Childhood Christmas memories

jersman · 10-12-2013 11:49am #1

What Christmas memories do people have from their childhood?

Mine are waiting for the Christmas RTE guide to come out so I could check what time the Den was starting on Christmas morning as this would be the time I would be getting up. The Den Christmas crisis on Christmas Eve was also a big part of the build up. Midnight mass and relatives calling after with presents will always be remembered fondly too.

Digs · 10-12-2013 8:52pm

The feeling that I was going to absolutely explode with pure excitement on Christmas Eve. Literally don't know how my parents ever managed to get us all to bed that day!

Bath and new pjs every Xmas eve. One day of the year we were all squeaky clean.

carolinespring · 10-12-2013 9:34pm

My dad making and icing 8 Christmas cakes to give away as presents, puddings cooking. New PJ's and sheets on Christmas eve. Leaving out a slice of cake and sherry for Santa. Trying to stay awake to see Santa but scare you would see him...

Waking up at the crack of dawn to see if he had come. The smell of turkey cooking. Watching Laurel & Hardy on RTE 1 on Christmas morning. Having fizzy drinks with dinner....

Moonbeam · 10-12-2013 9:44pm

When I was very young we would go to mass then to a friend house for tea and biscuits.
I loved it.

Digs · 10-12-2013 11:16pm

carolinespring wrote: »

My dad making and icing 8 Christmas cakes to give away as presents, puddings cooking. New PJ's and sheets on Christmas eve. Leaving out a slice of cake and sherry for Santa. Trying to stay awake to see Santa but scare you would see him...

Waking up at the crack of dawn to see if he had come. The smell of turkey cooking. Watching Laurel & Hardy on RTE 1 on Christmas morning. Having fizzy drinks with dinner....

We only got fizzy drinks on very special occasions!

I identify with that feeling of really really wanting to see Santa but being terrified to do so aswell!

Pumpkinseeds · 10-12-2013 11:52pm

The smell of the ham cooking on Christmas eve. Most of the food prep used to get done on Christmas eve and I'd have to dissolve the jelly for the trifle and make the breadcrumbs for the stuffing. No microwaves in those days and it was probably thought nigh on sacriligious to serve cold turkey on Christmas day.

Of course there was also the big box of Tayto cheese and onion crisps as well, we only had those at Christmas, and the obligatory tin of Quality street.

merengueca · 15-12-2013 3:32pm

We grew up in England, but, came home every year for Christmas. I genuinely believed Santa only delivered to Ireland.
Christmas started for us the minute we got off the boat, and the excitement of walking in to see grandads tree already up.

I love the fact that since mum and dad moved back my nephews get to experience exactly the same Christmas we did. It doesn't seem quiet the same over here... Plenty of shops open Christmas Day, and nearly all pubs. There will be 16 of us for Christmas dinner this year, and even though its crowded I love the feeling of having a day that's all about family with no distractions.

(Reserving the right to take the dogs out if it all gets too much)

D-FENS · 16-12-2013 11:33am

Ya know, recently whenever anyone mentions Christmas growing up or the presents I got, I never think of my favourite (Millennium Falcon) first, I always think of the time my older sister asked me what I wanted and I said a Transformer but she got me a crap knock off version that was more like Dusty Bin than Starscream.
I was really f*ckin ungrateful, spoilt little c*nt. I presume she has forgotten, it was about 1984, but I’m going to apologise to her when I see her.

Mars Bar · 16-12-2013 4:25pm

Being 100% sure that I could hear the sleigh bells and the sled on the roof.

It's amazing the tricks our brain plays on us.

leahyl · 16-12-2013 4:29pm

Mars Bar wrote: »

Being 100% sure that I could hear the sleigh bells and the sled on the roof.

It's amazing the tricks our brain plays on us.

Same

I remember one year sitting by the fireplace and being convinced that I could hear the sleigh bells on the roof! :pac:

funnights74 · 16-12-2013 9:27pm

I always remember on Christmas eve my dad preparing the potatoe stuffing for the turkey, the aroma of onions and thyme stay with me to this day..Christmas morning with 12 kids in the house there was toys and cardboard everywhere.

splashthecash · 17-12-2013 4:34pm

Excitement of reading the Christmas RTE guide to see what was on
Waking up on Christmas morning and having all my brothers and sisters, mam and dad outside the sitting room door counting down and running in
Getting tubes of fruit pastilles, jelly tots and smarties in our stockings
That feeling of "aw do we have to?" when parents say get ready for mass on Christmas morning
That feeling of excitement running back in the door after mass to get back playing with toys
Smelling the dinner being cooked throughout the morning
TK Raspberry - we only ever got it on Christmas
Best dinner of the year
Relaxing after dinner in front of the fire, eating roses watching Willy Wonka
Playing big 2\3 hour game on Monopoly that night
Being sad going to bed saying "well its over for another year now"

Butterface · 17-12-2013 5:00pm

Every year without fail one of us would sneakily open a tin of Roses from under the tree without my parents knowing.. we'd then take a shítload of them and divvy them up, get some sellotape and tape the lid back on. Then a week or two later when my mother would open them she'd realise what we'd done haha!

I think she was usually glad that there was less chocolate left at that point! My lasting memory of Christmas is the unreal amount of selection boxes and tins of biscuits that were handed over as presents back in the 90s!

