My favourite memory of a childhood Xmas was when we stayed at our grandparents property in Western Qld, in possibly 1960.
It was a typical old Qlder house with the wrap around veranda, built by my grandfather over several years of the 1910's. As the family grew to the eventual 11 kids, the house was built onto. Then in later years, as they left home, it became smaller.
So it was back to smallish by this particular Xmas, and we kids slept on the veranda. It was such a novelty to us.
I don't remember all the details, I was so young. I don't remember the presents, or the food, or who exactly was there, but what I do remember is playing with all these cousins! Eventually there were 54 of we grandchildren, so in 1960 there was probably around 40 of us!
Great memories!
What about you? What's your story?
Firefly said
03:40 PM Dec 13, 2011
That is indeed a lovely memory mate.
So many kids, so much fun.
I don't have many memories from my childhood Xmas's to be honest so I can't add to your list.
Happywanderer said
03:45 PM Dec 13, 2011
Very similiar Beth. My nanas farm. The old house had a verandah too. In NZ back in the 50s they still had horse and cart although cars were around. A huge Xmas tree was always put up on the verandah which had a circular driveway in front of it. Then Father Christmas would arrive through the trees on the horse and cart and around the circular driveway up to the verandah. He would sit there and call out our names and give us our presents. This would go on all afternoon as the family was so big.
Also Nanas Christmas pudding was the best ever, boiled in the cloth and full of sixpences.
Oh the memories, nothing like it today.
Rip and Rosie said
04:19 PM Dec 13, 2011
I remember the pudding. Mum always made it early in December, and it hung in its cloth to mature over the copper stick (the stick she used to stir the clothes in the old copper) hung across the backs of 2 chairs. I remember for December we were always short of chairs to sit on !
She worried and stressed about it "in case the water got in" during the cooking.
She would guard that pudding from active kids, and careless adults. She worried about it if the weather was wet, in case it took mould, and if it was hot and dry, in case the flys got to it. The ritual was that she would boil it up again on christmas eve and peel the cloth off, ever so carefully, and then we would know- success or not. The best ones had a nice thick skin and smelled beaut.
I think she was always a bit heartbroken when, after she had filled us all full of christmas lunch, no one wanted pudding - except dad - he always had some.
Anyway, that pudding recipe was her mother's, and her mother's before.
Seems like I'm the keeper of the flame now- I have her recipe, the old boiler, the pudding cloth and the sixpences.
I remember after she died, and christmas was so sad, I pulled it all out and set about my task. The recipe was "a packet of....", "a good handful of....." and a "pinch of ..." etc and "almost half a bottle of brandy".
Oh, it was an epic pudding!!
How was I supposed to know what size bottle of brandy she meant !!!!!!
_wombat_ said
05:04 PM Dec 13, 2011
I thought HW was on holidays, do you know you are not aloud to post here when you are away
Nicholstones said
05:26 PM Dec 13, 2011
_wombat_ wrote:
I thought HW was on holidays, do you know you are not aloud to post here when you are away
Well that's a funny sort of rule for a forum for nomads!
Beth54 said
05:26 PM Dec 13, 2011
I don't have a very good memory at all Firefly. I always have to ask my sister if I'm curious about something from way back. She has a fantastic memory.
Mum used to make a pudding too, but I never ate it, so can't say if it was good, but I do remember threepences and sixpenses were in it. My sister now makes it for our family, but she uses her own recipe, so maybe Mum's wasn't so good.
Rosie, wasn't it amazing that they could just throw something together without an actual recipe.
And wombat, I choose to ignore you if you don't have a story for us.
Happywanderer said
05:34 PM Dec 13, 2011
_wombat_ wrote:
I thought HW was on holidays, do you know you are not aloud to post here when you are away
I do take my laptop with me when I got on holidays wombat, but yes I am back this arvo. So windy I nearly got blown into Greens Lake so decided to come home.
Give it a miss for this week.
Isn't it great how many memories revolve around the Xmas pudding.
animalcarer said
05:46 PM Dec 13, 2011
Quite an emotional read nomads. Happy Wanderer I did not know you came from over the ditch too. My memories are similar to yours, nz in the country, East coast, Flowering red pohutuakawa trees, crayfish, roast lamb, cold chicken, trifle, pavalovas, christmas steamed pudding done in the calico cloth with sixpences. I remember my cousin saying to Nana its horrible pudding but I love the sixpences
And roast vegetables, it was usually stinking hot, and us kids all sat down on spread out newspapers on the verandah, the youngest in highchairs. The ladies had shandys and us kids were allowed raspberry drink or fanta.
