Christmas When You Were Growing Up

[stockportyears]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Thats a bobby dazzler!! Mine was a 'Sharp' one with a 'proper' graphic equaliser and 100w output! I loved it! It only stopped working about 5 years ago!

Mine lasted up to 1992, which is pretty good considering that I used it virtually every day, several hours a day, over the course of nine years.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Things were made to last then!

[Krazy]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

The last couple of weeks before Christmas, I never saw my father, as he worked overtime at the local sorting office. Only finally seeing him on Christmas Eve. You always knew it was Christmas Eve, as my mother would get out some crisp white tea towels, and arrange them neatly, spread across the top of the highly waxed walnut sideboard, where she would carefully put wine glasses and small short glasses on one side of the towel, all upside down, so no dust could get in. The other side would be Bristols Cream Sherry, Gordons Gin, Teachers Whisky, Vodka, and an assortment of Babychams, Ponys and Snowballs. and to complete would be a bottle of Advocat. The fruit bowl would be overflowing with Tangerines, Apples, Grapes and Bananas, some years we even had Pomegranites. Also on the coffee table, there would be a box of dates and a box of figs. We would go to bed relatively early, after leaving a freshly ironed crisp pillow case on the mantlepiece. (We never had stockings and we never left anything in our bedroom) Think this was because I was terrified of waking up and seeing a strange white bearded figure in my room.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Me and my sister did the pillowcase thing! Never a stocking. Thought it was only us!

[tulip]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Hmm,let me think.

Making paper chains at school with the sticky paper.School christmas parties with kwenchy cups and ice cream and jelly.
Salmon sandwiches at lunchtime on Christmas day.Getting tights in with the pressies from grandparents.A chocolate smokers set and strange mexican drum thing from my dad's mum,my dad getting a sweetie pig from her.A white christmas tree,making a poster for the christmas and new year "shows" we did,then doing the shows.Sitting on the extra green folding chairs my gran and grandpa had to bring.The extra present left out the back from "the fairies".My dad's mum eating to quickly and almost throwing up at the table.Doing the rounds of the relatives on New years eve,my dad's mum having a faint smell of whisky on her and her weird way of smoking"just for the novelty!"Going to gran and grandpas and getting ginger wine,despite my gran knowing I didn't like it.Going there on New Years day and getting extra pressies,their wee tree,making snowmen out of toilet roll tubes,cotton wool and meat trays,with my nice gran.Auntie Peggy's snorty laughing at Morecombe and Wise,grandpa doing his "wee man"silverside for dinner then clootie dumpling with money in it!!!Playing at shops later on in gran and grandpa's big hall cupboard and all the adults coming to buy stuff!!!!!

God!that brought it all back,brought a wee tear to my eye.There is probably more too.

tulip

[Mr.Rainbow]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

When I was younger, we alway's went to Lewis's Kids HQ in Manchester and Leeds to see Father Christmas. It wasn't Christmas without going to Lewis's and then having lunch in Kendals on Deansgate. I remember they had a construction fence up (the store was also going to be home to M&S after the 1996 Manchester Bomb) and I somehow managed to get lost in an area I wasn't supposed to. My parents had to make a tannoy I think.

It's a shame it is'nt with us - although Ive heard something about a Lewis's grotto in Liverpool moving to Rapid? We visited Liverpool the other day and Im sure people had Lewis's Kids HQ bags

I thought Lewis's was long gone - obviously not.

[Krazy]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Yes Lewis`s Grotto has moved into Rapid Hardware. Back in the Early Summer, before Lewis`s closed. They opened the grotto up for one last time. Kiddies could all get a small gift and the grotto was donned in Christmas lights and tinsel. And animated Fairytale characters.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

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

[Krazy]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Real candles on the Christmas Tree, held on by little holders. (Alot of Health and Safety issues there I think)
Home made Christmas Crackers
Home baked Mince Pies, Christmas Cake and Trifle, which where delicious by todays standards.
Selection Boxes which at the time seemed as big as myself, they where gigantic.
Chocolate Snowmen and chocolate coins in a little bag on the tree.
A Nativity Scene, made out of cardboard.

[Paulos]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Mine lasted up to 1992, which is pretty good considering that I used it virtually every day, several hours a day, over the course of nine years.

My Panasonic ghetto has just given up the ghost due the mechanical tape drive I've written about it on other posts as someone put a picture of an old Argos catalogue on which it was in!

Also the circling the xmas radio times time must have been a real part of kids Xmas back then I remember me and my sister writing out our Xmas TV schedules and having to get them to fit in with each other.

Another thing that doesn't happen any more is dads testing the Xmas tree bulbs (huge great bulbs not like the tiny things today that we just throw away and replace) he'd have to have a electrical engineering degree to find the fault in the string of bulbs and then also have a box of spare bulbs to replace the one fault that was keeping the whole string from working.

[branny]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I remember christmas eve being the longest night ever.

[darren]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I remember christmas eve being the longest night ever.

thartts so true.
id go to be around 8.

id not be able to sleep thinking of what id got.

[Richard1978]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Me & my brother would keep saying "Can we get up yet?" until about 7:30.

[vanhelsing]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

Chirstmas telly used to be ACE but I don't know what the schedule planners got up to because now it's C**p.

[stuckinthe80's]

Re: Xmas When You Were Growing Up

I remember christmas eve being the longest night ever.

I used to love christmas eve! I agree it did seem to last forever. In a good way though! I used to go out on the morning with my Mum to get the last minute bits and pieces then out with my mates all afternoon till about 7pm when I had to come home to go and visit my Grandparents. Then it was supper time and off to bed for a night of very little sleep due to all the excitement! I have very fond memories of christmas eves. Its not the same now that i'm 37!!