Thursday 19 December 2013

Christmases Past.

                                                                                                   
                                       

Christmas is a very nostalgic time for me; my most poignant memories going back to the early 1950's.

Now that my parents are no longer with us (and haven't been since the 1980's), I find myself looking back to those wonderful Christmases of times past. No TV, carol singing with friends, and making endless paper chains in the kitchen.

Christmas was always pleasantly chaotic. My mother bought far too many presents (not that we complained), far too big a Turkey (up to 14 kilos), and far too much food in general (post-war siege mentality).

My parents also threw classic Cocktail Parties with cheese-n-pineapple on sticks, Black Sobranie cigarettes, and huge bowls of fruity spiced punch. We, of course, could only listen to the revelries from the upstairs landing; but we enjoyed them anyway.

And, can you believe it, we even had actual lit candles on the Christmas tree! The candles (a bit like cake candles) fitted into clip-on tin plate holders; the fire hazard must have been appalling, although no-one mentioned that at the time.

Christmas morning was without question the most exciting moment of the whole year.

If I had a time machine, I would set the dial to 9am on the 25th of December 1952; I would have been 6, and life would have been just PERFECT.

                                               

26 comments:

  1. Ah those were the days - we always spent Christmas at my grandparents house - singing carols round the piano, playing blow football on the dining table oh it's all coming back - now everyone seems to spend the whole time watching t.v.

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  2. All of your memories are my memories Cro …….. as are the memories of many of our age. Christmas morning when that empty pillow case that you left at the end of your bed on Christmas Eve was now full to the brim with presents, none of which were very expensive but were absolutely wonderful !! Along with games, Jacko skates and jacks, I always remember the chocolate tool set that we ate at 6.00 a.m and the chocolate was really soapy but we loved it !!
    ……. and, along with the cheese and pineapple and pink gin at those parties our parents had, were cheesy footballs !!! Do you remember those ? XXXX

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    1. Yes, I do remember those cheesy footballs. Instead of the tool set, I always had a licorice smokers set (pipes, cigs, etc); they didn't last long!

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    2. Oh Cro ….. I remember those ….. the pipe had red hundreds and thousands on it. I think we alternated each Christmas between the tool set and the smokers set !! XXXX

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  3. I would have been 7 and 3 months on that date. I certainly remember making those paper chains and also I am sure we had the clip on tin candle holders, but can't remember candles being lit on a tree ( which would have been an artificial one) My husband used to sit at the top of the stairs listening to his parents' parties at New Year, but my family were not the type to invite people round..I don't even remember neighbours coming in for a cuppa!It was probably that 1952 Xmas my father painted a second hand 2 wheeler bike red for my present. I was delighted. He also made me a dolls' pram and a wooden scooter in earlier years. Money was scarce!

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    1. Oh Frances ….. our Dad painted my sisters bike maroon and mine turquoise { both second hand } and there they were on Christmas morning, under the tree …. I LOVED that bike !
      I think that I shall just hang around Magnons Meanderings and reminisce all day !! XXXX

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    2. I had my first re-painted red bike when I was about 8. It had a removable cross-bar, so could be either a boy's or a girl's. It seemed as if I travelled the world on that bike, especially on fishing trips to Farmer Bell's pond. Parents wouldn't allow that today (or the s/h bike).

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    3. Did either of you have sugar mice and chocolate coins in your stockings? Mum always got those, and carried the tradition of the coins on for years for my boys, but at some point Terry's Choc Oranges became the gift of choice, and I carry that on for anyone here on Xmas Day….2 bigs sons and one girlfriend this yr... ( and a husband!)

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  4. Yes, the chocolate smokers set was usually there, as well as a sock containing as apple, an orange, a few nuts and a half-crown.

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  5. Nicely remembered
    Some of what you write resonated with me
    Christmas of the baby boomers

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  6. Paper chains yes. Candles on tree yes - lit on Christmass Eve, Christmas Day ans before the tree was taken down. My fathert would stand with a nappy bucket full of water in case everything went up in flames...Cocktail parties yes, too much food yes. This was ealy 1960s in an army quater either at Larkhill or Shrivenham.

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  7. If we are fortunate, we have wonderful memories of our childhood Christmases. We did not have the over-abundances of today, but they were wonderful. My dad always took a second job working at night so that we could have presents. He was the kindest man I have ever known.

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  8. Thruppeny sherbert fountains, I loved those.

    For me it was Christmas in the Black Forest and wandering wide eyed around the Christmas markets.

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  9. You can still buy Threepenny Sherbet Fountains; they now cost 2 quid.

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    1. Blimey! And here's me complaining at having to pay the equivalent of ten shillings for a packet of cigarettes!

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  10. Lovely memories now Cro - bygone Christmases were so different to now x

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  11. I know exactly how you feel Cro....life is good now but those were golden days. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  12. My parents also passed in the 1980's, and i have thought a bit about my Christmases as a youngster. We had electric lights on the tree, made paper chains in school which my mother dutifully hung someplace, and my father would throw in the bin the first chance he got.

    We always trimmed our tree on Christmas Eve, and the one year we did it on the 20th, it just felt wrong.

    My aunt and cousins lived across the street, and every year, they'd come over and see us after they'd opened their presents (Auntie J allowed her kids to get up earlier to open their presents than my parents). They'd ooh and aah over what we got, then we'd troop over to their house so we could see what they got. Always in our pajamas, snow boots, and winter coats. It was the only time we ever paraded outside the house in our pajamas, and no one cared.

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  13. We used to have the extended family for Chrstmas Day tea - second cousins, great aunts and uncles, everone! So many that there had to be two sittings - I don't know how my mum managed it!! The children would always put on a play, organised by my older sister - I remember one was a mummers play, from a Jackdaw set about the Middle Ages. Do you remember the Jackdaw sets - folders full of facsimile documents on a theme, such as the Guy Fawkes plot, or Queen Elizabeth I. I loved them...!

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    1. No, I'm afraid 'Jackdaw Sets' must have passed me by. We did organise a few shows, but they were always a bit disorganised.

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  14. My mother was never a shopper, she would have us order things out of catalog and that way they would come wrapped for her as well. But they had been fun times that I will remember.

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  15. We had real candles on our christmas tree too and only lit them on Christmas eve just before us kids went to bed to light the way for Father Christmas to find his way to deliver the presents, often home made and always appreciated! Here's wishing you a Christmas season of equally good future memories!
    KJ

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  16. Thought it was about time I started reading and commenting on YOUR blog!
    The Christmas picture reminds me of Ladybird books. I remember those metal clip on candle holders, which were always in the box of decorations but never used. I guess by the time I was 6 - in 1961 - people were realising that they might be a teeny bit dangerous.

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    1. I quite expect it IS from a Ladybird book. It certainly has that look!

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  17. Lovely memories ~ and yes! real candles.

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  18. We were talking about the lit candles on the tree just the other day. From memory they were left alight even when everyone left the room.

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