We usually had a rest, then we would play cricket, or get big cardboard boxes, and slid down the hills, usually scrapping our knees etc, but we didnt care, we were always on the go, none of this moddly coddly stuff that goes on now.
We always had a orange in our christmas stocking, up to the age of 10 I can remember that. I think it was an old english tradition. Sadly those days are gone, its become very commercialised, children today are getting presents at the value of $100 or more. My new grandson who I havent seen yet, wont be getting commercialised crap from me, I have bought him a fishing rod, (he is 7 weeks old) and I will be teaching him camping survival skills, cant wait. Christmas for Howard and I is going to be very simple, I have some pink lemonade, and will probably roast a duck. with a salad. Seafood looks too dear and not always 100 percent fresh. Merry christmas to everybody, may the next year bring you happiness and good health.
Lynette (animalcarer)
Happywanderer said
05:53 PM Dec 13, 2011
Yes Lynette. Levin/Manakau
Talking about fanta. The only time we got softdrink was at Xmas and Dad would go buy a whole crate full, in little bottles. I remember the orange in my stocking too. My new grandson, I bought for him a Xmas bauble with his name and year on it. Daughter said he doesn't know about Xmas yet so don't go buying big presents. Its red with Gold writing.
goinsoon said
06:14 PM Dec 13, 2011
Same as you Rip and Rosie, I don't really remember the Christmases, but I will always remember the puddings in calico hanging off the line on the back verandah
Father Ted said
06:33 PM Dec 13, 2011
Beth54 wrote:
My favourite memory of a childhood Xmas was when we stayed at our grandparents property in Western Qld, in possibly 1960.
It was a typical old Qlder house with the wrap around veranda, built by my grandfather over several years of the 1910's. As the family grew to the eventual 11 kids, the house was built onto. Then in later years, as they left home, it became smaller.
So it was back to smallish by this particular Xmas, and we kids slept on the veranda. It was such a novelty to us.
I don't remember all the details, I was so young. I don't remember the presents, or the food, or who exactly was there, but what I do remember is playing with all these cousins! Eventually there were 54 of we grandchildren, so in 1960 there was probably around 40 of us!
Great memories!
What about you? What's your story?
My early Christmases were spent in the "Workhouse' with my mate Oliver.The head warder was Mr Beadle,a big fat chap with a mean streak in him.I always remember when Oliver had the cheek and daring to say to Mr Beadle,"please Sir I want some more"...............Just kidding of course.I must say how much I have enjoyed sharing your early memories of Christmas,in such a lot of ways they were indeed the"good Old Days".Thanks to everyone for the memories and I have to be honest a bit of a tear now and then.To one and all may I wish you a Happy,Merry Christmas and all the very best for 2012.Best wishes Father Ted(Marty).
Esmeralda said
10:26 PM Dec 13, 2011
The Christmas that sticks in my mind from childhood was one where the whole of my mother's family had lunch at my grandparents home. They had a small house and were shortish too but we all seemed to fit - 8 adults and 11 children. And yes, the pudding was full of sixpences and threepences and boiled using the copper stick to hold it up!!
DellieMay said
12:32 AM Dec 14, 2011
I remember lying on top of a wardrobe {that served as a wall to make 2 rooms} waiting to see Santa. Noone was aware of me being up there. I swear I saw him before I got down and went to my part of the bed. The next year, I was 10, up on the wardrobe, waiting to see Santa {again} and my big sister caught me, promptly TRIED to tell me Santa wasn't real. Broke my heart. I STILL see Santa, and share the wonder of Christmas with my Grandsons. Merry Christmas everyone. Smile, Dellie
jimricho said
06:51 AM Dec 14, 2011
Mark Twain once said that the best memories of his childhood were of events that never happened!
Beth54 said
10:34 AM Dec 14, 2011
jimricho wrote:
Mark Twain once said that the best memories of his childhood were of events that never happened!
Oh that's too deep for me.
