Christmas decorations

When I was a kid we used to love the old decorations that came out every year. They disappeared somewhere along the line as we grew up. In our own family unit we created another set. I loved the gold painted and be-glittered fir cones that we adapted to hang on the tree. Each generation that has come along loves making paper chains and seeing them hung up.
These days I have a small fibre optic tree, but those big family Christmases with a real tree hung with faded baubles - - are cherished memories. I really don't miss falling pine needles and disposing of the tree afterwards though. We still laugh over the tree that was nearly bald by 12th night.

I too have boxes of glass Woolworth baubles, with the Winfield make. DH and I bought them the first Christmas after we were married. Along with some 'fairy' lights. The lights stopped working only a couple of years ago! (40 years ) I'm sure they must have been unsafe for several years.

The baubles go on the tree every year, although they don't seem quite as bright as the newer ones.

As for garlands etc: I am now very wary of anything that would set the burglar alarm off falling down or swaying.

When I was very small, during the War, real Christmas trees were in short supply and artificial ones had not been invented. So my dad went out into the garden and cut off some branches of the privet hedge to make us a Christmas tree. He had managed to procure some lights and I think some pre-war decorations came from granny who lived nearby. My aunt brought some strips of brown paper from the office and borrowed a stapler which we used to make a paper chain.

We lit real candles in a real tree. They were fixed with a special holder which clipped into the branches. What a fire hazard. Paper chains were fun. I got some in a pound shop but when we opened the packets the glue,if there had been any, had dried.

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