The trick with children's stockings is that you buy two of each that way you can just swap the empty one for the full one instead of having to fill them in situ or remove it and replace it later.
Also yes we did advent calenders, I'm old enough to remember them not having a chocolate in them just a picture behind each door, and I have a 7 foot blue christmas tree Coz I'm a whovian my mam has a 8.5 foot traditional tree that she honestly spends about 20 hours decorating like a boss, one thing we both have is jars of aged mincemeat for mince pies, I started mine in 2002 and every year I just top up the jar with extra raisins and suet and shots of spirits, since I began I've used brandy, rum, spiced rum, Jack Daniels, amaretto, vodka, whisky, Thai whisky, cherry gin and ouzo, (donated by friends because I don't drink)
@WanderingRavens this is an old one but watch jim Davidson & Charlie Drake in cindrella. Its adult panto but so funny 🤣. On topic now. In brit panto, males act as female and vice versa
Boxing day is a remnant from the Catholic St Stephen's day. Britain is a mainly Protestant country so many of the Catholic feasts and such were rebranded at the time of the Reformation.
Not so long ago there was no such thing as "pigs in blankets". When I was growing up sausages and bacon were served separately. Chipolata sausages were used and streaky bacon "pressed out" with back of a knife then rolled up into rolls were the way they were served. When I started cheffing after I left school in 1984 sausages and bacon rolls were still served separately for Christmas Dinner in restaurants and other catering establishments,as well as in 99% of people's homes. During the late 80's people caught on about wrapping the sausages in the bacon instead of serving them separately until the now called "pigs in blankets" just became more popular in the early 90's, and now 99% of people serve them this way. In my house I always serve them the old fashioned way as you get more bacon and the sausage is browned all over not just the ends. It's interesting that younger people think that pigs in blankets were always a thing!
@@amandalewis3898 technically they have always been available all year round if you've got chipolatas and streaky bacon. