What do you miss about Christmas Past

I have to make the same confession Granmarderby10 - I did the same, but didn't realise that I'd pinched so many illicit sweets, that when the tin was ceremonial opened on Christmas Day and was half empty, that I would be rumbled! My very bossy sister then proceeded to share the remainder between her, my brother and Mum. But all was not lost, unbeknown to my sister, Mum secretly let me have her share, bless 💓

Once after “discovering” the big tin of Quality Street deeply buried in mums big wardrobe- while she was at the shops I rather expertly (I thought) cut the sellotape binding and nicked a couple or three favourites- love the orange creams. Then resealed it. Oh the guilt….
Chocs were more of a rarety then 😊

The anticipation of opening the huge tin of Quality Street was nearly as exciting as waiting to open my Christmas presents! Us 3 children were left to decorate the Christmas tree, and as the youngest (I couldn't be trusted to climb the ladder) I was given the task of arranging the Nativity figures on a bed of cotton wool (to simulate snow 🙂). I loved the little crib and tiny stable, and wonder what ever happened to them? However not all was happy families, I can remember huge fights between the 3 of us as to who had eaten the majority of the chocolate Christmas tree decorations (it was usually my sister, but I did get wise and scoffed the lot one year!). Happy days 😊

I miss my grandmother's fantastic cooking .
And my Aunt's brilliant sense of humour .
Nothing really exciting happened -my parents had a truce .
My cat used to go up our tree and wreck it .
We always used to laugh .
It was just a happy day .....

Having Christmas at our house, missing family (now departed), having time to do more baking (though I enjoy looking after DGC but it seems sometimes to have taken over our lives - though bed tonight with DGS 6 is lovely). DM being able to be with us saying her usual phrases, going to Midnight Service. Maybe rose tinted spectacles!

Madeleine45 lovely post. Hope you find somewhere soon. What about a B and B?

Oh where do I start? As a young child there was the stocking and the pillowcase. We were allowed to open the stocking as soon as we woke up but not the pillowcase, which was opened when we all got up. The stocking of course had to have an apple, satsuma, a few nuts , a lovely shiny coin , sometimes a shilling (10p) and if you were lucky half a crown (25p). Then maybe a new biro and a small toy, but of course one of those little puzzles with three silver ballbearings that you tried to put into the eyes and nose of the clown. Oh , mustnt forget the pink sugar mouse with a liquorice tail - that later became a string tail. (Far too sweet for me and I never ate it but it was part of the stocking)Tradition demanded it! Our christmas tree was ALWAYS a living tree. For a time we had 2 trees, and one was brought in in a bucket, which had soil in it and was well watered and the next year the other one came in. That way the wonderful smell of the pine tree was the start of christmas in the house and being yorkshire of course having the two, we managed to keep them alive for quite a long time.
Now on to the decorations!! Our decorations on the trees were absolutely NOT to look good for outsiders or have themed colours etc!!! Our decorations spoke of love and family and remembering people and past christmas and loved people. So there were beautiful glass baubles handed down from my great grandparents, but also the fairy I made and painted at school, the rather battered old lovely silver star that of course must be put on the top of the tree. Many years later I have still had my share of the lovely old decorations, and of course we shared them between the children when my parents died. So our later trees had a very battered silver lopsided fairy to be placed just below the star. That had come from my husbands great grandparents and again the christmas tree shows the joining of families together. I had that lovely swedish little 4 candle with the angels that go round on top from the heat. I bought those in Stockholm and they were quite a sensation as no one had them here at that time. Something else we did was we have have little boxes with one chocolate in and little chocolate coins etc and of course more mice etc. But these were not given out on christmas day. Our way was to leave all those on the tree. Then on 12th night it was time to take down all the decorations , water the tree very well and slowly put it in cooler and cooler places until it was ready to be replanted. As children whilst my father got up stepladders to remove our lengths of paper chains (made by us of course!)we children took all the baubles and bits and pieces from the tree. When they were all safely stowed away in the tissue paper and boxes then we were allowed to eat the chocolates from the tree. The biggest problem regarding the tree was the ..... .....lights , which however carefully my father put them away and how ever many spare bulbs he had , they were always going wrong and needing to be sorted. so that was his battle every time , which annoyed him each y ear, as he checked that they all worked before they were carefully put away and yet still they would be a problem the next year!!
As we are all musical and mathematical of course carol concerts, midnight services, and going to sing in various things and naturally a lot of rehearsing have been important all my life. All of us have sung, solos, duets, in choirs or whatever and so especially when I lived abroad, listening to carols made me think of us all singing together When my family were young I would be making sausage rolls and mince pies etc etc listening to the Lessons and Carols and always felt that however far away my family were, they would be listening too. Now I am a widow and live alone , and miss all that . However it does allow me to listen to J S Bach in peace and quiet so I shall be able to sit with a drop of single malt and my music and think of my lovely husband and all my family and friends . One great joy already is that Assad has left Syria. May he never get back. I lived in Damascus when his father was there and so whatever comes next - and I am a realist - it is still wonderful that they have gone. This year my greatest wish is to be able to be in my own home, as there has been rather a disaster and the bathroom had to be taken out and so with no loo and no hot water I have had to stay in a hotel. They are doing their best to sort it but I shall be so happy to just be able to sit in my own chair in my own home with radio 3 on. Have not been able to do a single thing for christmas and I cannot even sleep in my own bed yet. The hotel is totally booked with no spare rooms at all , two friends have recently moved away, another friend has family staying and my sons partner and my grandson have Covid!! I may need to look for a bed somewhere. I may possibly need to look for some space in a stable and watch for a star. There is a precedent for that I believe.!! I hope you all enjoy your own traditions and make new ones each year. I have gone on long enough but may come back with some other things too . I am or was a campanologist - bellringer to you and there have been some funny times ringing peals over the christmas period. Hope y ou can all share some time with those you love

