1. One of my Dad's socks with an apple, an orange, a fondant mouse, some mini cookies and a pot of bubbles in it.
2. The Perry Como Christmas Album (we also had Jim Reeves and Mario Lanza).
3. My parents hiding presents all over the house and then sending us on ridiculous errands to find them.
4. Going to bed on Christmas Eve.
5. Shandy.
6. Telly on Christmas night.
7. Christmas cake.
8. Huge portions of Christmas dinner.
9. Putting the tree up, then sitting around it and eating mince pies.
10. The cardboard sleigh and reindeer the would adorn our living room wall every December.

Oooh can we please?!

Fed up of chasing around after young whipper-snappers every week. We could play Chorley Panthers Masters 8 times a season.

You should be creaming your drawers this year then, with all the "Dickens 200th Anniversary" stuff the beeb will be pumping out on TV & radio

Someone should PM tb and remind him to cling film the sofa.

Aha ... you have reminded me..
Years ago (1970's, 80's?) there were a couple or more "Christmas" ghost stories recorded for TV.
Of the two I remember, one was "The Woman in Black" (the forerunner of the West End long-running play) and the other was by the BBC, "The Signalman" (adaptation of Charles Dicken's "Mugby Junction : The Signalman"icon_wink.gif.

Please note, I'm not talking about subsequent remakes, films, stage plays or radio programmes ... I'm referring to TV dramas in both cases.
"The Signalman" had Denholm Elliott as the signalman, and "The Woman in Black" had Bernard Hepton in it (although not in the lead role).
If you can lay hands on a recording, I can't recommend these too highly, either or both of these will have the hairs on the back of your neck bristlingly erect.
Great for Christmas Eve viewing with the fire lit and a glass of something warming at your elbow.

Oh, they were very good.

That reminds me, I haven't read A Christmas Carol yet this year. Might have to sneak it in before the big day.

Don't know if this is the best place to post this, but any parents should have a look at this:

[url=http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/homeSanta's personalised video message[/url

You get to input your child's name, upload photos and say whether they've been naughty or nice, and Santa reads them a personal message based on the info you've provided.

1) putting the christmas decorations up on christmas eve
2) being blindfolded christmas morning and led into the living room to be shown the presents
3) making mince pies, and christmas cake
4) roast chestnuts on a tray
5) set menu for christmas day, never knowing what would be on the table
6) church on christmas morning
7) the endless phonecalls from family
8. home alone and christmas carol on the tv
9) the family coming over for boxing day where another set menu for the day was put together
10) lots of chocolate, selection boxes, and sweets

Unfortunately I'll just have to take your word for it on that they're asking for astronomical money for them on't Amazon.

A few of mine.

Carrying various bits of the dinner over from my Grandma's flat next door to our house as it was a combined effort from her and my Mum.

Being extremely upset when my radio controlled Lamborghini wouldn't work whilst my sisiter was out riding her brand new bike with my Dad.

Rum sauce for the Christmas pudding.

Beetle drives.

Hostess trolley, classy!

Christingle oranges.

Chestnuts roasted on an old shovel on the fire.

I was thinking much more in terms of the golden age of Hollywood, young Codward.

The Bogart introduction came via [iThe Big Sleep[/i late one Christmas night – which remains one of my favourite films and even influenced my course work for O level art.

The Christmas Radio Times was official permission to get excited.

1. sprouts (love 'em)
2. my dad chucking a shoe at the door when carol singers came
3. watching the Christmas day derby at old CP
4. compendiums of games
5. hoping to find the tanner in the pudding without choking on it
6. my bike with blocks on the pedals
7. visiting my grandparents on Boxing day
8. Johnny 7's
9. socks on your hands for snowball fights
10. being allowed a sip of my dad's Hull Brewery Mild

Watching 'The Great Escape'

In fact last year I downloaded it and we had it on a projector with a dozen of us watching it outside. Only later in the evening did I remember that our neighbours are German.

Same theme this year and already got 'Escape to Victory' downloaded and a 1973 Two Ronnies Christmas special.

2). Raleigh Grifter
3). Sherry
4). Soap on a Rope
5). Brut 33 splash-on/Talc christmas pack
6). Waiting for the telly programmes to start after I got up at 4am and wanted to get my B&W portable telly up and running.
7). Bad jumpers


. Terry's Chocolate oranges. Got one every year and never really liked them.
9). Watneys Party 4 (and 7)
10). Buying '20 Park Drive' for my Grandad and wrapping them up.

1. Waking up on Christmas morning wrapped up in a brand new pillowcase an duvet set.
2. Getting a red card for throwing a snowball at the ref after a boxing day game.
3. My Grandad's cr*p presents, usually bought from Bingley car boot sale.
4. Watching my cat rampaging through all the torn up wrapping paper.
5. Getting a quality present only to realise the batteries weren't included.
6. My dog ripping to bits used christmas crackers.
7. Watching Zulu on TV.
8. My Grandma getting pi55ed after one too many sherries.
9. Having to eat horrible stuff just because it's christmas eg Sprouts, Turkey.
10. Getting told by my Mum I could only have 1 bar of chocolate a day out of my selection box but eating them all on Christmas Day.

