Childhood Christmas Presents

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I can remember a couple of dolls that were new for me - a Tiny Tears and a bunch of Sindy Dolls - I had desperately wanted the ballerina blonde one with eyes that shut when I was 5, but was somewhat unimpressed (but sensible enough to keep my mouth shut) when another 7 turned up when I was 8 and far too grown up :cool: for that sort of thing. I never got the clothes for them. But the rest of the dolls and soft toys in the house were hand-me-downs or seconds from when my mother did piecework sewing giant teddy bears about five years before I was born, other than a dark brown almost realistic rabbit hand puppet, which I absolutely adored, along with a cardboard musical jewellery box from my Granddad.

I also remember being really excited that I'd got a Lego Police Helicopter to build, only to find that they'd taken it out of its box and glued all the pieces together before giving it to me so I couldn't use it like Lego.

Other than that, I would get a set of felt tips every year (having originally been given a Magic Painting Book every Christmas until I was about 7) and be really excited to have a black and a red that worked, a sketch pad and a few other bits of pencils, etc, which were the most important part of Christmas, as I used those constantly - my favourites were the year I was given Brambly Hedge themed stuff.

My big brother would spend a lot of money on me, buying me 'big' presents like a cassette recorder and a pack of TDK C90s or whatever was the Must Have Electronic Toy/Game/Big Movie Merchandise of the Year and an annual or two - he started off buying various comic book and superhero related things, despite being told that those things were for boys, not girls - and when he was made redundant, he used part of his payment to get me a portable TV when I was 14 and a CD system when I was 15; things I actually wanted, but never even imagined I would get - both lasted into my 30s.

My sister would always buy me one item of clothing that my mother was guaranteed to hate, usually on the grounds of the colour - I suit bright reds, dark greens, etc, because I have pale skin, freckles, green eyes and dark auburn hair, but our mother had dark, yellow toned skin that tanned deep brown, almost black eyes and originally jet black hair, so only liked mauves, pinks, puce and acidic pastel greens as sold in the Kays Catalogue. Possibly more embarrassingly, my sister bought me a short ivory jacquard satin dressing gown when I was 13 that is still in perfect condition thirty one years later. She also bought me various girly things, such as the much loved makeup palettes for eyes and lips, little selection packs of perfumes and various hairstyling wands and tongs.




My worst Christmas present was the one I found in advance - the presents were stuffed into the electric cupboard along with lots of random junk and, one day, as I was getting my jacket off the hooks on the front of the door, the catch failed and the door opened, to reveal the most hideous material I had ever seen - I had wanted a black and white houndstooth jacket because they were fashionable and the ones my friends had were thick and warm - warm clothing (or being warm anywhere with no heating in the house) wasn't something I had, so this appealed massively to me. I'd even said that I didn't mind if I didn't get as much because I knew that the coats I wanted were about £25. I'd also said if they were too expensive, I'd seen a plain black short coat that I liked for £15. What glowered (or glowed?) back at me from a British Home Stores carrier bag was a luminous pink and black woven coat - to my knowledge, I hadn't worn pink in my life.

I hoped and wished and even tried praying that it was a coat she had bought for herself. But it got worse.


On Christmas Day, I tentatively opened the package I already knew contained the vile item. Instead of a jacket/coat with a belt and lapels, it was almost bell shaped, knee length, with no waist and a funnel neck collar. Already conscious of being a size 10 in a school of size 6-8s, I knew that this shape would make me look huge - on checking the label, she'd bought a size 18, what with me being so fat :cool: so the only place the material actually touched me was when swamping my shoulders.


And yet it still got worse.

After I put it on and she informed me it fitted just right (I'd tried to tactfully demonstrate how enormously oversized it was for me and asked if it would be possible to get an exchange for a different size - obviously planning to swap it out for Any Coat Other Than That once we were in BHS), she said 'I've bought myself one exactly the same, so we can go out wearing them together'.

_pale_


I chose to spend the following years freezing cold every winter rather than wear it. She refused to buy me another coat ever again, as I hadn't worn the one she had bought.

jk0

In 1972, 7 year old JK0 got an Action Man Go Kart.



http://www.actionmanhq.co.uk/action-man-vehicles/go-kart/index.html

What a piece of junk that was. My father spent most of the day assembling it, and then it would only steer one way. I got a smack for blaming him.

Slinky

Serendipitious wrote: »

Big tubes of Smarties etc 2 for £1.50 in Tesco today.

Darn, how did I miss them? I looked in the ordinary confectionary ailse, were they in the Christmas bit? Ours is a huge Tesco.

PasturesNew

One year I'd wanted a particular present. I found one in the upstairs cupboard and gleefully shouted down to mum "MUM! You don't need to get me .... I've just found one in the upstairs cupboard!"

I doubt she's ever moved so fast before .....

spirit

Lots of "oh yeah, I remember those" from me having read these.


In addition, I remember a cash register with the keys you push down? I was forever playing shops and so loved that toy.


I also remember having Aesop's Fables book and a book series about 3 sisters who loved horses. can't remember the name of the books, but the sisters were called April, May and June Cholly-Sawcut!


My sisters and I also got those little toy cars. we used to sit in bed, put our knees up to our chest thereby making a downhill slope for the cars to run down.


I remember my best friend - Valerie Johnson down the road, she was an only child and who always seemed to get spoiled. One year she had a very tall doll. it must have been as tall as us. I coveted that doll. Each year I asked Father Christmas for one but never did get one!


Another year I had one of those engines, can't remember the name, but it had a sort of handle on the top front so you could pull it along. You had to put meths in it which was set fire before it would go along. I don't know what happened to that. I expect mother sold it.


Roller skates came in later years when about 10 or so.

jk0

I had a cash register too. My parents must have got it cheap as the prices were in old money. Completely confused me, as I was never taught about old money.

cliffsgirl

I also remember having Aesop's Fables book and a book series about 3 sisters who loved horses. can't remember the name of the books, but the sisters were called April, May and June Cholly-

I had those books too. They were about a girl called Jill by Ruby Ferguson

luxor4t

Born very late 1950s.

We would make Christmas lists, but given my family's dislike of "plastic rubbish" and total fear of my sister and I turning into "spoiled brats" - a risk we were prepared to take!- we rarely got what we dreamed of, but had 'sensible' gifts instead. I can remember being extremely excited unwrapping a Disney Peter Pan colouring book - we could not go and see the film when it came to our town, so this was the substitute. (Finally saw the film on a video when my kids were small!)

Books and jigsaws were regular Xmas gifts - and those tins of toffees with pictures of kittens on the lid. Later, Pretty Peach hand cream and boxes of hankies.

Aged 7, on Christmas afternoon, after lunch I remember being put into a pink quilted dressing gown from my grandparents. My mum made a fuss about "oh, how lovely that looks!" but behind me my sister was busy wheeling the doll's pram that grandparents had bought her. I remember being confused, as nobody would want a dressing gown when they could have a doll's pram.
Given my age at the time, I probably (inevitably) was told off for not being sufficiently grateful.

kerri_gt

cliffsgirl wrote: »

I also remember having Aesop's Fables book and a book series about 3 sisters who loved horses. can't remember the name of the books, but the sisters were called April, May and June Cholly-

I had those books too. They were about a girl called Jill by Ruby Ferguson

Jills Riding Club?

Serendipitious

Slinky wrote: »

Darn, how did I miss them? I looked in the ordinary confectionary ailse, were they in the Christmas bit? Ours is a huge Tesco.

In the 'seasonal aisle,' yes, with all the tins of biscuits and boxes of chocs.