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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

What was Christmas lilke when you were a child?

59 replies

Mercy · 29/11/2008 19:16

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.

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piscesmoon · 30/11/2008 10:01

They were magical when I was a DC and I was so excited that I couldn't sleep.
The build up started at school with gold spray and glitter and costumes. The School Christmas dinner was a big highlight as we made it special with extras, and also the Christmas party with a present from the tree at the end.
I loved the knobbly feel of the Christmas stocking but we had to wait until 7am to open it!
We always went to church and had the big dinner afterwards. My mother also dished out sweets, something we didn't get much of generally. It also involved a family game of something, with everyone taking part.

elmoandella · 30/11/2008 10:08

every year without fail it would be icy cold if not snowing as in scotland.

real tree. checp decorations.

paper chains. lights that never worked.

loads of soup.
small turkey with loads of vegs/pigs in blankets and stuffing.

used to love watching and helping making the stuffing.

proper stocking each filled with fruit and choco.1 proper gift from parents. things from relatives like massive box of chocs to share. or gloves.

not really any drinking in my house.

dumpling instead of pudding

BoffinMum · 30/11/2008 10:17

Oh SwedishMum, I so feel for you!

I haven't got great memories either, really. Hope my mum is not reading this, because I bet her image of our Christmases is completely different. Mind you, it might not be, because she hardly even visits us at Christmas these days - my parents spend it in hotels or with childless friends.

I had the dubious joy of spending Christmas with a depressed mother, who was generally very stressed and/or moody (we should have got together and cheered ourselves up, SwedishMum).

I was cooped up with brother and parents in the house, with the heating not on enough (it was still on the timer for a normal working day). We had an apologetic plastic tree with lots of silver lametta strewn all over it, which we would subsequently get in trouble about for unknowingly spreading about the house. Dad was often absent for lunch as he was doing emergency callouts (he was an electrical engineer).

We ate turkey with peas, carrots, sprouts, soggy roast potatoes, sausages and bacon rolls, packet Paxo stuffing, and cheap Xmas pudding from Asda with single cream. No passion there, but at least mum cooked it.

My presents were put in a pillowcase outside the door, but they were never quite what I expected. I always felt a little bit aggrived that my relatively modest demands for things like a Tiny Tears doll were generally ignored. I wasn't spoilt, I don't think, but I just never got that present opening thrill because it was almost always The Wrong Stuff and actually not always very thoughtful.

I did always get a selection box from my (absent) Grandma, and ate chocolate until I felt sick because we rarely got it in our house otherwise (my mother was a diet freak). We watched TV a lot, and I spent a lot of time in my bedroom.

Distant relatives usually visited on Boxing Day, so we had another roast, and it was clear to me that mum was obviously putting up with them. They never saw us apart from Christmas, so they hardly knew us really. The presents were generally for the wrong age group and type of child - they kept forgetting how old we were and what our interests were.

Now I am a big Christmas rebel, so my kids get cool (if not always extravagent) presents, a real tree (although they also have a seriously kitsch plastic one they decorate themselves, and which they clearly prefer), a dead fab Christmas dinner properly cooked with all the things they like, a Christmas pudding that is suitably on fire with brandy, a Christmas wreath on the front door, pantomimes and outings, and we all have a good laugh. Much better.

I am happily pissed on Champagne quite a lot of the time (that means 2 glasses for me!) and I can't remember ever getting stressed, not even the year we all got noro virus on Christmas Day with 4 visitors ... but that's another story ...

ohdearwhatamess · 30/11/2008 10:48

My parents are very disapproving of 'fun' so Christmasses were always rather dull and restrained affairs.

We were allowed to open one present on Christmas morning. We weren't allowed to open any more until after Christmas lunch (at about 5pm). Even then we were only allowed to open a few. We had to keep some back to open on subsequent days, which was torture.

Church in the morning, where every other child brought a toy to show the congregation, but we weren't allowed to do so.

We weren't allowed to make noise or listen to music in case it annoyed my elderly grandmother. Had no tv.

I was always rather glad when it was over and I could go back to school!

BoffinMum · 30/11/2008 10:51

ohdearwhatamess, this is very sad too. What do you do now with your family?

