It won’t be long before Christmas is with us once again. I have been watching the dull grey skies and wondering whether we had a summer at all this year. Maybe it was that two weeks in September? Anyway, we can now look forward to the festive season and the joy it brings, whatever the weather outdoors.
I’ve been busy knitting, as a friend asked if I would do a Nativity scene for her church – such fun to do, watching balls of wool transform into little people. It made me think of times gone by when we were little and went to church most weeks and especially at Christmas.
Christmas years ago was a time of proper festivities. On Christmas Eve, Mum would be busy preparing all the vegetables as most of the family came to us on Christmas Day. Mum would cook for about 20 people while Dad entertained my sister and I by getting us to sing Christmas carols by the fire. Family arrived on the big day, with the men visiting the local pub for a pre-dinner drink and then, after the Christmas meal, we’d all go for a walk before settling down to play games. If we wanted to hear the Queen’s speech we listened to it on the radio. Dad insisted that the day was for family and always took the television out of the room! Later, more family arrived for a proper tea with cold meats, pork pie, salad and pickles, usually followed by a sherry trifle and tinned fruit and, finally, Christmas cake.
Grannie and Grandma would sit in the corner with a glass of sherry nearby, keeping a watchful eye on us all. We all joined in playing some written games – like who can list the most items in a category beginning with a chosen letter (better known as Scattergories today). The person who wrote down the most, without cheating, was the winner. I-Spy was a must and then Pass the Parcel, always passed round with carols playing in the background. Sometimes there was a small prize in between some of the layers before we got to the end of the game and the main prize was revealed. Mum would have wrapped up a couple of layers so we didn’t know what the prize was, then we used plenty of the wrapping paper from our presents to add more layers. This always made the game last longer and was a good way to recycle our packaging!
We played with our toys – and got what we were given – which sometimes was something we had asked Santa for when we went to see him in the local store. I remember one year getting the post office set I had asked for, which was great until I knocked the bottle of ink over the carpet. Boy, was I in trouble then!
Times have certainly changed since my childhood Christmases – maybe going to church and listening to the King’s speech aren’t so important to some anymore, and online games have overtaken the traditional ones, but I think we all still like Christmas to be about family gatherings and spending some proper time together. I certainly do.