[Takart]

My last Christmas with my son 36, it's gut wrenching and still a treasured memory, he was in pain but still laughing and joking, even though bowel cancer was taking him, he wanted everyone to be happy, he loved our Xmas family breakfast, he passed in January 2022

 

[Parrot]

One of my Favourite Christmas memories that I still hold as “ Special “ is when I was at Work one Christmas with a few of my Mates although we still had enough work to keep us on the go the atmosphere was as though we were with Family . On My return home My Neighbour invited me
to join them in Christmas Dinner as I was solo.

 

[Quietkate]

Ii remember the Christmas I sat on the stairs hidden by the small wall at the top of them, and watched my parents play Santa, as they placed wrapped and unwrapped presents under the tree, the wonder of Christmas faded away, and I realised parents do lie, however I carried on pretending for there sake. But I think I really missed the wonder of Christmas.

 

[Brody]

It was 1950 and times were hard after the War with rationing and shortage of food. Christmas presents were going to be a second hand doll with clothes knitted from wool unraveled from my Mum's old jumper. At our village school I saw a beautiful brand new brown teddy bear behind a glass case. I was so excited and prayed hard to Baby Jesus and Santa for him to be mine. I even name him Wilfred. I told everyone he was coming to me at Christmas.
The others laughed and the Headmistress told me he was the prize in the village Whist Drive . (A card game popular in the UK). Every day I spoke with him and told him all the fun we would have. I blew him kisses as I left school each afternoon. My parents and grandparents got so frustrated telling me that they might not win the competition but I said I had spoken with Baby Jesus and I sang Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer and Silent Night to him nonstop.
Every night I could hear Mum, Dad, Nan and Grandad playing whist in the kitchen and arguing loudly. Then school broke up for Christmas and the big Whist game was on Christmas Eve. The whole village adult population turned up to play. I was so excited despite my parents warning me that Wilfred might be going to someone else. I went to bed, tucked in by a neighbour's daughter who was babysitting.
Christmas morning, I woke in the dark (well it was winter in England). I felt my Santa sack and there was the doll with her rainbow coloured dress, an orange, Mum had queued an hour for and some lollies bought with rationed coupons. No Wilfred!
I cried broken heartedly. My Nan came in and said, " Stop crying. It is Christmas!" I couldn't speak for sobbing. "Oh look!", Nan said. "Something has dropped off your bed." It was Wilfred!!!!
My Mum and Dad had defeated Nan and Granddad in the final round of the Whist competition! He was mine. Mum later said they just had to win because they and Baby Jesus could not bear hearing me sing "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" one more time. Wilfred proved that prayers can be answered and even though I am now 80 I still think of that as the best Christmas ever.

No doubt your Faith was renewed. Prayers do get heard, even through a winning game of whist.
Pray in Faith, God is faithful.

 

[Brody]

Ii remember the Christmas I sat on the stairs hidden by the small wall at the top of them, and watched my parents play Santa, as they placed wrapped and unwrapped presents under the tree, the wonder of Christmas faded away, and I realised parents do lie, however I carried on pretending for there sake. But I think I really missed the wonder of Christmas.

The time of belief in Santa was special, but also fleeting. Once it is gone it is gone. My 50 year Son still mourns for the loss of Christmas and Santa.
They were the good times for him,
especially. The days of innocence are
Priceless.
We should nurture them as a special gift.

 

[JeweloftheSea]

My most memorable Christmas was when I was a single deserted wife living with my Dad in the 1960's - my 2 daughters were learning ballet and kept saying how they wished they could have pink tutus and ballet shoes. I had an old treadle Singer sewing machine, (had only learned a bit of sewing at school) and every night after they went to bed I spent hours sewing layers and layers of pink net together to attach to pink and silver satin vest tops. Of course it was a struggle but I bought pink ballet shoes for them as well and hung the tutus and shoes on the Christmas tree. They were 7 & 8 and thought Santa had made them. I couldn't afford a camera then but the memory of their delighted faces is imbedded in my ageing memory. - from Jewel of the Sea

 

[Littleboy8]

My most memorable Christmas was when I was a single deserted wife living with my Dad in the 1960's - my 2 daughters were learning ballet and kept saying how they wished they could have pink tutus and ballet shoes. I had an old treadle Singer sewing machine, (had only learned a bit of sewing at school) and every night after they went to bed I spent hours sewing layers and layers of pink net together to attach to pink and silver satin vest tops. Of course it was a struggle but I bought pink ballet shoes for them as well and hung the tutus and shoes on the Christmas tree. They were 7 & 8 and thought Santa had made them. I couldn't afford a camera then but the memory of their delighted faces is imbedded in my ageing memory. - from Jewel of the Sea