NattyTirednessAndExhaustion · 30/11/2008 11:05

aw swedishmum and boffinmum, you had rubbish christmas's... hope u make them special with your family now? thats all you can do really.

christmas for me when i was very little was fantastic, as christmas day was always spent down at my nans house (b4 she moved to portsmouth) and i got to see all my relatives and my nan was really tradional, so it was just magical.

when my nan moved she stopped having everyone over my aunt took over for a couple of years.

then when my uncle left my aunt christmas kinda dispeared for me, we started spending it at home. mum would spend it stressed over the dinner, dad would sit on the sofa watching telly. not as wonderful for sure, i do miss them

now i have kids and my own DH christmas is magical again, we make mince pies christmas eve, the kids open one pressie b4 bed christmas eve (which is usually a nightie slippers or dressing gown)
in the morning we get up, open stockings, and have breakfast of pancakes and syrup.
we then open all the other presents, and get dressed in new outfits.
we then jump in a cab to go and see my mum, sometimes we walk depends oon how cold it is.
we have late christmas lunch at mums house more presents then home for telly and bed

wideratthehips · 30/11/2008 13:37

christmas was always rather grim in our house. there was a horrible atmosphere generated by my mother, who was probably exhausted from work by the time christmas came, but would be really snappy to my dad and i. who was such an unsociable person, but would falsley brighten when people arrived..when she had just been spitting venom. our dogs were locked in the garage out the way and it really upset me.

she always decorated the tree her way no one was allowed to help...no special rituals or treats. presents were always things we needed (pants socks...tampax?!) and usually some horrid fright outfit..gold lame top?...shellsuit? (my mother always tried to make me look really unattractive)

we weren't allowed to watch any television over the festive period...so now in my thirties i'm becoming acquanted with classic films.

of course i now live christmas through my children

CoolYourJets · 30/11/2008 13:50

Horrid when small. A combination of Boffin and Wider's Xmas's. As a teen hostilities between M + D weren't even suspended for the duration of the day.

We have a fabulous time and I have done since I met my husband.

swedishmum · 30/11/2008 14:27

Boffinmum, I'm a Christmas rebel too now. Glad our kids are having a happier time of it!
My dd2 (who lost her twin at 24hrs) was very very ill over her first Christmas with bronchiolitis. Video of my parents at our house helping dd1 (then 2) opening her presents with absolutely no joy, even folding the wrapping paper from her dolls' house was heartbreaking. I realised then I never wanted my dcs to have another lonely Christmas. 13 years later we have lots of fun in our house, even if I do use too much tin foil to make my life a bit easier!

PuppyMonkey · 30/11/2008 14:28

It was just more... Christmassy.

swedishmum · 30/11/2008 14:28

Wider - mm, tampax! I've been looking for a couple of stocking fillers for dds 1 and 2....

breaghsmum · 30/11/2008 15:08

xmas eve; got into our new xmas outfit and went to midnight mass ( to see the huge nativity scene)followed by supper for the whole huge extended family(about 60 people) in my nana's house. then home for a cup of tea and to open one present from under the tree. someone always opened a video so we would have to watch that until early hours of the morning. we got new jammies aswell. then to bed to try very hard to stay awake and see santa.

xmas day; up about 5/6ish and wake mum and dad, all head down to open presents in turns then mum would make fry. always had a chocolate terrys orange in our stockings (still get one from mum. sit all day eating chocolate and watching xmas films, i remember one year it snowed and we watched two foxes trot up our drive and away over the fields. then our uncles, aunts and cousins would arrive for xmas dinner, about six differnt tables all squashed together, party hats and crackers, loads of noise. loved it.mum always kept a surprise present to open at the table. adults would drink and play poker into early hours, kids would play loads of board games, monoply, twister, buckaroo.

boxing day; go to my aunts in the evening as it was my uncles birthday, she had a huge party, loads of food, and cousins we hadnt seen in ages. again went on to early hours.

only hope ds has such good memories

Mercy · 30/11/2008 17:45

Oh dear, I'm sorry some of you had such a horrible time.

It makes me realise why people start their own traditions type thread.

Hope you all have the most wonderful time of the year now though [cheesy grin]

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BoffinMum · 30/11/2008 18:00

I think the Tampax stocking filler is really excellent.

They would look lovely on the tree as well, methinks

Do you lot realise because of this thread, I have spent the afternoon happily internet Xmas shopping, and I have spent a lot more than I intended out of revenge for the past? I may have singlehandedly stopped the credit crunch in its tracks ...

branflake81 · 30/11/2008 18:06

All us kids would perform a play, written by me in November. I would force rehearsals on them every weekend until xmas and get really pissed off with my brother who refused to learn his lines and would just read off the script.

sagacious · 30/11/2008 18:12

Mum always got so stressed by the Christmas dinner she drank too much sherry and burnt/undercooked everything. There was usually a row, but everything was generally forgotten when dad put on a tatty santa hat and passed round the presents.

