The simple things you remember most about Christmas

[crochetmonkey74]

I'm not one to judge - each to their own - but the juggernaut of Christmas 'extras' now seems mad and got me to thinking about my memories of Christmas- none of which were present based.
Things I remember most are : starting to see tangerines in the grocer, all stacked up next to the shelled nuts and with those boxes of dates. The grocers looked all lit up on the walk home from school- and it would make me feel really Christmassy.
My other big one is the feeling of a heavy stocking on the bottom of the bed- it was always filled with tiny things that I can't remember- but always a chocolate Father Christmas sticking out of the top!
We had a set of Christmas tapes from Readers Digest (just found a set on Amazon for way too much but bought it anyway)
also, we used to listen to the St Winifreds School Choir 'Christmas For Everyone' record and light our very cheap cinnamon smelling candle - even now any cheap christmas candle (the ones that smell of burnt plastic cinnamon) makes me feel all Christmassy

What are your simple festive memories?

Making endless lines of paper chains for the school classroom.
Everyone making a picture of a snowman - using rolls of cotton wool and these being displayed on the classroom wall
Making a calendar at school for our Mums.

I bet teachers are far more inventive these days.

The class Christmas party (no disco) which was really a bring and share. Huge half rolls with either meat paste or cheese on them.
Jelly in waxed fluted coloured bowls.

I don't know if anyone has already mentioned Blue Peters advent crown. John Noakes and Valerie Singleton lighting the candles in the countdown with the Salvation Army playing carols on the last episode before Christmas. I had a 70s Christmas, it was just so magical.

EastmidsGPs those are exactly my school memories! I'm loving this thread. Thank you OP.

@whatkatydidnext1 yes I loved the Box of Delights - mentioned it up thread! Did you watch the Children of Green Knowe as well? I think that was a year or two later. Good times!

Flatcoatfan 😂

It all seems a very long time ago

I can't actually read this thread as I'm at work and it's making me cry. Will read later and add mine. All my memories of Christmas growing up are lovely.

For me Christmas started on Dec 5th putting our clean shoes on the doorstep and hoping we'd get sweets & treats and not coal then with Si
t Nicholas & Black Peter (German tradition) arriving at school on a military helicopter The teachers being whipped by Black Peter was the highlight of the school year

Tangerines & Nuts
Dad hopefully being home (military family)
Someone burning or forgetting some part of the turkey dinner lol
Christmas Films
Pillowcase stockings
Sneaking down with my siblings in the early hours to check if santa had been
School choir carol concert
Nativity at school
Christingles
Leaving out Brandy & coke for Santa (our house was alcohol fueled) with mince pies & a carrot for Rudolph

@JeNeSuisPasVotreMiel
Can I ask why your dreading Christmas ? If it’s personal you don’t need to say on here. Maybe it’s something we could help with x

@PrivateParkin
I think I do. I’ve just spent 20 minutes watching part 1 on utube .

Decorating the tree
Stirring the puddings and cake mix and making a wish
making paper chains
Giant balloons tied to our stockings
Finding bits of coloured fur fluff from the soft toys my mother was making for us in secret.
Sipping from adults' Babychams, Snowballs and Asti Spumante

Choir carol concert. I was useless at singing but allowed in the choir if I sang quietly (one of the joys of going to a comp ) and our choir master always chose the most stunning carols - medieval ones and modern ones as well as all the classics.

About a week before Christmas my nan used to take all of us grandchildren to a 'Christmas party' in the club she usually played bingo in. All her other nan friends would do the same. There was always a Santa, a selection box and chaos.

Mum rearranging the living room a day before Christmas Eve. She would pull the 2 seater forward and drag the table in behind it. It made the living room cramped but it was the only room big enough to fit everyone around the table.

Having a little Christmas Eve party - aunties, uncles and cousins (around 30 people) would squeeze into our house and we would get a random buffet - paste sandwiches, jammy dodgers on a plate, hula hoops and jelly

Also loved the walk to my aunties house on Christmas morning when the neighbours were out and cheerfully wishing everyone a merry Christmas.

The box of delights is our Christmas tradition whatkatydidnext1 in fact we watch one episode a week starting on the 19 November, this takes you upto Christmas Eve. Just like the original transmission in 1984.

No Christmas decorations up until after my mum’s birthday on 8 December (waiting was torture)

“Helping” my mum make the Christmas cake and to this day the smell of a fruit cake in the oven makes me want to cry with happiness

The tiny fake Christmas tree standing on top of a little coffee table, covered in lovely coloured lantern-shaped lights and all manner of random decorations including robins which were my favourites, plus various Santas dotted around the living room and a lovely little plastic church that played Silent Night

Sprigs of holly poking out from all the pictures on the walls and on the mantelpiece

Endless streams of family members and friends popping round to visit and bringing presents

My mum’s friend (now sadly deceased) making the best mince pies EVER with a little drizzle of white icing on top

Being made to go to mass usually on Christmas Eve and mostly hating it but liking the carols

Getting the Radio Times and marking all the good films and hoping that Santa Claus the Movie and the Wizard of Oz would be on

Creeeeeping down the stairs in the morning hoping that Santa had been

Opening my stocking first and being delighted with all the little trinkets and there was always an apple, a little orange and a bag of prawn cocktail crisps

