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[dazned]

Someone touched on this in another topic.
So what we're your past Christmas dinner experiences.


My Christmas day consisted of not being able to get up until mum and dad had lit the coal fire as this was the only heating in the house !    Looking back now think it was an excuse for them to have a quiet cuppa 

Then the sharing out of presents and much gaiety and wonderment ensued until 1 o'clock when lunch was served. This despite as others have said it's just Sunday roast was special to me ,in those days we only had Turkey and trimmings at Christmas,sprouts were only a winter veg.This was followed by the Christmas pudding and custard and always a shiny sixpence for me ! We had little oranges in colourful,shiny tin foil,nuts for cracking in the afternoon. Special because you only had them at Christmas ,now everything's available all year round !  Then at tea time we all Sat down to tinned red salmon,tinned prawns (no deep freeze in our house until much later ) salad,cold turkey,celery,again all special because of seasonality. Then mincepies or cake,then the evenings tv Morecambe and Wise etc.
I really miss the innocence and magic of those Christmases and although today's kids have sooooo much more they really miss out on soooo much I think .

What was your day like ?   

[Ju Ju]

I remember being allowed to get out of bed one evening to see all the paper decorations and Christmas tree in the living room. Such wonderment! And my dads sock with nuts, fruit, some sweets, paper, crayons, scissors etc inside. I felt so rich!

[Dulciana]

My most abiding childhood Christmas memory is not of dinners, as such, but rather the combined smell of little boxes of dolly mixtures hanging on real Christmas trees - I can still remember the smell to this day.  Aaahh!!   (We haven't had a real tree for as long as we've been in our flat, even though our lounge has a very high ceiling - Hubby doesn't want pine needles all down the stair when we put it out.   Humph...)

[Joyce]

Remember very little of Christmas as a child. I remember getting a pram when I was about 2 or 3. At about 7 I got a nurse's outfit & at 8 my first watch. My brother bought me a Pinky & Perky record once too.

As for what the day was like I don't have a clue sadly. No photos were taken either, so no memories from them either. I have always tried to make it memorable for our kids though.

[Dulciana]

Oh, I've just remembered - bread sauce.  We always had bread sauce with our turkey!   ..........and brandy butter with the Christmas pud.   

[getting_old]

I always had to wait for my Dad to check that Santa had been 
then we'd all get up and open our presents, then off to church followed by a Christmas lunch turkey, carrots, sprouts, roasties and mash, followed by Christmas pud with the sixpence brightly wrapped after someone managed to eat it one year!!
Tea was more of a supper and usually cold turkey sandwiches and Christmas cake, then we'd have tinned red salmon on Boxing Day as a break from turkey.
I definitely agree with your comment about the kids today having so much Dazned. There's a lot to be said for simple pleasures and just spending time with your loved ones. These days DH and I tend to take a trip over Christmas so we've often just had sandwiches in a chilly ski lodge, although if we've rented a house DH insists we buy a turkey and have it for dinner.

[CLKD]

I HATED it then and I hate it now 

I remember suddenly being thrust into a crowd of relatives, only seen at C.mas .  Lots of food.  Lots of people ill including me …… ear ache, gut problems, Scarlatinna ……… relatives would toss me into the air but they were strangers to me  no wonder my gut clenched immediately.

At least 14/20 round the table ……. dog getting trodden on and yelping    …….. 'sacks' were opened in our parents' bed then a walk so that the mums and aunties cooked dinner, then after lunch all the men folk had a sleep before we could open the family gifts.  After turkey with the trimmings - home made sauces and puds no bought in those days  plus last year's C.mas puddings with brandy sauce or brandy custard - I remember the cousins all having custard without brandy    ….. might have numbed the whole day for me.  In the evening there was C.mas cake, cups of tea, very rarely coffee - the adults would have liquors. 

Anyone remember brawn    with home made pickles.

[CLKD]

I do remember the big C.mas tree at 1 house, much bigger than Dad brought in each year  and I remember the dogs helping themselves to the chocolate 'santas' etc. from the bottom branches and leaving silver paper over the house …….. and they weren't ill  .  C.mas crackers, silly hats anyone ?  Coal fires.  I remember the adults laughing and I remember one year the TV broke down on C.mas Eve - it was worse, seeing it sitting blank in the corner than not having 1 at all 

I remember people singing carols at the doors from mid-December, in fact I went along with the Choir when I was in School. 

[dazned]

Even tough there is just me and DH I do get all nostalgic at this time of year I'm afraid. But we will be going out for 5 nights with the charity Santa float complete with carols and Christmas songs door knocking and bucket rattling ,it's a great way of seeing everyone decorations    It's a big tradition around here and the little ones faces when they see Santa ! 

