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What we bought

Di.Poppitt

Di.Poppitt

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN
Picking up the odd Christmas present while I am in town set me thinking of all those years ago when I wanted to buy presents for all the family. Suddenly realising how nice it is not just to receive but to give presents.
It wasn't easy saving the odd few pennies out of my 9d pocket money, but I managed it with the odd top up from mom.

In the 40's Woolworths sold just about everything, and it was my shopping arcade.

My poor mother wore California Poppy perfume for years because of me. It was the little red poppies on the label that clinched it. No tester to see if you liked what was in the bottle in those days, but once it was opened I thought it was pretty much ok.

Dad got - you guesed it - SOCKS. Well every man need socks, I don't remember knowing what size he wore but you can't know everything.

My Aunts were easy, the two I bought for always wore Yardley's Lavender perfume, and used Coty face powder. I swopped them round each year.

My Uncles always got a nice white handkerchief, I still like to see one pulled out of a pocket, I'm not a tissue fan.

My sister got what I could afford with any money I might have left over. She was happy with anything you gave her. Her Christmas wish list one year when she was about 6 included a tube of Veet hair removal cream. :!:

Walk through Woolies now and you can't find a tube of glue, I tried the other day.
 
Chrissie Pressies

This thread brings back memories.

There used to be a market on 'The Main Road', aka Soho Road, it was my christmas shopping haven.
Mom would always get an ornament...usually a dog ( I blame her for my addiction to collecting elephants :oops: )
Dad would be the grateful receiver of the white cotton hankies that Di mentions, I would try to get the ones with the royal blue embroidered initial on them.
Nan's would get lily of the valley bath cubes (something I still buy when I see them). Grandads would have a jar of mints, or a minitare bottle of rum.
The run up to Christmas, meant that presents were made at school (usually calenders), or Church (usually bookmarks), these were ideal pressies for Aunties and Uncles, in return for the obligatory woolly hat, scarf and glove sets, and bri-nylon nighties and pom pom slippers. My 'favorite' Aunt, got a bar of Dark Chocolate, as was her want.
If not enough presents were made, and money was short, Hyacynth bulbs were given. To this day, I still have to have Hyacynths at Christmas.
I still buy presents for christmas and the list gets longer each year. I really find it difficult to give money or vouchers, although I know that its often the most sensible thing to do, I just cant :( I love to see the children unwrapping their gifts, and I'm :oops: to say....that I still do pillowcases for my own children, full of little useful things, and they still enjoy them too :oops:
The gifts I give now, are still of relative little value, but like in days gone by, they are PACKED with love and the spirit of giving and receiving.
Writing Christmas cards is another enjoyable experience for me, adding little snippetts, just thinking about and keeping in touch with people with the written word is very special, especially at Christmastime, so often now, cards and their verses mean little, and its just a ritual.


PS - Di you start some lovely threads
 
For the man who has everything.

Here I am at the age of 37 (cough) and I'm finally at the stage of my life that I'm impossible to shop for..
I have everything I truly need in life, I need only one Watch, I only wear a gold chain with a small Greek battleaxe on it..that completes my jewellery collection.
I have all the clothes I need, aftershave, a few pairs of shoes etc..
I have a few pairs of Nike trainers so that completes that lot.
I've always loved Astronomy and Roz bought me a huge reflecting telescope, I have a vast collection of music and DVD's, so I'm sorted there too.
I have a new 'Posh' car with another one on my drive.
 
Of course I haven't got...

Brains ......otherwise I wouldn't have pressed the send key before I was done...
I really do have everything in life including several holidays a year..
And also that I have no real debts,
My worries for my children are almost all safely sorted and stored for another year and that leaves me with my one one true gift...the only one that's really worth putting a name to...the one thing that outweighs all other gifts in life.
The love of Roz, my wife, my soul, my life.
 
Ok Kandy, I've taken you off the Christmas list.

