Christmas Years Ago When We Were Young

[Bobbisox1]

Traditions?

Many years ago when I was small, my Mum would go to the corner shop and ask for two rings off the butter barrel, she'd put one inside another then wrap green and red crimped crepe paper around it , then hang baubles from it, this would be in the middle of our ceiling ,When paper decorations went from corner to centre , was basic but we loved it, a small artificial tree, no lights then, nothing so elaborate as we have today

[Prudie]

From the age of about 10 my parents would take my nan to the pub Xmas morning and leave me alone with non-alcoholic raisin wine and nothing on TV except visiting children in hospital. They came back at lunchtime. Outrageous, would be highly frowned upon today.

[Bobbisox1]

My Dad was tee total and would make Ginger wine from a small bottle he got from the local herbalists, can't remember the name , My Mam would have Sherry , Harvey's Bristol cream on Christmas Eve

[Buenchico]

We had a real tree. (My mother wouldn't permit anything else. She'd been 'in service' for a Harley Street doctor and everything in our house always had to be done "like it was in the big house"). My father was very careful though to only buy a rooted tree, rather than one which had been cut down. Then, after Christmas, he'd plant it out in the front garden, so that it could be dug up again and re-used the following year. The gardening books always said that it couldn't be done, as fir trees don't like being transplanted just once, yet alone from a field, then to a bucket in a living room and finally out into a garden, with the cycle being repeated year after year but my father always got each tree to last several years. Indeed, I think the tree which was happily growing in the front garden when they moved out of the house (when I was in my early twenties) was the same one that my dad had bought from the local greengrocer's shop when I was about 9 or 10!

Like the vast majority of children, I received some of my Christmas presents in a stocking. However it was always one of my mother's old nylon stockings. I thought that all Christmas stockings were of that form and was mystified when I starting seeing Christmas movies on TV where children were receiving presents in woollen stockings. "They're not stockings", I would protest, "They're socks!"

[grumpy01]

I know we are all getting older and times change but Christmas is definitely not the same anymore.

[Bobbisox1]

Wow Chris, I mean the tree , just wow!

[Bobbisox1]

It's not Grumpy and a trip down memory Lane proves that

[Milo2]

We had the trimmings that went from the corner of the room to the centre of the ceiling. We woke up on Christmas to presents in a pillow case and we always had an artificial tree. I didn’t see a real one in anyone’s house until I was in my 20s

[woofgang]

We always had a real tree bought from a local market. My Dad used to go and get it and walk home with it on his shoulder, about an hours walk through the streets of London. It was a matter of great joy when we were considered old enough to go with him, we had to be able to walk both ways and behave ourselves in the busy traffic without being hung on to. I don't think there were artificial trees then maybe apart from in big shops and as window dressing decorations, not for sale. Certainly we couldn't have afforded one. I can remember my Mum's pleasure the year we got an artificial tree and she didn't have to chase needles any more. I have still got some of my parent's decorations, some are in lovely condition but sadly the baubles just seem to break for no reason and each year they get less.

[Bobbisox1]

Are woof that's so nice, the tree I remember was a little scraggly thing but it was always put on top of the radiogram on Christmas Eve

[Buenchico]

>>> I don't think there were artificial trees then

You must be even older than we thought then, Woofgang! Woolworths were selling them in 1920 ;-)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-55132919

[jno]

we're going to play it down this year, Bobbi, just modest decorations like these

[Bobbisox1]

Yes jno, very low key that is ;)

[rowanwitch]

Always a real tree in the front bay window, no lights but lots of old fine glass baubles and chocolate decorations.( Out of reach of our dog) Decorations went up Christmas Eve night and you knew you were growing up when you were allowed to stay up and help. I was about 10, it was a silly boozy evening that involved grandad falling off ladders and
mum trying to repair the same old fairy . I was allowed a glass of babycham. Presents in pillowcases left on the landing outside the bedroom. mum was always sad at Christmas though ,having to write from mum on the labels was so hard. my Dad died when I was 2½ and my sister was just 6 weeks old.

[Theland]

We always had a real tree, about 3ft, on the sideboard. Homemade crepe paper decorations and balloons.
Prezzies in a pillow case. Gosh my parents really made magic Xmas's.

[woofgang]

wow Chris! I am talking about the 50's. I meant floor standing trees when I said that they were rare and expensive. Vintage artificial trees go for silly money now, as do the decorations

[royfromaus]

I would pop next door to see my mates, Andy & Rob... to see what real presents looked like.

[Jackdaw33]

For some reason which I never fathomed my parents used to get dressed on Xmas Day as though they were going somewhere special, even though they weren't and we did not expect any visitors. Shoes were worn inside the house which was a no-no at any other time of the year.

[Jackdaw33]

My mother would go to Midnight Mass so she wouldn't have to go to church Xmas morning. On her return the turkey would be bunged into the oven on a low gas to cook overnight.

[Bobbisox1]

Arh you must have lived in Gosforth Jack, no shoes? In the house ?

[Bobbisox1]

I always went to midnight service on Christmas Eve ( Methodist) there was something special about that , from when I was around 15