Christmas past!

[bakermuk]

Re: Christmas past!

In 1998 I sat down with my Nan, and tape recorder running, I recorded her memories, as a young girl in the 1900s thru the two world wars to 1945. She talked of Christmas's way back.....1914 ish. She told me of her and her siblings receiving an orange, maybe some nuts in their stockings, and maybe, if they were fortunate, a comic. Mainstream toys werent often received. She talked of church on Christmas Eve and Day (except for my Great Grandad who refused to go!). She talked of having a tree, mince pies and thrupenny bit puddings...though she always suspected the pudding was never cooked with them in, her Mother pushed them in after! She talked of making the decorations from paper and the excitement that went thru the house on Christmas Eve. I have made 1/4 of those tapes into video representations and will donate her tapes to the Suffolk archive when I leave this earth. Treasured memories - and she will always hopefully be heard and remembered by people.

[darren]

Re: Christmas past!

must agree its too much about money now mate.ad yes i think the whole christmas thing starts way to early lke october dont get it.

sad to hear u have no family mate.

but yes i still enjoy it but not as much due to 2 things getting older and the money side of christmas.

nothing beat watching all those christmassy shows on christmas day.
programmes are not as good on that day have not been for more than 10 yrs i have really noticed it.


but nothing beat my first 15 christmas days.
the excitement of christmas eve night not being able to sleep.

I still adore and love Xmas like I always have done, but not in the same way (but still to a certain degree) as it's too much about Money etc now I think and too much is made of it of it before October. Though I recall many happy memories of watching Cartoons on Xmas day as i'd got up as Kids too and the Afternoon's always used to be Special just like the Xmas Meal but I guess it is as you get older and family passes's away - which if it ever occur's i've no family ... i'll just up-root to a hotel instead for Xmas.

I guess thing's never will be the same - more so as an Adult thinking back to a being a Kid at Xmas, but sure those memories of Xmas for say my first 17/20 years are so special as are other's in differing way's too as well (in some instances - visiting ailing relatives in Hospital sometimes too). Though i'm glad i've got the memories though I doubt they'll ever occur as so again.

80sChav

[80sChav]

Re: Christmas past!

I still adore and love Xmas like I always have done, but not in the same way (but still to a certain degree) as it's too much about Money etc now I think and too much is made of it of it before October. Though I recall many happy memories of watching Cartoons on Xmas day as i'd got up as Kids too and the Afternoon's always used to be Special just like the Xmas Meal but I guess it is as you get older and family passes's away - which if it ever occur's i've no family ... i'll just up-root to a hotel instead for Xmas.

I guess thing's never will be the same - more so as an Adult thinking back to a being a Kid at Xmas, but sure those memories of Xmas for say my first 17/20 years are so special as are other's in differing way's too as well (in some instances - visiting ailing relatives in Hospital sometimes too). Though i'm glad i've got the memories though I doubt they'll ever occur as so again.

80sChav

[battyrat]

Re: Christmas past!

Today christmas appears to be all bling and people trying to outdo everybody else with their outside lights.When I was little(toddler) in the late 60's early 70's the only sparkly thing was a piece of tinsel or the baubals.Everything else was paper and card.paper hangings and fold out paper and card bells and balls hung from the ceiling.The amount of home made decorations possibly equalled the amount of shop purchased ones.One of our neighbours used to spend a lot of the year making craft items which were seasonal.We brought from her at a local craft fair some little dolls she had made with off cut felts and a baubal for the head.They were very nice looking tree decorations and lasted for years.Mum always used to make the christmas cakes each year and as a kid we used to love to help decorate them.Then she used to make the christmas puddings and a good stir was always needed.I suppose it was a bit cheaper then to make your own,thesedays it cheaper to buy a pud for a single pound.
Our primary school used to do the annual play,then some local farmer would come forward with a tractor and trailor which was decorated with straw bales and other seasonal things and the play members would then be taken around the estate singing carols.We used to have a santa coming around the streets in an open top wagon or van each year throwing sweets out to us kids.Always remember the fights between the kids as other tried to get the sweets from the unlucky few that managed to grab them.Red hard boiled sweets too if I remember right.Not very nice at all.The main thing that strikes me is that compared to when I was a kid christmas seems to start far too early these days.I never really knew it was christmas till about a week before hand,now we hear about it constantly from the start of November.
Several memories come back each year,one was waiting for the postman to bring letters and cards and sitting by the door.The stamps if I remember right were the old 4d and 5d chrismas stamps from 1970,and later the first(3p) and second(2 half p) post stamps from 1971 and 1972.Family members dropping around on christmas eve and nans new year christmas partys every year.Nearly all of those people are long gone now or moved well away.Christmas brings back memories of them and freinds and family that are no longer around to share it with.Not being able to sleep on christmas eve was another memory and being awake too early for my parants on christmas day.