Well you have to save a few pennies where you can. :D

Loved you pressy list Sue
 
As a kid I remember clearly bringing home different things made at school, as already mentioned Calenders at Xmas ready to hang at New Year plus Xmas cards. I can't recall buying prezzies as a kid, I never had any money :oops: I think it was Xmas 1971 ? I had started work and I spent one Saturday morning in Lewis's carefully choosing first my moms and then my dad's present. For mom I bought wat I think was called a Chop 'O' Matic, as advertised on TV........ What it couldnt do to a vegetable just wasnt worth doing? :lol:

For my dad I bought "Jeepster for your Love" by T Rex

You're so sweet, you're so fine
I want you all and ev'rything just to be mine
'Cos you're my baby, 'cos you're my love
Oh girl I'm just a jeepster for your love

My old man just loved this track!!! :lol: :lol:

As for me...... I have no real desire for material things of value with the exception of my PC and Camera, I do regard these as tools though? Like John my Grandchildren will make this Xmas very special, we should be having them over during the holidays a little after the Big Day. So I spose we will have TWO xmas days in our house. I guess well buy them clothes and perhaps a small toy each, we have to consider their mum and dad getting anything bigger back home to Ireland!!

The things I would best like to get at Xmas time as presents are book tokens maybe? There are so many books I would like to own :oops:

I do receive smashing presents from two very special friends.... Theyre very unusual prezzies :lol: :lol: Theyre usually A bag of rocks, or some Kali :multi2: which always makes me laff and gives me great pleasure.

Our mom always said she' rather give us things to fill our bellies cus that way she's know she'd done right!!
 
Treasured Gifts

Di - Be proud! (you are one of the choosen few)

My husband reads the posts with me, but rarely posts replies, when he makes comments, I do sometimes add them, and this is one of those times.

Like many children, he had little money to buy pressies for people at Christmastime. With his first 'paper round wage packet', he decided to buy his Mom a christmas pressy. It has been described to me as a very large tinted brandy shaped glass, with a kitten perched by its paws hanging over the edge. It wasnt expensive, but it cost him about 3/4 of the total money he had earned.

This occurred 36 years ago..........and you know what?.............I didnt need the description from him at all...........I can see it in person.............his Mom still has it :)
 
broken dreams

Moms birthday is on December 12th.
In about 1961 she was bought for her birthday one of those brandy glasses with a small cat hanging over the lip of the glass..
I remember us four kids chasing a balloon around the living room when one of us fell into the side of the cupboard causing the glass to fall and break..at that time, she'd had the gift about 5 days.
Mom was out doing her evening shift at Lewis's and I remember lying trembling in bed for her return..
I could hear her crying and breaking her heart downstairs when she came home, it was all Dad could do to stop her coming up the stairs and beating us within an inch of our lives..
The worst part was the next day Mom never said a word..not one word, and when she did a day later she just just spoke to us in 'yes' or 'no' terms we'd hurt her that much.
I'm so sorry Mom..even 40 odd years later I remember it and it still hurts me so much I disapointed you..
I'll make it up one day..I promise.
I love you Mom.
 
:D :D We never had money to buy pressies with, when I was a child, as I said once before my sister and I used to go through the previous years cards and see what we could selvage from them to give to our teachers or school friends. Believe it or not we even enjoyed doing it "Do we try and print over that name, do we paste a picture (flour & water and the pic' cut from a discarded card) or draw a picture over that one, oh look here's one with the name already on it that's good".
I still save the old cards and help the kids I work with make cards for their families and friends with then and they too love doing it too.
The year both my sister and I started work was the year we pooled our money and started to buy family and friends pressies ; Dad got smokes, Woodbines (poor man, we probably helped kill him at the young age of 49). Mom got perfume White Fire in a little red bottle with a pointed gold top. Brother got a record (not sure which one it was now). All our girlfriends got an Ocelot Gift Box put out by Johnson and Johnson (I think it was). It had Telc, Bath cubes and soap in it. The boxes were sort of a Royal Blue with Ocelot skin patterns on them. We both bought each other slippers (without knowing it until Christmas day). As for Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents, we had none, none that we were in contact with anyway.
Now like the rest of you, I have all I need and Christmas in our family is for our Grandchildren,
 
The divine Miss Poppitt

A smiley face wont cheer me up! I want that Christmas prezzie!!!
 
Ohhhhhhhh to have everything

A Moshi Puppy :) - thats what I have bought for a male friend who has everything
 
Moshi Puppy?

I dont even know what one is but I'd take it for a very, very, very long walk if someone bought me one..
Talking about the 'Spirit of Christmas' I'm partial to Jack Daniels myself..
 
Christmas Spirit

:D Christmas Spirit - Jack Daniels :!: Is he good looking and is he dressed as Santa :?: If so could I sit on his knee please , I've been very good all year :wink: and not gone 'OFF TOPIC' once :!: :lol: :lol:
Don't believe me :!: "What you mean :?: - you just ask Rod" :lol: :lol:
 
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