Spill the beans... on your happiest childhood Christmas memory

135678

Comments

  • MERFE
    MERFE Posts: 2,133
    First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    My best memory from childhood was when I was very young so can only remember parts, I was probably only 2. We were at Grandmas for Christmas then heard the bells out on the street and looking out the lounge window father Christmas was coming down the street waving at me and my sister. It was Grandad but I never guessed. I got a baby with a carrier and my sister got a Barbie with a shower that you pumped water through. It was so magical. I cant remember any of the rest of the day but that bit has stuck.

    My best as an adult was the first time the kids came downstairs and saw father Christmas had eaten the mince pie and had his drink - therefore he had really been. They'd already had their stockings but seeing the stuff eaten just got them so excited it was lovely.
  • As one of a big family Christmas day in our house was chaotic to say the least but Mum & Dad would pull out all the stops to make it special. We never had stockings, instead we each had a chair, armchair, or section of the sofa that was "ours" for the morning, each one piled up with presents. Mum loved Xmas day and would get so excited for us, couldn't wait to see our faces! When we were little we would get up at the crack of dawn, but no matter how early it was she would be downstairs waiting for us. When we got older she couldn't wait for us to wake up so would come and wake us!

    One year when I was about 6 or 7 I remember being in Woolworths and seeing a beautiful big doll in a box wearing a blue dress which was displayed spread out all around her. I must have gazed at it for ages while Mum & dad were doing their shopping, but didn't say anything as we were hard up at the best of times and I had learned never to ask for anything. I can still remember the thrill of finding her sitting on "my" armchair Christmas morning. :D
    £2 Savers Club 2016 #21 £14/£250
    £2 Savers Club 2015 #8 £250£200 :j

    Proud to be an OU graduate :j :j

    Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain
  • i remember when I was 8 or 9 and we came downstairs and opened our pressie as usual and I was very pleased with everything I had got, then it was traditional for me to make a cup of tea for my Dad, so off I trotted to make him a tea and as I walked into the kitchen there was a gorgeous new bike for me! It was so perfect, the right colour (by that I mean the same as all my friends) and the surprise of it all and that I thought I had already unwrapped all my pressies, and that my dad could organise a well planned surprise all contributed to make me so happy! Coupled with that dad helped me ride up and down the street all boxing day too made it a lovely xmas!
    )

    :beer:
  • also i went through all my old xmas cards a few nights ago and found all the ones from my dear departed dad, when i was growing up i didnt really think that he thought that much of me as he was a mans man and i was his daughter, but when i reread through the cards they were all so touching and all mentioned his 'beautiful dear daughter' or sentiments to that effect, make me well up!! dont know why i didnt register that while he was alive but suffice to say i have kept them all to this day!
    )

    :beer:
  • SandC
    SandC Posts: 3,929
    First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    JJ that's made me well up as well....... what a wonderful memory to have and so heartwarming to hear the most of the best things we remember are about family and festivity and not the value of presents.
  • What beautiful memories - I'm sitting here in tears !
    When my second daughter was 16 mths, we put a white Father Christmas teddy in her cot when we went to bed. Christmas morning she woke up a bit grizzly, wailed a bit and kicked her legs - rustle went the paper. So it went, 'waah', rustle, 'waah', rustle...rustle, rustle....rustle,rustle,rustle (sounds of tearing paper)...ahhhhhh !
  • When I was 6 years old I received a single present, a toy train made out of tin. I played with the thing for hours, and had it for many years after, and it as my favourite toy for a long time. Not much for Christmas morning, but something made it special.

    Years later, as an adult, I mentioned it to my mum. It turned out that on that Christmas my parents had literally run our of money, with bills, food etc, and they ent without to buy me that little train.

    Kids appreciate the lvoe of their parents much more than the value of the gift.
  • as a family we have many christmas traditions - even now im 30 and married, my 3 sisters and I still dont enter the living room until everyone is up and ready to do so together! but one i love is that my mum devises a family game or competition for after lunch on christmas day. we have had racing santas and reindeer, putting and archery competitions (at the santas and reindeer!), but there have been 2 that particularly stick in my memory.

    for silliness value it has to be the gladiator game! she brought out inflatable podiums and pugil sticks and we spend a very silly afternoon singing the gladiator music while bopping each other with the sticks and laughing so much it hurt!
    The second was more recent when my grandad was battling dementia. He was fascinated by those tiny toys you throw at the window, they stick and then fall head over heels down the glass. we spent the afternoon playing with him and he was very happy.

    Most of all, christmas for me is about spending time with family and friends, enjoying each others company and being thankful for what we have. x
  • My most vivid memory is of walking back from my grandparent's house with my mum on Christmas Eve when I was about 3 years old.

    I remember I had just enjoyed a lovely "party food" supper and was going home to get in my new pyjamas so I would look my best for Santa! It was a clear night, cold and dark, but all the christmas lights were on in all the houses and it was lovely looking in through people's windows.

    All of a sudden both my mum and I looked up at the sky and we both saw a shooting star, but at the exact same time we could hear sleigh bells coming from somewhere. That was it, I was convinced it was Santa! We hurried home and I went straight to bed, I couldn't wait to go to sleep and wait for the morning.

    Now looking back it was obviously a noise coming from someone's decorations or TV, but it was truly magical at the time and I'll never forget the feeling it gave me.

    It's given me ideas for when I have kids though and how to convince them "he" is real :)
  • Spendless
    Spendless Posts: 24,081
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    Forumite
    edited 28 November 2012 at 12:00PM
    Sneaking downstairs to peek if the mince pie and drink left for Father Christmas had gone and sometimes taking a peek into the living room to see all the wrapped presents under the tree. We never had stockings, all presents no matter how small were wrapped up (later in life, my mum told me that the stockings you buy nowadays weren't widely commercially available to buy and that was the reason for not having one). Me and my sister had a side of the Christmas tree each for our gifts and that remained the same till we both left home. I'd have liked to have done this for my own 2 children but my living room and where the tree has to go isn't the same shape as my parents room so hasn't been possible.
    Having both sets of Grandparents over for Christmas dinner and attending a Children's party put on by the factory where my Dad worked. You don't seem to hear of this being done anymore. Being taken to see Father Christmas in a department store and you getting a ride on a 'sleigh' first as though you were being taken to his grotto.

    I don't have huge memories of the run-up to Christmas and thinking about it, I think it's because my parents were likely to be at work. Mum is a hairdresser, so was busy until close of business on Dec 24th and Dad worked in a factory so had set shut-down weeks.

    Things I've done with my own kids that I didn't do, include reading The Night Before Christmas to them each Christmas Eve, taking a walk/drive to look at all the highly decorated houses and attending a Children's carol concert in a nearby church and tracking Santa on Norad. A few years ago my sis-in-law helped someone clear-out and my daughter was passed on this book
    http://www.amazon.com/Was-That-Christmas-Hilary-McKay/dp/0689847653

    Since then we try to do as many things in the book or our own interpretation of them as possible. Don't know when it will be outgrown- dd is 9 now- but hopefully she'll remember it in years to come.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.8K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.4K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 606.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.7K Life & Family
  • 247.2K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards