Wednesday 13 December 2017

Christmases Past.


                          
                                       
My earliest memories of Christmas are from our, then, newly built home in my native Lingfield, Surrey.

My father had designed the house (above) on the back of an envelope; this envelope was then passed to our local architect, a Mrs Swann, who straightened all the lines, and re-organised the plumbing so that nothing overflowed into the kitchen sink, etc. The resulting house was attractive, roomy and comfortable. It also came with about half an acre of garden; maybe more.

Like so many houses, it had a large sitting room that was rarely used. We ate, and relaxed, either in the breakfast room or the dining room. However at Christmas the sitting room became the focus of our attention.

For children Christmas is the biggest and best day of the year; bigger even than birthdays. The food, the presents, and the excitement of the big day outdid all others.

My mother loved buying and spending, and she usually overdid the amount of presents we received. I don't think we were 'spoilt', but the pure number of presents was always overwhelming. She loved to see an excessively large pile under the tree. She would even wrap a single pencil.

There was always a proper fresh cut tree, decorated with glass baubles, tinsel, and small lit candles set in clip-on tin holders. The rooms were festooned with paper chains, made at the breakfast room table by my sister and I, licking foul tasting glue on specially bought multi-coloured strips of paper; something that would probably be seen as 'child abuse' today.

My mother's love of excess also ran to her choice of the annual Turkey, they would weigh anything up to 27 lbs; huge monsters that would often have to be trimmed to fit into our average sized cooker. No freezers in those days so everything had to be assembled one or two days before the big event. My enduring memories of those early Christmases are of cooking, cooking, and more cooking. We spent our days watching intently as the essential Mrs Belton and mother prepared all the delicacies.

The days after Christmas were dedicated to eating the left-over Turkey in as many varied ways as possible; the sign of an adventurous and frugal cook. When I hear of people these days who 'bin' the remains of their Turkey after their Christmas Day lunch; I despair.

Letter writing began on the 27th. Every aunt and uncle had to receive an individual letter, thanking them for the awful tie or pair of gloves they'd sent. Extended family never seemed to have an ounce of good taste; so much stuff just got 'put away'.

When our own children were young we always did much as my people had. There was never a shortage of presents, food, or decorations. They now continue the excess with their own broods.

Even here, with just the two of us, I shall make sure that everything is done correctly. There'll be no cutting corners whilst I'm still around, even though our Turkey will only weigh around 4.5 Kilos (I've already ordered it).

My people sold our Lingfield house back in 1960, and moved down to the South coast. I missed it hugely; so many good memories.




47 comments:

  1. Nice memories. In these days of excess in so I areas, I feel Christmas has been on a bit of diet,perhaps not a bad thing.

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    1. I've always tried to limit the amount of gifts to just one or two GOOD ones.

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  2. Oh what wonderful memories Cro. Your mother and my father would've been quite the pair. In the 60's when I was a child he'd put us all to bed, wait thirty minutes or so then climb up on our roof and stomp around yelling Ho Ho Ho. Scared the crap out of us every time! Then of course we'd open our gifts, and listen to him tell us how we missed Santa but at least he left us some gifts. Mom would make breakfast about 2 am and we'd all fall asleep in the living room, including my dad. Miss him. Oh do I miss him.

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    1. That sounds wonderful, although you wouldn't want to stamp about too much on our 300 year old roof! I always miss my people at Christmas; there's something so special about it.

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  3. Beautifully written Cro. I have lovely memories too. We still all get together at Christmas, with my brother's and sister's family their children with grandchildren in my mum's home, to celebrate. The only difference today is that some gifts come is small envelopes...just not the same magic!
    Greetings Maria x

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    1. I wish we could do that too, but the world is a different place today. Our children use the planet as a playground, and live where they find life most to their liking. I suppose they get that from me!

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  4. I don't like the look of whatever has been done to the house. Looks like it has been doubled in size.

    Not quite sure how many for Christmas yet. 6 definite (all family) and another three possibles at present.

    I often think of the little candles on the tree - when I mention it here people are astounded that we had real candles.

