Christmas is the time of year that memories come flooding back. Of good Christmases and bad, hopefully the good outweighing the bad. We have had many and all of them hold a place in our hearts.
Our Christmas Piggies always used to make me smile when we lived in Wales, and this photo reminds me of the many family get togethers at Christmas time, with food being laid out buffet style so that there was no pressure for anyone to arrive at set times.
I saw this photo on social media and it reminded me immediately of the year me and my brother got a mesh stocking each in the mid-sixties. The first year they were filled with the plastic toys that they had come with, which I thought was brilliant. Then in subsequent years my Mum and Dad filled them with little toys and things that they had bought specially for the stockings. But as a child I had loved the plastic 'tat' of the first year the best. 😄
Each year we would get a selection box, always a real treat to have all those lovely sweets all at once. Oh how I loved Spangles. Look at the prices in this image, we were obviously just into decimalisation!
Me and my brother posing with our presents in the late 1960s. We opened everything in our bedroom and then later had to put everything under the tree for a photo opportunity ... my Dad loved his camera. It also kept us out of the way while Mum cooked the Christmas dinner in the tiny kitchen/living/dining room.
We lived in just three rooms for the first thirteen years of my life, while I think of them as reasonably happy years my Mum's memories were always very different. But I do remember the stress she felt, the anger of cooking a full dinner and my brother refusing to eat any vegetables. So when I had children of my own I always made sure that they shared the preparation in some small way and shared in every part of Christmas Day ... I do hope they have good memories of that time.
It's lovely to have time to think about Christmases past, be they good, bad or indifferent they were all a turning point in the year and a very special celebration.
A little smile for Christmas Eve.
Sue xx
Oh! Those selection boxes. I'd forgotten about them. I loved spangles too.
ReplyDeleteI'm an only child and both my parent's were emotionally unavailable so Christmas was never special. My maternal grandmother was the most loving person in my life. She died when I was ten. She bought me twin dolls with beautiful, auburn hair. I can see them now, in my minds eye. I felt so special, getting them.
I have three children and made Christmas as wonderful as I could for them. They say they have lovely memories.
This year will be very quiet. We aren't hosting as my dad could have a medical emergency and the thought of dumping Christmas in the middle of dinner to call an ambulance isn't worth the risk. We shall still have a nice meal and enjoy our time together.
May I wish you the happiest of Christmases, Sue and thank you for your blog. Xx
Our Christmas is going to be a very quiet one too, for similar reasons to yours. My son and his fiancé came for a short visit to ours, but as Mum is in a hospital that's rife with flu he couldn't risk visiting her too. It was nice to see them though.
DeleteWishing you all the very best for Christmas, I hope you have a peaceful day. 🎄
What a lovely photograph of the two of you in your best clothes surrounded by your presents. Your mum must have been tearing her hair trying to do a full Christmas dinner if you just had the one room downstairs with all the excitement around her.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the memories
Yes, we just lived in the three downstairs rooms of my Nana's house. We weren't allowed in the kitchen until Christmas dinner was on the table and then we had to go back into our bedroom to play immediately after while she and Dad cleared up. Then it was always the Queen's Speech and Billy Smart's Circus, watched in silence as she hated circus music. Haha, slightly strange memories. :-)
DeleteSome lovely memories there. And always a selection box from at least one Auntie for me too and an Annual from Grandma.
ReplyDeleteMy memories are mostly sad now as there is always someone missing and further back my Mum hated it all and was often stressed .
I shall ask my family what memories they have of when they were small.
Oh yes there was always an annual, usually Rupert the Bear for me and then as I got older I got a Bunty annual instead. Yes, it seems as though there is always one more missing person each Christmas doesn't it.
DeleteI asked my boys individually what they remembered about our Christmases and they both said Schloer to drink, a Viennetta for dessert, eating too much chocolate and a compulsory walk along the beach no matter what the weather and then visiting their Gran and Grandad. They didn't mention any of the presents they got, just the time with family.
That poem is so fun!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I LOVED the selection boxes- they were SUCH a desired treat! Even to this day,I get excited if I receive one!!! I LOVED our young Christmases but my favourite thing of all was going to my Godmother's house for a CHristmas eve high tea! A lovely buffet and fun games!!
That sounds like a magical time for you.
DeleteWe always had a buffet style tea on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, only my Dad called it a 'running buffet' ... cue much running around the room by me and my brother and us getting told off. :-)
We keep Christmas simply, just the two of us. No excess shopping and no waste. We are having a small pork joint much like any Sunday roast, with plenty of seasonal vegetables.
ReplyDeleteWe all helped with Christmas preparations when we were young, laying the table, peeling potatoes, and the washing up, it used to be expected of children.
I used to expect my boys to set the table from a very young age, it helped them feel involved. Whoever set the table, the other one helped with the clearing away after the meal. Their friends used to be asked to do it to when they came for tea, and weirdly they all enjoyed it and didn't have to be asked after the first couple of visits.
DeleteSounds like you have some very special memories of your Christmases while growing up. I'm sorry your Mum was so stressed preparing Christmas dinner, though.
ReplyDeleteShe found much of life stressful, sadly. She put far too much pressure on herself and could never relax into anything. I think I am so laid back because she was so wound up. I take after my Dad and my brother takes after Mum, which was very well balanced when Dad was still with us.
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