I remember back when ..................
 

I remember when stores didn't open in the middle of the night or increase the prices by 300% and then give us a 50% off coupon to get us into the stores at Christmas .

Instead they had elaborate "animated" window displays that were absolutely breath taking . We went to the stores just to see the window displays. The displays were revealed the day after Thanksgiving. The stores taped brown paper tightly over the display windows as they set up the displays so no one could see them until they reveled them. People would try to peek around the paper to get a first glance at the displays :) No one from the newspapers ever published pictures of the window displays and spoiled the enchantment . We had to go to the stores to see them. Now the store fronts are brick without those magic windows

I remember when stores only marked up their merchandise by 33% and didn't have sales until after a holiday and only on holiday decorations. Now they mark things up 300% or more and then tell us a 40% or 50% discount is a deal.

I remember when Christmas music was not played in stores or on the radio until after Thanksgiving

I remember when everyone got a new outfit to wear to church on Christmas. Getting new clothes was a treat then. We got a " very few" new clothes for school and a new outfit for Christmas and Easter.

I remember when Grandparents gave "one " gift to each grand child and we were thrilled to get it.

I remember the only time of the year when we had jars full of cookies was at Christmas and they were all home made . I still make every cookie from scratch . All 75 dozen of them

I remember when it was a status symbol of how many Christmas cards we received. We hung them on the wall or doors for all to see. We sent and received cards from people we had no other contact with all year just to get everyone's card count up LOL . We had to start addressing Christmas cards in October to get done. And we were utterly embarrassed if we got a card from someone we forgot to send one to.

What do you remember back when..................?

I lived the first 6 years of my life in St. Louis. All the stores downtown had the windows you described. We used to take the train to Chicago just to see all the beautifully decorated windows. The Christmas season took on a magical feel. When I ask my grandchildren what they want for Christmas and they don't know...they have way too many things!
I too make several kinds of cookies and candy, all from scratch. Not 75 dozen though. My grand daughter is a freshman in college this year but she is spending the day with me Saturday so we can bake cookies. This was her idea. I love it that she still wants to make cookies with her Grandma. That's the kind of things that make me cherish the holidays.

I remember the only time we had chips, dips, garlic coil and pop in the house was for Christmas. I remember being excited for my new flannel nightie. Following santa's footsteps in our local woolworths to the toy shop downstairs.

I remember when it was a joy to do things like bake, send cards, have parties, make a feast, wrap gifts, and go caroling.

People seem to find these and similar things a burden.

I remember the old decorated Christmas lights that hung from all the lightposts lining the main street. The stores were'nt open on Sundays. We decorated a live tree with more silver tinsel (icicles) than should have been legal. We were in our little church's children's Christmas program every year, and my mother went out and bought The Little Drummer Boy record by Harry Simeone Chorale just so I could learn the words to The Little Drummer Boy. She made my sister and I angel costumes with white fabric and gold garland. The church always had the kids a bag with fruit and nuts as a gift. I still remember how good the oranges and shelled nuts my parents bought tasted. My mother always baked pumpkin pies and fixed a great dinner (still does). My Aunt made the best tasting homeade cookies I had ever eaten, or ever have since. Despite my sister and I both trying to make them, they never turned out the same! On Christmas morning we would always stumble into the living room for our presents , and the dogs would sit there with us to help! Our German Shepherd would wag her tail and knock down tons of icicles from the Christmas tree. After unwrapping our gifts and eating a great meal, we would all lay around on the furniture like a bunch of sloths (dogs included!) and stare at the Christmas tree lights.

I loved the window displays in downtown Minneapolis when I was a kid. Dayton's 8th floor turned into Santa's Wonderland with a long row of decorated rooms, a different theme each year, to look at while you stand in line for Santa. Malls closed at 10, at the latest, and people did not plan their year's spending around "Black Friday." I am guilty of playing Christmas music pretty much year round but that is my only "jump the season" sin.
Mary Beth

I remember when stores were absolutely NOT open on Thanksgiving and Christmas to give their employees time with their families. Not so with a particular blue big box store! They even brag they're open ALL day. Wow, that's great! So when does single mom cashier get to make turkey dinner for her kids?
Sorry to be bitter, but that commercial just rubbed me the wrong way...
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you don't have to work today.

I totally agree! I'm a nurse, so I have to work, but I think any retail place should be closed and locked up tight. Holidays are family time. It's ridiculous and I feel badly for anyone that has to work today.

