Do you remember a Christmas tradition or item from your youth? I remember the cardboard fireplaces and the TV stations

[debm55]

Last edited Thu Dec 4, 2025, 12:21 PM - Edit history (1)

showing a burning yule log at night. --all three stations. How about you?: EDIT to add driving around looking at Christmas lights and
decorations.

[Turbineguy]

1. We used to have real candles on the Christmas tree

They would be lit every evening after dinner for 20-30 minutes. We never had a tree fire because everybody watched the tree like a hawk. In any case, the tree was next to a balcony door so in a pinch we could throw the tree over the balcony and set any pedestrians walking by, on fire.

[debm55]

3. Oh you. Thank you very much, Turbineguy. I never knew anyone with real candles on the tree.

[regnaD kciN]

31. They were common when we lived in Switzerland...

…in the mid-‘60s, but my family always used standard string lights.

[debm55]

36. Thank you very much, regnaD kciN. We used the string lights too.

[Walleye]

2. Instead of Christmas stockings, we had vinyl boots, red with Christmas decoration

Large Santa Claus type boots that would get filled by our parents, a.k.a. Santa Claus, with goodies Christmas Eve that we would wake up to Christmas morning

[debm55]

4. Thank you very much for sharing with us. Walleye. That is a unique idea.

[FalloutShelter]

5. Living in a small town in northern New Jersey...

Xmas week, the volunteer fire company would drive a truck around town with Santa who waved to the kids from the ladder.

My dad was a volunteer fireman, and one year the truck stopped in front of the house .
Santa got down from the truck and brought us a puppy. ( of course, dad had arranged it.)
“Tiny” my first dog, and the beginning of a lifelong passion for dogs in need of homes and help.

🐕‍🦺🐾🐶

[debm55]

7. Great post, FalloutShelter. The local fire department would throw candy from the truck. You are so lucky to get Tiny

From Santa.

[FalloutShelter]

10. Thanks for the post Deb and

Bringing back that memory.

[debm55]

15. You are welcome, FalloutShelter

Last edited Thu Dec 4, 2025, 11:38 AM - Edit history (1)

[lark]

6. A big memory is my dad and I singing "The 12 Days of Christmas" every day after dinner during the season

Other memories of the times - bubble lights, tinsel, a big beautiful real Scotch pine tree, opening one present on Christmas eve and it was always Christmas pajamas which we promptly put on. Christmas was always very special for mom and me, we just loved the season and decorating for it and I miss her so much durng ths time of year.

[debm55]

8. Thank you very much lark for sharing with us. May the memories of your mother be a blessing to you.

[MyOwnPeace]

9. ALCOA is from western Pennsylvania....

I’m sure they were pleased to see the aluminium Christmas trees with the spotlight and rotating color sheets shining on them!
Late 50’s, early 60’s……..

[debm55]

11. Thank you very much, My OwnPeace. We never had one. I am so glad. Didn't know that ALCOA made them here in Western PA.

[yellowdogintexas]

79. my mother was delighted when she was able to get one of those aluminum trees

She hated the live tree and the shedding etc.

Turns out we were all allergic to it and at least half the time we were sick at Christmas it had started with allergy to the Christmas tree!!!!

It was a small table top size and I took it to college with me; my roommate and I put it up in our room every year.

[debm55]

84. Thank you very much,yellowdogintexas. for sharing your memories for us. My sister had an allergy to live trees too. She

break out in a rash. May the memories of your mother, be a blessing to you.

[displacedvermoter]

12. Midnight Mass

and tourtierre after.

[debm55]

14. Thank you very much, displacedvermotor. I was in the children's chorus. and we sang at the Midnight Mass.

[debm55]

13. Before the inflatables, the hard plastic yard decorations.

[Freddie]

16. My parents always bought the Firestone Christmas album

At the local tire store. Some really great stuff on those records.

[debm55]

21. Thank you very much, Freddie for sharing. I am unfamiliar with the album, but it sounds great.

[Freddie]

32. It was an annual record only available at Firestone dealers

A compilation of various artists (mostly folks my parents liked) performing holiday songs. Not sure when they stopped, was very popular in the 60s.

[debm55]

38. Thank you.Freddie.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

17. We had the cardboard fireplace...

...setup in the rec room downstairs.

[debm55]

23. Thank you very much, discntnt_irny_srcsm. So Santa had a way to deliver the presents.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

34. Our main tree was in the living room on the first floor.

Sometimes we had a second tree near the cardboard fireplace downstairs.

Good times.

[debm55]

41. Thank you very much for sharing with us discntnt_irny_srcsm.

[Emile]

18. My dad raised three kids on his own. That said, we were lucky to even have a tree.

He did the best he could, but most of the decorations were from us kids.

