Christmas in Films, Music, Stories, Poems and Traditions

As a child a tradition was me going and buying a Christmas tree with my dad. We then spent ages untangling the fairy lights. Inevitably they would not work to begin with. Then came the fun of finding the dud bulb. I remember delicate glass baubles, birds with fibre glass tails, paper Chinese lanterns. The fairy on top of the tree was given to me by a little boy called Duncan when I was 4 years old. I can still remember him walking down the garden path with it. She had wire through the holes where her legs used to be, a white dress, moulded blonde hair and a silver tinsel crown and wings. 

These days we eat a special meal on Christmas Eve then take the leftovers out as a picnic lunch on Christmas Day. We go for a walk somewhere with our dog. I am wearing my Santa onesie and beard. We lost Duke in August to heart disease so this year will be the first Christmas with our new dog Izzy. It remains to be seen if she likes the festive season as much as Duke did. He absolutely loved coming up on to our bed on Christmas Day to unwrap his presents, there would be bits of wrapping paper flying everywhere and sellotape stuck to his beard. We still miss him. I am taking some roses to where we scattered his ashes tomorrow. 

Untangling the fairly lights and looking for the dud bulbs.  That brings back memories. 

In my childhood we always had a live tree, 7 or 8 feet tall.  Then all the needles falling off.

Usually my dad and I would bring home a tree slightly too tall for the room then we would have to trim a bit off the base. I particularly liked the fine silver strands we decorated the tree with - I think they were called lametta or something similar. At school we would make paper chains to decorate the classroom. Glitter and cotton wool also featured when we were making Christmas decorations. I remember making peppermint creams at school one year, very sweet and sickly. The best Christmas Day ever was the one we spent delivering lunch to elderly people living on their own. The worst ones have been spending time with people, but not fitting in, and ending up feeling even more isolated and alone. 

) ( said:

pop along to Woolworths

Woolworths was a shop that didn't deserve it's fate. Butterscotch, discounted video games, and lots of things you only realise you need out of the blue, just like those decorations, Woolies had you covered.

At infant school we made bright red letter boxes out of fairy liquid bottles or toilet rolls, with cotton wool snow at the base mounted in card, I remember the vivid bright gloss red paint and the strong chemical smell which I liked, the red paint keeps flashing up in my memory all the time, I have no idea why,, maybe it was a happy day? Didn’t have many,,, Well can’t remember any actually, mostly only the bad things, ah well, I think maybe I actually got to help make one! 

Also fir cones in either gold or silver paint, berries collected from the local school holly trees, plus the holly,,, paper chain decorations, lick one end and loop through and stick together, at home we used ordinary coloured wrapping paper cut into strips and sellotape, oh and crepe paper was used to make crackers with toilet roll tubes, Christmas tree lights, fairy lights never worked straight away, pop along to Woolworths and try to find some that matched, one was always white tipped, it was a fuse bulb, no fancy flashing bulbs, the same glass baubles every year, if they broke all he’ll as they were evil and sharp,,, glass splinters every where, we had tinsel but it was very stiff wired and only green or red, 

a nice little trip down memory lane thank you.

 ( oh and as an adult I don’t enjoy Christmas, it goes on to long and being stuck indoors watching tv is and has never been my idea of fun,,, just lots of waiting around, the days and hours just blend together, sleep patterns go out the window, time drags, nothing is open, I do enjoy the quite days when no cars can be heard or the usual noises on an estate like this, just wish it would be thick thick fog more often, it keeps everyone indoors, no cars,, silence,,,,quite and peaceful.)

At infant school we made bright red letter boxes out of fairy liquid bottles or toilet rolls, with cotton wool snow at the base mounted in card, I remember the vivid bright gloss red paint and the strong chemical smell which I liked, the red paint keeps flashing up in my memory all the time, I have no idea why,, maybe it was a happy day? Didn’t have many,,, Well can’t remember any actually, mostly only the bad things, ah well, I think maybe I actually got to help make one! 

Also fir cones in either gold or silver paint, berries collected from the local school holly trees, plus the holly,,, paper chain decorations, lick one end and loop through and stick together, at home we used ordinary coloured wrapping paper cut into strips and sellotape, oh and crepe paper was used to make crackers with toilet roll tubes, Christmas tree lights, fairy lights never worked straight away, pop along to Woolworths and try to find some that matched, one was always white tipped, it was a fuse bulb, no fancy flashing bulbs, the same glass baubles every year, if they broke all he’ll as they were evil and sharp,,, glass splinters every where, we had tinsel but it was very stiff wired and only green or red, 

a nice little trip down memory lane thank you.

 ( oh and as an adult I don’t enjoy Christmas, it goes on to long and being stuck indoors watching tv is and has never been my idea of fun,,, just lots of waiting around, the days and hours just blend together, sleep patterns go out the window, time drags, nothing is open, I do enjoy the quite days when no cars can be heard or the usual noises on an estate like this, just wish it would be thick thick fog more often, it keeps everyone indoors, no cars,, silence,,,,quite and peaceful.)

) ( said:

pop along to Woolworths

Woolworths was a shop that didn't deserve it's fate. Butterscotch, discounted video games, and lots of things you only realise you need out of the blue, just like those decorations, Woolies had you covered.