My girlfriend and I used to go to NYC during the holiday season, and we would walk the streets where the Macy's was, so that we could see all of the animated windows!! Even my hometown in Ohio used to decorate their windows for the holiday seasons. I HATE it that the stores are now open on the holidays, and that people have to WORK during the day, instead of being home with their families! Everyone on SCS...have a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Trips to the big city of Milwaukee
 

I remember going to downtown Milwaukee with my girl scout troop. We walked the main street where all the stores were. We saw the window decorations, the bank decorations in the lobey and the street decorations. I remember the street decorations going across the street, not on some poles. These were lighted decorations, not flags that hung on the light poles on the side of the street. My troop also went to the gas co. for the cookie recipe books. If the flame was blue it was one type of weather condition and if it was red, a different condition. One color the fishermen on Lake Michigan were safe and the other color told the fishermen to come off the lake since the waves, etc. were getting too high.

I miss all the good Christmas Carols. The schools can no longer sing them. My Church sings the very old German Carols that I did not grow up with. I want Silent Night and all the songs I grew up with on the radio, in my childhood church and my school. I miss the Sunday School Program on Christmas Eve. Now it is 2 weeks before Christmas and the Choir sings the Sunday before. The one Christmas program I remember from when my kids were young, was the dance thing. The kids danced the program. A special stage was built in church,etc. No stockings with nuts and oranges for them.

Betty

I, too, have fond memories of Dayton's show every year and going to see Santa...it was very special. They do still have a show there and Santa at the end ..I was a bit disappointed to see that they're doing the same theme they've had once or twice before and not something new. Maybe the little kids won't notice.

I also remember decorating cookies with my mom and sister and the big dinners that included Grandma and Grandpa and favorite older relatives. I also thought it was very exciting when I was old enough to stay up late to go to midnight church with everyone and hear the carols..I always got chills singing those.

I remember what a treat it was to go Christmas shopping with my dad for my mom's present. We'd go to our small town that was decorated to the hilt (with the wonderful window displays decribed above) and they always had exactly what we were looking for, no running to the malls or big box stores. There was never any sign of Christmas anywhere until at least December 1st. No music, no shopping, no baking, no decorations until December.

I also remember spending the last two Saturdays before Christmas rehearsing for the program at church which was always held on Christmas morning. And getting a big bag of candy and peanuts in the shell afterward. I remember then going to dinner at whichever uncle and aunt was hosting that year, and playing with my cousins all day.

Myers in Melbourne used to do a window display such as you talk about; actually I think they still do. Mum would take us on the train in our Town clothes (you always dressed up to go to "Town" - even though it was a city CBD lol).

I remember one time my mother complaining she had had to pay 17 shillings for a pair of shoes for my sister (twenty shillings = one pound) (nowadays we have dollars).

My mother hand made most of our clothes, and I did the same for my children; my eldest daughter is doing it for her children too. One year she made us all felt toys (similar to plushies) and embroidered them. I can still remember my sister called her felt rooster Ger-ger.

But the biggest buzz was going to the shops and doing Christmas shopping - even though we told each other it was Santa who gave us our gifts. How did we not see that one? Mum would give us ten shillings each and we had to buy gifts for each other and her and Dad.

Every Summer no matter how hot it was (I am in Australia) we had a roast chicken with all the trimmings including gravy and afterwards plum pudding and custard. In those days it was all home made, but alas for me, the heat gets me and we have cold chicken and salad and an icecream pudding.

Those were simpler times and holidays stretched out forever.

I remember scouring the TV guide for when Rudolph, Frosty, and A Charlie Brown Christmas would air. Back then, they showed these specials once, and only once. It was an extended family event!

Now we have the DVDs and can watch whenever we want. Somehow, this makes them less special to me. Of course, I remember when there were just three TV channels, plus Public Television, which always required me to keep a hand on the antenna for it to come in clear. Well, relatively clear.

Before you get too mad at those stores for being open....I am one of those who will work today and gladly! It is triple time for the day and overtime after 8 hours. This goes a very long way in paying for Christmas. Besides, the meal was over an hour ago. And, the store is feeding us again at midnight.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho it's off to work I go to rake in the bucks!!!

Glad to hear you get extra pay! Enjoy it!

I am in the medical field, and am very proud of the businesses that do pay extra for holiday hours. But I remember back when we had to wait for Christmas surprises. If your bicycle wore out in August, we had to wait until Christmas, none of the instant gratification that so many demand these days.


