Happy Christmas traditions that would baffle the children of today.

The lighting of the Yule log was an important moment in our house, most children these days would have no idea what a yule is( other than the chocolate variety)

The Blue Peter advent crown (wreath, etc) made from wire coat hangers and with real candles!

We always had an apple, orange and chocolate coins in our socks. The toys were in a pillow case at the foot of the bed on Christmas morning.

We wrote letters to Father Christmas but we never put them in the post box. Mum put them on the open fire so that they went up the chimney. I must admit even as a five year old I wasn't convinced FC got the message.

Yes the Christmas films - no videos in those days. I really believe it was far more special then beginning Christmas Eve morning the tv would be on. There wasn’t breakfast tv then. Leslie Crowther used to be on taking presents to sick children in hospital.

Probably going to a church service on Christmas morning is a novelty to a lot of children now.

We settled down to watch the Christmas films with our tangerine and nuts. Our presents too. Aunts and uncles came acalling throughout the day and Boxing Day there was always a huge family party. Happy times and memories.

Christmas tv was such a treat then,, as ‘blockbuster’ films made their first tv appearance at that time. They might be about three years old, but if you had missed them at the local cinema, this was your chance.

No videos to buy or rent, no box sets, not like now, when you can buy films not long after their general release.

Either you re all young or I was poor as we didn’t have a tv until just before I left home at 18/19 my grandparents had one when I was 16 Mum and dad after that
So my childhood Christmas memories are quite different like Mamadroit it was a pillow case at the bottom of the bed
A Christmas tree with real candles that you lit 😳 shock horrow fire risk and we always had Melton Mowbery pork pie
for breakfast with toast and full Christmas dinner, then celery with ham sandwiches, trifle and Christmas cake (Nan made) for teatime
Listen to the queens speech at 3 that’s my memories

It was Midnight Mass for our family of 5 then we had not roast beef sandwiches ( the beef was in the oven while we were in church then we were allowed to open our presents presumably so we didn't wake our parents up at some ungodly hour...
We played with our presents ,had lovely Chrismas.dinner and watch TV we are 3 female a now in our 60s.and 70 s.
Happy Times

I still put a satsuma in stockings!
You’re right, though, littleflo - tangerines were a real treat. As far as I recall, we only ever had them at Christmas, but then there were a lot of things we rarely had - chocolate biscuits and orange squash are two that come to mind.

Our stockings were our dad's socks with a tangerine and one gift.

A tall , hopefully handsome, man knocking at the door with a lump of coal for first footing( Yorkshire) Plunging a glowing red poker into a glass of beer at New Year ( London ). Do they still kiss under the mistletoe? Here Christmas Dinner is becoming more and more a Seafood dinner.

The sock with tangerine, nuts and a couple of tiny toys . A pillow case for gifts. Usually with the books I always asked for. Mum and Aunt preparing veg and basting the turkey. Dad and Uncle sorted the table and the open fire. Gifts for the adults (just three each) and a couple more for me stayed under the tree until lunch was prepared and clothes changed. Me with my nose firmly in a new book unless asked to help.

My Dad calling out names and handing out gifts with great ceremony, a glass of egg nog for the women, not sure what the men had, a rare lemonade for me. A long lunch. Radio on. My Dad and Uncle in charge of washing up Adults falling asleep in front of the fire leaving me to read in peace and play with the dog. Card games later, sandwiches, cake, mince pies and sausage rolls for tea. More games after tea. Sneaking a new book off to bed.

We shared Christmas with my Aunt and Uncle until I was adult, it gradually evolved, television arrived as did my cousin, ancient cars were purchased, there seemed more noise and rushing about. I’m amazed how much I remember of those very early years and how gentle, safe and cozy it all felt. .

Oh Marmardoit, we sent FC communications from my four year old twin granddaughters up the chimney last week. He, if course, replies by regular post.

Aww the memories. We used to raid my dad's sock drawer to find the longest sock to leave out for Santa to fill. We stretched and pulled them to try to make them even longer hoping to get a wee bit more. An orange, an apple, crayons, chocolate coins and a big tube of Smarties were always found in them on Christmas morning.
My sister and I still do it for each other, although we have shop bought stockings now and no need for crayons....
My granda always gave me a small log which I glued cotton wool to, some little figures and then I stuck a small calendar to it. That was always my granny and granda's Christmas present from me.

