Do you remember Christmas, when you were kids?

[Costas2008]

I do.

I do remember that I didn’t want to sleep all night, trying to guess what presents Santa will bring me, till I found myself waking up at 6 in the morning.

Running down to the Christmas tree and start opening my presents throwing the gift wraps all over the place.

Didn’t pay much attention to the socks and underwear but I was thrilled with the toys I got.

How on earth Santa knew what I wanted?

I remember my late parents cuddling and kissing me wishing me a Merry Christmas.

I remember the Christmas lunch with that huge turkey and my mother calling my father useless as he didn’t know how to carve the beast.

Then I remember my father snoring on the armchair while my mother was washing the dishes and me trying to set up my toys.

Lovely times…….never to come back.

Do you remember your childhood Christmas, members?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

Never mind.

Some things are best left unsaid.

Edited December 24, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[neverdie]

Do you remember when you had a chance to win POTY 2014 ?

Better luck next year Costas and merry Xmas and happy new year to you too.

[pgrahmm]

Too long to answer on the phone... all of that plus many good hours getting inventive with the ever growing Lionel train set circling the tree with trestles....towns.....switch tracks and smoking engines....the little fast work car....tunnels....telephone poles....barrel,flat,box, cattle & milk badger cars....and seeing if you could set it up to max out the speed

without wiping out....

Edited December 24, 2014 by pgrahmm

[pgrahmm]

I also remember my 3 year old daughter asking me why Santa used some of the same wrapping paper as her gifts from Dad.....ooops....

[Seligne2]

Yes, I remember being given some magnificent little toy, like a racecar, battery-powered, with no batteries. And no shops open on Christmas Day. Frigging torture!

[bangkokjulia]

I remenber one Christmas-I was 8. I was at my Grandmother's house. She told me not to go out to the kitchen as it was cold. I didn't think anything of it at the time. Woke up Christmas morning-looked out the kitchen window and there was a massive above ground pool!!! I then realised that was the reason she didn't want me snooping around. Plus the fact it was summer in Australia-hardly cold!!!

Merry Christmas Costas

[marko kok prong]

Aye,it were terrible,had to get up in mornin,scrape the ice from the inside of windows,walk t local pit through snow with no shoes on t get coal,so Mam could cook up dead rat and porridge for lunch...ect...ect.

[ozyjon]

Do you remember Christmas, when you were kids?

Yes i do, and to this day i <deleted> hate it, one of the big

plusses for being in Thailand, no xmas, xmas tree, lights,

big dinners and lunches, all phoney baloney, it's all for

giving presents, of all the presents my sisters children

got this year they are over the moon with this plastic gun

that fires an arrow with a suction cap, cant stop shooting

the thing at each other all the other expensive toys get

ignored,, give me a sandy white beach and a coconut

tree,,,,, oh i'm in heaven.

[AlQaholic]

I grew up in Africa, so my parents used to make a Christmas tree out of palm tree leaves and banana tree leaves. I remember this particular Brown teddy bear I got once and I by mistake smeared candy on it, and it would always smell of that same candy (even after washing) years later which made me remember that particular Christmas. I hung on to that Teddy Bear many years, till I was 10 I think.

Merry Christmas all

[Gillyflower]

I was brought up in Australia. I had to leave a bit to eat and for sure something to drink for Santa. It is funny that Costas talks about turkey for lunch, because the nec plus ultra in my childhood was ROAST CHICKEN. We weren't poor, not in a household where scallops, prawns and lobster were reasonably normal fare. It was just that chicken was special. I had never seen or heard of anyone eating duck, goose or turkey. In fact I had never seen one of these birds AND we lived on the outskirts of Sydney in a rural area. I had to wait 20 years before I saw a duck and 30 for the other two.

[Baerboxer]

Indeed Costas. Parents always used to sneak my presents in without my catching them, although I tried hard. Mince pie, sherry scoffed by Santa and that carrot crunching reindeer.

Wonderful times and seemed to have so much fun and enjoyment. Now it all seems so plastic and commercial.

[Gandtee]

Do you remember Christmas, when you were kids?

