Back in the 1970s, Christmas was something really special. My sister and I would decorate our rooms at home using paper chains that you licked and stuck together at the ends. These came in rather insipid pastel colours and would be secured wall-to-wall with drawing pins. When we were feeling particularly extravagant, our pocket money would be splashed on ready-made decorations and strips of tinsel. By 20th December, it wasn't really possible for an adult to enter the rooms, as most of the decs were at grown-up chest height.
I remember that my parents had a truly terrible artificial tree that sat on top of a filing cabinet. Each year, this silver oddity would be dusted down and kitted out with baubles that mostly dated from the sixties. With hindsight, mum and dad seem like paragons of ecological virtue with their refusal to buy a fresh tree each year, but their decision had more to do with an aversion to pine needles than any far-sighted attempt to combat global warming.
We also had strange middle-class rituals about the opening of presents. It was something that shouldn't be rushed and tended to wait until the afternoon, when you were full of sprouts and mince pies. Father Christmas had filled a pillow case the night before, which would contain the latest Look-In annual and a handful of other things to keep us sane until tea. Generally, it seemed to do the trick.
Today, I look back on those Christmases Past with fondness. My own kids have too many presents and take everything too much for granted. It's not their fault. They don't know any different. But something tells me they won't ever be licking paper chains bought from a newsagent and counting the days in quite the way that my sister and I always did.
It's a well observed fact that as you get older, time passes more quickly. Now that I'm 38, my body clock's telling me it's Boxing Day already and time to go cold turkey. I'm hoping you still have a few days to go before your own festive break and that this website will bring you a little bit of yuletide cheer.
Have a great time. And a fantastic 2007.
Phil Woodford
Web: www.philwoodford.com
Blog: www.washedandreadytoeat.com
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