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?

Does anyone remember the box of delights. It was a kids show later or middle 80s. Looks quite dark now but I remember it being on just before Christmas one year.

Yes, I remember the Box of Delights - we even bought the record of the theme tune, because my mum loved it, and the book as well. I think it was on around 1984 or 1985 (possibly repeated in a subsequent year). Spine-tingling Christmas nostalgia!

@ScreamingValenta
Yes !!!! Spine tingly indeed !!

The smell of mulled wine on the stove and a Clementine at the bottom of your stocking. Hot sausage rolls cooking for Christmas party tea and sherry trifle on boxing day

The gentle fizz of anticipation in the run up - carol concerts, the ceremony of finding the Christmas tape for the car to sing along with.

Bringing everyone together. The people made it magically. Sadly most of them are no longer with us and I miss my mum most at Christmas. She made Christmas and I try my best to replicate that for my dc and family

@colleysmill
My mum always used to cook sausage rolls mid morning on xmas day. A lovely smell going through the house. One of my traditions is we always cook the turkey Christmas Eve. And make the Jamie Oliver gravy. The smell going through the house is indescribable.

The tin of Quality Street that would still be hanging around at New Year with only toffee pennies still left. It would be there until some one decided they were only fit for the bin.

My mum cracking Brazil nuts onto newspaper and handing them to me (weak child hands)

The smell of the tinsel!

Nights when the only lights in the lounge were the Xmas tree lights and the fire (two bars max unless it's Xmas day when we were allowed all three bars on!). Soo cozy

Spending two whole days learning Xmas tunes on my organ and putting them in the 'memory' in order that I could play them on Xmas day as we unwrapped our gifts. The sound of an out of tune 'Oh Xmas tree' played by an 8 year old on a tinny Bontempi didn't really add to the atmosphere if I'm honest.

Getting Madonnas Like a Virgin on cassette and feeling extremely glamorous and grown up. Such a visceral memory.

Body Shop bath pearls

Picture advent calendar. No chocolate. I had the same one every year. It delighted me. I remember every picture in there and how excited it about opening the days picture as it signalled to me the big day was getting closer.

Such simple pleasures.

so many people incl myself note the "smell"of tinsel and yet so many dc are being deprived this smell because it went out of fashion.

Angel chimes alongside the advent candle, every tea-time after school through December

Christmas cake making day (actually this is in November, but still it is the first day of playing Christmas music) I have added to this tradition, in that we all snuggle up to watch our first Christmas dvd of the year afterwards, while the cake is cooking.

I still sniff the tinsel in the shops but it just doesn't smell the same anymore why is that?

Because it's not been stuffed in a dusty box shoved in the garage/loft/cellar for the previous 12 months DownThe 😊

I bought some foil ceiling garlands in wilkos today after reading this thread. I'm going to string them up in the kitchen on the ceiling when DH is at work and put a giant foil gold star in the middle

NakedAvenger Yes, picture advent calendars - and there was always a double door on Christmas Eve which opened to reveal a Nativity scene. Advent seemed to go so quickly with those little doors to open. I just can't get excited about chocolate calendars in the same way.

Boxes of sweets that we were not allowed not touch untill xmas eve film started aboit 4ish. We could then open what ever we wanted.

we never had stocking, just santa sacks which were huge and had big presants in. then down stairs to a sofa load of preasants.

food so much food and family .

Crackers that were always made of crepe paper with a foil snowman or clown stuck on the middle. The gifts were without fail: a plastic rain bonnet in a pink case, a yoyo, a puzzle where you moved the squares to make a picture and a fortune telling fish. There were tiny tree crackers that had plastic charms too.
I wish crackers were still full of plastic nonsense. I was more excited by all the Kitsch Christmas trimmings more than expensive gifts

I was born in 73 so remember 1980s Christmases.

Picture advent calendar covered in glitter. Each door revealing a snowman or an Xmas tree or a robin And the double doors on Xmas Eve which revealed the nativity.

