memories of those early Christmases

Oh and me and my DSis always had new nightdresses on Christmas day to wear as party dresses. They would be full length M&S nighties, with a design on the front. With all the family living in the same street we had a party every night, taking it in turns to host. Once Christmas and the parties were over the dress would become a nightie for the rest of the year.

The build up to Christmas would start at school. The school play, making Christmas 'stuff' to sell at the Christmas Fayre, the Christmas school dinner followed by the party, and of course a games day on the last day of school. By the last day of term we would be sick with excitement. A few days to play with our mates or watch Chhristmas films on tv before the big day.

Mum would buy stamps each week from the supermarket and spend them on 'the christmas shop.' Our trolley used to groan under the weight of goodies.

On Chrsitmas Eve we would make mince pies and sausage rolls with Mum or Grandad and help decorate the cake. In the afternon Dad would take us out for a long walk to help get rid of some beans.

Up to bed at out normal time, but not before leaving out a glass of sherry, a mince pie and a carrot! And be briefed by M&D not to get up before 7!

Wake up at 4 and can't believe that no one else is awake with the sheer excitement of it all. Creep into my sisters bedroom and wake her up. She would say it is too early but lets me climb into her bed where I would fall asleep again.

On the dot of 7 run into M&D's bedroom and jump on their bed. Open a few little presents and then downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, we would get washed and then dressed in our finest outfits. M&D have hidden the presents around the house like a treasure hunt, so we have to go and find them.

Lots of mad ripping open of presents and fiends and neighbours coming over for a drink and nibble.

A late lunch, after which no one could move because of the vast consumption of turkey. We've all still got our cracker hats on because it it obligatory to wear them all day.

Parents and grandad wouls snooze on the sofa while we played with our new toys.

Cold meats and left overs for tea - even though no one is hungry!

Dad would carry us up to bed with a new toy firmly tucked under our arms. Fall into bed exhausted and thinking what a wonderful day it has been and tomorrow will be just as good as it is Boxing Day.

I am so lucky that I have such fond memories of Christmas.

we always listened to the carols at kings on xmas eve on the radio with my dad
Then xmas eve was always the Sunday School nativity play at about 6pm so after we had ben shephers/angels etc we came hom to put out brandy and mince pie for father xmas.

Xmas morning was the only time we ever went into my parents bedroom in the morning - dad would be in bed while we showed him what fc had bought in our stocking while mum was putting the turkey on

We always had grandparents staying, we never went away at xmas

Xmas day was church, xmas tv, always xmas top of the pops before lunch, then the Queen while gran fell asleep and then a 4 mile walk (always remember it being freezing and being carried half the way by mum was I was 3)

Xmas day night my parents went round to a friend's for tea and my gran babysat

Good times

oh forgot - coffee time on xmas morning was when the rest of the presents were opened
Me and my sister handed them out one by one and always left a big one for each other to open at the end to keep the excitement going

My mum always had a list to write what we got for thank you letters