Usually some sort of new videogame/console that I would play with while my mum was cooking the lunch, and always something arty/crafty

Every place setting had a scratchcard and someone usually won a pound

My auntie coming for lunch and bringing a bingo game and lots of prizes

Tins of Roses and Quality Street and chocolate biscuits, Fox’s I think

Vienetta

Santa always snuck into my room and left one present beside my bed, probably to keep me occupied till at least 6am as my parents hadn’t long gone to bed and were knackered

Foil garlands and fold out pompom things hanging from the ceiling, the same ones every year from when I was a child until well after I left home, and a big cardboard sleigh/reindeer thing with red ropes for reins that was blutacked to the wall and I wish so much I could find one like it

Really really thin wrapping paper, almost like printed tissue paper, something like 10 sheets for 50p down the market

M&S Magnolia gift sets

Christmas stockings instead of a selection box, weird net thing full of Marathons and Opal Fruits

Christmas cards that dropped glitter all over the house as soon as the envelope was opened

When I was a kid everything closed down for Christmas. All the buying in, stocking up, baking cakes and hams and so on that went on in the weeks before, was required because you couldn't nip out and get anything over the holidays. It was proper shut down - usually from Christmas to New Year.

Christmas was almost like a siege in that you had to get everything in. You had to make sure nothing was forgotten and the planning and logistics that went into it was like a military operation.

There were no milk deliveries, no local shops open, no buses running, it was a proper holiday that lasted several days and yes my family always did have Bubble and Squeak and cold meat and pickles on Boxing Day with the leftovers, and Turkey in several different ways for the rest of the week until it was finally gone. We didn't have a car - so everything was carried by bus, bike or on shanks' pony.

There was nothing 'out of the freezer' back in those days as we didn't have one - only a tiny little box in the fridge that you could just about get a packet of fish fingers in. Now of course - you can nip out for anything at any time unless you live out in the wilds. Our local shop is open Christmas Day and supermarkets etc. are open late Christmas Eve and of course Boxing Day everything is open again. We just seem to have this huge effort for what is effectively 'one day'. For me, it's all such an anti climax.

Having said that - Christmas before last I had my mum here - on what was to be her last Christmas on this earth. Last year, I just didn't have the heart to celebrate - didn't even put up so much as a bauble and told everyone that for me, Christmas was cancelled.

This year, the way everything has panned out I am hosting Christmas Day again for my grown up kids and my boyfriend and his elderly mum, so I have decided I am going to pull out all the stops and 'go for it'. Lots of holly and candles and fairy lights and 'traditional' food. It might only be 'one day' but I will still make the effort.

Other childhood memories include envelopes with fivers in (and sometimes bottles of port or sherry or whatever) for the postman, milkman, bin men etc. which we called their 'Christmas Box'.

Me and my younger sister licking / sticking together lots of those coloured paper strip paper chains which were draped everywhere. Always getting a real tree and it would always be enormous - never a fake one back then and then the anticipation and delight of getting out the very old fashioned decorations that dated back to before the war some of them.

My mum's homemade Christmas cakes - a big one for us (family of 5 kids) and two smaller ones for the two gran which were duly delivered with great aplomb. She always did this great thick layer of icing - made to look like there had been a massive stow storm. My mum didn't bother with smooth icing - she trowelled it on and fluffed it up in great drifts and peaks so it was an inch thick in places!

My sister and mum scoffing the marzipan straight out of the packet before it even made it to the cake - and then usually mum having to go and buy more. I never did because I hate it, and would always leave the layer of Marzipan when I had my slice of cake. My mum's wonky and unattractive mince pies which nonetheless tasted great. She was a good tasty cook, just not too bothered with appearances.

Always a tin of Quality Street and the 'Diana' annual in my Christmas stocking! And my dad buying in a crate of Pale Ale - the only time we ever had beer in the house. There was no drinking at home back then - only at Christmas. My mum (usually a very moderate-to-none drinker) swigging her 'brandy and advocaat' as she cooked the dinner Christmas morning and being quite tiddly (in a good way) by the time she dished it up.

I don't half miss her!!

Lovely thread everyone - enjoyed reading and sharing my own memories of childhood Christmases long ago!

These biscuits

Rentaghost74 I love that idea and am going to go and search it on YouTube.
Fontella my much missed Mum did icing like that all peaked up - I love it. And all the little figures on the top were all off scale, so a robin bigger than the trees. I loved it.
This thread is better than i could have thought but I have read it and cried more than once! What a magical time of year it can be, but also so bittersweet.

@Rentaghost74
I might get the dc to watch it with me this year ! I used to watch your username too.

@ColinsVeryJolly
Yes those biscuits !

@Fontella
We always have bubble and squeak on Boxing Day. It’s a must. Cold meats, pickles, selection of cheeses, cold stuffing, mash potatoes and Helmans mayonnaise.

Noticing there’s a lot of 74s on this thread too.

@Fontella your mum's Christmas cake sounds amazing, I love how you described the icing! Hope you have a nice Christmas this year

The blocking off of 1 door into the living room with the sofa to accommodate the tree.

@Fontella
How lovely to have those memories xx

whatkatydid1 yep peak age for 70s/80s Christmas memories!