A real tree until 1984 when my parents switched to a fake one due to new living room carpet.
Mars Christmas stocking with the netting (when Snickers used to be called Marathon) Roses sweets when they used to come in a glass jar. (i have Quality Street now as Roses arent the same)

When i was 11 i scoffed an entire round box of milk Elizabeth Shaw mints on Christmas morning B+M are stocking these now.

My dads box of dates YUK. The sherry coming out when old family friends visited I still remember the very sweet smell.

Going into my parents bedroom on Christmas morning to have tea and biscuits with them. The red Rover biscuit tin. Mums lovely Christmas dinner. The Wizard of Oz on the telly.

Dave Allen Christmas special on later at night. Was allowed to stay up late.

The angel chimes
Carol singers at the door
The mortier organ in town
Nativity advent calendars
Proper cold weather.

A hundredweight of bath cubes in floral scents in presentation box with a gold ribbon as presents from elderly great aunts. Still loved them. Xmas = gritty bath.

Noel up the BT tower and probably cutting to VT of Saville in Great Ormond Street

The big Xmas movie being a massive deal as it was before VHS and you'd missed it at the pictures (because that was only a twice a year treat)

Boxing Day with cousins and aunts and uncles with a tea of pease pudding and turkey baps, sausage rolls, nuts, Black Forest gateau and party rings.

Thinking the moving goldfish from the cracker was the most amazing thing ever

Counting the Xmas cards from school and being so proud when I got to 50!

Getting a new ZX Speculum game (Never Ending Story to be precise) and the bastard thing refusing to load

Spending hours 'arranging' my opened presents under the tree for maximum viewability pleasure and the sadness I felt when I was instructed to take them to my room around the 28th because that meant Xmas was over. There was something that was still so exciting about seeing your new stuff piled up in one place... read a new book for a while, eat a marathon, finger the bath cubes ....

My grandfather sneaking me a piece of ham before the dinner. He let on he wanted to know what my opinion was on it. First Christmas without him this year

@haveacupoftea
I know how you feel
Also it’s really sweet that the ham tasting is a special memory for you as I do this with my children and ask for their honest opinions.

A mish mash of decorations collected over the years and the mangiest tinsel ever

^^ this describes our Xmas tree exactly, I'm looking forward to getting it out now after reading this thread.

I search for the thinnest wrapping paper every year, it's so hard to find these days - there's probably a business idea for someone there!

Thanks OP - I was dreadful Xmas but I'm actually feeling a lot more positive about it now!

I had a memory the other day. My DD wanted a tangerine with her breakfast. The smell of it as I was peeling made me feel so warm.
‘Father Christmas’ used to leave a tangerine on top of each of our present pile. It was because we were all to busy playing with our new toys to have breakfast. So we all used to eat our tangerine.
Im thinking this year I might do the same for my DDs.

The run up to Christmas was always exciting.

I have taken many of the things my mum did and now do them with my own children. Paper chains! We have them all around. My eldest DD is allergic to tinsel so we make lots of paper chains. I remember getting really excited to do them. Yet after 10 links I was bored, so my mum used to finish them off. Now, I’m the one finishing them off as my children get bored after a few links.

This is very outing to any of my family on here, but - for the top of our tree we had a very old Father Christmas! Every Christmas he would fall off the tree and we would say he was drunk!

Im sitting here crying now, just the silly things made our Christmas so special. My mum worked so hard to create the magic. I just hope my children, when they are older feel as warm when they think about their Christmases growing up as I do.

@Nakedavenger74 my brother had a spectrum 48k and we would spend hours waiting got dizzy and Daley Thompson’s decathalon to load. It was a real feat of indurence!

Coming home from school when I was about 8 to find my parents had bought a brand new tree and, more excitingly, fairy lights and had set it all up. It was magical! My brother and I thought we were in Santa’s grotto. We must have had a really skanky tree before!