Christmas at primary school

[Twocky61]

Re: Christmas at primary school

In secondary school the Christmas party was a disco with party food and bottles of coke & the obligatory punch bowl on the food table served by the prefects. Some of us even smuggled in alcohol, generally bottles of vodka to be drunk in a group behind the bike shed or in an empty classroom. We even spiked the punch to make the party go with a swing

As well as dancing with each other some of the teachers would dance with us too: Mostly female teachers with us lads & the occassional male teacher with a girl. Caroline in our class had a crush on one particular teacher and was ecstatic when he asked her to dance. I am sure she wanted to kiss him & more but she kept it appropriate

I danced with a few teachers; I kept it appropriate too though I didn't really want to

As for Nativity plays in primary school I played the recorder both in morning assemblies and the Nativity play. Ask me to play something on a recorder now & I wont be able to Easiest tune of course was "Three Blind Mice"

[ann22]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I remember 4 weeks before Christmas the teacher would light one of the candles on the Advent wreath, it was so exciting knowing we were on the countdown.

The boys part of the school would put on a concert which we'd all be taken to see, it was always great, the boys would be constantly forgetting lines and sniggering on stage.

We'd make our own decorations for the classroom, I remember making little bells by cutting up egg cartons and wrapping them in tin foil.

In 5th class we were in a Nativity play on the church altar along with a carol service. I was one of the three kings. Wearing a flowery sheet with gold tinsel selloptaped to the edges (can't believe it stuck). I made my own crown with cardboard, tin foil and tinsel and I wore red flares. I still remember the words I had to say. I remember looking down from the altar at the bit where Mary says to the Angel Gabriel 'but how can this be? I have never slept with a man' and spotting my teacher tittering and nudging the teacher beside her.

[catflap]

Re: Christmas at primary school

every year we got a xmas pressie from the school dished out by the lollipop lady dressed as santa.every year it was a handkerchief either with something like the greencross code on it or printed with some unknown french cartoon (where they got them from no one knew) we also got a block of tasteless brown brick masquerading as a Christmas chocolate lard had a sweeter taste

we made the decorations by sticking strips of multi-coloured paper together in chains ( nearly 40 years later i still have the taste of that glue in my mouth)

christmas parties we all had to bring something so everyone went for the cheap option so out of a class of 30 we allways had 12 bottles of home brand orange squash 17 packets of ready salted crisps and the plate of coconut pyramids that my nan insisted on making ( coconut pyramids were made of icing sugar desolated coconut and pink food colouring that was moulded in a whiskey /shot glass to form small compact mounds of the sweet sickly cake)


nativity plays allways featured kids dressed in over sized costumes that allways started to fall off a few minutes into the play ,kids standing there constantly clawing their faces because the cheapo dress up beards were itching like mad and the scene with animals allways had guest appearances by non nonsensical creatures i remember an elephant and a penguin in our productions

Sorry - can't work out from reading your post if you have fond memories or are scarred for life?!!

[n3llyo]

Re: Christmas at primary school

every year we got a xmas pressie from the school dished out by the lollipop lady dressed as santa.every year it was a handkerchief either with something like the greencross code on it or printed with some unknown french cartoon (where they got them from no one knew) we also got a block of tasteless brown brick masquerading as a Christmas chocolate lard had a sweeter taste

we made the decorations by sticking strips of multi-coloured paper together in chains ( nearly 40 years later i still have the taste of that glue in my mouth)

christmas parties we all had to bring something so everyone went for the cheap option so out of a class of 30 we allways had 12 bottles of home brand orange squash 17 packets of ready salted crisps and the plate of coconut pyramids that my nan insisted on making ( coconut pyramids were made of icing sugar desolated coconut and pink food colouring that was moulded in a whiskey /shot glass to form small compact mounds of the sweet sickly cake)


nativity plays allways featured kids dressed in over sized costumes that allways started to fall off a few minutes into the play ,kids standing there constantly clawing their faces because the cheapo dress up beards were itching like mad and the scene with animals allways had guest appearances by non nonsensical creatures i remember an elephant and a penguin in our productions

[Trickyvee]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I remember we had sewing classes, always seemed to make flat Christmas trees from felt or some such and we put these little paper calendars on the bottom.

Anyone else have to do that? I always wondered where those little calendars came from...

That's a memory jog for sure, those little calendars. Yes we stuck them on things too. Also remember using a toilet roll to make a Santa that came out for years on end. Bit of cotton wool and some red crepe paper, pink felt tip for his face and bobs your uncle.

[catflap]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I remember we had sewing classes, always seemed to make flat Christmas trees from felt or some such and we put these little paper calendars on the bottom.

Anyone else have to do that? I always wondered where those little calendars came from...

[themilkman]

Re: Christmas at primary school

Well it was always cold, crisp and dry.......not like how it always seems to be now, wet, damp and miserable.

