I so liked it when the Salvation Army played on the street corner on the lead up to Christmas singing carols and they trudged through the snow and knocked at the doors with their wooden collection boxes on a horizontal piece of wood.
The school nativity or play, the Christmas class party. The Carol service at the local church. Vary occasionally mum came if should could get off work. She sang a beautiful contralto (choking up here) and I could here her from the choir stalls, from the back of the church where the handful of mothers sat. Never any fathers. Nan always went.
Trying to go to sleep as Santa would't come. So pleased opening my pillowcase of toys and toffees.Glitter which didn't go all over you. I loved giving my parents their gifts and taking them to my grandparents on Christmas morning. We took it in turns to spend Christmas dinner with them and Great Grandma across the road and them with us for tea and vice versa. Nan's pewter sweet dish came out for the Quality Street. And the cake stand. Great Grandma had made the Christmas pudding, we all made a wish as we all had a stir of it. Her sister, my Auntie, from Cheltenham would be fetched from the bus station. I would go along in Grandad's car, a treat and sit at the front!. Not many people had cars then. My Granny would be fetched on alternate Christmas Days and Boxings days to either be with us or my uncle. She did prefer us as she loathed my Auntie and vice versa, and we had a downstairs loo! I had made paper chains with mum, paper lanterns and crackers to put on the wall. Grandad always bought us a real tree, not a huge one. The Pifco lights lasted for years. Mum would be tired from baking and glueing and wrapping because she had a full time job. She did the tree and that went up the last Sunday before Christmas. If Christmas dinner was at our house, mum would invite one of her friends who lived alone to share it with us. I liked it when her friend Sheff (knickname) came as she played the piano. We eventually had a capon. That put an end to Nan's cock(erel) jokes. One point to mum. Granny was not very mobile, she lost several fingers in a factory accident but she liked to help and sat with her legs open showing her passion killers and garters (as Nan would retort, "ooh er's common") Granny peeling the sprouts (and Nan being the other mother in law.) But I liked Granny as I loved all my family. She was funny. (Choking here again).
Sherry trifle for tea and Christmas Cake Grandad made. He was a lorry driver by day. He usually made four cakes and iced them which he distributed. He saved some icing for me to squeeze in to shapes, and he stuck tiny iced flowers, and silver balls on the pink and white cake.
The sherry would come out. The tot glasses. The Advo Cat as Nan called it. The cocktail biscuits in a balsa wood box. The glacé cherries. Dad smoked a cigar. I got a tot glass if Aunty wasn't looking. The Queen's speech. We kept our paper hats on all day. Watched TV. Auntie hoiked dad out of the best seat. We played games. As an only child everybody gave me the contents of their crackers. The False noses, spectacles, and Hercule Poirot type moustaches which always made my eyes run. Did it you?
And the street was quiet for a day. ....