SCOOP 64 · 17-12-2013 5:04pm

My mum and Dad having to make xmas dinner, because the cleaner and cook did not work xmas day or st Stephen's day.

muckisluck · 17-12-2013 6:19pm

Pesky unions and their rights!

finix · 17-12-2013 8:11pm

The smell of gloss paint a week before, Being excited when the date hit 12/12, we are getting close ! Pulling apart and assembling ''Mousetrap'' at 5 am on Christmas morning and the sound of my dad using the electric carving knife which was only ever used on Christmas day !:) Oh and Hollow choc Santa's in our stocking, Guinness book of records and Shoot annual which my brothers always got

cailinardthair · 18-12-2013 2:21am

When we were kids, at 12 o' clock on christmas eve, we would take out the Kiddie atlas and pester our dad all day asking where Santa is now. He would point saying he was here...by nine he was close to ireland so we were sent to bed....awh pre-google days......and of course watching the den on christmas eve was a must! Good times!

splashthecash · 18-12-2013 10:21am

cailinardthair wrote: »

When we were kids, at 12 o' clock on christmas eve, we would take out the Kiddie atlas and pester our dad all day asking where Santa is now. He would point saying he was here...by nine he was close to ireland so we were sent to bed....awh pre-google days......and of course watching the den on christmas eve was a must! Good times!

Thats actually a great way of getting kids to bed! Although now there is probably an app or something like that that tells you where santa is instead of the ancient atlas

splashthecash · 18-12-2013 10:23am

Butterface wrote: »

Every year without fail one of us would sneakily open a tin of Roses from under the tree without my parents knowing.. we'd then take a shítload of them and divvy them up, get some sellotape and tape the lid back on. Then a week or two later when my mother would open them she'd realise what we'd done haha!

I think she was usually glad that there was less chocolate left at that point! My lasting memory of Christmas is the unreal amount of selection boxes and tins of biscuits that were handed over as presents back in the 90s!

Ha! You just reminded me that one year I did the same, only to Ferrer Roche and I kept going back under getting "just one more"...eventually there were only a couple left...don't know how i thought i would get away with it either, my only brother at the time was only a few months old

Toto Wolfcastle · 18-12-2013 12:00pm

My sister used to be able to get the sweets out of the cardboard box of Roses without opening it. I thought that was pretty genius.

B0jangles · 18-12-2013 12:30pm

I remember the christmas the tree fell over on me and I had to be rescued by my mum

Another christmas me and my brother decided we didn't want selection boxes, we wanted salmon, so we found a side of smoked salmon for each of us under the tree!

Anyone else remember the Christmas aaages ago when there was a powercut on Christmas morning? - we had to open our presents by candlelight, 'twas very atmospheric.

Toto Wolfcastle · 18-12-2013 12:37pm

B0jangles wrote: »

Anyone else remember the Christmas aaages ago when there was a powercut on Christmas morning? - we had to open our presents by candlelight, 'twas very atmospheric.

It went Christmas Eve for us, was back for the morning and then went again halfway through cooking the turkey. The turkey had to be hauled to someone else's house to finish it off. My dad prepared the custard for the trifle on Christmas Eve on the burner part of the BBQ.

sok2005 · 18-12-2013 1:03pm

The year my folks started putting my presents under the tree downstairs and not at the end of my bed. Woke up all excited and there was nothing there, bawled my eyes out ran into my folks bedroom saying I thought i was on the good list! They said maybe Santa put them somewhere else, check the house! The excitement and relief were without compare when I saw them in our sitting room!

cailinardthair · 18-12-2013 3:32pm

splashthecash wrote: »

Thats actually a great way of getting kids to bed! Although now there is probably an app or something like that that tells you where santa is instead of the ancient atlas

Yeah Google have santa watch now which i show to my cousins, its been around for two or three years now...they have videos and everything....they get so excited.....still the atlas was great.....

jersman · 18-12-2013 4:29pm

Christmas is still great but the days of Santa were absolutely brilliant and had that something a bit more special about them. They have returned now with my own kids so I'm looking forward to that.

miamee · 18-12-2013 4:52pm

I remember my Grandad would come to visit every Christmas Eve and we always seemed to be watching Santa Clause the Movie when he did

One year we were up a bit later than normal, just the ligths of the tree in the living room with the normal lights off - next thing a flash of light in the front window! We thought it was Santa and my mother played along, never went to bed so fast in my life

(it was probably a car turning across the park from our house, lol)

Being allowed eat your dinner in the living room if it was ready when Mary Poppins was on the telly.

All gathering round the tv to watch the Christmas Movie whatever it might be.

Agricola · 18-12-2013 8:40pm

Waking up Xmas morning and seeing your presents at the end of your bed. Is there anything to match the excitement a kid feels when he thinks a large bearded man in a red suit has left toys for him during the night!

Going into your parents room to show them what you got. Jumping in between them to open your stuff. That has to stop when you get to 19/20 which is a real pity

Tearing down to the sitting room to watch The Snowman and all the stuff on the Den. The smell of the dinner throughout the morning. Eating enough to kill a whale and then diving into the sweets and biscuits later on with one eye on your toys and the other on whatever old movie RTE were showing which Dad would be watching.

Mars Bar · 18-12-2013 9:07pm

I didn't realise people woke up to their presents on their bed! Why weren't the under the tree?

jersman · 18-12-2013 9:10pm

Yea for me it was always about coming down to where the tree was and all gathering outside the door and going in together to see all the presents.

Mars Bar wrote: »

I didn't realise people woke up to their presents on their bed! Why weren't the under the tree?

Posy · 18-12-2013 9:20pm

Mine were always on the end of the bed- I remember waking up and gingerly kicking around and being ecstatic when I discovered my presents from Santa.

Mars Bar · 18-12-2013 10:01pm

Ye must have all been flat out asleep. What if ye woke up when "Santa" was putting them there?!

Childhood Christmas memories

Comments