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    1. Someone has added a bit to the back; it makes the place look awkward. The original design was much better.

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  5. A wonderful description of our family xmases. We also had loads of presents and food and have of course carried it on here but for the last ten years the presents have been sized down .

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    1. We hardly know what to give each other these days. Food is probably best as it doesn't last to take up space!

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    2. Ours to each other is usually a bottle of our favourite tipple, something special.

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  6. I think your post beautifully describes Christmas in those days if one was lucky enough to have a happy childhood. I can still remember one or two of our tree decorations which came out every year, but of course as they were made of glass in those days they did eventually get broken. My mother was a super cook and our goose was always cooked to perfection. Thanks for the reminders.

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    1. I think I still have one or two of those of old very fine glass baubles. They were so delicate. Mine are in a loft somewhere in Brighton. Part of the enjoyment was seeing them come out again each year.

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  7. That shook the cobwebs away from some dusty old cabinets in my skull....
    "Licking foul tasting glue on specially bought multi-coloured strips of paper"...
    your mum didn't buy "Butterfly Brand" from Woolies, then....
    they tasted quite nice.

    "The days after Christmas were dedicated to eating the left-over Turkey in as many varied ways as possible...."
    Turkey and ham on boxing day.... with a fresh salad [aka soggy green leaves with Heinz Salad Cream]
    Turkey cranberry sauce and mustard sandwiches [and those soggy green leaves]
    Turkey and mushroom vol-au-vents [and a break from those soggy green leaves]
    A selection of cold meats on a plate with fresh bread and MORE SOGGY GREEN LEAVES!!
    Turkey Supreme...aka turkey and ham chunks in a white sauce served up with SOGGY rice.
    That last turkey meal was occasionally an English-style curry with some turkey in with the veg and RAISINS!!
    That was it... almost... the remaining turkey and ham went into a huge, hand raised pie for the New Year's Day party...
    my parents always had this "event" and the reason escapes me!!
    The amount of turkey and ham left after the making of the pie dictated supreme or curry!
    And, into the first week in January... THE SOUP!
    Yes, the almost picked clean skeleton of the turkey and the ham bone...
    along with added onions, carrots, celery, seasoning, etc....
    were boiled forever on top of the stove... I think she tried to dissolve the bones...
    she certainly managed to make sure the cartilage vanished!!

    Those "we'll never use them" presents got, as you phrase it, "put away" by Mum...
    with a firmly attached label that said who they were from...
    just so that they weren't given to the giver the next year!!
    The frugal Fifties, indeed!!

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    1. I think you've just about summed it up. My father always made the curry (gawd knows why, he never cooked otherwise), and the raisins were there too. I still do much the same today; Turkey casserole, curry, soup, sandwiches, etc. Christmas wouldn't be the same without it all.

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    2. Curry with raisins, what memories! I boil our carcase slowly for many hours. The turkey soup is thickened Greek style with eggs and lemon juice. A family favourite now.
      Wonderful post Cro,

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    3. The Turkey soup is almost my favourite bit.

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  8. Christmas was the same for us .... so exciting. we had a pillow case and it was filled to the brim, not with anything overly expensive but we loved each little present. Games, chocolate tool kit { the chocolate was soapy but always delicious at 5.00 a.m.} paints, paintbrushes etc.etc.
    .... and, like you, the turkey soup was my favourite and still is. Lots of people buy just a turkey crown nowadays but you have to have a whole turkey. It makes for a moist bird and for the bones for the soup !!! I just hope that our children and grandchildren have the same memories that we had as children. I think they do. XXXX

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    1. One of my sons always has Goose (there's nothing on them), my other son is veggie, and my daughter in Oz probably throws a few Prawns on the Barbie. But they still have a good time; just different.

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  9. I think your house looks great, and all the better for not being designed by an architect. I can just see him scribbling on the envelope, then saying to himself, "Maybe another wing here... and here...and here..."

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    1. He did literally design it on the back of an envelope. One of the wings was added later (not by us); the bit on the extreme left.

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    2. I thought that looked unbalanced....

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    3. Father wouldn't have been happy!