Hope everyone is have a great Thanksgiving.




Patrice

What a wonderful thread. I also miss the animated displays, although I remember hearing something about someone finding some of these displays in Edmonton a while back, so maybe they'll be coming back.

I also wish that Christmas didn't start the day after Hallowe'en. Around here, people start junking up their yards with Hallowe'en stuff the first of October.

I am trying very hard to cut back on presents this year, as we have so much stuff, but I husband keeps saying he has more presents to get.

This thread has brought back so many wonderful Christmases past. Thanks for the memories.

Val

The small town I grew up in had a special Saturday matinee at the theatre, some special movie for the Christmas season, and after, Santa came in and handed out the brown paper bag with candy, orange and nuts.

We're French Canadian and after midnight mass, we had Reveillon, a family celebration with a meal and opening the gifts. That hasn't happened in many years.

Oh and the Christmas season doesn't start until after Grey Cup. Go Riders!

I remember when I poured over the Sears catalog each year to pick my gifts. The pages were practically falling out as I struggled to narrow my choices to the few items that Santa would bring.

I remember when very few toys required batteries.

I remember when you had to use your imagination to make Barbie or Fisher Price toys fun. You also had to use more of your body than just your thumbs.

I remember as a teenager driving my Mother to after Thanksgiving sales in Charlotte because my Dad didn't want to fight the crowds and we were backed up in traffic for what seemed like hours to go to only one of two decent malls in the area.

While I think it is crazy to go shopping at 3:00 in the morning, there is one trend I love - on-line shopping saves so much time, gas, and getting dressed up. Because that is something else I remember, you didn't go shopping in old sweat pants and no makeup.

I loved this one as the word "pop" meant you were Cdn! We too, only had pop at Christmas and when it was all gone, we took the bottles back and maybe had enough to buy one or two more bottles!

I remember when store Christmas items were displayed AFTER Thanksgiving. Shopping malls & stores were closed for the holidays..the only place open was the movie theater.
Commercializing the holiday is beginning earlier each year & now more stores have decided to open on Thanksgiving...Wally's, Michaels, etc. I feel for the employees who have to work on the holiday.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

I remember going Christmas shopping with my dad, this was the only time of year he would take us and of course that was to buy something for mom. I still have some the of Christmas gifts us three kids would buy for her, one was some gardenia scented water in an oil lamp (shaped bottle) the other is a waffle iron we bought at Montgomery Wards when I was in high school. It made the best waffels ever! And they don't make them (waffel irons or anything) to last 50 years any more.

I remember our gifts must have come from Santa Claus because mom and dad did not have the money to spend on gifts. Little did I know just how they would scrimp and save a dime at a time all year long after all there were no credit cards then.

We used to have a department store called Goldsmith's (now Macy's) downtown and every year they had an enchanted forest which consisted of mechanical trains, elves, little boys and girls, who wrapped and shipped presents for Santa. All the elements were surround by white fluff to look like snow and had twinkling lights. It was truly magical. To see Santa you traveled through the Enchanted Forest before reaching him or this is where you stood in line if you waited until the last couple of days before Chirstmas to see Santa.

I remember my brother and I got one gift each from Santa and one we had to share (usually a new toboggan or a board game). The Girl Guides and Scouts always went caroling in the village for the last meeting of the year. One year my Mum decided she had had enough cleaning up needles so we got an artificial tree. We walked over to the hardware store (about a 20 min walk), loaded the big box on the sleigh and dragged it home. It was one of the first ones..you know the kind with the bottle brush branches LOL. I inherited it from my Mum and still put it up every year in a place of honour. We call it the 'Charlie Brown Tree'.
My baking is almost done...Christmas Cake was made right after Hallowe'en and cookies are in the freezer. The only thing I make as needed is shortbread...it disappears too fast! (11 batches last year).

We say pop here in western Pennsylvania, too! :D

I'm not that old, but I grew up in a communist country so our Christmases were a bit different..less commercial I guess
We only had oranges, clementines, peanuts and other tropical goodies before Christmas. Same with Coca Cola and other "western" stuff.
We celebrated Christmas Eve with a large dinner and then the kids opened their presents - everybody spent Christmas day with their families and Boxing day was used for visiting neighbors and friends. No stores were open during all 3 days - so no boxing day shopping ;)

I remember when Christmas oranges just arrived in December, not October, and they came in a wooden box. Oh, they were good! Better than the ones now, I am convinced.