Awwwthat is a beautiful story have a lovely christmas

 

[VicRaws]

My memories of Christmas are wonderful whatever we asked Santa Clause for we always got Dad and Mum always made sure we got what we wanted even though there was four of us kids, Christmas morning was always full of love and laughter and Christmas Lunch was spent with family mainly my
Nanna, Grandma and aunties and uncles I sure do miss this now, it is not the same as you get older

 

[pokey]

My favourite Christmas so far was in 2021. I have been celebrating with my daughter-in- law's family for some years and it's always a happy day. That year a new family member had been welcomed into the fold, and he was six months old by Christmas. It was an extra special occasion which we all loved, especially me as his nanna (and also his gran and pa and other relatives. There is quite an age gap between him and his two cousins, so he was the focus of attention and certainly made the day more joyful. One Christmas that will remain in my memory for many years to come!.

 

[O'Rourke]

I was married on the 20th Dec. And the only person I knew on Christmas Day was my husband. It was fantastic. Sadly he has since passed away.

 

[Littleboy8]

I was married on the 20th Dec. And the only person I knew on Christmas Day was my husband. It was fantastic. Sadly he has since passed away.

try and have a nice one anyway memories are goodmerry Christmas

 

[Jeanette1959]

My favourite Christmas memory was going to Essendon airport with my cousin who worked for TAA (airlines) back in the day. Santa would arrive by helicopter with a sack full of presents for all the children. I remember it being so exciting watching Santa jump out of the helicopter with his big red sack, then it would be followed by a huge picnic for all the staff and children on the grounds of the airport with rides and loads of fun to be had by all. My parents could not afford much back then in the 60's so this was a huge highlight for me and one I will never forget.

 

[Jeanette1959]

My favourite Christmas memory was going to Essendon airport with my cousin who worked for TAA (airlines) back in the day. Santa would arrive by helicopter with a sack full of presents for all the children. I remember it being so exciting watching Santa jump out of the helicopter with his big red sack, then it would be followed by a huge picnic for all the staff and children on the grounds of the airport with rides and loads of fun to be had by all. My parents could not afford much back then in the 60's so this was a huge highlight for me and one I will never forget.

 

[Boudicca]

I think my favourite Christmas('s) were when my children were toddlers and old enough to understand what was going on. The decorating of the tree, and the singing of Christmas carols. I had been buying little things all year as there was not very much money to by big. The smiles on their faces when they woke up and saw all their presents made the day for me. I do the same for my grandchildren now and it still brings a huge smile to my face to see and hear the excitement.

 

[Singomate]

I just think waking up early with family and looking forward to the Rest of our mob rellos turning up in our family it meant over twenty five give or take ten, and laughing and hugs watching the sparkle in eyes sometimes tears of joy, and the end of a huge day falling asleep with a smile and hugging that new football so it's the first thing you see when you wake ️

 

[goatwhisperer]

One of 8 children to parents that were grain and sheep farmers in marginal farming land in South Australia, money was always short. Christmas always coincided with reaping time, so Dad was working from dawn til dusk getting the crops harvested. None the less with much pestering from his offspring he would take an hour or two off from reaping and my siblings and I would all jump on the back of the big old International Ute and head up to a part of the farm where native pine trees grew. Dad would chop down the selected one then back to the house to decorate with home made crepe paper strands and some of the precious Christmas decorations Mum kept. The trees were always 10 feet tall at a minimum and fitted well in the old farmhouse with 15 foot high ceilings. Stood in an old metal bucket with rocks to stop it falling over, the fragrance of pine needles were just divine! Twisted and twirled colourful crepe paper strands cut from whole rolls of crepe paper were hung to decorate the farmhouse kitchen ceiling as well. One year in particular Santa and his elves must have been a bit time poor. My younger sister and I got 18 inch dolls, naked, with the fabric and trims next to them. Thankfully our mother very handy with dressmaking, whipped up their dresses a couple of days after Christmas! Life was simple 60 years ago and we didn't have a lot in possessions, but lasting memories of the efforts our parents went to making Christmas special with delicious simple roasts and salads and desserts for Christmas lunch. Being a Catholic family, midnight mass was also a must, and as sleepy as us young ones were, it always held lovely memories .

