Christmas Past

[NP]

Love this thread. One of my favourite Christmas memories is getting up at about 6am, it may have been Boxing Day, and only my dad was up. He’d got Alastair Sim’s Scrooge on DVD and we watched it together with the Christmas tree lights on. My parents Christmas decor hasn’t changed since the 70s, so all the lights and baubles and tinsel are a clash of different colours and I love it.

One of my favourite presents was a toy Post Office. I would spend hours and hours playing with it.

 

[Belulah]

Just a thread to be nostalgic about childhood and past Christmases.
Some if my favourite Christmas memories were when I worked on checkouts at Tesco. The hours were crazy but I loved seeing all the special treats people were buying. My first year nearly every person bought The Simpson Movie on DVD. We used to only really have Christmas Day off so we’d go hard down the pub on Christmas Eve. Wearing goofy Christmas jumpers.
Other memories include quality street coming in huge tins, some kind of toy that dispensed tiny Cadbury Milk bars and watching a Heartbeat Christmas special where everyone got food poisoning. I remember that year I had a Poochie I think they were called. A little silver dog.

 

[Platypusfattypus]

The smell of the shiny garland decorations.

 

[Gembo]

I used to work in retail and I loved it when we started getting our Christmas stock in, I’d always feel quite excited. Hated having to work over the Christmas period though when most of my friends and partner had the whole Christmas period off.

When we were kids we had these huge plastic sacks that had Father Christmas on the front and our names written on them. I could never get to sleep on Christmas Eve, my parents must have always had to stay up so late. I’d drift in and out but every time I woke up I’d kick the bottom of the bed to see if Father Christmas had been. Eventually I’d kick it and I’d hear and feel the bag and I really believed in Santa back then and I don’t think there was ever anything more magical. He’s been! He’s been! I’d jump straight out of bed and wake my brother and we’d go and look at the presents under the tree then go and run into mum and dads room with our bags which were usually filled with chocolate coins and a selection box, colouring pencils, books, stocking filler type stuff. Always my favourite day of the year

 

[DCICassieStuart]

I'm a child of the 80s too. When I was about 5 or 6, my aunt bought me this for Christamas.

To this day (and I'm 41 now) it's still the BEST Xmas present I ever got.

 

[BethanyGilbert]

I used to work at Tesco as well when I was a teenager. I remember we used to work on the till 3am. One of our colleagues fell asleep in the staffroom one year.
Christmas Eve night out used to be one of the best all year. People used to really dress to the nines for it and you would see people from school you hadn’t seen in years which seemed really exciting at the time.

 

[HoGi]

I love the idea of this thread!
I don't recall ever going to the pub on xmas eve, I usually work it now so not much chance of it nowadays. My favourite memories are of my sister waking me up at like 4am, shes 7 years older than me and gets hyper around xmas haha We would sit in my bed with our pillow case of toys and then wait around until 7 when we could wake up our parents. We werent allowed in the living room until dad gets dressed and makes his coffee so we would be hovering around dying to open our presents while dad took an age to get ready haha
Before we lost our dog we would take him for a walk along the seafront while mum would make us bacon buns which we would eat as we opened presents.
I work in a hospital so I am expected to work over xmas. I'm nights this year which isnt bad but the times I have worked xmas day its been quite nice really. People are usually a lot more pleasant.

We had the same rule growing up!

We always had a stocking on our bedroom door to keep us quiet haha.

So me and my sister would go in each others rooms and open our stocking. Then we could only go downstairs once dad was dressed and sitting on the sofa with a coffee and mum had put the turkey on and switched on all the Christmas lights.

Then we would be allowed in the lounge where all our presents had been.

Dad would go to the pub and we would pick him up about 1pm. Me and my sister would go in to get him and his mates (all very merry!) Would give us a couple of quid each!

Then it was home for dinner, films and board games.

 

[Mulholland Drive]

I always loved it when after Christmas Dinner and the Queen's speech at 3, everyone in my household would all fall asleep in their chairs and sofas. Leaving me to play with my presents in peace, while also pinching the odd mince pie or After Eight mint or 5

 

[CherryAcid]

I love the idea of this thread!
I don't recall ever going to the pub on xmas eve, I usually work it now so not much chance of it nowadays. My favourite memories are of my sister waking me up at like 4am, shes 7 years older than me and gets hyper around xmas haha We would sit in my bed with our pillow case of toys and then wait around until 7 when we could wake up our parents. We werent allowed in the living room until dad gets dressed and makes his coffee so we would be hovering around dying to open our presents while dad took an age to get ready haha
Before we lost our dog we would take him for a walk along the seafront while mum would make us bacon buns which we would eat as we opened presents.
I work in a hospital so I am expected to work over xmas. I'm nights this year which isnt bad but the times I have worked xmas day its been quite nice really. People are usually a lot more pleasant.