Yes i do, and to this day i <deleted> hate it, one of the big

plusses for being in Thailand, no xmas, xmas tree, lights,

big dinners and lunches, all phoney baloney, it's all for

giving presents, of all the presents my sisters children

got this year they are over the moon with this plastic gun

that fires an arrow with a suction cap, cant stop shooting

the thing at each other all the other expensive toys get

ignored,, give me a sandy white beach and a coconut

tree,,,,, oh i'm in heaven.

Bah! Humbug? I've just celebrated Christmas with my Thai family and despite it being called phoney, it still has a touch of magic and I like it, despite my new expensive present of earphones not working on my device! Do I remember Christmas as a kid. Yes.In London, living in and out of an Anderson air raid shelter.Hoping Mum had lit the fire before we got up so we could get warm. Hoping it would snow, so we could go out on our homemade sledges made with wood from bombed houses and steel runners pinched from the bunk beds in the street, brick air raid shelters. With old socks on our hands, we didn't have gloves, and snotty noses dripping on our sodden balaclava helmets. No battery powered toys then, only pressed tin ones if you were lucky. Loved every minute of it.

[Gandtee]

As a kid I used to buy day old chicken chicks and raise them by putting them in a box with a hot ware bottle to keep them warm. No electricity in those days. The ones that survived I fattened up for Christmas and I was my job to 'dispatch' them. We then sat in our scullery and plucked them. It was my mothers job to gut them. Big preparations for Christmas. Turkeys? Never heard of them. Whale meat, snoek ( a fish) and other goodies, especially Spam and tinned corned beef from our saviour at that time, the USA, was what we were happy to have. But Christmas was always a good time and the hardships, although we did not regard them as hardships, made it all the more enjoyable.Merry Christmas.

[hawker9000]

'Sure do. 'Wouldn't trade those memories for anything. It's not something you could ever hope to much share with another adult; only something that can be passed on to the children.

[Farma]

All the family gathered at Granddads beach shack. Uncles, aunts, cousins..it was great.

Once the presents were opened the bigger kids went with the adults checking the crabpots or netting prawns. A big 44 gallon drum bubbling away at the back of the shack cooked the catch on our return.

Everyone sat down at the 3 dinner tables end on end with big piles of crab and prawns. The adults enjoyed a few beers while us kids if lucky got a small shandy.

Later in the afternoon the kids went out front for a swim. That was great until one year I jump into the water straight onto a blue bottle. I remember the next few days with a painful swollen leg.

[transam]

I used to look forward to my annual Tangerine...........

[Gandtee]

All the family gathered at Granddads beach shack. Uncles, aunts, cousins..it was great.

Once the presents were opened the bigger kids went with the adults checking the crabpots or netting prawns. A big 44 gallon drum bubbling away at the back of the shack cooked the catch on our return.

Everyone sat down at the 3 dinner tables end on end with big piles of crab and prawns. The adults enjoyed a few beers while us kids if lucky got a small shandy.

Later in the afternoon the kids went out front for a swim. That was great until one year I jump into the water straight onto a blue bottle. I remember the next few days with a painful swollen leg.

I like it! But that certainly was not in England.!

[blazes]

Yes, I remember being given some magnificent little toy, like a racecar, battery-powered, with no batteries. And no shops open on Christmas Day. Frigging torture!

Some stand-up comedian said he'd given his kids batteries for Christmas, with a note saying, "Toys not included".

[Suradit69]

I grew up in Africa, so my parents used to make a Christmas tree out of palm tree leaves and banana tree leaves. I remember this particular Brown teddy bear I got once and I by mistake smeared candy on it, and it would always smell of that same candy (even after washing) years later which made me remember that particular Christmas. I hung on to that Teddy Bear many years, till I was 10 I think.

Merry Christmas all

I grew up in the US and have good memories of Christmas largely centered on the potential haul of toys and such that I might garner. Can't recall a time when I bought into the Santa Claus legend.

Well before Christmas the Sears, Fields and Montgomery Wards Christmas catalogs arrived and after careful study, augmented by several reconnaissance sorties to the main Marshall Field's store on State Street in Chicago, I produced a "short list" of 50 to 100 items that were undeniably essential to my continued health and well-being. I certainly didn't bother sending a copy to Santa but launched a campaign directed at the household CEO, aka my mother. That was in the pre-Prozac era, so how she endured the assault in relatively good spirits is something of a Christmas miracle. The actual haul was always a great deal less than outlined in my list, but generally quite pleasing for the next 24 to 48 hours when the novelty of it all wore off.