_wombat_ said
10:40 AM Dec 14, 2011
Beth54 wrote:
jimricho wrote:
Mark Twain once said that the best memories of his childhood were of events that never happened!
Oh that's too deep for me.
My hole's are very deep
Beth54 said
10:41 AM Dec 14, 2011
Oh Wombat, you crack me up!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 10:42:13 AM
-- Edited by Beth54 on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 01:26:28 PM
Rip and Rosie said
12:13 PM Dec 14, 2011
I don't think its possible to shut unhappy memories away in a box, like they don't exist. Christmas is a sad time for lots of folk, and the suicide rate in Australia always spikes at Christmas.
Not everyone has a family to celebrate with, and family splits and grievances can make it a lonely time for lots of people.
My own father died on Christmas eve - many years back now, but whenever christmas comes around, so does the sadness.
Look at the funeral notices in any newspapers during December, December is no different to any other month of the year.
The songs are all happy and joyful. Sad people get tauned with "Bah humbug !!!" as if we are not allowed to grieve at this time.
We now celebrate for the children in the family, but the sadness remains, as if the world is some how saying there is no entitlement to be sad in December.
Older, wiser heads make space for everyone.
kandagal said
12:13 PM Dec 14, 2011
My earliest memories of Christmas & New Year are of bowls of mixed lollies & nuts on the table to be snacked on during the day & we had 2 dozen bottles of softdrink. These things were very rare to have during the year. By the way Wombat, if we are not allowed to post while we are "away" am I in trouble because i am always "away"
_wombat_ said
12:27 PM Dec 14, 2011
kandagal wrote:
My earliest memories of Christmas & New Year are of bowls of mixed lollies & nuts on the table to be snacked on during the day & we had 2 dozen bottles of softdrink. These things were very rare to have during the year. By the way Wombat, if we are not allowed to post while we are "away" am I in trouble because i am always "away"
no, that was only for HW, you keep posting.
JRH said
01:07 PM Dec 14, 2011
Sorry I have no fond memories of Christmas as a child, my parents always had a flaming row over Christmas.
Happywanderer said
02:45 PM Dec 14, 2011
My late hubby's birthday is Xmas Day, which always makes it hard for daughter and I. She found it hard wrapping up grandsons pressies the other day knowing they would never meet. Shed a few tears. Its always a mixture of sadness and joy. By the way its my late mums birthday today, She would have been 91. Happy Birthday mum.
JRH said
02:49 PM Dec 14, 2011
Happywanderer wrote:
My late hubby's birthday is Xmas Day, which always makes it hard for daughter and I. She found it hard wrapping up grandsons pressies the other day knowing they would never meet. Shed a few tears. Its always a mixture of sadness and joy. By the way its my late mums birthday today, She would have been 91. Happy Birthday mum.
Life deals us some rough blows hey Marj but we usually manage to put them behind us and get on with life. I can understand that Christmas would be a bitter sweet time for you and yours.
Beth54 said
02:55 PM Dec 14, 2011
Whilst I feel for you who have sad memories of Christmas, the title of this post is Best memory of childhood Christmas.
Can we please keep it on a positive note.
Happywanderer said
03:44 PM Dec 14, 2011
Oops sorry Beth. But can say I have very positive memories of both my husband and my mum. On Xmas day we always raise our glasses and say Happy Birthday Dan.
Beth54 said
03:49 PM Dec 14, 2011
Happywanderer wrote:
Oops sorry Beth. But can say I have very positive memories of both my husband and my mum. On Xmas day we always raise our glasses and say Happy Birthday Dan.
Thanks Marj...no offence intended.
Rip and Rosie said
05:05 PM Dec 14, 2011
Beth54 wrote:
Happywanderer wrote:
Oops sorry Beth. But can say I have very positive memories of both my husband and my mum. On Xmas day we always raise our glasses and say Happy Birthday Dan.
Thanks Marj...no offence intended.
Just my point- why is it not okay to have sad thoughts around Christmas? I have lots of good memories- and a few to make for the future too- but we should also be able to juggle the sad stuff without upsetting other folk.
In our family, this year when we raise a glass, we will include you and yours Marj & JRH
Rosie
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 05:07:23 PM
JRH said
05:24 PM Dec 14, 2011
Rip and Rosie wrote:
Beth54 wrote:
Happywanderer wrote:
Oops sorry Beth. But can say I have very positive memories of both my husband and my mum. On Xmas day we always raise our glasses and say Happy Birthday Dan.
