It’s easy to look back at those yellow and orange photographs of Christmas from the 70s and 80s and laugh at the cheesy jumpers, the cheesy grins and the fact you only had one type of cheese in the fridge.

But as you smirk at the past whilst ordering your smart Scandi themed decorations and array of modern foodstuffs online just think – you probably won’t have a photograph of this year’s festivities to look back on.

Because you probably won’t get a real camera out to take one, you won’t have that exciting wait for a week to see if that picture you took of Gran sleeping in her chair after dinner came out.

Because you’ll spend the day on your smartphone and social media like you do every day.

Because Christmas probably won’t be as brilliant this year as it was in those photos.

Because Christmas was better back in the 70s and 80s.

And here are just a few reasons why.

The Anticipation

The Christmas countdown started in December not October so you were still actually excited by the time it arrived.

Advent calendars only had a small pictorial scene behind the paper door, there were no chocolates, beauty treats or pieces of jewellery but it was still the most exciting part of the day as every morning you were reminded the big day was drawing closer.

On the 24th there was a double door with the nativity behind it, maybe a bit of glitter. Squeal!

More Anticipation

Getting out the same garish decorations every year and making a mess of the tree was a cause for celebration in itself and there was nothing more festive than going through the catalogue and making a wish list.

But it was properly time to get excited when the special double edition of the Radio Times was bought.

Circling everything you wanted to watch with a red pen was the very definition of joy. Which brings us on to…

The Telly

OK the Morcambe & Wise Christmas Special may not have been top of your wish list and you’d rather make your family watch Top Of The Pops to see what made the festive number one but at least you watched it all together.

Remember we only had one TV and three or four channels back then (not the thousands we have today) so every single seasonal programme was an event big enough to bring every family member to the sofa.

If you missed it you missed out because you couldn’t +1 it, so you just didn’t miss it.

And talking to real people about this shared event was as funny as talking about it on Twitter.

The Film

Which brings me on to this. No you probably hadn’t seen it at the cinema, no you hadn’t rented it out, no you certainly hadn’t already videoed it off the TV and no there was no downloading, no Netflix and no films on permanent loop on Sky.

So the Christmas Day film was MASSIVE. Massive I tell you.

It’s hard to drum up the same enthusiasm today for a film that you’ve already had umpteen chances to watch.

Honestly, even if The Great Escape or James Bond again, still massive.

No one watches the same thing in the same room today.

The Toy

Whether it was a Girls World or the Six Million Dollar Man you hungered all year for it.

There was no chance of getting a new toy on a whim so it really took something like Christmas or a birthday to get something so desirable.

But the object of your desire was on every TV advert break whipping you up into a festive frenzy that resulted in an almost crazed attack on everything wrapped up under the tree until you found it.

There’ll be a photo of your face when you unwrapped it.

The Music

The Christmas number one was actually a festive tune, not cheesy output from the latest X Factor winner and Top of the Pops was a seasonal spectacular.

Actually Christmas tunes were invented in the 70s and 80s. Fact. And we weren’t bored of hearing them.

The Food

Trifle and satsumas and sherry and a Yule Log.

Don’t pretend you still eat that stuff now, you don’t.

You eat fancy stuff like Stollen and Panettone, you probably don’t even have a turkey and Christmas is just not the same for it.

There was interesting food in the house for the only time in the year – like a tin of Quality Street – and a nut cracker in a bowl of Brazil nuts that lasted until March.

Someone who didn’t usually drink would get a bit tipsy and no one mentioned salt, sugar, carbs or knew the difference between good and bad fats. Also, Babycham!

The Clothes

You always wore your Sunday best on the big day (not a reindeer onesie) and Christmas jumpers were non-ironic.

Those in the kitchen had a novelty apron. Someone had a new tie. Who gets a new tie these days?

The Tradition

Everyone does something different now, back then options were limited (and the shops were not open like they are today!) so we all pretty much did the same thing every year and it usually revolved around: Local band playing carols, midnight mass, leaving out a mince pie and a carrot, being unable to sleep, waking up earlier than you ever thought possible, throwing yourself into a pile of presents, eating masses, going for a walk, The Queens Speech, falling asleep.

