Step back in time…
Christmas nostalgia, from 1940 to the 1980s
The 1940s
While the decade began in the throes of the Second World War, many familiar Christmas traditions were born from the ethos of Keep Calm And Carry On.
DECORATIONS AND PRESENTS With Christmas lights a no-go because of the blackouts, families got creative with decorations, using scraps of newspaper to make paper chains. Scarce supplies meant gifts were often made from old wood, such as doll’s houses or toy horses. When the war ended in 1945, continuing rationing meant home-made toys and simple bars of soap remained key fixtures in stockings.
FOOD AND DRINK
Turkey wasn’t on the menu – a lucky few ate goose, lamb or pork. Rabbits and home-raised chickens were popular, accompanied by home-grown vegetables. As dried fruit was hard to come by, Christmas pudding and cake was bulked out using breadcrumbs and grated carrot. The Ministry of Food’s recipe for mock turkey featured sausage meat, vegetables and breadcrumbs.
MOVIES AND TV BBC television was shut down during the war, but there was plenty to enjoy on the radio and in the cinema. Hollywood glamour and festive movies gained popularity; Miracle On 34th Street, the heart-warming story of a department store Santa Claus in New York, was released in 1947, then remade in 1955, 1973 and 1994, making it the gift that keeps on giving!
The 1970s
If you were a 1970s kid, you’ll remember circling toys in the Argos catalogue, which first arrived in 1972…
DECORATIONS AND PRESENTS When it came to decking the halls, more was definitely more. Trees were dripping with tinsel. Baubles glowed red, green and gold. Beneath the tree, Lego bricks rocketed in popularity. Games such as Kerplunk and Mastermind kept the family entertained. Lucky kids were riding on Chopper bikes or bouncing on Space Hoppers, and girls were opting for Sindy dolls, which first came out in 1963 as a rival to the American version, Barbie.
FOOD AND DRINK Adults were likely to be drinking frothy Snowball cocktails made by mixing Advocaat, lime juice and lemonade. Party food included prawn cocktails and cheese boards. Other treats included Bird’s Trifle, Babycham, Eat Me Dates and Blue Nun wine. The decade also saw the rise of the TV chef with Fanny Cradock Cooks For Christmas.
MOVIES AND TV Cartoons dominated festive movies, such as Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, while families headed to pantos with stars like Danny La Rue. But really, the decade was a golden age for TV, and Eric and Ernie were the kings of festive telly, pulling in around 28m viewers for their final BBC Christmas show in 1977.
The 1980s
Department stores heaved with shoppers, and Woolworths provided stocking fillers. Buying pick ’n’ mix sweets on the way out is an experience you just don’t get online!
DECORATIONS AND PRESENTS
Foil stars adorned trees, and fake foil trees were popular. Kids had a huge variety of toys to choose from, often linked to TV and movies, from Star Wars and Ghostbusters to
My Little Pony and Care Bears. The biggest toy craze was the Cabbage Patch Kids, which caused riots in the US in the run-up to Christmas 1983 as parents fought to grab one! Hand-held consoles reached a new level when the Nintendo Game Boy was released in 1989, with games like Super Mario Land and Tetris.
FOOD AND DRINK
Celebrations needed canapés like vol-auvents, devilled eggs, and anything on sticks (but particularly cheese, fruit and cocktail sausages). Decadent desserts took centre stage: Black Forest gateau, baked Alaska, and Wall’s Viennetta, launched in 1982. MOVIES AND TV Channel 4 arrived on our TV screens in 1982, and the nation sang along to Walking In The Air with The Snowman, based on Raymond Briggs’s children’s book. The Eastenders Christmas specials
became national TV moments – in 1986, more than 30m people tuned in on Christmas Day to see Dirty Den give divorce papers to wife Angie. Elsewhere, Noel Edmonds’ Live, Live Christmas
Breakfast Show broadcast from the top of Telecom Tower. The Two Ronnies, Russ Abbot and Kenny Everett kept the nation entertained, and movies that made their TV premieres at Christmas included Crocodile Dundee and Back To The Future.