Adults were generally asleep by 5pm so the kids would create havoc upstairs

Happy days (ish)

bellaBuonNatalevita · 30/11/2008 18:27

I have lovely memories of christmas as a child.

Always had a nicely decorated tree and my parents always tried their best (and succeeded) to get us the one main present we asked for.

We usually got up at around 7.30ish to oooohhh has he been yet? Mum and Dad would make my brother and I breakfast, which we would then try and eat in between unwrapping our presents.

My Dads Auntie and her friend would pop down with their presents and to wish us a merry xmas before we went out (they also squeezed a christmas drink in)

We would then toddle off to our grandparents house in our finery for a huge family get together over christmas and boxing day (we always stayed over). My family is italian and lunch consisted of quite a lot of courses (still had the roast turkey). Sitting round the huge table eating and drinking till late, playing games with my cousins.

Mum and Grandma being a bit giddy and realising about 9.00pm ish that not a lot of washing up had got done.

The italian grappa coming out onto the table (tasted awful) but it was sent for christmas from an uncle in Italy (or my grandparents brought it back with them) and it just had to be tried!

Cold meats, pickles, warm mince pies etc being put on the table late on even though we were full up.

We would then do it all over again with the eating and drinking on Boxing Day.

My lovely Grandma died 20 years ago (she kept the family together), we did another couple of years at my Grandads, but it was never the same, so then my Mum took over and did it at her house. Family move on, kids get married have their own families and now it is my turn. I have Mum, Dad, Grandad (now 87), brother SIL and their children not quite the amount of family that used to sit around the table years ago, but I do enough food to feed the 5,000!

I am sorry for those who do not have happy memories.

BoffinMum · 30/11/2008 18:46

I think, as an officially festively traumatised person who has come out on this thread, that it is lovely hearing everyone else's more positive tales of Christmas, and I feel part of much happier things by proxy now! I have found it very therapeutic so thank you everyone xx

beanieb · 30/11/2008 19:34

we never had people coming round all day.

bellaBuonNatalevita · 30/11/2008 19:46

beanieb - trecking across fields to go to parties sounds really warm and villagey with people getting together.

glasgowstyle · 30/11/2008 19:48

Lovely - a stocking, christmas tv, carols, the christmas floats

RhinestoneCowgirl · 30/11/2008 19:50

Christmas was generally happy in our house, stayed at home, apart from one stressful year when my mum was pg and we went to her mum's - cue lots of drunken rellies spending too long in the pub and delaying lunch so that it was all dried up by the time we got to eat it.

Main things I remember: Putting the (real) tree up and all the decs on Christmas Eve. My mum trying to listen to Carols from Kings every year and every year failing due to three noisy over-excited children. Sleeping in with my brothers (normally had my own room) as their room had a fireplace and was worried that FC wouldn't be able to find me if not. Lunch was always nice but not turkey as no-one liked it. Stockings full of cheap plastic tat. Lunch fairly early at about 1pm as my family are gannets and then a brisk walk around the streets afterwards (my DH doesn't get this one).

Since DH & I started living together we have always had Christmas Day in our own home, have been some lovely ones over the past 10 yrs. Fairly boozy ones pre-children! This year DC2 is due on 21 Dec, so likely to be a little ad hoc...

Mercy · 30/11/2008 20:45

Boffinmum adn others who experienced crap times, have you looked at the children's and adults fiction section for recommendations for Christmas stories?

Sentimental for some but lovely for others

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mrsmaidamess · 30/11/2008 20:51

Christmas morning wasn't much of a surprise for me as I had made it Decembers mission to find all my presents hidden around the house and have a good snoop before the 25th. Why did I bother?

But I remember the local Round table coming up the street playing music with Santa on hisnfloat and that made me feel so Christmassy.

Has anyone mentioned the Charlie Brown Christmas Show? My favourite.

so Christmassy. I fancy a mulled wine

wideratthehips · 01/12/2008 09:24

its good to hear the good and bad stories of christmas past...and its nice to hear everyones family traditions now with their own children.

this weekend dh and i made giant stockings for our two ds out of hessian and did blanket stitching in bright red tapestry wool (its the first christmas ds1 has a clue whats going on)

this morning he opened the first window in a beautiful old fashioned advent calendar and this afternoon he will open the first bit in a great playmobil knights calendar

ds1 and i stuck some cloves in clementines and put up have a look at all the christmas stuff its beautiful we got the nativity, snowflakes and reindeer!