Memories of Christmas past.

[rich p]

Much like everyone else; sore tongue from licking paper chains, chinese lanterns and they hadn't invented satsumas, they were all known as tangerines

 

[mr_hippo]

I suspect that many of us have searched the house to find Mum & Dad's hiding places. My youngest brother had started school and Mum got a part-time job - things were improving, we had moved up from Co-op Red Seal margarine (just a bit better than lard) to Silver Seal which was not much better!
Mum & Dad were both out working and I searched the usual hiding places and guess what I found? An electric train set! Wow, this would be the best Christmas ever! I went to bed on Christmas Eve dreaming about my train set. I woke up in the morning and there it was...missing! It turned out that my train set was not mine but my Dad was asked by a friend of his to hide it so that his son would not find it in their house.

 

[Aperitif]

That's a tough one...even train sets were delayed...

richp brings back the chinese lantern memory - I wish I had the originals now - class stuff.
My dog Bobby had a penchant for lametta - the glittery foil 'spaghetti' that adorned the tree...his seasonal poos were similarly bedecked

Arthur the milkman used to be delivering about 3am - dedication. And cards arrived allthe time, with the student postpeople wearing their official armbands.

 

[Stick on a Giant]

I remember, aged about 5, finding the pilow case of presents at the foot of the bed and being unable to contain my excitement, opening them all at about 5am, rather than waiting for everyone to get us, as we were supposed to. And then getting lots of grief as my parents tried to match the pressies to the ripped wrapping paper so that they could make sure my 'Thank you'* letters thanked the right people for the right presents!

* Have 'thank you' notes dissappeared from the young these days? We always had to write them at Xmas and birthdays, now, half our nieces & nephews don't even managed a phone call to say thanks. Oh well, that'll make their birthdays cheaper next year...

 

[Arch]

I remember, aged about 5, finding the pilow case of presents at the foot of the bed and being unable to contain my excitement, opening them all at about 5am, rather than waiting for everyone to get us, as we were supposed to. And then getting lots of grief as my parents tried to match the pressies to the ripped wrapping paper so that they could make sure my 'Thank you'* letters thanked the right people for the right presents!

* Have 'thank you' notes dissappeared from the young these days? We always had to write them at Xmas and birthdays, now, half our nieces & nephews don't even managed a phone call to say thanks. Oh well, that'll make their birthdays cheaper next year...

My Mum is a very organised sort of person, and she would keep a running list for thankyous as we opened our presents. We were very restrained children, and the family sat down to open presents after breakfast, taking it in turns to open one that was for us.

Always felt a bit sad, in the latter years of my Gran's life, as she 'ran out' of presents before us...

We had stockings too, for before breakfast, one of my Dad's old socks each. I remember the year we each got a tiny little mouse toy (a little felt mouse in a frilly dress), and Mum had put mine right at the bottom of the sock, with its tiny little head sticking out of the hole in the toe....