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?

[Monr0e]

Watching the lion the witch and the wardrobe cartoon at daft o'clock on Chrismas morning.

[HunterofStars]

Watching a nativity film on tv, you don seem to see them on nowadays. I think it was either on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Can't remember which.

Christmas lights with different colours. The ones in my town centre are those white/blue LED ones and they're not the same imo.

And yes to the exotic fruits, big tins of Quality Street/Roses etc.

Is it me or were selection boxes better in the 80s/90s than they are today?

[mateysmum]

At my grandparents' house, lying under the blankets and eiderdowns (this was the 60's!) waiting to hear Grandpa scraping out the grate to relight the fire (no central heating), then I knew I was allowed to get up and open my Santa presents.

Endless games of monopoly with my cousins that lasted about 3 days and had somewhat elastic rules.

[Blackandpurple]

Have you seen the price of Radio Times for Christmas!?😨 and most of it is adverts and radio timetables and summer holiday shite.

[randomer]

I remember getting am extra battering coz it was Christmas

[Bloodybridget]

In Juniors at primary school (years 3- 6) one of the teachers used to bring in a load of twigs in December; each of us got one, already painted white, to decorate. We'd fix them onto some kind of base brought from home, a small plate or saucer maybe, and use tiny baubles, glitter, bits of tinsel etc. I loved doing that and taking it home.

Yy to scrutinising the Radio Times and TV Times to see what was worth watching, all the great films, so exciting!

[Alicecooperslovechild]

Panda pops fizzy drinks - the only time that we had them all year.
'Father Christmas' leaving presents in the bathroom so that he didn't wake me up.
My mum insisting on hoovering, doing the laundry etc as she would on any other day.
Carolling with the brass band that I played with.
The God awful musical, flashing tree topper that we had.

[DrCoconut]

I remember carol singing with youth club. We actually went round houses in the traditional manner and donated any money to charity. Then back to the minister's house (it was a church youth club) for drinks, mince pies etc.

[Middleoftheroad]

Feeling nostalgic now. Was justexplaining to DC that we used to get excited about opening calendars with pictures of the Nativity etc.

I miss our big Christmas Carrefore shop (it was normally Kwiksave)

I miss proper snow
Queuing at Lewis' in Birmingham to see Father Christmas

Buying a real tree (we have plastic)

My Smurf Christmas decorations from Look In magazine!

Big family get togethers. We're all so dispersed these days

The excitement.

[Bluetrews25]

Can I propose a toast to absent friends?

[whatkatydidnext1]

@Bluetrews25
Absolutely
Lovely thread and there’s been no squabbling or disagreements

After reading and participating on here I’ve decided to get an old school advent calendar covered in glitter hopefully. Anyone else ??

[whatkatydidnext1]

Someone said up thread about going to school with glittery fingers after they opened their calendar. I want my dds to have glittery fingers not chocolate fingers in honour of my 70s/80s childhood

[LizzieSiddal]

randomer and all those with horrible memories, I hope you have nicer Christmases now.

[TheNoodlesIncident]

whatkatydidnext1 I have a stock of glittery traditional advent calendars (some Caltime, some more expensive German ones from Amazon). My ds is used to picture ones and doesn't miss the choc ones, which I don't buy - but I do hide a chocolate on the Christmas tree for him to find after school.

Our tree was quite big and had at lest two sets of lights on it - those lovely fairy lights in quite pastel colours and the parasol-like shades, they were lovely. One set flashed on and off which was quite something in the 70s!

Our stockings were laid on the armchair seats with our names on a bit of card pinned on with an actual pin. They were sports socks iirc and there was always a tangerine in the toe, like it was The Law or something.

YY to the thin wrapping paper with fantastic, somewhat garish patterns on! We weren't well off so we used to use the same paper year after year (I still unwrap presents by cutting the sticky tape and smooth it out, even though now it gets put in recycling) and it was fun to look at the tags from previous years and see who had it last time!

[coldcanary]

Being old enough to go to the midnight service. There was something magical about being in our lovely old gothic style church singing carols at midnight then walking home afterwards knowing that it was Christmas Day.
I’m not a Christian now but I still go to midnight service when I can, it’s still beautiful.
Oh and the agonising wait for Christmas Eve to be over, it seemed to stretch out forever when I was little!

[blueandgreendots]

Dad waking me up early, pulling on my thick jogging bottoms and driving down to the huge food depot (he was a lorry driver) to pick our Christmas tree. It had to be a real one every year. After we'd chosen we went to the greasy cafe for breakfast and I'd have a fried egg sandwich.

[thegreylady]

Sitting on the floor in front of the fire in grandparents front room with just the tree lights and the firelight, I’d hear the adults chatting in the through room and would wait for my cousins to arrive. It just felt like magic, all safe and warm and tingly with excitement.
I am 73 now and next week we are going to stay with one of those cousins for a pre Christmas family get together. There will be 19 of us aged from 7 months to 81 years. I’m beginning to feel excited.
Christmas is family for me.

[madein1995]

Picture advent calendars (when I was a small child)
Driving round local streets to see all the Christmas lights
The 'magical' feel in shops
Leaving a mince pie, rum and carrot for Santa
Homemade mince pies and jam tarts
New jammas and slippers on Christmas Eve
Stocking on my bed in the morning
Seeing 'father Christmas'. Was really dad in a suit but I really thought it was him
Christmas parties over the local club with selection boxes from father Christmas
Santa stop here signs

[thegreylady]

My dad used to start to sing ‘The little boy that Santa Claus Forgot’ I would cry at “The poor little laddie, he didn’t have a daddy’ and, ironically now I guess,”All he wanted was some soldiers and a gun”!

[ScreamingValenta]

Rose and lemon Turkish delight, and licking my finger to scoop up the sugar topping.

My mum ordering fizzy drinks from the milkman.

Rehearsing for the Christmas concert at school.

The 80s was a great decade for Christmases.

[thegreylady]

Absent friends

[ColinsVeryJolly]

Going to the fancy department store in town with my mum. We never went in any other time of the year, but at Christmas we'd go in to get my nan some perfume.

The smell of the store and all the perfumes and cosmetics still makes me feel Christmassy if I go in there now.

[PomBearWithAnOFRS]

The "Santa Bus" - Hartlepool Council used to run the buses before Stagecoach arrived, and they had 2 buses with Santa in his sleigh on the roof, all lit up. It was such a treat to actually get on one
Also a charity, I think possibly the Round Table used to do a Santa float through the town, and Santa and the elves would throw sweets to the children as they went
All the presents from family members would go under the tree, and my mam used to let my sister and me open ONE present on Christmas Eve - probably because by then we were bouncing off the walls with excitement and every year I would open the one from Aunty Jean. She was my great aunt, and somehow she always found something unusual and gorgeous and different for us - I still have a couple of the things she bought me over the years, after all this time. She is 97 now bless her, and doesn't know quite who we are anymore, but she can remember "Me" and "Sister" (and "Mam") as children when we go to see her.

[whatkatydidnext1]

@TheNoodlesIncident
Thanks noodle. Funny enough I was checking amazon yesterday when my phone died. Then I kind of forgot. Will look now.