A Child's Christmas in Decoy - Grandma's Memories (1932)

Christmas in our house was a noisy, happy affair.  We made our own decorations.  Mother made the traditional Christmas puddings in a big brown crock.  We all had to have a stir and to make a wish.  They were put into muslin in basins and boiled in the big copper.  Nearer the day, she cooked a whole ham and tongue.  We all had a Christmas stocking and inside these would be trumpets, balls on elastic, a colouring book, and other odds and ends.  Nuts and oranges also featured, paints and books.  Of course, we woke early and in our excitement woke our parents.  Fires were lit early in both rooms and after breakfast we used the front room.  Mother dug up the Christmas tree from the garden and we put up the decorations and holly and mistletoe on Christmas Eve.  My father brought home a brace of pheasant which Mother cooked.  Mince pies were made the day before.  Tea was a jolly affair with crackers.  There were no plastic toys (etc) but lovely Japanese flowers which opened when put in water, and ferns which appeared when a match was lit and put to the corner of the paper.  There were hats and mottoes.  We loved them.  In the afternoon, Bill and I cracked nuts on the kitchen floor with a hammer!  Mother put out dates, figs, and other crystallised fruits.  We did not have a lot, but we were very happy.