 

[Gym&Tonic]

We weren’t allowed to eat the chocolates off the Christmas tree until it had been taken down, so one year me and my brother ate them all and the put the wrappers back on the tree My mum never found until she took the tree down.

 

[Platypusfattypus]

Each year i consider getting some for a laugh so I can have a 70s/80s xmas but I just cant bring myself to do it haha

A full on 80s Christmas. I know my kids would love it, but I remeber all the little holes in the ceiling from the drawing pins and the dust. I might just buy one and sniff it instead like a weirdo

 

[Platypusfattypus]

The Christmas specials of popular programmes like Only Fools and Horses, the soaps and comedy shows. They just don't seem to be as much now.

Yea thats what puts me off tbh, all those drawing pins! I did buy some 80s style string lights that i am putting on my window as it already has hooks in the corners.....maybe i should get one of those dodgy garlands to go with it and have an 80s xmas window?

Do it!!!!

 

[265]

Xmas as a child growing up in the 70's was fun, especially when I have a Birthday 2 weeks BEFORE xmas.

We never had a real xmas tree, just this silver tinsel tree for decades, my Dad would decorate the tree on
his own. Xmas day, unwrapping all those presents, some of which were Birthday and Xmas presents.

The main feature was the Turkey, Mum would break out the extra large plates, after the roast would be the
home made xmas pudd. The Turkey would last us a few days ending up as Stew which we still do now.

Back in those days xmas ment something unlike now when it's just one massive commercial load of bollocks
and the true meaning has been lost forever.

TV was very limited, 3 TV channels only but we had a lot of great programs to watch, especially in the evening
with the xmas specials and all that. My Dad and I would look at the listings and decide what to watch.

 

[Saddlesoap]

Awww I love this. Waking up to piles of gifts (I was lucky my parents were well off and mum adored Christmas (still does)) for my siblings and I always in the same places in the living room.

I vividly remember asking my parents why we don't get gifts from them at Christmas when we buy them gifts. I must have been about 6 or 7.

Getting older the best bit was Boxing Day piss up! Singing Christmas songs on dance floors, seeing people you hadn't seen in years. Did go out of Christmas Eve a few times and remember getting crackers in one pub just before closing, so we were all wearing cracker paper hats.

The smell of the shiny garland decorations.

Oh the ceiling streamer ones?! Yes!

 

[Kim Mild]

I used to get so excited putting the tree up when I was a kid. I would put my tape of Christmas songs on .

My grandma taking me to church for the christingle service on Christmas eve and getting an orange with a candle in .

Pub on Christmas eve

I never minded working Christmas eve in retail/ hospitality because there was always a nice atmosphere.

 

[Platypusfattypus]

Definitely! I’m so glad I’m not in retail anymore. I used to love how busy it was but the place would be absolutely trashed (clothes shop) and because of the Boxing Day sales we’d have to get everything ready on Christmas Eve. We’d have customers trying to barge in the door as we were closing, “BUT I HAVE TO GET A PRESENT!”... no love, we want to go home!

I worked in a toy shop during the Christmas of the Furby toy. That was intense

 

[Mulholland Drive]

I remember my first Christmas spent in the UK when I was 15 (having emigrated from South Africa). I hated it because it was winter-time and therefore cold, snowing, with freezing temperatures, and dark. And I still hadn't adapted to the British way of life (Traditionally in SA it's summer time between December and February, with temps in the high 20Cs and lots of sunshine.)

That's when I so wanted to go back home (I couldn't of course because my parents found work here)

I remember at Christmas Dinner I pulled a wishbone from the turkey, and made a wish (to go home, lol).

I was a right mardy, stroppy, whinging young cow back then (hopefully I've changed since then )

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

There was always some good programmes on. This was a big deal in the 70s, before the internet, DVDs or videos, and with only three TV channels.

 

[BethanyGilbert]

I always used to like getting chocolates, as I always did as a child. Board games were also a big present then, in the 70s. I don't think people play them so much now. My all-time favourite presents were the Pippin Annuals for 1973, when I was not quite four, then 1974, when I was nearly five.

We still get a new board game to play every year which then sits in the spare room for the rest of time!

 

[Loiterer]

Love this thread. One of my favourite Christmas memories is getting up at about 6am, it may have been Boxing Day, and only my dad was up. He’d got Alastair Sim’s Scrooge on DVD and we watched it together with the Christmas tree lights on. My parents Christmas decor hasn’t changed since the 70s, so all the lights and baubles and tinsel are a clash of different colours and I love it.

One of my favourite presents was a toy Post Office. I would spend hours and hours playing with it.

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My three year old now plays with this at my mums! Still had some handwritten letters that we’d posted!