Thanks Marj...no offence intended.
Just my point- why is it not okay to have sad thoughts around Christmas? I have lots of good memories- and a few to make for the future too- but we should also be able to juggle the sad stuff without upsetting other folk.
In our family, this year when we raise a glass, we will include you and yours Marj & JRH
Rosie
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 05:07:23 PM
Thank you very much Rosie we will return the compliment rest assured.
Cruising Granny said
06:20 PM Dec 14, 2011
My happiest memories are finding my brand new, shiny blue 2 wheeler bike in the back lobby. It was too big to bring into the house to put under the tree. The other memories are of lights, lots of Christmas lights. I spent my childhood at Lobethal which is now the scene of a massive Christmas display complete with live nativity re-enactment. It's a very Christian town, predominantly Lutheran. When I was a child the businesses or the council would string lights across the main street, most houses had lights along the verandahs, and the huge oak tree at the Lutheran Church, which is still there, had lights strung over it. There are now bus tours to Lobethal to view the Christmas lights. I'm planning to go for a drive to relive those memories. I always got nice presents from the family, and beer and soft drink were only for Christmas and birthdays.
My favourite memory of a childhood Xmas was when we stayed at our grandparents property in Western Qld, in possibly 1960.
It was a typical old Qlder house with the wrap around veranda, built by my grandfather over several years of the 1910's. As the family grew to the eventual 11 kids, the house was built onto. Then in later years, as they left home, it became smaller.
So it was back to smallish by this particular Xmas, and we kids slept on the veranda. It was such a novelty to us.
I don't remember all the details, I was so young. I don't remember the presents, or the food, or who exactly was there, but what I do remember is playing with all these cousins! Eventually there were 54 of we grandchildren, so in 1960 there was probably around 40 of us!
Great memories!
What about you? What's your story?
That is indeed a lovely memory mate.
So many kids, so much fun.
I don't have many memories from my childhood Xmas's to be honest so I can't add to your list.
A huge Xmas tree was always put up on the verandah which had a circular driveway in front of it.
Then Father Christmas would arrive through the trees on the horse and cart and around the circular driveway up to the verandah. He would sit there and call out our names and give us our presents. This would go on all afternoon as the family was so big.
Also Nanas Christmas pudding was the best ever, boiled in the cloth and full of sixpences.
Oh the memories, nothing like it today.
She worried and stressed about it "in case the water got in" during the cooking.
She would guard that pudding from active kids, and careless adults. She worried about it if the weather was wet, in case it took mould, and if it was hot and dry, in case the flys got to it. The ritual was that she would boil it up again on christmas eve and peel the cloth off, ever so carefully, and then we would know- success or not. The best ones had a nice thick skin and smelled beaut.
I think she was always a bit heartbroken when, after she had filled us all full of christmas lunch, no one wanted pudding - except dad - he always had some.
Anyway, that pudding recipe was her mother's, and her mother's before.
Seems like I'm the keeper of the flame now- I have her recipe, the old boiler, the pudding cloth and the sixpences.
I remember after she died, and christmas was so sad, I pulled it all out and set about my task. The recipe was "a packet of....", "a good handful of....." and a "pinch of ..." etc and "almost half a bottle of brandy".
Oh, it was an epic pudding!!
How was I supposed to know what size bottle of brandy she meant !!!!!!
I thought HW was on holidays, do you know you are not aloud to post here when you are away
Well that's a funny sort of rule for a forum for nomads!
I don't have a very good memory at all Firefly. I always have to ask my sister if I'm curious about something from way back. She has a fantastic memory.
Mum used to make a pudding too, but I never ate it, so can't say if it was good, but I do remember threepences and sixpenses were in it. My sister now makes it for our family, but she uses her own recipe, so maybe Mum's wasn't so good.
Rosie, wasn't it amazing that they could just throw something together without an actual recipe.
And wombat, I choose to ignore you if you don't have a story for us.
I do take my laptop with me when I got on holidays wombat, but yes I am back this arvo. So windy I nearly got blown into Greens Lake so decided to come home.
Give it a miss for this week.
Isn't it great how many memories revolve around the Xmas pudding.