I also recall being allocated a budget to buy things for the parents, my brother and the dog. Upon reflection, given how mellow my father seemed at times on Christmas day I wonder if he might have drunk the cheap aftershave I inevitably gifted him with. There was certainly no evidence he ever used it for its intended purpose. The dog seemed pleased with edible gifts, but decidedly less than amused the year I got him boots to wear in the snow and ice.

But then I spent much of my adult life in Africa where Christmas meant attending midnight mass that went on from around 20:00 Christmas Eve to 1:00 Christmas morning, much of the time given over to drums, dancing & singing and more incense than two Papal funerals. I suspect the incense was as much to put off the mosquitoes as anything to do with religious protocol. Most everyone was slathered to the hilt with mosquito repellent as well. That was pretty much the extent of every Christmas there.

The longer I lived in Africa, the more tacky & irrelevant all the hoopla surrounding commercial Christmas in the US seemed. While I was in the UAE and Pakistan, Christmas usually fell on a working day, but the commercial aspect of the holiday became increasingly evident in the malls, particularly in Dubai and to a lesser extent in the other emirates. The less radical or conservative people in Pakistan, at least in Lahore, didn't seem bothered by some Christmas decorations on display, although I was a little surprised on one occasion when someone unknowingly had a Menorah design mixed in with some Christmas decorations. The Catholic cathedral in Lahore had fairly low-keyed Christmas celebrations.

Edited December 26, 2014 by Suradit69

[siampolee]

I can recall one particular Christmas in 1954 when I got the toy of my dreams a Dinky Toy car transporter and four cars to go with indeed paradise personified also rooting down my Christmas stocking hung on the end of my bed a tangerine, a banana a Brazil nut and a hazel nut. A number of items even then were in short supply so that which one got was indeed truly wonderful.

.

Edited December 26, 2014 by siampolee

[firefox999uk]

I remember the wrapping paper on my presents was tied up with

hairy string...no sellotape in them days.

Happy memories Costas...good post my man.

Have a Nice Day.

[pgrahmm]

And since that time right up to now I've carried with me a hallowed Christmas tradition that never has let me down......no matter how hard I try ...... I still can't wrap a Christmas present worth a sch!+.....

[sipi]

I am the youngest of 4 kids.My much older brother told me when I was 4 or 5 that Santa didn't exist. I half believed him, because he was my older brother.

So I went to school, and it was time to talk about Santa during my class lesson.

I whispered to a friend that "maybe Santa isn't true" within hearing distance of out teacher.

She grabbed my by the ears and pushed me into the corner and said :"Don't you tell anyone that Santa isn't true"..

So folks. It was actually my &lt;deleted&gt; kindergarten teacher that told me that santa didn't exist whan I was 4. &lt;deleted&gt; bitck....

Otherwise I would still believe...

[lungbing]

Silver thruppenny bits in the homemade Christmas pudding.

Real glass baubles on the real tree The baubles carefully wrapped and put away after Christmas.

The bare tree being put out for the dustmen after twelfth night.

Putting up a sock and getting an orange and a few bits on Christmas morning. Later progressed to putting up a pillowcase for the presents.

Carol singing with your mates to raise a few bob.

Tying a bit of cotton to my toe and to the doorknob to try and catch santa, (it didn't work).

Making paper chains from strips of coloured paper that had one end gummed, then hanging them up.

[herb59]

yes.

[super22k]

Just after the second world war in England my parents gave me a miniture battlefield for christmas...The season of peace and goodwill!

I remember christmas day because it was the only day of the year we could afford chicken.It was a great treat in those days. Most people could not afford it.

Still,they were very happy times and I look back with great affection.

[Ulic]

I have many of the same memories as Costas. The family was/is not religious so I have no problem with the commercialization

of Christmas. For me it is about gifts for children and time with family and friends around the dinner tables. That said things

do not have to be to excess. Merry Christmas to everyone.

[Patsycat]

Carrots for the reindeer, and mince pies for Father Christmas. Along with a rather large scotch poured out by my liddle hands.

And he deserved it!! We have a joke in our family - do you want a normal whiskey or a Father Christmas one...