This thread making me cry. I can relate to so many of the memories. How I miss my parents and siblings at this time of year, also my god mother, uncle and cousins who always came to us Christmas, Easter and bank holidays. We would have such a wonderful family time. Once older members no longer here everything changes sadly 😪

I miss sitting at the kitchen table on Christmas eve plucking a large chicken with my brothers. My dad used to bring it in and we never asked where it came from. Still wonder ?!!

People who are not there! 😔

Oh Prinrose! I've just read your post. Your Christmas- time reminisces sound absolutely wonderful. Similar to my own but I bet your parents didn't argue as much my mad, volatile parents.
One memorable year we all walked out! 😶

I miss my four boy's being little and buying them the presents that they dreamed & wished for, nothing wildly expensive though!
I also miss their palpable excitement on Christmas Eve & also
their absolute joy on Christmas morning. They were never greedy or jealous of each other. They are now spread over the UK with little families of their own. If I could, I would turn back the clock & have them as babies all over again but miss -out the flipping, ruddy awful teenage years perhaps!!!! 😊

I will miss my parents as always. Mum and Dad were up at crack of dawn preparing veg, getting the fires lit and heating the oven. Mum usually went to Midnight mass so she had more time in the morning. Every vegetable on our plates was grown by Dad, the stuffings, gravy, mince pies, sausage rolls, Christmas pud and cake were all made by Mum. We often had a large chicken but I also remember small turkeys when we had a bit more money.

Mum would be singing carols as she cooked and would often have a cry as she was so homesick for her big family in Ireland. She always said it was the onions but we knew better.

After a wonderful lunch Dad and I usually did the washing up and Mum would put on her coat and furry boots and would hare off down the road to the phone box to ring whichever of her 7 siblings had a telephone. She would come back much happier and tell us their news. She usually added “maybe next year we will have our own phone.” It was many more years until we did!

We would sit around the fire, maybe take the dog for a walk, watch TV and talk about what a lovely day we had. Dad was in and out all the time putting more coal on the fire. He would remind us how lucky we were getting small gifts, having a warm house and lovely food. His own childhood was much poorer than ours and they were seldom given gifts and were lucky if they got a hot meal.

One year money was particularly tight and we got an annual each, a selection box and a handmade gift. My Dad made me a wooden dolls cot and painted it blue. I can still feel the roughness of the wood as I type this. Mum made me little sheets and a bedspread and pillows for the cot. I loved everything.

Mum used to put hot water bottles in our beds before we went up so we had warm beds, full bellies and knew we were loved.

Witzend our tree now

Being together with my parents and siblings. Mum and Dad always made the best of whatever we had, which sometimes wasn't much.
I get very low this time of year now, both parents are dead and we have all grown up - previous marriage wasn't a particularly joyful time at all let alone at Christmas.

My elder daughter

My parents and sister.

As with others, the people that are missing.

Memories of all squashing on anything you could find to sit on, chair arms, old stools elbow to elbow. Wish we had a rewind button.

The evening Christmas parties at my Grandparents. Big family get together, we all went to the pub (us kids in the family room, over - dosing on Fizzy drinks, sweets and crisps) there were 15 Grandchildren with a big age range.
Going back to Nans and Grandad's us "youngsters ' all in the front room playing records, dancing, eating huge ham sandwiches and almost black Pickled onions. It was brilliant. All of us cousins remembered it with such fondness Especially as we all miss our parents, Aunties and Uncles. They were a post war generation.

I really miss the soft, twinkly, coloured tree lights. The coloured LED ones are harsh, garish and horrible.

I miss my children and subsequently our grandchildren on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. The anticipation, the lack of sleep!

Just have to say, reading all these precious Christmas memories of ours - only hope our DGC will have their own too. So much has changed which I guess makes me feel very old indeed.

Babs03

I miss all the family that would come round to ours when I was a child. The borrowing of chairs or stools from neighbours to put round the dining table. My dad smoking a cigar. Party games and board games after dinner. Then when the adults were a bit tipsy they would move the furniture back and put a record on to dance to whilst we drank the dregs from babycham glasses and pretended to be drunk.

Exactly this 😊

The entire family piling round on Boxing Day, playing games with my cousins, and having a second tea at midnight!

I forgot the toffee on a tray, little hammer included . Had better teeth then, 😂.