I remember popping popcorn, and using a needle and thread to string it for the Christmas tree.

[debm55]

24. Thank you very much for sharing with us Emile. Your tree sounds beautiful. And your father sounds like a great man. May

The memories of him be a blessing to you.

[Xavier Breath]

19. Two: the nut bowl and the angel chime decoration.

The nut bowl was plastic and looked like a ring cut from a tree. You'd fill it with nuts and there was a silver nutcracker and picks in the center to open and remove all that glorious nut meat

The angel chime was a carousel of sorts. The base had four candles, and on a center shaft were four angels and a fan at the top. The heat from the candles would spin the fan and the angels would strike bells as they rotated.

Good times.

[debm55]

27. Oh , Thank you Xavier Breath. I had the angel carousel with the candles . Didn't you just stare at it in wonder?

Thank you for sharing you memories.

[yellowdogintexas]

80. we had one of those as well. nt

[debm55]

85. Thank you yellowdogintexas. I loved it and could watch for hours.

[applegrove]

20. We used to go to a Christmas Party every year. Kids

we're in the basement and there was candy and pop everywhere. My mom didn't allow candy or pop in our home so it was novel to have an endless supply of it. My cousins were there. It was fun.

[Emile]

22. My dad would take us 3 kids to the VFW Christmas Party

to see Santa and get a free gift. After the party we would look for dad to take us home. He was almost always in the secret room playing the illegal slots.

[applegrove]

25. Sounds like a riot. What is VFW?

[Emile]

28. Veterans of Foreign Wars

When he came home from the VFW, us kids would be called into the kitchen. Dad would have a big pile of coins that he won from the slot machines on the table. He would take each coin, one by one, and say, one for you, one for you, and one for you.

[debm55]

26. Thank you Emile for sharing with us. I went to the Knights of Columbus party and got a gift. Bless you Emile.

[MyOwnPeace]

83. My Dad was a coal miner.....

Every year he’d take me to the union hall where one of the ‘heavier’ miners would wear a cheap Santa outfit and give each kid one of those damned cellophane-wrapped popcorn balls! Just hated those things!!! 😂🤣😂

[debm55]

42. Thank you very much, applegrove for sharing with us. I bet it was fun for you.

[Cloudhopper]

47. We did the same, but it was a Kiwanis Christmas party. I'll never forget

I once got a big (about 2 ft tall) white and lime green teddy bear. Loved that bear.

[debm55]

50. Thank you for sharing . Wow that was a huge teddy bear. I got a tin of those hard candies.

[debm55]

86. HAHAHHAHAHha Sounds great. Thank you applegrove.

[Aristus]

29. My family never did huge, elaborate, easily-spotted-from-orbit outdoor decorations.

But one thing my mother would do was take brightly-colored metallic wrapping paper, and cover the front door with it, then add a big ribbon to it so the door looked like a huge gift package.

I've got a photo of one year's effort somewhere.

[debm55]

44. Thank you very much Aristus. I remember people decorating their doors that way. I though it was very nice and festive.

[Raven123]

30. Cookies, cookies, cookies!

Mom baked a lot of different types of cookies, it was cold enough to store them in her tins in the garage, all labeled. When we visited, we would load a tray daily and indulge.

[Mad_Dem_X]

35. My mom's aunt would make a TON of cookies, all kinds

and she would bring some over to our house at Christmastime. What a treat!

[debm55]

46. Thank you very much Raven123. Yes, Christmas cookies are the best.

[Mad_Dem_X]

33. We had a cardboard fireplace

We kids even hung our stockings above the fake fire.

[debm55]

51. HAHAHAHAHHA. Did you have the red brick cardboard one? Thanks Mad_Dem_X

[Mad_Dem_X]

73. Oh yes!

It even said "Merry Christmas" on it!

[debm55]

87. HAHAHHAHAhah. thank you very much for sharing with us.Mad_Dem_X Love it.

[Mad_Dem_X]

37. My dad would routinely burst into song

...well, kind of. He would be walking down the hall, and suddenly start singing, "And a partridge in a pear tree!" That's it; that's all he would sing. My sister and I would laugh. God, I miss him.

[debm55]

54. HAHAHAH. Thank you very much Mad_Dem_X. May your dad's memories be a blessing to you.

[Mad_Dem_X]

74. I miss him terribly, especially this time of year.

[debm55]

75. ______________

[pandr32]

39. I loved hanging the tinsel.

I did it so carefully, but my brother would get frustrated and throw clumps of it on the branches and I wanted the tree 'pretty' so i would spread out his clumps.
The tinsel would somehow drift all around the house and stick on all kinds of things. It made me smile.

[debm55]

71. Thank you very much, pandr32. My brother would do the same. It made my Father very angry.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

40. We had a Lionel train on a platform my dad made

with metal train tracks. I used to throw the METALLIC icicles from the Christmas tree onto the tracks and it made the train jump the track. ROFL!! Man, did my dad get annoyed with those shenanigans!

[debm55]

72. HAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHA. I am sorry some_of _us _are_sane. but that is sort of funny.

[OldBaldy1701E]

43. Yes. This.

My grandmother would place this on the table in the front hallway of her house. I remember it from every single Christmas that was celebrated at her house, which was every year until she passed.

There were a few more figures, but they were broken or disintegrated over the decades. I am missing the other two 'Kings of Orient', as well as another shepherd boy leaning on his crook, with a sheep beside him, and three sheep laying down like the mule and the cow are doing. I had to repair some of the ones you see because they were also broken, but she did not throw them away. I am very glad, because I was not interested in the display being 'correct', I just wanted to the one that I grew up with. It is fragile, but I will still set it out for the holiday in remembrance of my grandmother, who obviously liked it enough to buy all new figures for it on three different occasions. It is on the shelf behind me a this very moment.

The stable has a wind up music thing on the inside where it plays the first verse of 'What Child Is This?' I have not tried it since I got it, so I think it still works, but I don't want to risk it without some prep first.

(I also remember the TV stations doing the burning log, but my grandmother did not have a color television until the late seventies, so it was always a bit funny to us grandkids to see a black and white fire.)

[debm55]

45. Thank you very much OldBaldy1701E for sharing the manger scene. It is beautiful and carries the memories of your

Grandmother. You are very lucky to have it. Even though pieces are missing it shows the love you both had for each other. May the memories of your grandmother be a blessing to you.

[KitFox]

48. I remember always having this mix of hard Christmas candy that came in a blue or green foil tin. The brand was Society

and the letters were spelled out in candy shapes. We ate it while decorating the tree. On Christmas Eve, my mom always made hamburgers and French fries and we opened one present and went to Midnight Mass. When we got home, we opened the giant Hickory Farms box that out of town relatives sent. My mom stirred up a batch of cornbread for use in the dressing and we smelled it baking while we snacked. We thought it was so much fun staying up so late and trying to stay awake! Thank you for sending us down memory lane, Deb! ❤️❤️❤️

[debm55]

64. Thank you very much, KitFox for sharing the wonderful Christmas Eve events in your home. Excellent.

[Cloudhopper]

49. We had these plastic hanging decorations made from small, round, colored plastic

chips that were mostly melted together, but not entirely so they were still rough. Shapes like Santa, bells, presents.

They might have been a local item since they were made in the next town over. Not sure how widespread they were.

[debm55]

53. I remember them. Cloudhopper. We called them popcorn decorations as they were rough. I live in SW PA and they were all

over the place here.

[31st Street Bridge]

52. The annual Christmas music album

... from the Firestone tire store!

[debm55]

63. Thank you very much, 31st Street Bridge.

[SheltieLover]

55. I remember some time before Christmas, awaiting the arrival of the big Sears catalog

[debm55]

58. Thank you, SheltieLover. Did you dog ear or circle the items that you wanted Santa to bring you?

[SheltieLover]

59. Oh, absolutely. Dog-eared & circled items. Lol

[debm55]

61. HAHAAHAHA Thank you. SheltieLover.

[marble falls]

56. Mr Jingaling ...

?si=i5wzda1uoRDbrO5h

As my dad used to sing, "Deck the halls with bills from Halles's!"

[debm55]

57. HAHAHHAHAHAHA, Thank you very much, marble falls.

[mwmisses4289]

60. Homemade cinnamon bread, rum balls, egg nog and homemade fruitcake.

Mom would start soaking the fruit she was going to use in the fruitcake in rum starting around September, and make the cakes about November. And the eggnog! Oh my! 6 eggs, six cans of sweetened condensed/regular condensed milk (usually 3 of each) and a fifth of rum. All well blended, left in the fridge, stirred a couple of times a day, then served during holiday parties. She often warned people to have no more than two small tumbler glasses of it. Yum!

