Happy Christmas traditions that would baffle the children of today.

Your old bluebell 🤣 sorry couldn’t resist x

I believe my GC and GGC will be baffled by Christmas cards. Soon, it seems to me, cards will be passe, viewed as wasting post money.

I don't ever remember having a stocking but Christmas was such a magical time anyway. As an only child in the 50's my presents were on the chair in the living room but Dad had to go downstairs first to light the fire and would then shout up 'He's Been' as I always got into bed with them before he went down. My aunt usually came to stay which I loved but didn't like that she had to share my room (only 2 bedrooms).

We had twirly metal streamers pinned to the ceiling and the crowning glory was the sugar fairy and mice on the tree. I remember dad always trying to untangle the lights and fiddling with the bulbs till they came on - he still did this to his early 80's even though I gave them new modern light sets

I was born up north so New Year was always a big thing even when we moved to Yorkshire - Dad was sent outside with a piece of coal (in latter years it was my husband) and Mum never cut the Christmas cake until 12am when we had to have it with a piece of cheese and a glass of sherry. Family parties with one particular aunt and uncle were huge affairs and such fun. We even travelled back up there one year just to join in.

Happy memories of by gone years.

Coal is when you first foot. Preferably brought by a tall dark haired man. It meant you would always have heat in your home. Shortbread was so you'd never go hungry.

I remember those twirly foil garlands that you hung above the fireplace so the rising heat would make them twirl. Two different colours on the same twirl, we thought they were magic. I also remember my Aunt playing the piano in the lounge and we all sang the carols. She was very good too.

I think today’s children would be surprised at how little went on at Christmas in my younger day. We did have a tree, so that was exciting. The only gifts in my earlier Christmas years were the Santa ones and some stocking fillers, but I really looked forward to that. We didn’t have a TV until I was eleven. We got few Christmas cards despite my parents having twelve siblings between them. My father worked on Christmas Day, as did most men in Scotland in those days, so we had our meal at teatime, just the three of us. Things changed when one of my aunts went back to work. As she was better off, she took us to a hotel on Christmas Day for lunch when I was eleven. That was a big deal. Unfortunately, the dads couldn’t make it! From then on, the kids began to get cards and presents from some of the aunts and uncles, and of course, things escalated from then on. Although the TV was a novelty, I still preferred a good book!

Chicken was a special treat meal when I was a child, now it's just everyday fare.

Blondiescot, my dad made me a much sturdier one than with coathangers, it lasted for years

The TV & Radio times delivery sent us in to raptures as we devoured what would be on TV.
If any programmes clashed it was the end of the world and then when the Video came out it was like our prayers were answered but we always managed to cut at least 5 minutes off the beginning or the end of a program.
Even now I get TV Choice and highlight the programmes I want to watch, my husband thought I was mad but he has been converted now.
Boxing Day was leftovers and my mums homemade potato salad that everyone loved. She makes it every year and always the exact same amount (enough for about 30 people) - there was always a big buffet and lots of people but over the years we are down to about 6 of us and she is still making a bucket full and then gets offended when there is some left over.

Still give mine a satsuma, chocolate coins and s selection box. They’re between 26 and 49 🤣👍

Remember Disney time on a bank holiday that was a really magical thing to see,no videos,DVDs or streaming in those days.Your favorite annual was always amongst the presents as well !

Sorry eldest is 40 not 49.

I used to love the Sunday School party in the freezing cold former chicken shed village hall, when we would take our own cutlery securely marked with bits of coloured wool, and the school parties with jelly and blancmange (made in our house, because Daddy was also Sir). We children used to make our own party hats too - cardboard cones trimmed with bows made from sweetie wrappers.

Because I lived with lots of different people as a child, I didn't have any particular traditions to keep.
When my children were little I developed our own traditions we had a candle with numbers which we used to light. Whilst the candle burned, one of the children would tell a Christmas story. Just thinking back makes me smile, some of those stories were so funny.

On Sundays we would go to church to see the candles being lit and learn about the true meaning of christmas. On Xmas eve we would go to the carol service and as the children grew older, we would go to midnight mass, before having a warm milky drink and going to bed.

My children assure me that they Still believe in Santa so there are stockings for everyone with little gifts like new socks, knickers, rubber gloves, and similar little things. There will then be gifts from below the tree which we open after our Xmas dinner.

The pop man delivering a lovely selection of fizzy pop, cherryade, limeade, orangeade and shandy, quite small glass bottles compared to the great big plastic pop bottles we have now. As we didn’t have much fizzy pop it was a real treat but we only got a small beaker full and had to make it last.
Being given a big red apple and an orange on the last day of term at junior school and being delighted!!

We always used to get the Hamleys catalogue before Christmas, so that we could each spend up to £1 on our “big” present. There was so much choice at 19/11d!

We never, ever said Santa. He was Father Christmas, still is to me. When my son went to Playgroup at the age of two or three he didn’t know who Santa was! Santa Claus, if you must, but I still prefer Father Christmas.

Tangerine,nuts & some chocolate at the end of the bed,Turkey etc & plum pudding for lunch then opened a box of dates a wonderful treat then listened to the Queens speech.

Nanagem; Do you mean 'why don't you get coffee creams in a chocolate assortment'? Because Beech's sell them in boxes, covered in milk or dark chocolate.

Homemade ginger wine in tiny glasses

That our stocking actually was a sock. And actually I loved the tangerine and nuts in mine!

My son (he's 24) still loves the Xmas Radio Times.

Oh and often the films over Xmas were all about people killing other people- westerns and world war 2 films!! Not that we thought about that, they were just what films were!

The Christmas wrapping paper was bought from the Brownies who sold it to raise funds (Mum was brown owl). It came in sheets not rolls back then

Dad would always wrap his presents to mum last of all. . Often there wasnt much gift wrap left - if any- so her gifts being in newspaper became a thing!!

Dad putting candles on the tree and lighting them!!!!!!

We had one of our mother’s tocking, which we hung up. Long and a little stretchy if not exactly pretty.

Thank you for sharing these memories. Such a lovely post.