[darren]

Re: Christmas at primary school

i think by the time we got to secondary school students would not want a christmas party although some still would me for one.

but yes christmas parties at primary where just lovely such fond memories anbd making crackers from toilet roll insides.

a great time of such innocence when we had no worries.
how id like those times back.

sadly my memories of those timees are very faint.
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Ihad never really thought too much about Xmas at Primary School when thinkin about past times, until I noticed this thread - but for sure what happy memories of when at that age you never had time to worry over thing's. I recall just before Xmas - amking cards for you Guardian's or Parents and then making Crackers from Toilet Roll holders.

I think they are such beautfiul nice fun thing's to do as kid - perhaps all this was before I was aged 9 years old easy - about 5 or 6, may-be i'm remembering the past too happily but for sure they were special times even if my memories of them are not as clear in my mindset as I believe.

The Xmas Party's at Primary were special I recall as well too, we never had 1 at Secondary School I recall well sadly.

[Palazzo]

Re: Christmas at primary school

We had to make a nativity scene in the infants, we all had to make a character each out of a toilet roll. I think I got one of the three kings, bit of blue material round the toilet roll, black velvet for the cape, stick a face on it and then a gold crown cut out of gold paper popped on the face with pritt stick. A work of art it was not but funnily enough, it actually lasted in our house every Christmas up until a few years ago when it was finally time for my king to meet the bin. Thinking back, we would make a Christmas decoration every year in primary school, the worst of which was a ping-pong ball decorated with a a few glitter pens with a paper-clip stuck through it, making a lovely tree bauble. Woeful that one was, I think that lasted about two years on the tree before that swiftly got chucked.

I miss Christmas at school, that last week or so before breaking for Christmas was always so exciting and everyone was on a real high.

[battyrat]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I was the donkey in our nativity the for some reason I lost the donkeys head which came crashing down on baby Jesus which sort of made the teachers unhappy.I never got a part in the nativity play again.The donkeys head was made of really thick compressed paper or card and painted.It could of easily of been purchased by the school when it first opened a decade or so earlier in the late 50's early 60's.That's the impression I get from it thinking back now.It fitted over our head and you got to look out of a tiny slot in the front of the neck.The rest of the costume was a really thick heavy furry type blanket that smelled rather musty.
Making paper chains and glueing or licking coloured pieces of paper was an annual thing.Christmas collage and paintings on the walls were also an in thing.Always of the nativity scene.Christmas party with people bringing in crisps and home made sarnies and cakes to share.Hats made in class to wear on the last day and at the christmas party.Head dressing up as santa and giving out loosly wrapped presants which always turned out to be tiny diarys.Blue for boys pink for girls.
Instead of hymes we sung christmas carols in assembly and if we were unlucky marched off to a local church for a service.The carol singing from the back of a trailer pulled by a tractor.There was lots of small things we done leading up to christmas...just can't seem to remember all of it.Too many years have passed by.

[havasack]

Re: Christmas at primary school

Used to love this time of year at Infants (it wasn't Primary School back then), weeks focusing on halloween and bonfire night then it was headlong into Christmas. The one nativuty/Christmas play I remember from when I was 6 or 7, I was a robin and I still remember "I'm robin red breast here in the snow, I leave my footprints whereever I go", not bad for nigh on 40yrs ago!!

[branny]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I was a cuckoo and have absolutely no idea how it slotted into the nativity. My abiding memory of christmas at primary school was the hat making competition. You had to make a hat to wear to the christmas party and the best ones won a prize. Now my parents weren't the most artistic so i'd end up with a pirate hat (very seasonal) made out of sugar paper whereas some would have a christmas scene from the north pole (which usually looked like a xmas cake) or the whole nativity tale acted out on top of their head. I never won by the way.

[Sly]

Re: Christmas at primary school

I played a clown and an inn keeper in my nativities. In the others where I didn't get a part I was in the choir. Being in the choir was abhorrent. It was the drama equivalent of being picked last in sports. We had to wear tinsel on our heads that was probably older than the school building itself. On our heads. Because being subject to ridicule or wearing this weird choir boy garment they just had to make you look an even bigger tit by wrapping tinsel around our head. The teachers even had the cheek to tell us off for trying to make it less itchy. That's like telling a cat not to dance on a hot tin roof.

Being in the choir was rubbish.

[bakermuk]

Re: Christmas at primary school

My two memories of Christmas at Primary School involve 2 very different nativity plays. In Nativity play 1972 I was cast as third Donkey.....not the greatest role but I got to wear a huge paper mache donkey head and managed to watch a little bit of what was going on through the two eye holes. In Nativity Play 1973 I had been promoted to Second King. There was a candlelit street procession from the school to the church on the hill - I was wearing a gold foil crown and a robe of red velour....thank goodness there are no photos! And I think I was the happiest and proudest second king there has ever been :-) Great memories!

[Sly]

Re: Christmas at primary school

Mine used to involve me getting a letter home saying they wanted my mum to bring food in. There was always one mother that would bring in something wildly unsuitble. I remember some chocolates being out of bounds once, it turns out they were liqueurs. A local man that was tied to the school somehow always used to dress up as Santa. When I was in 6th form I was sent back to my primary school to do community service. Over 10 years later and Mr Thatcher was still dressing up as Santa. Some things never change.