 

[windyweather]

replying to the claim that18-26 year olds are the hardest hit by todays cost`s.
I DO NOT agree. i am 71 in reciept of the age pension , paying half my fortnightly pension in rent( not by choice), and somehow try to keep up with every other cost with the other half.____and no other balance or income to "fall back" on. --thats it.
and all my attempts and comments to various departments i believe are being ignored.

 

[Emwick]

The Richest Christmas I Ever Had

We faced the prospect of a bleak Christmas in December 1957. Three months prior to Christmas, my brother, Ryan, had been diagnosed as one of the first victims of poliomyelitis in our area. Naturally, all the money had gone to doctor's bills and medicines. That was why we were poorer than usual.

My mother called us, seven siblings, round the Christmas tree. It had no trimmings except the artificial "snow" she had shown us how to make from beaten egg white.
Good Christian soul that she was, she told us the story of the First Christmas as we had never heard it before - with its poverty and its message of hope and joy. Then she talked about giving and sharing, and somehow made us understand that THAT was the essence of Christmas.

"Now let's play a game, " she announced. "Let us each think of five things we would like to give the other for Christmas. We are not going to tell each other about it...each thought will be a secret". She pointed to some sheets of cardboard and a stack of glossy-paged magazines she had collected from friends. "We can look in these magazines for pictures of the things we wish we could give. We will cut them out carefully, paste
them on hard cardboard and wrap them up in a box. And let us all pretend that we are giving and receiving these wonderful 'gifts'" .

She fired our imagination and challenged our capacity for generosity. Everyone - including our father - started to think of the very best things
one could give to the other. As we had to keep everything secret, the enthusiasm gained in momentum and the excitement reached feverish pitch. We shared three pairs of scissors among us and small tubs of home-made glue. Daily, the mountain of carefully wrapped boxes grew under the tree.

When Christmas Day finally arrived, we all trooped excitedly into the lounge room to open our gifts. There were "ohs" and "aahs", laughter
and clapping, as each one exhibited what he or she received.

I pulled out pictures of a red cadillac, a lovely life-sized doll, a Spanish fan, a basket of exotic fruits and a house with a garden surrounding it.

I tell you,it was the richest Christmas I ever had! With those gifts, a little girl could only feel very rich and very important. Recalling this now, some 65 years after, brings tears to my eyes and warmth in my heart.

From: "emwick" in Perth

 

[Sue Cook]

When I was a child my mother would fill a pillow case with lots of presents.Now I'm 73 I like having my 4 children and three grandchildren over for lunch and give them all lots of presents then have lunch together
Ken Stubbs

 

[Babybird]

We lived in small village in mountain,
In winter no work, we lived on what we planted in the summer ,
Bottling fruit for the winter months, gathering and drying garlic and onions potatoes etc. We made our own sauces and lava bread homemade oven, made out clay.

No work or possible money to buy.
It snowed the 3 months, sometimes covering the door to roof.

We had small stove to cook on and heat the 1 bedroom which was made out stone and mud, 4 kids and 2 adults lived cooked and slept in that room. I was 6 years, I can't remember having Christmas presents at all.
For a treat at Christmas each of us went outside filled cup with snow which mum poured mulberry juice that she preserved in summer for the winter months.
That was our Christmas.

We toasted chest nut on top stove and toasted acorn we gathered before winter set in, on the day, we had no TV or radio.
I remember mum with her cheerful stories to make the day festive. We gathered around the small stove with just old kerosene lantern for light.
No running water except bringing snow in let it melt for drinking and cooking.

As bath we used a round steel tub which mum warmed the snow into hot water on stove kept pouring to keep it warm.
As the day got warm we would watch the snow, mum and dad ventured out to gather wood and kindling for the night. Put the wood on top stove to dry so it can be used on the night.

Non us had toys etc, just enough to eat.

Summer we would go with mum to pick apples we sit under shaded tree while mum worked picking apples to earn little money.

By that stage dad was in Australia, he was struggling to find work and mum was left to raise us keep food on the table. For about 5 years than after he found work saved to bring us to Australia, the cheapest was by boat. It was a long long sea voyage, to us it seemed like months mum was sick whole time, a steward kept an eye on us, beside little treats he used bring with food.

We made it into the promise land I remember as we landed in Fremantle,
First time we saw TV they watched wrestling on the day. All kids gathered around TV while lunch was made at a church hall, we were ushered to waiting for dad to pick us up.

Than Life began in Australia.