I remember a particularly Canadian, I think, kind of pop. Do you remember Pic-a-Pop? There were plastic crates that held maybe 9 bigger sized bottles and you could choose what kinds you got. I loved Black Cherry! But how frugal my parents were when it came to drinking it. We got little glasses the size of a thimble... that pop had to last a long time.

I remember going carolling to Seniors Homes and Lodges. I was the last of us kids, long after my brothers, and I just went everywhere Mom and Dad went. So I went to the SEniors Homes too, and much enjoyed the goodies they served after. I sang with the choir in later years, before I was out of high school. Now my Mom is in one of those Lodges and it seems time has gone so fast, yet it has been 30 years.

I remember going Christmas caroling with my older brother and the neighborhood kids the Saturday before Christmas. We'd be out for hours, and sometimes ended up more than a mile from home. It was often snowing when we went, and that seemed to make it more magical. One year we stopped at the home of an older couple with no children ... it was snowing like mad and we were covered head to toe in snow and they invited us all in and for fresh baked cookies and hot chocolate. We must have been there for two hours. It was late by the time we headed out, so the husband offered us a ride home on his hay wagon. We had such a good time on that ride home, singing all the way.

*Sigh* ... to have those times back again.

When I was a child, our city had a Christmas parade. Glad to say that our city started doing this tradition a couple of years ago again. I also remember shopping in our downtown in the evening. this was before we had a shopping mall. I remember walking along the sidewalks and everything was decorated. The store windows, the light poles, the court house, etc. I remember when businesses really decorated for Christmas. I loved going into the bank. It was so pretty. It was an old building with marble counters and floors and high ceilings.

I remember businesses actually closing for employee holiday parties and on the major holidays (even the gas stations).

I remember waiting for the special programs on tv. Before VCR's and DVR's. If you missed it, you had to wait until next year.

I remember the year my family got a tv after several years without. Sitting down to watch the Grinch...in color, no less!...was awesome! We still do that with my DD, although she isn't as enamored with the whole things as DH and I. To get away from some of the commercialism of Christmas this year we decided to take a family trip so I don't have to brave the malls at all. Hooray!!

Oh yeah, I remember dog-earing pages of the tv guide (the one that came in the sunday paper, not the one you had to actually buy at the grocery store -- not much $ in my house when i was really little) to mark those christmas specials! I have explained to my teenagers countless times that a show came on once a year, and if you missed it you missed it. There was no "pause it" live tv or videos! And you made darn sure you used the bathroom before it started, cause if you had to pee during the show you had to wait for a commercial and then hurry up and get back before it started again. A show would actually... gasp... start without you!! You could miss some of it!

I also remember that big ol' sears catalog. Wow i'm amazed there were so many many toys i would love to get every year; nearly every page was folded and lots of items were circled;) This may be way TMI but we kept our sears catalog in the bathroom.:)

I really miss toys that just came in a box. They were just in there, maybe with another piece of cardboard to keep them from rattling around too much, but just a box. None of those blasted wire tie things taped down and hermetically sealed! BTW whoever invented them should be shot! I remember that most of the boxes didn't have a clear window either -- there was a picture of the toy on the outside of the box, and that was good enough for us!

Great thread, i love hearing everyone's memories. Happy holidays everyone.

I remember when the big tree in the middle of our town of 350 people got all lit up and us kids in town sang Christmas carols around the tree.
I remember a group of us singing Silent Night to an old lady in the hospital as she lay dying.
I remember my dad playing the harmonica and my sister playing the paino on Christmas Eve and the whole family singing along.
I remember the little goodies my mom used to bring out every Sunday after church when we celebrated lighting the candle on the advent wreath.
I remember the love from my parents and sisters that surrounded us especially at Christmas and will never forget the wonderful Christmases we had as kids - we were and are sooo blessed.

These posts have made me smile. I too remember the days when you wrote a list for santa & sent it up the chimney! When Satsumas, Mince pies, Turkeys,were only available for a few weeks before Christmas.(This is England) When shops put up their decorations & started playing Christmas Carols on the 1st of December.When January Sales started on the 1st of Jan, not Boxing Day. When shops closed for 3 days- and even though most shops now re-open for a few hours on Boxing Day, people are still shopping before Christmas as though there is going to be a siege or famine! But I think last year I saw the absolute worst- In my Tesco, during the week after Christmas they were moving all the Christmas cake, puddings/ decorations etc into one aisle and reducing them. Directly opposite them on the shelves they were laying out EASTER EGGS!!!:confused:

I have memories of going Christmas caroling on horseback. We kept our horses at the edge of town, and each December, we would all deck out our horses in Christmas finery - and ourselves - and ride off down the road. We'd stop at 3 nursing homes and sing to the residents from the lawn on our horses. They'd bundle up and come out and watch, then come meet the horses.

