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?

It is Stir Up Sunday this weekend, the day when traditionally my mum and I would be making our Christmas puddings, chatting and drinking wine.

This year it is bittersweet, mum is very frail and often confused. It could be our last year together doing this.
The wishes will be poignant this year!

Classics- Yay!

My best memory is of my Grandad telling me to listen for Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve while my adored Gran went out in the garden with some of her collection of harness bells and stood jangling them. I was convinced in was Santa's reindeer bells! Miss them sooo much.

Extremely tacky foil decorations bombarding the lounge which my parents but I adored.
Various tins of chocolates which we'd chuck the empty wrappers back into and get moaned at for.
Creeping into my parents room at the crack of dawn and sitting on the floor waiting for them to wake up (they were probably just pretending to sleep!)
Panic in the kitchen over what time the turkey should be in the oven.
Wrapping paper everywhere.
Christmas cracker hats and crap jokes.
Extended family being nicer to each other than usual

Oh and laughing til we cry at the well-meaning but insane presents my late Nan would buy us all was a major highlight. I often looked forward to those presents more than the 'good stuff'!

I'm getting all teary at this thread.

and I clearly remember her giving me and my sister Pyramints one Christmas! (Pyramints - that's another blast from the past!)

Pyramints I'd forgotten all about them till now.

My best memory is of my Grandad telling me to listen for Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve while my adored Gran went out in the garden with some of her collection of harness bells and stood jangling them. I was convinced in was Santa's reindeer bells!

I'm a music geek so have some orchestral bells. So very tempted to jingle them discreetly on the way home from Midnight Mass ...

The Letts Schoolgirls diary - digging about for it in my father Christmas pillowcase and reading all the info in the back until it was time to get up. My father inviting waifs and strays to the house to join us. One year he invited someone I thought was the coolest guy on the planet, who had been kicked out by his wife for some reason. The smell of the oil painting by numbers kits, having an open fire, my mother's wonderful Christmas dinners... I could go on.

Yy to pp on page 1, the cellophane fish in the crackers.

I swear one Christmas Eve I saw Santa and his sleigh in the sky as my mum was drying my hair. I must have been around 6 yrs old.

My lovely grandma always did stockings for me and my brother as well as the ones my parents did for Christmas morning.
We were actually more excited about my grandmas ones.

Myself and my children, I hope, are making traditions which they will continue when they are parents.

Oh and sugar mice 🐁

Driving home from my nan’s house every Saturday evening and counting the Christmas trees in people’s windows.
Every year she made an iced Christmas cake and every year she spelt Happy Christmas wrong.
We had
Mery Christmas
Happy Chrismas
Merry Cristmas
It became such a joke she gave up in the end and bought a plastic plaque.

We had in our stockings those little Thorntons Christmas novelties- the truffle decorated as a Christmas pudding, the log with a tiny robin on but they don't seem to do them anymore.
And my absolute favourite- the Thorntons chocolate fondant mouse- delicious!

welldone mumsnet hq and op of course for starting the thread !

Ahhhh sugar mice !!! My dgm used to buy us these at Christmas from John Lewis

whatkatydidnext1
They look delish! what do they taste like? are they nutella-y?

They taste like bloody heaven. I have t had one for years

Sorry posted to soon. From what I remember they were praline filled. Drooling

My mum sending me and my sister out to deliver the Christmas cards around the street - we complained about it but secretly loved it!

Watching the My Family Christmas Special on Christmas Eve.

Sharing a room with my sister to make room for Grandma and convincing her that I could hear Santa's sleigh on the roof (she's much younger).

Said sister waking me up at 3am - she would fall promptly back to sleep and I would never get back to sleep and be tired all of Christmas Day!

Feeling very nostalgic now!

Oh and also my dad taking us round the villages in the car to see the Christmas lights!

Coming home from school with a batch of Christmas cards, getting the blue-tac and sticking them up on the wood chip lounge walls..

Christmas baking with my Mum; jam tarts and lemon curds- her always complaining she’d made the pastry too dry, but then always being delicious

Being got up out of bed one year, big coat put on on top of PJ’s, aged about 8, because Santa was passing by on his float (collecting money for charity) and that being the best thing ever!!

Christmas foil decorations- red & gold or multicoloured

Mum say with newspaper on her lap cracking open the walnuts- eating shell pieces mixed in but not minding!

Waiting all day for Christmas dinner and then that awesome feeling washing over you when you’re all finally sat down, and it’s actually here, it’s actually Christmas Day- the wonderment & excitement of it all.

Being allowed a small sherry or liqueur and it being given with a cheeky 😉

GoingCrazy21 - Ah yeah touring the neighbourhood to see Christmas lights, knowing the best roads to check out

Thank you @LornaMumsnet !

60s childhood here. My dad didn’t really involve himself in family things. I can remember my mum used to buy the (massive) Christmas tree from the market in town and then she and us two kids carried it two miles home! Nothing fazed her. And the glass baubles on the Christmas tree which my brother used to love to twirl (until he got told off!). I still have a few of them and they’re nearly as old as me - I love colour-coordinated Christmas trees but no way could I have one myself if it meant jettisoning those baubles.

Going for tea on Christmas Day night to my nan’s, house full of cousins & chaos reigning - being offered a sip of Snowball or Port & Lemon, but I hated the taste of alcohol (how things have changed). Loved the cocktail cherry though. Buffet tea included trifle, pickled onions and celery in a jug of water.

Waking up to feel your pillowcase full of presents (never wrapped) at the end of your bed.
Coming downstairs one year to find my first 2-wheeler bike - a shiny red and silver Raleigh.

When I was a bit older, settling down with the family (along with the rest of the nation) to watch the Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show. None of your catch up malarkey then!

Lots of the other things that people have mentioned. It’s a great thread!

crochetmonkey74 I found it on eBay. It was unused stock from the 70s so the original stuff not a repro. Made me so nostalgic.

whatkatydidnext1 thank your for the flowers! You're right, this is such a lovely, good-natured thread full of true Christmas spirit.

I'm not religious but I do find that I miss hearing carols which are not much in evidence these days. Mind you, Away in a Manger or Once in Royal David's City would have me in tears!

@SingingBabooshkaBadly
Well I have rebelled this year. Dd aged 3 has been singing her Christmas songs at home for the school play. I’ve been singing along with her but in the car I have been teaching her little donkey and we wish you a merry Christmas. We’re not the Brady bunch promise