Christmases I’ve Had
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Note from the Editor:
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G.
It was last night at the local club, where we take part in the trivia challenge every Tuesday. While we waited for our ‘partners’ to arrive, my wife started chatting to some people at a nearby table, as is her wont. She ended up with an agreement we’d all have a Christmas dinner at ‘our place’. It was a simple arrangement by two fairly isolated couples to stoke up the fires of conviviality in an increasingly isolationist world. It would be a fun Christmas. There’d be crackers and probably a cold meat salad, lots of talk and fun, and we’d probably end up playing Scrabble. I couldn’t help thinking of other Christmases I’ve had, especially when we were younger.
In England, it was a time for the family to gather around the fire and roast chestnuts after a busy Christmas dinner that took no account of calories. It wasn’t always raining outside, but it was always much cosier to be indoors. In the South of England, it didn’t usually snow until mid-January. In those days, it was a chance for Grandad and Grandma to meet the Grandkids again and for everybody to ‘catch up’. I’d make jokes – always the clown – and used to love it when I could make people laugh, but that’s another story. I think it was just after our Christmas dinner (lunch) that we would descend on the tree and open all the presents that relations had sent. We soon learnt to be ‘ecstatic’ with whatever it was! Nowadays we just hope that somebody kept a receipt!
Christmas morning had been spent sneaking out to open our ‘stockings’ and find all the ‘goodies’ therein. Quite often at that time (when I was about nine years old), there was a sort of cardboard container of ‘truffles’, which I believe were a very sweet lolly. Needless to say, most of them were gone before breakfast. My older brother and I usually had very similar presents, being only 2 years apart, but our younger brother had different things. Where we both had buffer stops or rolling stock for our model train sets, our younger brother would receive another animal for his model farm. If there was a torch in the stocking, it was usually quite well used before breakfast!
Shortly after dinner, the ‘oldies’ used to have a ‘nap’ in the chair, and we had to be quiet. It was a pattern that would repeat itself even if we had Christmas dinner at the Grandies’ place. (There I go, using modern expressions again!).
Our most memorable Christmases though, were those in which my parents took us on the train up to London. There used to be a store there called ‘Gamages’, and they always put on a wonderful display. We’d be all rugged up in a gabardine raincoat, scarf and so on, and we’d go up to the 3rd floor and queue up to go on ‘Santa’s Sleigh’ to his ‘Grotto’. I can’t remember whether the sleigh actually moved or we were treated to a scene of tiny houses moving ‘below’ us, but the effect was magical. When we got out of the sleigh, we queued again and sat on Santa’s knee (Not a problem in those days!) while he listened to ‘what we want for Christmas’. I don’t think my parents had an awful lot of money, but we really appreciated this outing.
After we moved to Australia, it was just us and the kids. Christmas is really their time, and we always got a lot of pleasure from that. Of course, Christmas in Australia is a lot different from that in England – or ‘the UK’ as it’s now called.
Our holidays to the UK always seemed to be around Christmas time, so it was quite a ‘climate lag’ to have to descend into freezing temperatures after coming out of our balmy climate. Of course, when they were around, our parents made a big fuss of the kids, and we felt they were really spoilt over Christmas. However, we could never recreate the old Christmases of our childhood somehow. They were simply a wonderful memory. I do remember the kids making ‘snow angels’ in the Black Forest on one of our trips, though.
We’d been in Oz for quite a few years before it really hit home how different and wonderful Christmas can be in this fabulous climate. We were relaxing in our lovely backyard swimming pool under a large umbrella in the moulded seat area around a small table, eating cold turkey sandwiches and drinking cider with a warm breeze blowing across our tanned torsos. The teenage children of ours were happily splashing about in the pool with some of their friends. Bliss!
I thought: ‘This is really what Christmas is all about!’
Note from the Editor:
What is Christmas all about for you? We’d love to hear from you, members.
Love Alan’s writing and want to read more? You might also like to read:
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $1 per week.
This article was kindly written for the SDC by member Alan G.
It was last night at the local club, where we take part in the trivia challenge every Tuesday. While we waited for our ‘partners’ to arrive, my wife started chatting to some people at a nearby table, as is her wont. She ended up with an agreement we’d all have a Christmas dinner at ‘our place’. It was a simple arrangement by two fairly isolated couples to stoke up the fires of conviviality in an increasingly isolationist world. It would be a fun Christmas. There’d be crackers and probably a cold meat salad, lots of talk and fun, and we’d probably end up playing Scrabble. I couldn’t help thinking of other Christmases I’ve had, especially when we were younger.