I also remember waiting for Charlie Brown, Frosty and Rudolph to be on TV. We'd pop popcorn and plunk down in front of a fire to enjoy.

Christmas eve we always got to open one carefully selected gift. It was always PJs so that we could wear it for photos on Christmas morning. We'd open our stockings then had to wait until after dinner to open all of our other presents. Of course, Santa didn't wrap something so we could play with it.

I try very hard to make sure that my daughter has wonderful memories of Christmas, and we do everything we can to make it about Christ and family instead of stuff.

I remember when I had time.


I miss that the most.

We do this for our kids :-)


I remember the year I got necessities in my stocking (panties & socks). The note from Santa said he knew I would understand that he saved the toys for others because there were so many kids in the world that wouldn't even get to eat on Christmas and he thought they needed a new toy more than i did. To this day i wouldn't trade that Christmas for anything.

I remember the year daddy-oops!-I mean Santa Claus- forgot to set out one of my gifts and daddy covered for him. It was a teddy bear and I still have it 35 years later. I'll keep it forever because it was the last gift I ever got from him. He died the following summer when I was only 11.

I remember the stocking ritual...A few gifts in the top half of the stocking and in the toe was ALWAYS an orange, nuts in the shell, candy and money (anything from pennies to quarters).

I miss all businesses being closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas day (and sundays too). Really....what's wrong with having a day to rest and recoup?

I miss the days when saying "Merry Christmas!" wasn't politically incorrect

What do I love?

I love decorating my home for Christmas. If I had my way every room in my house would be decked out. My DH however, draws the line at the bedrooms. The only thing I can do in them is holiday themed sheets.

I love driving through the neighborhoods and looking at Christmas lights. The more the better! And though I've seen some beautiful displays of white lights my favorites always have been and always will be the colored ones.

I love baking cookies and decorating them with my kids.

I love giving gifts to people. It brings me much joy to find just the right one.

I love Christmas music and have been guilty of listening to it at all other times of the year.

Most of all though, I love spending time with family during the holidays. There is nothing like being surrounded by all that love.

I remember when the stores were open ONLY in the evenings for the two weeks before Christmas. The rest of the year they closed at 5:00 and maybe 6:00. And they were all closed on Sundays. We got to go to town for one evening to do a bit of shopping and it was so magical to be out at night in the stores.

It's nice to read everyone's memories of the Holidays. When I was a "kid" every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was spent at my grandparents house. Everyone would cook. Lots of aunts and uncles and cousins so we were about 20 people. Couldn't eat meat on Friday so whoever liked it (usually not the kids) would eat fish and the kids would have the homemade Sicilian pizza my grandmother made. We're italian. The dough would be covered with blankets on a bench and since we were so many people we would be down in the basement which was really regular living area and not a basement the way you usually picture one. At midnight we would hear bells and see Santa's black boots and pant legs passing the windows as we looked up. Excited doesn't even describe it! He would come in HoHoHo-ing and saying Merry Christmas (it was always my dad) and each of us would get one gift. The other gifts were delivered to our houses for us to open Christmas morning. Opening the gifts the next morning was always exciting. We didn't get much, like the kids do these days, and the stuff didn't cost a million dollars but we loved everything we got and played with it all. My niece was just talking about her 12 year old daughter wanting an IPOD I think it was. She said it was a good deal at $225.00. WHAT? Sorry but I don't think kids should get everything they want and I really don't think a 12 year old needs that type of gift. How are these kids ever going to appreciate anything if they get everything? There are still some areas here on Long Island in New York that do decorate the streets but I haven't seen a storefront decorated in alot of years. I remember when all major stores were closed on Sunday. I remember the Holidays - all of them - being a wonderful time when all of us would get together.

I remember when the week's before christmas were "fun" and not work.... I loved the decorating, the christmas hymns at church and going to the tree lot to pick out the tree with mom. Shopping for gifts usually meant one, maybe two trips to Sears and the five and dime store. Christmas eve was spent with our extended family, and christmas morning was just our family with our gifts from Santa... a stuffed stocking and a couple of toys we played with the rest of the day. It was a magical time of year for me:)