I have been obsessing about Christmas recently ( not so you would notice- ha ! ).
More specifically, Christmas when I was a tot. It is important to me that Morgaine has memorable Christmas memories as she gets older. I don't mean ones with loads of fleeting presents, I mean ones with lots of creative activities and festive fun. I hope too that one year she will have a COLD Christmas.
My memories of Christmas are varied, and they scamper all over the place time-wise, but i'll put down what I can remember now.
1. The colour blue ( sort of a hot royal blue ). I think this pertains to some coloured paper on the wall in my infant school, it was the background to some sort of mural.
2. Christmas cards that were NOT paper thin OR made in China. They usually had snow scenes on them ( yeh- I know I love them ). Often they had silver glitter too. They said more than " to....from...." on them.
3. A certain smell. The only way I can think to describe it, is as the smell that white spray on fake snow has, the stuff that goes on windows. I can't think of anything else it was like.
4. My brother telling me to " shut the bloody curtain " as I was looking out of the window one Christmas Eve looking for Santa.
5. Carol singing and making a few pounds to boot.
6. Performing in the myriad choirs I found myself in, in high school. Usually in old people's homes, churches and Pontefract Market Place.
7. Getting a doll whose brand was BAMBOLE !
8. Laughing at a ' classy " watch my father got, the brand being a dodgy " Neltronic ". Tee hee.
9. My sister bringing home lots of company presents, each employee of the sewing factory she worked in gots lots of freebies ( wouldn't happen these days ). The main thing I remember were " Percy Dalton's nuts " ( of the fresh eatable variety )
10. Our " Calor Gas Heater " that had a particular smell, in my bedroom.
11. Cotton wool and tissue paper cards we made in infant school.
12. Being a talking sheep in a nativity play.
13. Going to a fancy dress party at school as one of the " two kings ". One got lost on the way. I think that was Rowena and I.
14. Taking a named dish and spoon for our school festive party for our jelly and ice-cream.
15. Brandy butter from Marks and Spencer.
16. When I was a teenager, going into pubs and being grabbed ( quite happily I might add ) by mysterious strangers with mistletoe, then snogged, often.
17.Shopping in the dark with my mum in Leeds. It was usually raining, it was brightly lit, lots of Yorkshire women in see-through plastic rain hoods.
More will come to mind I am sure...