[CLKD]

H&S stopped Rotary driving the sled in our area  ……… collecting door 2 door raised money for local Charities.  I used to enjoy listening out for the bells.  It was a proper sled for years then it had to be transported on a lorry then ……. 

[Scampi]

I remember being shown on the clock where the hands had to point before we were allowed to get up (before I could tell the time!), and dashing downstairs to see 'if he'd been'!  The excitement of opening presents, then going to my Mum's parents' for more presents and a big Christmas Dinner that Mum and Grandma (and Great-Grandma, when she was alive) cooked while Dad and Grandad went 'for a pint' - they used to bring a jug of beer back for the cooks! 

After dinner, we'd have to pack everything up and go to my Dad's parents' for tea.  That was a whole different atmosphere - Mum's parents liked noise and loved making Christmas very special for us children (Grandad loved decorations and really went overboard - their house was like a grotto!), but Dad's parents were much quieter (his Mum, especially - devout Methodist).  We'd have to play quietly while the adults sat round the room trying to think of something uncontroversial to talk about.  Tea was always tinned luncheon meat and salad, buffet-style, and at some point in the evening the one allowed drink would appear (with the beer/larger drinkers sharing a can between two!).  I think Mum and Dad secretly liked being able to use 'tired children' as an excuse to leave by about 7pm.

Despite the awkwardness of the afternoons at Dad's parents', they were happy days.  We tried very hard to reproduce those happy memories for our daugthter and I think it worked - at 23, her idea of a perfect Christmas is getting up to find a small pile of presents to open (hopefully including some Lego and a selection box!), breakfast in her pyjamas and a big Christmas Dinner cooked by me.  Nothing fancy, nothing expensive - just quality family time.

[groundhog]

I used to love Christmas - my parents didn't have loads of money but I usually had everything I asked for.  Christmas dinner was usually just us and my parents had wine which was a novelty.  So much so I recall my father would make a table lamp out of the wine bottle!!  Imagine that these days - goodness me I'd have thousands of lamps!
Lots of sweets and family calling - yes I loved Christmas and have happy memories. 🎄🎄

[Pennyfarthing]

I remember having lovely food as my Mum was a great cook and my Dad grew all our veggies. However, there wasn't much money for presents so we only got very small items.  An annual, some sweets and maybe some new socks or underwear.

I also remember my Mum spending most of the day crying as she was so homesick for the rest of her family in Ireland.  That really sticks in my mind.  We didn't have a telephone at home so sometimes she would go down the phone box and ring them and come back crying even more. 
It was always just Mum and Dad and us 3 kids at Xmas because her family were in Ireland and my Dads didn't really socialise so I don't have wonderful memories of Xmas. Just a sad atmosphere really.

On Boxing Day we always went for tea at my Dads half-brother and that was a bit more cheerful as they had two boys our age so we had a bit of fun then. 

 I kind of thought it was just me who didn't have lovely Xmas memories but over the years I've met many, many people who don't enjoy it.  My friend is an only child and both her parents are dead and she has no children so she really is on her own, apart from her partner.  She hates it and feels very low over the Xmas period. 

I remember my first Xmas as a wife. I was determined to do a wonderful Turkey lunch. I simmered the giblets with a carrot, onion etc to make gravy. I went to strain it as I'd seen my Mum do loads of times and strained it all down the plug hole!!   

[Pennyfarthing]

I HATED it then and I hate it now 

I remember suddenly being thrust into a crowd of relatives, only seen at C.mas .  Lots of food.  Lots of people ill including me …… ear ache, gut problems, Scarlatinna ……… relatives would toss me into the air but they were strangers to me  no wonder my gut clenched immediately.

At least 14/20 round the table ……. dog getting trodden on and yelping    …….. 'sacks' were opened in our parents' bed then a walk so that the mums and aunties cooked dinner, then after lunch all the men folk had a sleep before we could open the family gifts.  After turkey with the trimmings - home made sauces and puds no bought in those days  plus last year's C.mas puddings with brandy sauce or brandy custard - I remember the cousins all having custard without brandy    ….. might have numbed the whole day for me.  In the evening there was C.mas cake, cups of tea, very rarely coffee - the adults would have liquors. 

Anyone remember brawn    with home made pickles.

I have a feeling my Hubby's grandad used to eat brawn at Xmas.  Another odd thing ..... When I went to live in Leicester I thought it was most odd that most people had pork pie for breakfast on Xmas Day. 

[Joyce]

Goodness, many of you have lovely memories of Christmas dinners from your childhood. You may have hated your Christmas CLKD, but at least you have some memory of family traditions. I have none whatsoever.  I have created my own, as I've said. I wonder why I can't remember. I don't think it's failing memory, as something should stand out.