My memories are similar to yours, nz in the country, East coast, Flowering red pohutuakawa trees, crayfish, roast lamb, cold chicken, trifle, pavalovas, christmas steamed pudding done in the calico cloth with sixpences.
I remember my cousin saying to Nana its horrible pudding but I love the sixpences
And roast vegetables, it was usually stinking hot, and us kids all sat down on spread out newspapers on the verandah, the youngest in highchairs. The ladies had shandys and us kids were allowed raspberry drink or fanta.
We usually had a rest, then we would play cricket, or get big cardboard boxes, and slid down the hills, usually scrapping our knees etc, but we didnt care, we were always on the go, none of this moddly coddly stuff that goes on now.
We always had a orange in our christmas stocking, up to the age of 10 I can remember that.
I think it was an old english tradition. Sadly those days are gone, its become very commercialised, children today are getting presents at the value of $100 or more. My new grandson who I havent seen yet, wont be getting commercialised crap from me, I have bought him a fishing rod, (he is 7 weeks old) and I will be teaching him camping survival skills, cant wait.
Christmas for Howard and I is going to be very simple, I have some pink lemonade, and will probably roast a duck.
with a salad. Seafood looks too dear and not always 100 percent fresh.
Merry christmas to everybody, may the next year bring you happiness and good health.
Lynette (animalcarer)
Talking about fanta. The only time we got softdrink was at Xmas and Dad would go buy a whole crate full, in little bottles. I remember the orange in my stocking too.
My new grandson, I bought for him a Xmas bauble with his name and year on it. Daughter said he doesn't know about Xmas yet so don't go buying big presents. Its red with Gold writing.
The Christmas that sticks in my mind from childhood was one where the whole of my mother's family had lunch at my grandparents home. They had a small house and were shortish too but we all seemed to fit - 8 adults and 11 children. And yes, the pudding was full of sixpences and threepences and boiled using the copper stick to hold it up!!
Merry Christmas everyone.
Smile, Dellie
Oh that's too deep for me.
My hole's are very deep
Oh Wombat, you crack me up!
-- Edited by Beth54 on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 10:42:13 AM
-- Edited by Beth54 on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 01:26:28 PM
Not everyone has a family to celebrate with, and family splits and grievances can make it a lonely time for lots of people.
My own father died on Christmas eve - many years back now, but whenever christmas comes around, so does the sadness.
Look at the funeral notices in any newspapers during December, December is no different to any other month of the year.
The songs are all happy and joyful. Sad people get tauned with "Bah humbug !!!" as if we are not allowed to grieve at this time.
We now celebrate for the children in the family, but the sadness remains, as if the world is some how saying there is no entitlement to be sad in December.
Older, wiser heads make space for everyone.
no, that was only for HW, you keep posting.
Sorry I have no fond memories of Christmas as a child, my parents always had a flaming row over Christmas.
By the way its my late mums birthday today, She would have been 91. Happy Birthday mum.
Life deals us some rough blows hey Marj but we usually manage to put them behind us and get on with life. I can understand that Christmas would be a bitter sweet time for you and yours.
Whilst I feel for you who have sad memories of Christmas, the title of this post is Best memory of childhood Christmas.
Can we please keep it on a positive note.
But can say I have very positive memories of both my husband and my mum. On Xmas day we always raise our glasses and say Happy Birthday Dan.
Thanks Marj...no offence intended.
Just my point- why is it not okay to have sad thoughts around Christmas? I have lots of good memories- and a few to make for the future too- but we should also be able to juggle the sad stuff without upsetting other folk.
In our family, this year when we raise a glass, we will include you and yours Marj & JRH
Rosie
-- Edited by Rip and Rosie on Wednesday 14th of December 2011 05:07:23 PM
Thank you very much Rosie we will return the compliment rest assured.
The other memories are of lights, lots of Christmas lights. I spent my childhood at Lobethal which is now the scene of a massive Christmas display complete with live nativity re-enactment. It's a very Christian town, predominantly Lutheran. When I was a child the businesses or the council would string lights across the main street, most houses had lights along the verandahs, and the huge oak tree at the Lutheran Church, which is still there, had lights strung over it.
There are now bus tours to Lobethal to view the Christmas lights. I'm planning to go for a drive to relive those memories.
I always got nice presents from the family, and beer and soft drink were only for Christmas and birthdays.