Christmas.....................A taste of things to come (part 1)

Memories are made of this

Childhood memories of Christmas Eve's long ago, still fill me with magical wonder!  I tried hard as a parent to recreate the wonderful  atmosphere that my parents did for their children all those years ago...................whether i succeeded or not is not for me to say, one can only hope..........................

There are so many wonderful Christmas memories to chose from its hard to know where to start!   Maybe i should tell you about my brother at the age of 4 or 5 being found "drunk" on  port under the dinning table after hours of searching for him?  Or maybe a much later one about the mouldy Christmas pudding?!  No, i think I will start with this one


Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve in our house, as were in most  homes i assume, very busy times!  Mum would be busy cleaning every nook and cranny of an already clean house, whilst us three children were kept amused by singing along to the Christmas songs on the radiogram!
Dad and Uncle PJ would come home form work with dad carrying the biggest turkey you ever did see!  It would have come straight from the farmer plucked and feathered and ready for the oven (that's if mum could fit it in of course)!  First thing she would do would be "to give it a bath" in our  butler sink and give it what she called"  a proper good cleaning" then she would sit it on the drainer while she made up a large bowl full of paxo sage and onion!  The turkey would be stuffed to the neck before being placed in a roaster, covered in some lard then several layers of tin foil before being shoved into our very large oven!  It would be cooked on a low heat all through the night! 
Her next job would be setting out the fruit and sweets!  We had a rather large wicker picnic basket of rectangular shape without the lid to which she placed an array of wonderful fruits, pineapple, red and green apples, pears, the sweetest juiciest oranges the size of grapefruits (to which my nan and grandad were particularly partial) grapes and bananas and lots of sweet little tangerines!  Once finished, it resembled a fruit stall from our local market!  She had a special glass bowl to which always went the Foxes Glacier Mints, we had 2 tins of Quality Street, some boxed of chocolates including Liquors for the adults and a box of Fruit Jellies! There were also dates, figs and an assortment of nuts, all of it a feast for the eyes and one you dare not touch until Christmas day!  All these delights were set out on a 6ft sideboard in the living room and relay did look quite spectacular!
After our supper and our baths, Peter, Catherine and myself were all allowed to chose a present from under the tree.  It was something that mother always allowed us to do before hanging out our stockings and going up to bed.  Most years it would be a book or soft toy we would open from an aunt or other close relative.  Mt Auntie Lilly always used to get us a 100 page colouring book with crayons, that was always a favourite gift and would keep us occupied for hours!
Up to bed we would go full of expectation and wonder to what the morning would bring......................................................