We would all have a sock at the end of the bed containing a bath cube, (don’t know what my brothers got!),an orange maybe a comb and other bits and bobs topped off with a Christmas cracker. We all had to have breakfast and be dressed then Mum would hand out the presents calling out our names (I was one of six). Then dinner, queens speech and trifle etc for tea. Wonderful but lots of hard work for Mum. Don’t remember Dad doing much! Mum was a marvel, very hard working with not many rewards in life. Except for us of course, I hope we were enough.

Midnight communion-finally getting to sing the last verse of O Come All Ye Faithful.
Getting out the characters to make a snow scene on the frosting on the Christmas cake.
Satsumas and nuts (no nutcracker in there, so why?) in the home made felt stockings that we revamped every year.
Advent calendars that were about Christmas and just had pictures, no chocolate.
A tin of toffees being a really exciting treat!

My DC carry on those traditions so maybe our family are unusual.
It's now me who is a bit lazier and bah Humbug!
I was amused and surprised recently when I asked 7yr old DGD what they were doing at school for Christmas.
" Oh just Nativity - nothing Christmassy!"

At the Christmas meal toasting ‘absent friends and family’, we still do it.

Many of the traditions already posted are common to me too. Being a teenager in the 70s, trying to record Top of the Pops Christmas special on my cassette player figured too. And the Morecambe and Wise Christmas special!

When I was very young my father never bought the tree until Christmas Eve, carried it home on his shoulder and set it up in the coal bucket. We decorated it with some treasured spun-glass baubles, tinsel, paper chains and clip on candles that were never ever lit. It stayed up until Twelfth Night.

I came from a english/jewish home. We celebrated then (as m family still does now) and HAPPY festivity. So, I always had that pillowcase at the bottom of mybed to be filled by FC. No other decorations when I was a child except those long chains of sticky strips of paper. No trees until I was well into my teens. Did also have the Hanukak candles lit for the eight days. We did have tv ( from 1953) like so many people in this country.

Tangerine, sweeties always in that pillowcase. For much of my childhood chocs and sweets were on ration, so this very exciting. Very un-exciting Xmas days though, not until I was well into my teens and then my brother, his wife and their young children would come over did the special Christmas meal come into being. By then, my parents had a small (table top size) tinselly, Xmas tree they put up, year on year. What changed each year was the fairy on the top (no star), and that always went to the youngest g.daughter at the end of christmas day.

As my parents grew older, they found it more and more difficult to cope with this day and the catering etc. The last Xmas day I spent in their home was just after the birth of my eldest. In the January, my Dad came to me with the very large enamel dish they always used for cooking the turkey, handing that to me and saying it would be better to use my house, rather than their small council flat, for future Xmas Days - and that is exactly what happened.

Kept that large dish for many years just used that once-a-year.

One tradition that we then began was that on Christmas Eve, a day on which I spent many, many hours, preparing different dishes, for the following day - for our tea (started when there were several young children), we would have the only takeaway meal of the year. A chinese purchased entirely with the Luncheon Vouchers that my hubbie saved throughout the year to pay for this one big family meal. The Kids absolutely loved it - highlight of their Christmas (no other takeaways or eating out could be afforded).

The daughter to whom I now go for Christmas meal still keeps this tradition alive, so I also join them on Xmas Eve for th at takeaway.

An orange as a treat with school dinner on the last day of term. Wouldn't impress a 21st century child. And they'd probably expect it to be peeled for them.

Having special "Sunday best" clothes to wear to Church.

Some things puzzled me when I was little. Why a piece of coal? Wasn't that what naughty children were supposed to get? We had a coal fire so that would surely be useful.

I know so many of my friends who have a Chinese takeaway on Christmas Eve,
I wonder how that started.
We always had cold ham, sausage rolls, pork pie and pickles etc as a child as the day had been busy .
When my Father died when I was 11 ,my other and I used to walk to my Aunt’s house , no transport on Christmas Day.
It was 4/5 miles and I hated every minute.
Sometimes we didn’t even go until we had had our lunch which was never really special.
No maternal cousins at all so I was very lonely.
Children today are often made the centre of Christmas, I felt I never was.