Christmas When You Were Growing Up

[Marine Boy]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Can't believe I've not contributed to this thread before.

I identify with so many of the memories here. That huge tin of Quality Street by the sofa. The bowl of nuts on the table. The smell of pine. We also had a box of decorations that was brought down from the loft - with the little robin that was supposed to clip onto the tree but was broken so was sellotaped. Every year! lol

[Trickyvee]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

We always had a trip into Newcastle to look at Fenwicks window. Always magical!

Loved it!

Also only ever got dates, bowls of mixed nuts, after eights, parsnips and those sausages wrapped in bacon at Christmas.

I was always unhungry and half asleep at Christmas dinner having eaten my body weight in chocolate for breakfast and having spent the previous three days hardly sleeping and bouncing around with excitement.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

...I was always unhungry and half asleep at Christmas dinner having eaten my body weight in chocolate for breakfast...

lol lol !

[Jingbang]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Being that eager to open your presents you couldnt remember exactly who bought you what, also being told by your parents not to leave the wrapping paper too close to the fire.

Shouting abuse at the Queen because you didnt want to listen to her boring claptrap for 10 minutes and couldnt wait for the big film premier to start at 3.10 then falling asleep halfway through it.
The 3.10 films these days are rubbish and always computer animated things like Shrek, Shark Tale etc.

Checking on a daily basis at the Papershop for the Xmas Radio/TV Times to arrive was nearly always out on the 11th these days its usally a few days earlyier than that.

[Mr.Rainbow]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I identify with so many of the memories here. That huge tin of Quality Street by the sofa.

It's only Christmas to me, when I see one of them shiny wrappers

[Trickyvee]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

The excitement of the advent calendar (no chocolate, only pictures). I bet there isn't anyone who didn't sneakily open a few doors before the day, carefully closing them after a quick peek.

One time I had the same calendar as a friend. Every single day we'd ask each other what we got and would laugh when we said the same thing. This went on for three weeks!

[Morton]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Always looking forward to After Eights, Jelly Oranges, and Walnuts even though most of us loathed the taste of them, it's because Christmas wouldn't be the same without them. I mostly experienced the scent of a plastic tree each year, the musty smell of it having been in storage for 11 months every year never got old. All the ornaments had a magical old plastic smell. We always had advent calenders, that most of the time I would finish in a few days because of temptation. (often got told off)

As a kid Christmas Eve was the most exciting day (in the moment) because of the extreme excitement you got. The waiting was so difficult. On Christmas Day we didn't put presents around the tree. We had big toy sacks, or stockings hanging up. The musty smell of the tough wool/cotton was great. As for movies, every year we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Snowman. Almost as though it was a strict tradition. That was christmas for me in the nineties.

This year, I hope to recreate a similar christmas I enjoyed as a kid.

[willpurry]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Kathleen next door always gave my brother and I a Chocolate Orange.

[Trickyvee]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Getting sent out after dark to post cards to the neighbours. For some reason you couldn't be seen doing the posting or else they'd guess who it was from! It always seemed to be cold and frosty when I did it but that's probably the artistic licence of my memory at work.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Delivering the Radio Times and TV Times christmas editions with a mate on a night after school in the mid 1980's. Always very cold and the bags were always very heavy!

[darren]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Always looking forward to After Eights, Jelly Oranges, and Walnuts even though most of us loathed the taste of them, it's because Christmas wouldn't be the same without them. I mostly experienced the scent of a plastic tree each year, the musty smell of it having been in storage for 11 months every year never got old. All the ornaments had a magical old plastic smell. We always had advent calenders, that most of the time I would finish in a few days because of temptation. (often got told off)

As a kid Christmas Eve was the most exciting day (in the moment) because of the extreme excitement you got. The waiting was so difficult. On Christmas Day we didn't put presents around the tree. We had big toy sacks, or stockings hanging up. The musty smell of the tough wool/cotton was great. As for movies, every year we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Snowman. Almost as though it was a strict tradition. That was christmas for me in the nineties.

This year, I hope to recreate a similar christmas I enjoyed as a kid.

yes i loved christmas eve when i was a kid.
there was no chance i could ever sleep.
and we could not go fown befire eight in the morning.
i tried to go down before that but i was caught and up i was sent.

oh yes i just aDored those jelly oranges which i got loads of in christmas day and terrys chocolate orange not the bar the big round one with segents.

can u explain how u mean to recreate a christmas u had as a kid.

[kazboot]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

For as long as I can remember my granny always used to give us Meltis New Berry Fruits every Christmas.

[RetroAEROSMITH]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I personally think that since shops opened 24 hours right through christmas and new year a lot of the christmas feel has been lost. Families having to work right up to the day or through the day, sales being arranged for boxing day so early starts there too.
I remember if you ran out of batteries you had to wait a few days before being able to buy more which then got you to use your board game presents or books/annuals.

We had hours of fun on Guess Who, Mr Pop,Frustration and Perfection...i see kids today not even bothering with board games unless theyre about High school musical or Bieber.

Christmas kids tv was always special and some of the dramas shown through that period usually stay with you the longest....i remember the hype surrounding The box of delights and its effects, it was shown every week towards christmas and the last episode shown on christmas eve...how can you get more christmassy than that?

I never went to midnight mass but my gran used to, she said it was magical and i believed her...although you get the people who say how can it be midnight mass on the 24th dec when Jesus wasnt even born in december etc etc...gets my goat...

Christmas was the only time we got to see large chocolate bars and big tinned sweets...even roses were a luxury..these days theyre sneered at and big bars are 10 a penny.

I also remember we wrapped wrapping paper arounf the bucket the xmas tree was in and it was usually wedged up with house bricks....did anyone else do this?

You always remember the time you were told about father christmas not being real or the time when you went to buy or choose your presents yourself....my mum would be like what tape/game do you want rather than just getting ones she thought youd like.

Slippers and pyjamas were always unwrapped first, worn on xmas night too after a bath with that soap shaped like popeye or mr matey.

Annuals such as beano,dandy etc were looked forward too and re read numerous times...even the girls ones my sisters had had good spooky stories in.

Waiting for the christmas number one...no year so hotly anticipated than that of band aid and last christmas by wham.

[Morton]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

yes i loved christmas eve when i was a kid.
there was no chance i could ever sleep.
and we could not go fown befire eight in the morning.
i tried to go down before that but i was caught and up i was sent.

oh yes i just aDored those jelly oranges which i got loads of in christmas day and terrys chocolate orange not the bar the big round one with segents.

can u explain how u mean to recreate a christmas u had as a kid.

Meaning I haven't had a christmas like I previously mentioned since I was a kid, so this year I want to get out all our very old decorations, and celebrate the day in a manner as we would have done in the past. I'll make a list of what things used to make christmas.

We've hardly celebrated christmas at all in the last 5 years, so it will be nice to really focus on christmas this year, I can't wait

[Trickyvee]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I agree about the big bars of chocolate and big tins of sweets. I can't remember having them at any other time of year so they were special and exciting for that reason.

I also remember watching The box of Delights and there was huge hype about the special effects. I remember them explaining all about the blue background thing to make people big and small and disappear through windows etc although I'm sure it couldn't have been that revolutionary at the time. Wasn't it used before this?