I may sound like I'm bragging but I really don't think I've ever had a bad Christmas in my life, and I owe that to my brilliant parents! I'm an only child (not spoilt, I promise) and my parents always went all out for me. In the lead up to Christmas there'd be shopping trips up to London, visits to Santa's grotto, and other events. And then on the day itself we'd have family, friends, and neighbours join us in the evening. Sometimes though we went over to other family members' homes for Christmas and that was great too.
Now that I'm a mum, I work very hard to keep that magic alive for my own kids who are still quite young. I want them to look back at Christmas as a special time, so a lot of the traditions and things my parents did for me, I do for my kids. I suppose the only difference is that they get a lot more presents than I did!
How are similar/different are your then and now Christmases?
I'd say they were different but not that different if that makes any sense. There's still a lot of the same traditions. We use the same recipes that previous generations have used that we grew up with. But now, as some of you have already said, it's all about our kids and the rest of the young generations in our families.
One thing I've noticed for sure is the expense. Gone are the days when you could give someone some socks or smellies. And I'm sure food costs weren't as high as they are now.