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  10. I liked it because it started on Christmas Eve and went to Boxing Day and that was it and then everybody went back to work although on the farm we did what we had to do all through of course. My mum cooked a turkey for Christmas Day and a ham for Boxing Day. There would be a turkey casserole for the days after Christmas which would bubble away on the Rayburn. The day after Boxing Day we would be sat down at the table with the Basildon Bond and write the thank you letters.

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    1. There you are; all much the same. We have the ham on Christmas Eve, but otherwise identical.

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  11. This was a wonderful read over my morning coffee. Thank you Cro! Merry Christmas to you and your family! ❤ 🎄

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    1. Thank you Jennifer. I'm pleased that your new job (and social work) have gone so well for you this year. Keep it up!

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  12. Family stories, family traditions, and memories are the best part of Christmas. I love your’s, Cro.

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    1. Christmas is a time for reflection; at least it is for me.

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  13. Good for your mother; raising you up proper.

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    1. She did. NO wastage in our house, and we had all our own vegs, fruit, hens, etc.

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  14. Thank you so much for the wonderful memories that I read over my morning coffee.
    I love to hear about Family traditions handed down.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year.... it wasn't always thus. I wonder what happened?

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  15. Enjoyed your post. Christmas is our big celebration even though our daughter is grown. She always comes home for it and we do it in style.

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    1. We shall be with our children and grandchildren via Skype.

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  16. We always skated on Christmas Eve and then on to midnight mass.. Christmas when we were young were much leaner but still turkey, mandarin oranges and baking. I still do that. One year my grandfather was on strike(and it was a long cold one) but it turned out to be one of the best. Simpler but we all received
    present and boy were we grateful. I always remember that year.

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    1. I should have said nice post and Merry Christmas!

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    2. Not sure about the skating, but I'd love the midnight mass. I usually go to sleep and miss it.

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    3. Did you live with Grandfather Jane?

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    4. Yes, my grandparents raised my brother and I. We were fortunate they could. He was a welder by trade.

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  17. I remember so many great Christmas's as a child. As a mom, I remember trying so hard to make Christmas great for my kids too.Seems like every generation adds a couple of new traditions and drops a few too.

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    1. With our own children, it was always a bit chaotic. The tree was always too big, too many presents (some found months later), and loads of their friends turning up. That's how I expect they'll remember them.

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  18. Your Christmas memories are really lovely and I thank you for sharing. That house, well it looks very festive with the colour scheme and it seems large and rambling to me, just the thing for a family. It's beautiful.
    I grew up in an unhappy home and those feelings are always felt the strongest at Christmas: the truth revealed. I remember some very miserable Christmas holidays and as a child it was so desolate, so disappointing.
    However I love Christmas and I really love all of the decorating, presents, food and drink. My kids know that I'm more excited than anyone to be spending Christmas with them, with my happy family. I hope that when they are older they will have memories as you do of their holidays! x

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    1. Dani, it always makes me very sad to hear of children who've not had the pleasure of a good happy home. It really doesn't take much for parents to be nice to their children. Christmas isn't about how much money we have, but about 'Love'; and that should be available to every child. I wish you a really happy time with your own children, I'm sure they'll have wonderful memories. Cro x

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  19. My Christmas memories pale in comparison to yours, and yet they're always playing in the background of my thoughts. I was born in 1939 and remember Christmases during the War when my Dad was overseas in the U.S. Navy. We lived in a four-room upstairs cold water flat, our heat for two of the rooms from a kerosene kitchen range. But oh my - there was always a fresh green tree and lots of unwrapped presents under it for the four of us, ordered from the Sears Roebuck catalog. There was always a delicious turkey dinner on the day - kind of plain compared to your English specialties. I can't imagine anything better than Mom's stuffing, though. Just lately my brother reminded me of the after-Christmas visits to our grandmother where the turkey carcass was placed in the middle of the oilcloth-covered kitchen table, and everyone sat around picking the meat off the bones. With the Great Depression fresh in everyone's minds, I know Grandma cooked the bones the next day!

    Thank you for your memories. They really are roses in December, aren't they!

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