CHRISTMAS PAST - WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER?

[angeldelight]

I remember my parents always buying dates :eek:

Why did they do that?

They always got thrown away straight after Christmas because no one liked them :laughing:

Still my mom kept buying them ha ha

Angel xx

[Becci26]

:laughing: :laughing:

My Nan ALWAYS bought dates! Gross, no idea why as they never got eaten! :panic:

I remember stress and arguments on Christmas day. We would always go to my Grans and dinner would always be a couple of hours late and my mum used to get sooo stressed about it!

I also remember having to wait until after lunch to open any presents (except stockings) - a killer when you dont eat until 3pm! lol - we still do this now to be honest but we let DD open one or 2 while she's waiting.

[Graham]

We used to have an apple, an orange and some nuts at the bottom of our Christmas stocking which was one of my mum's nylons :laughing:

Imagine giving the kids an orange for Christmas now. :eek:

[mama2three]

I get quite teary remembering xmas when I was little. We would go to bed on xmas eve and when we got up the next morning the house was transformed - tree , decs , cards , presents , Im sure my mum must have stayed up all night!
I have a really clear image of our sideboard with nuts and nutcrackers and snowball and babycham!
The wizard of Oz on the telly and National Velvet.
Boxing day morning on the beach watching nutters in the sea and the traditional beach football matches!

Hope my boys remember their christmases as fondly as I do.

[Toothfairy]

My Nan always bought 'EAT ME' dates and the Orange/Lemon segments. They never got eaten.

As none of us really like fruit cake, my Nan always had a Tunis Cake at Christmas (Maderia cake with a thick layer of Chocolate on the top and 3 marzipan fruits on the top). You can still get them in Tesco's and I buy one every year.

My Dad and my Grandad ALWAYS fell asleep on the sofa after Christmas lunch and Mum, Nan and us kids would plays board games.

In the evening when my sisters and I had gone to bed, my parent's and grandparents would play cards. They would play for money (only a few pence at a time!) and in the morning my sisters and I would run down stairs to hunt under the table for any money that had been dropped during the game (funny how there was always 3 x 50p's).

[Penny1959]

As a small child I can remember sit outside my parents door waiting for them to get up - me, my brother and sister - all with contents of our stockings in our hand - yes the orange - and a couple of small things like a colouring book and some crayons.

We were not allowed to wake the parents or go in the lounge until they said we could.

However even when parents up - we had to then wait while parents had their coffee, we had breakfast and got dressed before going in lounge (this might be why I encouraged my own children to wake us up - although I was often awake first - and to have some presents BEFORE breakfast)

Back to my childhood once in the lounge there would be great excitement as 3 or 4 presents each (from parents and grandparents). we then had to open a present each (in turn), fold the paper :eek: and admire the present while mother wrote on her list what we had and from whom (so we could do thank you letters). We were then expected to play with that one present until morning snack time (milk and mince pie) then we could open another present.

After lunch and the opening of last present we all went to my grandparents for tea. We were allowed into the front room (only used for special occassions) All of us kids (about 10 with the cousins) had to play quitely behind the sofa and if we didn't we were sent out to the garden - but not to play as had 'best' clothes on! and so would walk to end of long garden - then back - and by then we were happy to play quitely behind sofa or listen to the grown up talk.

Although sounds very restrictive and a bit formal - they are happy memories.

Penny :)

[Jiorjiina]

Playing with the cardboard boxes that everything came in.

Amazing.

We also got an orange in our stocking each, with a bag of chocolate coins.

[rickysmiths]

Dad ringing a bell when we were having our bath on Christmas Eve to get us to think Santa was on his way and we had to get to bed quick :rolleyes:

We had tangerines and nuts in the bottom of our stocking and I can't ever remember eating them!

On Boxing Day for breakfast we always had cold gammon with a boiled egg, I liked it better than Christmas dinner. We do this, except we have poached eggs now because dh can't stand the smell of boiled egg.

My grandparents always had a box of Newberry fruits at Christmas, jelly fruit sweets with a liquid centre, they are horrible but we all had to have one to be polite!

