• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Christmas Presents

Such memories this thread has brought back. I, too, had a Cinderella watch for Christmas along with a 'dancing' Cinderella, you wound her up and away she waltzed.
Dad used to make a lot of wooden toys for me, and then the grandchildren, but his masterpiece was a doll's house. He and Mam must have been working on it for months, making the furniture, furnishings, people (fully clothed) and it had working lights. The front came off to gain access and it was as tall as me but.... it fell victim to being heating material when the cost of coal became too high! The good old days?!?!?!
I have another dolls house now, made to copy the house it lived in. I found the dollhouse in a charity shop and it had obviously been built with much love .... now it is mine to love.
 
https://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/atv-today-27121967-christmas-presents Sorry doesn,t seem to have turned out. It was a smashing clip of some kids from Aston being interviewed in 1967. They were being asked what Xmas presents they had .
 
One of my earliest presents was a "Dan Dare" belt.
The grey plastic buckle of the belt was shaped to show Dan Dare, hero of the Eagle", wearing his space helmet.
I thought it was wonderful.
(To those who never read the "Eagle" comic, my apologies !).
 
I reckon we`ve all had a naff christmas present at some time. The 2nd most naff present i ever got was an out of date Christmas cake from an elderly aunt, but the most naff present of all was a Mankini from anonymous. The message read, "merry Christmas Dave" & no signature. I knew it wasn`t from the wife as she never calls me Dave. A Mankini is the most hideous piece of beachwear ever invented & even someone with a wierd sense of humour like myself wouldn`t wear it. Anyway, i gave the Mankini to my grandson to sell at the bootsale. I reckon he should have got at least 20p for it.! The best pressie was having my Wife home in time for Christmas after bowel surgery.
 
This was my most memorable pressie. Think I was 4 or 5 in the photo. The Mickey Mouse playing xylophone came from relations in America. I still remember playing with it. It seemed enormous to me. And I remember the slippers in the photo, blue trimmed fur, beautifully comfy, and a staple christmas present every year.


ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1387042457.503782.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalkHD1387042527.197489.jpg

These now sell for around £400+ Wish I'd held on to mine. viv.
 
My farm that mum and dad must have scratted to buy, I kept getting little animals in advance before it came. I also spent all my pockey money buying presents for the family, tins of talc for grannies and auntie, nan liked beads, so did mum, hair gel for grandad and somethiing to do with fags for dad. Some cigars usually. Slim Panatellas. I still prefer giving to receiving. Just as well eh±!
 
My pocket money was half a crown or florins, kept in a Post box money box that savahed your hand off as it was sharp tin
 
Nico said:
My pocket money was half a crown or florins, kept in a Post box money box that savahed your hand off as it was sharp tin
Click to expand...

Half crowns, florins, shillings etc; that was proper money :-} In the 50`s i used to follow the milkmans horse & cart & shovel up the droppings in a bucket & then sell it, can`t remember how much for. I also knocked on doors collecting waste paper "for salvage" as we called it. When we had a decent load we`d sell that ( after we`d checked the load & kept all the comics.) Also chopped sticks, trimmed hedges & my favourite money earner was stealing into the compound (opposite Brookvale park) where GEC dumped various bits & pieces & we used to dig up lead mouldings. I loved melting the lead into ingots & take them to a scrap yard in Aston. Can`t think why i`m not a millionaire!!
 
I used to get sixpences and thruppeny bits then Nan said I should get a florin or a half a crown from each of the family. So I saved up fr holidays or Christmas which I kept in my money box. I never spent it on me. I washed up and emptied food bins in the Daimler canteen and got £5 for that for a week. It was very heavy work as the hot water supply packed up and we (me and the juniorchef) had to lift giant cauldrons of water on and off the ranges on to dinner trolleys. I think this would be illegal now as we had no protective clothing or gloves. We hauled out the waste food bins. When he had day release for college I did it on my own and toppled over in side the industrial bin. I got covered in Baked beans etc.
The head chef was right up himself, all he had to do was cook was one joint of undistuishably tasting meat, per week, which lasted a week. He kept re heating it! Yuk. They made soup in a deep waist high container which they added to every day. Yuk.
 
As we get older, our childhood becomes more important?, I have always loved Christmas, I think because we never had that much, at Christmas , we did!!, so it became a very important land mark of the year to us kids, we have to thank my dear mom and dad , they worked so hard for very little, but some how always came through at Christmas, so many happy memories.
 
paul stacey said:
As we get older, our childhood becomes more important?
Click to expand...
Yes, 100%. Conversely, as I get older I find Christmas becomes less important. A long time ago, probably just after starting school, I rode around on a beat up old scooter, it had just about enough parts to function. For Christmas, among the presents, was new bell (ting a ling). What I found a few minutes later in another room was brand new scooter to go with the bell. It was a lot of time later before I could appreciate the sacrifice of my parents to get that. I can still see it in my minds eye in full detail.
A few years later, my parents bought me a record player for Christmas. Unfortunately I only had one record. Fortunately for them, the player was battery powered.
Andrew.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top