[xmark1234]

Re: Christmas past!

best christmas past got be the crackers the toys inside but we loved them how cheapy do they look now i have a bag which i saved in loft i was up there a bit ago hideing the kids prezzys lol and came across them looking at wha they get now in crackers is great i got a torch last year and still use it lol

[bakermuk]

Re: Christmas past!

We had three "Father Christmases" - small (about 3 inches tall) little rotund figures that always sat on the mantlepiece. There was a red, white and green one. Each held a tiny sprig of tree in a hand - which was actually coloured pipe cleaner.....!!I wonder what heppened to them!

[darren]

Re: Christmas past!

cant the see rhe problem inusing using loo roll tubes..
cant believe they got banned.
yes i also made a snowman from a toilet roll tube.

I can confirm that toilet roll tubes are now banned which I think is a piece of nonsense.We have to use a cut down kitchen roll tube,which is not the same,I admit to using a toilet roll tube from time to time.We used to make a snowman from a toilet roll tube,ping pong ball and wait for it......yet another thing that is banned.A meat tray!!!!!!!!He was lovely,did that with gran.I remember all the glass balls too that cracked in your hand and we had a white christmas tree,which I posted here somewhere before.

tulip

[smiles7964]

Re: Christmas past!

RetroAEROSMITH, my parents still have that church! Only ours played silent night, and it lit up. Don't think it does anymore. They still have loads of old xmas decs that come out every year! From before the 70's even! I'll try and take some pix this year to post! : )

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Christmas past!

In third year infants, our teacher gave us her old cigarette packets to make things out of!

LOL!! Thats brilliant!!

[stockportyears]

Re: Christmas past!

Toilet roll tubes are a bit unhygienic for kids to be playing about with I would think.

In third year infants, our teacher gave us her old cigarette packets to make things out of!

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Christmas past!

Toilet roll tubes are a bit unhygienic for kids to be playing about with I would think.

[darren]

Re: Christmas past!

I can confirm that toilet roll tubes are now banned which I think is a piece of nonsense.We have to use a cut down kitchen roll tube,which is not the same,I admit to using a toilet roll tube from time to time.We used to make a snowman from a toilet roll tube,ping pong ball and wait for it......yet another thing that is banned.A meat tray!!!!!!!!He was lovely,did that with gran.I remember all the glass balls too that cracked in your hand and we had a white christmas tree,which I posted here somewhere before.

tulip

what is wrong that toilet roll tubes are banned.

a kitchen roll tube is not the same.

[stockportyears]

Re: Christmas past!

Back then the Christmas TV consisted of stuff like Roland Rat Christmas specials in the morning, and The Two Ronnies or a repeated Morecambe & Wise from the '70s later in the day. Usually there was an early 'Only Fools And Horses' Christmas special on as well.

I was a huge Two Ronnies fan growing up, particularly Barker, and watched anything they were on, even in the middle of Christmas Day. Strangely enough, although I love them now, through tv repeats and You Tube vids of sketches, I didn't really appreciate Eric and Ernie at the time, I kind of thought they were more for my mum, who didn't like the Ronnies but loved Morecambe and Wise - it was a bit of a generational thing.

Only Fools and Horses at that time appealed to everybody. 'To Hull and Back' was one of the funniest tv specials ever, that was when the show really peaked. I think they should have given up sooner than they did to be honest, the last two or three 'specials' really weren't up to much, and even when the show went to an hour in about 88-89, although there were some hilarious moments, like the blow-up dolls and the 'Groovy Gang' episodes, at times I think they were more interested in telling us a story about Del and Rodney's love lives than making us laugh.

[Austin Maxi]

Re: Christmas past!

Probably the most memorable Christmases for me were from the early '80s. I recall the crepe paper-type paper chains which came rolled up in several joined-up colours and you had to unroll them and twist them round a few times to create the pattern before hanging them up on the ceiling - hard to describe them accurately, but if you find a 1970s or '80s Giles cartoon with a scene of the Giles family at home at Christmas, there's usually a few of those decorations depicted. Our tree was always a fake one, no need to hoover up pine needles when the decs came down, and it had a decorative gold star on top, and plenty of tinsel, baubles and lights on it (as most did).

Back then the Christmas TV consisted of stuff like Roland Rat Christmas specials in the morning, and The Two Ronnies or a repeated Morecambe & Wise from the '70s later in the day. Usually there was an early 'Only Fools And Horses' Christmas special on as well.

I remember getting a large yellow plastic sledge as one of my presents one year, which was handy because it snowed later that winter and I was able to put it to good use on the paths which ran from the top of the close I lived in down to an underpass which lead to the back of the junior school I went to until '83.

[tulip]

Re: Christmas past!

I can confirm that toilet roll tubes are now banned which I think is a piece of nonsense.We have to use a cut down kitchen roll tube,which is not the same,I admit to using a toilet roll tube from time to time.We used to make a snowman from a toilet roll tube,ping pong ball and wait for it......yet another thing that is banned.A meat tray!!!!!!!!He was lovely,did that with gran.I remember all the glass balls too that cracked in your hand and we had a white christmas tree,which I posted here somewhere before.

tulip