[Dragonfly]

we always had dates, and now i buy them! I like them and i also make date slice with them.
Remember trying to stay awake all night, was never able to.Seeing my parents putting presents in my stocking and them telling me they were just looking:eek: :laughing:

[candy cat]

lots of presents and always one that said 'TO SHARE!!!' :) I lost my dad 4 months ago .....my kids have bee spoilt rotton this year as I remember the wonderful Christmas' we had and my parents were not well off, just saved like crazy so we had a good Christmas x

[Carol M]

Christmas at Granny and Grandpa's was magical.
I was so excited I had to sleep on a camp bed in the lounge by the Christmas tree.
We always had presents in pillowcases and money in little Christmas envelopes on the tree.
Grandpa's Christmas pud was delicious and we would find a silver sixpence in it.
I also remember the milk jellies that Granny made in little copper jelly moulds.
I wish Christmas could be so carefree now, I never wanted to grow up anyway.
Carol xx

[cherry]

We always had a present on Christmas eve so that we didn't get over excited and not sleep but to this day I don't know how my Mum did it.

I can't remember her disappearing upstairs to put the present on our beds.

We would all be sitting watching the tele and she would say " Listen, was that a noise I heard upstairs", and we would run upstairs to find a small gift on our bed.

Sadly she's no longer with us but I love that memory :)

[PixiePetal]

so many great memories of Christmas :)

Nan and grandad used to stay on Christmas eve. Grandad put his trilby hat on the coat peg in the hall. We all had to share a bedroom (4 kids) so nan and grandad could have a room for themselves. After grandad died when I was 5 or 6, nan came and shared a room with my sister and I. We used to watch her getting ready for bed and count the layers she removed :laughing: she took ages chewing her sprouts at lunch and got into trouble with mum once for wanting to watch national velvet with my sister when we were going to eat one year - almighty row :laughing:

presents in pillowcases, pick and mix from woolies - all 4 of us were sent out with as much money as mum could save and get what we liked. Eldest sister held the purse strings on that trip.

Doing Christmas plays for mum, dad and nan. I hated singing so mumbled along :o

Church first thing - 8.30am or 9.30 a bit further away as we got older.

Mum said we could have a real tree one year if we got it! younger brother and I got it in mums shopping trolley - and came the long way home so no friends would see us with the trolley :laughing: I now have a trolley all the time :laughing:

Dad always asked for 'peace and quiet' for Christmas. Now he is no longer alive I miss his boring predictable answer to 'what would you like for Christmas'. We always bought him Mars bars too - which he shared by cutting them up into slices.

mums trifle - and one for me with just swiss roll, tinned strawberries and juice with dream topping - don't like cream or custard:o

I could go on forever....................

[PixiePetal]

My Nan always bought 'EAT ME' dates and the Orange/Lemon segments. They never got eaten.

As none of us really like fruit cake, my Nan always had a Tunis Cake at Christmas (Maderia cake with a thick layer of Chocolate on the top and 3 marzipan fruits on the top). You can still get them in Tesco's and I buy one every year.

My Dad and my Grandad ALWAYS fell asleep on the sofa after Christmas lunch and Mum, Nan and us kids would plays board games.

In the evening when my sisters and I had gone to bed, my parent's and grandparents would play cards. They would play for money (only a few pence at a time!) and in the morning my sisters and I would run down stairs to hunt under the table for any money that had been dropped during the game (funny how there was always 3 x 50p's).

DH always had Tunis cake but for the past couple of years we have had trouble getting any :eek:

We played bingo for few pence stake each on Boxing day when mum and dads friends and their son came over - like family to us.

mum did a raffle with tickets being earned throughout Dec - loved this.

[Bear23]

We always had a present on Christmas eve so that we didn't get over excited and not sleep but to this day I don't know how my Mum did it.

I can't remember her disappearing upstairs to put the present on our beds.

We would all be sitting watching the tele and she would say " Listen, was that a noise I heard upstairs", and we would run upstairs to find a small gift on our bed.