You knew where you were with Christmas, now we can go ice-skating, go to hotels for lunch, pretty much go anywhere and it’s not on.

The Magic

If you’re reading this the likelihood is you experienced Christmas in the 70s and 80s as a child so of course it was better because you know – the magic. Also it snowed more back then, no really it did. And it really WAS better.


Shamelessly plagiarised fromt tweb

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Well said. Well said indeed

I've often remarked about how very few cars were on the road on Christmas Day when we drove to relatives. There would be kids out on the street on their new red bicycle.

Now, its like midweek. Cars everywhere, petrol stations busy, people getting ready to go shopping first thing Boxing Day like a bunch of sad ba s and all the kids are indoors killing zombies on their new PlayStations. LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Sorry I'm too busy to reply as I'm playing with my action man who I've dressed up as a WW2 British soldier. Now where's that apple and orange that was in the pillowcase?

I remember pleading with my parents for the latest Action man but money was tight for us and I rarely got what I asked for. One year I openened up my presents and excitedly saw that they had finally bought me one. I ripped open the box only to find a little man wearing a fawn coat and a trilby hat. When I pulled the string on the back it started talking. It said " 25, 25, 30, 30 30, 35, 35, 40 at the back....." I looked again at the writing on the box and they'd only gone and bought me Auction man.

Good thread/post. You are very likely correct.

The other thing was that everyone called it Christmas & not A Winter Festival!  (Past) Freelander 2 HSE 2010 MY In Rimini Red.
(Past) RR Evoque Dynamic Lux Si4 In Firenze Red.
(Past) RR Evouque Pure Tech in Barollo Black with bespoke Firenze Red colour coding.
(Present) Freelander Metropolis 2015 MY In Santorini Black with Ivory Premium Leather.

Ah action man, I had one after much badgering and played with it for hours. Then came the extra bits for birthdays from aunts and uncles. Most disappointing was the parachute set, the chute was about the size of a handkerchief, instead of floating majestically down to a safe landing mine plunged down at breakneck speed, might as well have just flung him down the stairs (which we often did). The good thing about action man was that he became part of the gang, often taking a well aimed dart (with rubbersucker, remember those) or hit from a spud gun (always managed to find a potato with lots of little holes rotting behind the sofa months later). Ain't nostalgia grand  FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory

Christmas jumpers, although why they have sharks on I will never know, my Mum had a knitting machine and we had an endless supply


I'm the good looking one on the left

Did your mums pudding bowl have a crack in it?  FL2 Metropolis, Loire Blue, ebony/ivory

Then there is the other side

Frost on the inside of the windows!
gathering round the one fire to get dressed as the whole house was like a fridge!
having to make room for relatives to sleep as the busses were not running so they could not get home!
Setting fire to the christmas pud and mums hair!
Arguments over who was cheating at Monopoly!

Maybe it aint quite all as nice as we remembered.  MY2014 SD4 XS
Ipanema Sand

MY10 TD4-e GS Manual
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Wasn't around in the 70's, I didn't arrive until 85, but even the early 90s it was better. Proper Christmas songs, tacky decorations none of these designer black Christmas trees with contrasting tinsel, horrid jumpers which now seem to be fashionable.

Now all I look forward to is the 2 days off work (although it will be 4 this year ) and a pair of socks, not even Landie scocks. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

I once knew a guy who lived in North Devon and used to go back to see his parents in South Wales for Xmas lunch. He had a strategy of traveling early on Xmas morning because the roads were dead quiet and you could bomb along with no fear of hitting traffic etc. One Xmas morning he was going through a village on the A361 in Somerset and found a police car waiting for him and he promptly got done for speeding. Evidently the local policeman had seen the same car speed past his house every Xmas morning so made a note in his diary to nick him next time!

bbrap wrote:

Ain't nostalgia grand