[Closed] What do you miss most about 'old' Christmas?

The excitement. But then i'm not 7 any more.

The interminable boredom.

**** all Grandad! 😀

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It's the orgies of Saturnalia I pine for the most
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Totally nothing.

Christmas is soooo much better these days.

Snow.

johndoh - Member

video recorders

That's going back a bit!

Nostalgia has a funny way of making bad things, seem like they were good in hindsight.

I remember being excited at the prospect of the "Big Christmas Film" when the BBC and ITV would do battle over who could get the best 5 year old blockbuster for Xmas Day and Boxing Day, but I've got Netflix and iTunes now.

the atmosphere in local boozers. most have gone now, sadly.

I remember being excited at the prospect of the "Big Christmas Film" when the BBC and ITV would do battle over who could get the best 5 year old blockbuster for Xmas Day and Boxing Day, but I've got Netflix and iTunes now.

Lego.

All the Lego.

The excitement. But then i'm not 7 any more.

^This

We got a bit of that back when my daughter was younger. But now she's 14 even that has gone.

I like Christmas though - I like the break knowing I don't have to think about work for 10 days.

well I'm pushing 40 and remember most of my "old" Christmases having video recorders and multi channel tv (well 4 is still multi)

For me it was the food mountain that would appear as the shops would shut over Christmas. Not for the 8 months it would take to get through all the food though!

Morecambe and Wise.

The whole country sat and watched it together.

I miss November, you know that month that used to exist somewhere between Halloween and baby jeebus' birthday night...

I swear the buildup, all the shite in shops, "Black Friday" (which lasts about a month?), marketing and toy advertising used to start at or about the beginning of December, now it seems to be from the end of October...

I suppose Christmas has always been a bit of a consumer frenzy throughout my life, and yes you [i]can[/i] avoid it to certain extent, but I can't help feeling it's getting much worse. Maybe a full on recession will finally cure us of that, But I doubt it...

I suppose I am nostalgic for someone else's Christmas really, when Christmas happened at Christmas and people weren't so worried about the gifts...

Christmas was better 25 years ago as my kids where little, the tech is secondary Christmas is magical with young children.

Once kids grow we found it much kess commercial as we didn't bother with most of the gift /excessive purchasing stuff.

We got a bit of that back when my daughter was younger. But now she's 14 even that has gone.

^^^ my daughters are 28, 26 and 22 and still love Christmas and remember fondly when they where small

The snacks. For some reason, parents wood cover the house in bowls of snacks and hide them about the place. Go put on socks 'oh, some pistachios in my draw, nom nom nom', need a towel for a shower 'oh, satsumas, nom nom nom', going outside to get some wood 'oh, midget gems, nom nom nom'.

Staying up late trying to catch santa out.

The Victorians invented Christmas and all that nonsense.

The Victorians invented Scottishness and all that sentimental claptrap.

I'm waiting for somebody to announce that the Victorians actually wrote the Bible and invented all that religious nonsense as well.

Buying the Radio Times and circling all the films we were going to watch or record over the christmas holidays.

Beers in the White Lion (with festive darts) before Midnight Service and seeing which of parents' friends were pissed.

My Dad.

The correct context...

[BB +1 , the only time of the year we bought it!!]

My dad... merry christmas pappa!

Nothing really.

I've a 10 years old who still believes in Sants, just, and a 13 year old who is equally excited. I'm off again this year as an added bonus, between the wife and I we do things for the kids and ourselves our parents did. We spend more than planned, drink too much, eat too much and go loads of parties.

Sorry to say this but I have never enjoyed Christmas because when I was a kid, tension between my parents would boil over and they would row, which terrified me that they would split up. They only stayed together because they were Catholics.

didn't celebrate it then, don't now. I'll take the few days off work though thanks

Buying the Radio Times and circling all the films we were going to watch or record over the christmas holidays.

^This too!

Always a highlight. It was the only time of the year we bought the Radio Times as well.

All of us in bed while the kids open their stockings.
My Dad,I still feel like 7 sometimes.

Buying the Radio Times and circling all the films we were going to watch or record over the christmas holidays.

We still do this. A family tradition my kids have fully bought into. Different colour circles or initials to indicate who wants to watch what. It's the only time we buy it. They know lots of people do this, so there's usually a two part offer in it, that you need the voucher from the next edition to claim.

I'm old enough to remember when the BBC and ITV had some sort of exclusive rights to their listings and you had to buy both the Radio and TV Times to get both lots.

I thought about what I missed just this morning as my kids shovelled chocolate down their gobs before school - advent calendars with nice pictures to reveal rather than chocolate / "stuff".

I thought about what I missed just this morning as my kids shovelled chocolate down their gobs before school - advent calendars with nice pictures to reveal rather than chocolate / "stuff".

i think that this will help you reappraise that....

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if the kids can start the day with chocolate, then a liquid breakfast for the grown up seems only fair 🙂

yeah I liked the more innocent times of opening an advent calendar..

the only reward was the anticipation and suspense

Seeing all those dirty pedophiles on BBC light entertainment programs.

yep, miss the 'must see' telly. That tradition seems to have largely disappeared now, although I'd imagine there's someone 30 years older than me pining for the loss of Christmas Radio...

Goin' dahhn the market for a goose and stoppin' at missus miggins for penny gin an a bag o'chessnahts, and a 'opin' that faver Chrissmuss would bring us a patch for the knee in me trahhhhziz.'Uddling rahhnd the brazier and singin' songs of old wiv the ovver orphans for alms as the snow fell all arahhhhnd, bleedin' perishin' it was but we were 'appy.

Before video recorders? Was there ever a time? 😆

Starving Ethiopians?

I do miss the feeling I would get as a kid at Christmas, there just isn't anything like it. I do get more excited now I have kids, and I hope my kids feel it too, but they are so good and don't ever really ask for anything it difficult to gauge their excitement.

I'll feel excited about Christmas when I finish work next week (Thursday :D) but at the minute work is a mare and there is potential this year for some family crap to take the shine off it. Hopefully not but we'll have to wait and see.....

Incense at midnight mass.

Writing to Santa every year, asking for a kite....

Nice Christmas lights.

Effin' 'ell, we just can't get'em right here.

I mean...

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WTF?!?

Incense at midnight mass.

That can be arranged, Rusty_Spanner.

Lots of 'my dad' answers here, so for those of us with Dads probably worth putting a little extra effort in if you take them for granted (speaking for myself).

Me - the excitement of the Radio Times and the films. Mrs still buys the Christmas Radio Times but I reckon it's not even been opened the last few years.

I still get into the spirit of it, I only miss the things I used to do because I was a kid. School plays and presents mainly.

We're skint so my budget for a christmas present this year is £13 same as the wife. Kids will do ok though, which is the important thing.

Boxing Day Hunt. 😳

I'm a bit more enlightened now, but as a kid growing up in the countryside it was a marvellous event to be in the middle of. I didn't really put together what they were actually 'doing'.

Snow, great drifts of snow. I'm sure it was actually January but time blurs the memory.

Could you not simply recreate the festive sentiment by nipping out and beating a kitten to death with a shovel?