Old style Preparations for Christmas 2011!!

Moominmamma

The last couple of years we have cut a small "branch" from an ornamental cherry tree we had in the garden, put it in a big vase and hung some baubles on it, it's looked lovely and has always blossomed after Christmas because it's nice and warm inside - dh has chopped it down now though

Also I saw a decoration in a shop today Which I really liked, which was like a chain of stars, which looked like they were made from folded paper, but flat, not 3d, haning on a ribbon, it was really effective, but I'm gonna have a go at creating something similar rather than pay £5 for one

meritaten

I love to make 'pomanders' with the grandkids! to me that smells like christmas!
we use either oranges, satsumas or clementines (the kids dont care which). I buy big bags of cloves from the discount shop. but one jar of cloves will 'do' a few clementines if you dont put them too close!.
I give each child a fruit and a bowl of cloves - and a cocktail stick to make holes with.
they then go around the fruit making holes and pushing cloves in. then they give them to me to 'dry'. I either put them in the airing cupboard or, and only recently found this - but the grid on top of my radiatior dries them out beautifully!
the kids then, in about 3 weeks come and wrap them in ribbon, and we put a bit of cinnamon stick and tie that in, and they are allowed to stick sequins etc in them in any gaps! In the meantime my dining room smells fantastic!

budgetboo

Could we have an old style Xmas thread?

In past years I've been inspired to do a "1940's" Xmas by picking my Mums brains for crafts to do with my son she remembered from her own childhood. Another year I got loadsa inspiration from that BBC series a Victorian Xmas.

I loathe the rampant consumerism of modern Xmas and think that by reviving old traditions (even if it's just midnight mass and the kids navity play) we can make thrift seem fun to a generation force fed adverts for plastic tat & payday loans at every turn.

This year I haven't found a "period" for inspiration so would love ideas but have planned a few crafts/activities to keep it fun and simple.

1. Xmas for us will last from Xmas eve till epiphany in line with Xmas tradition in the UK. I will not get dragged into lotsa spending cash before this date.

2. Paper chains cost peanuts to make.

3. We've collected the pine cones so need to do summat with them.

4. Next week we'll have a stir up sunday and make the pud and cake.

5. hand sewing some felt tree decs this week. I keep to the same colour theme of green/red/gold every year so decs can be reused and replaced ith new home made stuff as items wear out rather than trying to keep up with the jones and having a different scheme annually. The tree is artificial so it can be reused to year, after year. (My Mums artificial tree is at least 30 years old!)

6. Orange pomanders are cheap to make if you buy the cloves in the aisian shops. This year I'm going to try drying orange slices on a low heat in the oven instead of using whole oranges to keep costs as low as possible. Hung around the house they do smell lovely.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/activities.shtml - the link to Victorian Xmas activities

Younggrandmother

Hi everyone,

I was a child in the 70's and my parents didn't have a lot of money, but Christmas was always a special time. My Mum encouraged us to be creative. We used to make our own minature Christmas trees, these were branches painted white and decorated with cardboard stars covered in glitter. We also used to make our own chocolate tree decorations which we wrapped in tin foil. We made all our own cards and envelopes as well as the paper chains and lanterns which decorated our living room.

This year my family and I will be turning the clock back to escape the commercial nightmare that Christmas has become. We have made a pact to make all our presents. Instead of dreading the crowds and the cost we are looking forward to Christmas once more.

fracturedsun

I've never made Christmas presents because I am shockingly awful at anything craft like from cooking to sewing to art but I have several talented friends.

One of my former housemates made a several big batches of chutneys, jams etc and decorated the jars and gave them away as presents, alongside some homemade elderflower cordial, some homecooked chocolates and a small low price individual gift. I have another friend (also an ex-housemate) who has been making and embroidering cushions, pillows and aprons. If you can knit (I really can't) then for the price of a few balls of wool you can be giving away scarves, hats, jumpers, even soft toys.

Pink.

budgetboo wrote: »

Could we have an old style Xmas thread?

Hi budgetboo,

We already do

Old style Preparations for Christmas 2011!!

We also have a whole board dedicated to Christmas which has lots of Old Style tips that may interest you:

Christmas & Other Yuletide Festivals

I'll add your thread to the existing Old Style one later.

Pink

budgetboo

ooh shabbychic/1950's style cotton pinnies are SO dear to buy but would make a lovely gift. Thanks for that idea!

There are all sorts of good causes, that could do with a helping hand at this time of year in some capacity from volnteers. If you live alone it can help stop the slope to the pub to avoid feeling lonely that winds up costing a fortune by giving you another social outlet and an opportunity to meet new-like minded people to make friends with so long as you pick a cause you care about.

In times past people would spend a little extra time with the elderly checking they were OK, nowadays people who live alone can literally be dead a month before anyone notices in the big cities. So an old style xmas/winter thing for me has been keeping an eye out to check elderly neighbours are doing OK.

As times get harder I suspect more of us will be depending on our communities to survive, just as our Grannies did. :eek:

Just saw the mods post - gawd now I feel daft lol!

Pink.

budgetboo wrote: »

Just saw the mods post - gawd now I feel daft lol!

Hey budgetboo,

There are no moderators on MSE, just board guides who are here to help the boards run smoothly and point people in the right direction.

There is absolutely no reason to feel daft! I just hope that the links help you out.

Pink

VfM4meplse

Younggrandmother wrote: »

I was a child in the 70's and my parents didn't have a lot of money, but Christmas was always a special time

Ditto...we didn't ask for much as kids, I think children these days are so much more savvy and materpialistic as a product of their environment! Part of the fun and excitement was having decent old-style family Christmas entertainment on the TV, these days Christmas TV is just rubbish.

Hardup_Hester

We celebrate Yule, it's much cheaper than Christmas.