Christmas for me was my Christmas stocking and chocolate teddy bears

Amongst all the gifts that Father Xmas had left it was the Lindt chocolate teddy bears I used to enjoy most. I only had Lindt chocolate at Christmas and it had a really special and smooth taste that I loved.

Then there were the little bags of chocolate coins, also made by Lindt and just as delicious as the teddy bears. They came wrapped in golden foil you could peel off to find the chocolate money inside.

I also used to love eating the chocolates that came wrapped in silver foil and were hung on the Christmas Tree as decorations. I remember they came in seasonal and festive shapes such as bells and snowmen. We used to have a real tree with real pine needles and I used to enjoy helping to dress it with tinsel, baubles, fairy lights and chocolate treats.

Enjoying food at Christmas was always what made it a special time for me as a boy and into my teenage years, and still does for that matter! It wasn't just the Lindt chocolate, it was the traditional Christmas dinner followed by Christmas pudding with cornflour and brandy sauce. I always wanted second helpings.

Christmas cake I wasn't so keen on. When I was younger I didn't like the marzipan although I like the flavour now. I used to love mince pies though and still do.

I used to not be a vegetarian when I was younger and used to enjoy eating turkey with the main meal and perhaps cold in sandwiches on Boxing Day.

And then there were the nuts. I used to love eating walnuts and brazil nuts and cracking them open with the metal nut-crackers. Tangerines were another of the really yummy foods of Christmas, as were dates and figs.

We often had indoor fireworks too. I remember watching with delight the "Snake in the Grass" firework as it magically uncurled and then there were those ones that puffed out wisps of camphorated smoke.

Pulling crackers was always a lot of fun as well although the jokes weren't any good and the prizes inside weren't up to much. There was something about pulling a cracker though that was really enjoyable. Perhaps it was showing how you could do this when other family members had to have several tries, perhaps it was the excitement of not knowing what was inside? The party hats were fun to wear too, even if they did always break.

I always used to enjoy watching TV at Christmas. Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland is one of my favourite films and was always on. You could guarantee it would be on somewhere over the holiday period and there were always lots of other great films too. The Bob Hope and Bing Crosby 'Road movies' were often on at Christmas and I used to enjoy their adventures.

The Christmas edition of Top of the Pops was another programme I used to enjoy seeing and I liked the pantomimes. Although Christmas hasn't meant much to me for many years if I look back I can find a lot of happy memories of Christmas Past.

Copyright © 2012 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.