[debm55]

62. Thank you very much, mwmisses4289. That sounds wonderful.

[Sneederbunk]

65. Popcorn balls.

[debm55]

69. Thank you very much, Sneederbunk. And you could make more popcorn to string on the tree.

[ballardgirl]

66. Plywood/painted cut outs

Of the three wise guys in our front yard. We weren't particularly religious so not sure what the deal was. This was in the 50's

[debm55]

70. HAHAHHAH. Thank you very much, ballardgirl for sharing your memory.

[Dorothy V]

67. That pink light bulb, pushing a candied yam around on my plate (I hate yams, even candied ones), and Mom's wonderful

collection of tree ornaments.
The pink bulb was a tree light. All the other bulbs were the standard red, green, blue, yellow and white, but there was this one pink bulb, origin unknown. These were the old style bulbs, not the little ones they have nowadays.
I still hate yams. And sweet potatoes.
Mom had birds, some lanterns, ceramic bells and other little doohickeys from at least three generations and several countries. I still have two of the birds, two lanterns, and three bells that somehow have remained unbroken over the years. The lanterns are the oldest, dating from before WWI, and the bells are from Germany. I love them all but my fave is the smallest bell, a tinkly little thing no longer than an inch or so and painted with tiny pink birds. We called it the baby bell.
It was always special when Mom brought out her box of pretties, as she most rightly called them, and hung them on the tree. We were all admonished to look but don't touch, and for a wonder, we minded! What broke the most of them over the years was the constant moving, not kids.

[debm55]

68. Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas memories with us Dorothy V. Love you, deb.

[CrispyQ]

76. One of my grandmother's churches had Christmas caroling every year with a party at the church afterwards.

Every house we went to had some kind of treat for us, usually homemade. I loved it, even on the really cold years! I remember the most wonderful fudge from my 8th grade English teacher.

[debm55]

77. Thank you very much for the Christmas caroling. In 8th grade, my homeroom went caroling. You don't see that any more.

Thank you very much CrispyQ,

[debm55]

78. Velvet dresses for girls and a velvet vest and dress pants and white shirt for boys.

[yellowdogintexas]

81. My mom and I had a real adventure assembling my sister's Barbie Dream House

This was in 1960, my mom was pregnant with my youngest sister and we had spent the past 2 days baking cakes: German's Chocolate, Jam Cake and Coconut cake. Finally it's Christmas Eve and we were getting all the stuff together for my middle sister's "Santa" gifts.

Well we had to build the Barbie Dream House., and we couldn't start until she was asleep. This was the first year for the Dream House and it was made of cardboard, with tabs and slots for everything. We messed with that thing for two hours and nearly killed ourselves laughing at the strange looking pieces which we had put together wrong. It was a bonding experience for my Mom and me. I do not remember when the Dream House died but being cardboard it probably was not very long.

Christmas morning we always had new pajamas and a robe to wear, which my mom made for us; I always had books, my sister had toys. We always had homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

Otherwise, we did lots of cooking for our family dinners. Fortunately we did not have to get to both sides of the family on Christmas Day!! My mom's family usually did something Christmas afternoon or evening (depending on who was there from out of town) My grandmother was Norwegian and made all those wonderful pressed butter cookies and marzipan which we loved. After dinner we would go out and drive around town and look at Christmas lights. There was a decorating competition in that town and some of those folks did a pretty big display.

My dad's family had their celebration usually the Sunday after Christmas. Sometimes it was at my Grandparents' and sometimes at my aunt and uncle's farm. We always had country ham from the farm, a turkey, the usual sides, frozen fruit salad, scalloped oysters, mac and cheese, peas and pearl onions, asparagus casserole, homemade rolls and lots of cake.
Granny made a brazil nut devil's food cake with ground brazil nuts in the cake; my mom and I made the three cakes mentioned above and frest fruit ambrosia, with all the good citrus: oranges, pineapple, tangerines, grapefruit, bananas, and coconut. We also had boiled custard with our cake instead of egg nog. Eggnog is made with whiskey or rum but boiled custard is not; the teetotalers weren't having that liquor so custard is preferred. It is not too common except in KY, TN and MS. We still put a teaspoon of bourbon or rum in it. Irony!! You could walk into anyone's house around the holidays and if you looked in the refrigerator there would be at least one mason jar of boiled custard in there. I still love it with coconut cake.

One of my aunts loved to make Christmas goodies, especially fudge and divinity. She also whipped up hot rolls and brought over pans ready to go in the oven.

[debm55]

88. Wow, What a great celebration you had and all the memories. Thank you yellowdogintexas. for sharing with us.

[electric_blue68]

82. I guess my Mom making various Christmas decorations almost every year...

She'd get her ideas from the women's magazines, and add her particular style to them. She had been a professional dressmaker, did copper enamel jewelry- so alot of creative experience.

I still have (and so does my sis) these flat, cloth-covered Xmas forms - a star, ornament shapes, with ric-rack and sequins.
There were styroform balls that we stick straight pins with beads, sequins, fake pearls on them.
She made 6 pointed stars out of straws strung together. Did a bunch more things.

[debm55]

89. Thank you for sharing electric_blue68. I have some of the styrofoam ball balls with the pins holding the beads, sequins

on it. May the memories of mom be a blessing to you , my friend.