In England, it was a time for the family to gather around the fire and roast chestnuts after a busy Christmas dinner that took no account of calories. It wasn’t always raining outside, but it was always much cosier to be indoors. In the South of England, it didn’t usually snow until mid-January. In those days, it was a chance for Grandad and Grandma to meet the Grandkids again and for everybody to ‘catch up’. I’d make jokes – always the clown – and used to love it when I could make people laugh, but that’s another story. I think it was just after our Christmas dinner (lunch) that we would descend on the tree and open all the presents that relations had sent. We soon learnt to be ‘ecstatic’ with whatever it was! Nowadays we just hope that somebody kept a receipt!
Do you remember opening your stocking as a child? Image Credit: Shutterstock
Christmas morning had been spent sneaking out to open our ‘stockings’ and find all the ‘goodies’ therein. Quite often at that time (when I was about nine years old), there was a sort of cardboard container of ‘truffles’, which I believe were a very sweet lolly. Needless to say, most of them were gone before breakfast. My older brother and I usually had very similar presents, being only 2 years apart, but our younger brother had different things. Where we both had buffer stops or rolling stock for our model train sets, our younger brother would receive another animal for his model farm. If there was a torch in the stocking, it was usually quite well used before breakfast!
Shortly after dinner, the ‘oldies’ used to have a ‘nap’ in the chair, and we had to be quiet. It was a pattern that would repeat itself even if we had Christmas dinner at the Grandies’ place. (There I go, using modern expressions again!).
Our most memorable Christmases though, were those in which my parents took us on the train up to London. There used to be a store there called ‘Gamages’, and they always put on a wonderful display. We’d be all rugged up in a gabardine raincoat, scarf and so on, and we’d go up to the 3rd floor and queue up to go on ‘Santa’s Sleigh’ to his ‘Grotto’. I can’t remember whether the sleigh actually moved or we were treated to a scene of tiny houses moving ‘below’ us, but the effect was magical. When we got out of the sleigh, we queued again and sat on Santa’s knee (Not a problem in those days!) while he listened to ‘what we want for Christmas’. I don’t think my parents had an awful lot of money, but we really appreciated this outing.
After we moved to Australia, it was just us and the kids. Christmas is really their time, and we always got a lot of pleasure from that. Of course, Christmas in Australia is a lot different from that in England – or ‘the UK’ as it’s now called.
Our holidays to the UK always seemed to be around Christmas time, so it was quite a ‘climate lag’ to have to descend into freezing temperatures after coming out of our balmy climate. Of course, when they were around, our parents made a big fuss of the kids, and we felt they were really spoilt over Christmas. However, we could never recreate the old Christmases of our childhood somehow. They were simply a wonderful memory. I do remember the kids making ‘snow angels’ in the Black Forest on one of our trips, though.
Christmas may look different in Australia, but the magic is the same. Image Credit: Shutterstock
We’d been in Oz for quite a few years before it really hit home how different and wonderful Christmas can be in this fabulous climate. We were relaxing in our lovely backyard swimming pool under a large umbrella in the moulded seat area around a small table, eating cold turkey sandwiches and drinking cider with a warm breeze blowing across our tanned torsos. The teenage children of ours were happily splashing about in the pool with some of their friends. Bliss!
I thought: ‘This is really what Christmas is all about!’
Note from the Editor:
What is Christmas all about for you? We’d love to hear from you, members.
Love Alan’s writing and want to read more? You might also like to read:
- Bluetooth Anti-Theft Adapter: Enhance your home security for under $20
- Finding a Part-Time Job
- The Problematic Prostate
- Alan G.’s Member Spotlight: ‘Almost Famous’
- Alan G.’s Investment Scam Saga
- Holiday Hints: Things to Consider Before Your Next Trip
- Losing it: How a simple lifestyle change helped me shed 20kg
- As Safe as a Bank
We were only able to create this content because of the financial support of SDC Rewards members. If you'd like to see more of this (and a lot fewer ads!), please consider supporting us and signing up for SDC Rewards today—it starts at just $1 per week.
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