Sadly she's no longer with us but I love that memory :)

That brought a tear to my eye, think i'm gonna do that this year

[jane5]

I used to look forward to all of the films on the tv.

I used to underline all the things I wanted to watch in the tv and radio times.

Now a days with sky and dvds we have always seen any films on so its not the same.:(

I like the christmas specials though :)

[onceinabluemoon]

I remember my parents always buying dates :eek:

Why did they do that?

They always got thrown away straight after Christmas because no one liked them :laughing:

Still my mom kept buying them ha ha

Angel xx

OMW my mum did this too, although my dad did eventually eat them but ugh they were foul things!! (And why on earth did they kept trying to get me and my sister to eat them telling us they were nice? YUCK!!!!)

[miss mopple]

Waking up on Christmas morning at dark o clock and gathering in my older sisters attic room with my 4 sisters and opening our pressies that were on the end of our beds and playing there til mum and dad woke up

Dates were always a must here too- yuck!

My dad sitting with a bowl of nuts and a nut cracker, giving it his all to crack the toughest ones :laughing: with a glass of red by his side.

Pyjamas on the bed delivered by santas elves on christmas eve ( I still do this with my girls :) )

A big tree and LOADS of tinsel and ceiling decs (that would horrify me if I had to put them up in my house these days but I loved them then :laughing: )

Unfortunately I also have memories of a few not so nice Christmasses where divorce was overshadowing them but we won't go into that as Christmas is supposed to be a happy time :thumbsup:

[The Juggler]

:laughing: :laughing: dates at ours too, plus those disgusting cheesy balls (crispy/wafer things with like primula stuff inside - yukky) but also chocolate oranges - mmmmmmmmmmmmm


going out carol singing door to door collecting for charity- does anyone do that anymore???:( we had some teenagers the other night, gave em a pound and asked who they were collecting for. Teh reply 'dunno'. guess it was for them then :panic: :panic:

[FussyElmo]

My dad always cooked breakfast on christmas morning :thumbsup:

[Tink]

I usedto have to go for a wee, to check he had been:laughing:
I would then go wake up my sister and go wake up Mum and Dad.

Dad would go down stairs first and slightly open the door, we would then burst through and not go for the presents but check Santa had eaten his mince pie, drunk his drink and that Rudlof had eaten his carrot.
There would be snowy footprints across the kitchen floor where Santa had been!!!

After opening a few presents we would stop for bacon sandwiches :clapping:

I LOVE CHRISTMAS

[angeldelight]

I usedto have to go for a wee, to check he had been:laughing:
I would then go wake up my sister and go wake up Mum and Dad.

Dad would go down stairs first and slightly open the door, we would then burst through and not go for the presents but check Santa had eaten his mince pie, drunk his drink and that Rudlof had eaten his carrot.
There would be snowy footprints across the kitchen floor where Santa had been!!!

After opening a few presents we would stop for bacon sandwiches :clapping:

I LOVE CHRISTMAS

We would always stop for a bacon sandwich too :clapping: :laughing:

Angel xx

[charleyfarley]

[QUOTE=rickysmiths;1024094]Dad ringing a bell when we were having our bath on Christmas Eve to get us to think Santa was on his way and we had to get to bed quick :rolleyes:

We do that now for our children and Santa leaves a little gift outside the front door for them.

I remember the Eat Me dates and the Figs too :panic: wasn't Christmas without them even though they sat there forever :laughing:

I also remember my Nans minces pies, the best ever :clapping: :clapping: Oh and a buffet and trifle for tea, something we never have now.

Carol xx

[angeldelight]

[QUOTE=rickysmiths;1024094]Dad ringing a bell when we were having our bath on Christmas Eve to get us to think Santa was on his way and we had to get to bed quick :rolleyes:

We do that now for our children and Santa leaves a little gift outside the front door for them.

I remember the Eat Me dates and the Figs too :panic: wasn't Christmas without them even though they sat there forever :laughing:

I also remember my Nans minces pies, the best ever :clapping: :clapping: Oh and a buffet and trifle for tea, something we never have now.

Carol xx

Do dates and figs taste the same, I have never really known :laughing:

Angel xx