A Festive Post

One of my relatives wrote this tale of Christmas' past. Set in the period that the country was last bankrupt (50 years later and we're back!!)

When I was a child the one big event of the year apart from your birthday was Christmas.

In the 1950's we didnt receive much in material goods and the thought of receiving presents from Santa Claus was a magical feeling.
I think we appreciated this event so much in those days because of the lack of money and to receive anything wrapped up in Christmas wrapping paper was like being given a million pounds.

I remember that on Christmas Eve, my younger sister and I would be bathed and our hair washed.  We would put rags in our hair to give us ringlets as we did not have any electric hair tools like there is now.

We were so excited and we would go to bed with pillowcases looking forward to waking up to a pillowcase full of presents.
We used to wake up about 4 or 5 o'clock with the excitement.  We always had an apple and orange in the sack and I would have the Beano annual and my sister would have the Dandy.  There would be a few chocolates and the main present which could be a doll or in one year for me was a watch.  There wasn't much but it meant the world to me and my sister.  

We would sit in the cold room reading our Annuals until Mum woke up and went downstairs to light the coal fire, then we could go downstairs.
We then looked forward to the Christmas dinner.  I remember we either had pork or lamb and one year we had a chicken which was unusual as we hardly had chicken in those days.

There was always lots of vegetables and I loved roast potatoes and hated sprouts. It was a glorious time and if it snowed on Christmas day that was a bonus as it was so magical and just like in the movies.  

It was also one of the only times we were altogether as a family as my Dad was always working and my two older brothers were at work as they were alot older than my sister and I.

The Christmas tree had a few baubles on it and we never had any lights as they were too expensive then. Loved the whole experience and miss it all now that the kids have grown up, my parents have passed away and all you have is the memory, but it was and is a good memory.

Bless childhood and I wish everyone could have the same love and excitement as we had even though we had nowt' as they say in Yorkshire,