Introduction
As another Christmas approaches, let’s take a nostalgic walk down memory lane to see what this magical time of the year looked like from a time when you were just a child. Growing up in the 1970s and 1980s, Christmas Day was a time you waited impatiently for 364 days. A time in your time when Father Christmas was that figure who flew through the sky on a reindeer-drawn sleigh, climbed down your chimney in the dead of night and left a pile of presents from your Christmas list under the pine-laden tree in the front room—rewarded for his toil with a mince piece and a glass of something more substantial on the coffee table. As a child, you were oblivious that this Christmas delivery came from your parents, fumbling around in the dark after a frenzy of wrapping in a peaceful process that equalled a James Bond mission. It was a juggling act that never conquered children, sneaking down the stairs in the early morning hours to peek at what Santa had left them, bleary-eyed but committed not to return to their beds.
After a well-deserved breakfast that your parents washed down with a mug of steaming tea or a glass of alcoholic beverage, the traditional unwrapping party would begin. Wrapping paper flying across the room as a train set, cuddly toy or an Action Man was revealed in the security-tight taped paper that your parents had spent several hours completing an art lesson to prepare. As the vegetables boiled in the background and a turkey fit for royalty cooked in the oven, the television or a wealth of Christmas songs sounded out. The doorbell rang before lunch when you were washed, dressed and ready for the Christmas celebration. A parade of relations marching through the front door, many of whom you hadn’t seen all year. Your grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins and the odd furry canine ready to tuck in to the mountain of food that would soon become a distant memory. All washed down with port, sherry, Babycham or a bottle of sweet-tasting Blue Nun.
As the food digested and the boxes of Christmas sweets and nuts came out, your loved ones vibrated with their snores. Their eyes were masked by a cracker paper hat, occasionally opening an eye to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s Speech or one of the traditional films that were rolled out in the television schedule every year. Board games, charades or the smell of Christmas pudding waking them from their alcoholic food slumber. A contrast to the children running around them with no slumber timer. Hyper on sweets and chocolates and ready to keep going until the dreaded call for bedtime. After a mission of Christmas viewing that included all the festive specials, films and comedies, the front room looked like it had been hit by a bomb. Wrapping paper, sweet papers and cracker ends dotted across the room and a number of plates and empty glasses adorning the room.
As your relations were nudged or woken to be prepared to go home, the laden coat hooks in the hallway were soon no longer groaning with their weight. The dog yapped at their heels as they fumbled their way to a blast of cold air as the front door was opened and a fanfare of goodbyes as they walked off to the army of cars that were parked outside. Greeted with rain or snow, the cavalcade of cars departed and silence fell on the household. Another year done and only to be followed by Boxing Day, New Year‘s Eve and New Year’s Day. Fond and cherished memories that never leave. A childhood that forever remains in the depths of your heart and mind.