I'm now thinking about Charles Dickens and the The Signalman as I spend the night alone in my signalbox.

Is that a euphemism?

We didn't have cats at home, so this isn't a childhood memory for me – but the Christmas Wrapping Paper Wars are now one of the things we look forward to every year.

And of course it's even better if it's really shiny wrapping paper.

1. Game show Christmas specials, featuring celebrities. These were genuinely 'a change', different and funny - now it's the norm.

2. Having to write a note to Father Christmas because I was staying at my grandmas on Christmas Eve. Of course, i didn't want him to pop into my bedroom to check I'm asleep, see I'm not there, then think no kids lived at that house.

3. Having to write another note after I realised we'd no chimney, telling him my dad would leave the back door unlocked.

4. Wondering why Father Christmas had a Wigan accent in Debenhams, but was a scouser like the caretaker when he came to visit my school's Christmas party.

5. Whilst in first year juniors and performing a Christingle service for the rest of the school, a girl called Louise in the class next door, and who was stood next to me during this service, puked up all over the stage two lines into Silent Night. I credit that event with making me an emetophobe.

6. In most lessons in secondary school, the final lesson would be a fun quiz with the class divided into two teams. The same (thick) girl would moan "why do they get all the easy ones?" after EVERY question the other side got. Daft cow.

7. It has to be added, in the geography quiz it was girls v boys. I scored ALL the points for the boys team, AND we won the game.

8. Cilla Black's Christmas specials on ITV. Ugh.

9. Having to go around EVERY bloody relative on Christmas morning, and my mum invariably getting highly strung first thing because if we didn't 'hurry up' we'd not get round them all. Invariably it was her we'd end up waiting for.

10. School fancy dress discos. Invariably rubbish.

A bit off topic, but you've just reminded me of an incident at our junior school. We were at the lunch table, just about finished when this peculiar lad decided to stick his finger up his backside, show everyone it was brown and then lick it! The lad next to him immediately puked up, the next kid puked up at the sight of the vomit and I then stopped the chain reaction by stoically refusing to be sick. What times!

Sorry to share that with you if you are eating (as I am).

I'm at work alone in a signalbox every night this week, so no

1 - Jingle All The Way
2 - Doing a daft dance in a shoe shop to Jona Lewie with my younger brother whilst shopping with my Mum
3 - The smell of cinnamon/spiced apple air freshener
4 - Carol singing straight after bonfire night
5 - Going to Church Christmas Eve
6 - Waking up at 5am and my Dad saying go back to sleep and waiting on the landing with my brother and sister waiting for him to get up and go downstairs and once downstairs the same old joke whilst opening the living room door - Dad - "Nah he's not been".
7 - The snowman
8 - Haydock brass band coming down our street around dinner time

Many the same as folk on here (apart from the puking and poo ones).

Trying to stay awake all night to get a "sneaky peak" of Father Christmas.

Being told it was too early to get up.

Eating all the selection box and then not wanting breakfast.

Visiting grandma and grandads, aunties and uncles and everyone asking if he'd been.

Always a great Christmas dinner - but never liking Christmas Pudd

Quality Street whilst watching Morecambe and Wise.

Going to bed exhausted and grateful for the presents I'd received from Father Christmas - my parents could never have afforded the presents he brought!

Excellent call. Always felt weird to be having breakfast you've been up for a couple of manic hours and shoved a load of chocolate down your neck, yet it's still only 8am and you're all still in your pyjamas & dressing gowns.

The look of relief on my mum's face when all the presents were open and all the wrapping paper shoved in a bin bag was palpable. "Tea and toast anyone?"

quality







1. Getting up at about half past four, only to find everyone else still fast asleep. I'd go back to bed til six then decide enough was enough and it was time for us all to get up.
2. Opening my presents at a rather steady pace to savour the moment (still do now, but usually only have 5 or 6

)
3. Spending about an hour tinkering with my new toys and games before deciding which was going to be my first one to try.
4. Setting up a new games console, which was far harder back in the mid 90s, and convincing myself it didn't work on our TV.


5. My mam buying random, posh looking soft drinks that never appeared at any other time of the year.
6. I'd get a box of maltesers every year and would have had it polished off before bed despite my best attempts not to.
7. Gathering as a family to watch the TV after our tea, didn't care that half of it I wouldn't enjoy as I knew I'd be able to sit up into the small hours on my games consoles as mam and dad were nodding off in their armchairs by 10 o clock after a day of cooking and washing up, so would be in bed shortly after
8. Like someone else said, wondering why Father Christmas would leave a sock the same as one I'd seen in my Dad's draw yet never wore.
9. Going to the local paper shop with my dad a few weeks before Christmas and wondering why Father Christmas was such an avid Daily Star ambassador.
10. As I got a bit older I'd be rummaging in the cupboards and wardrobes upstairs for hidden presents, and then try and replace them exactly as I'd found them. Would always still end up opening things I'd not managed to find when I was looking. Used to be particularly intriguing if I found a computer game that I'd wanted but hadn't actually asked for.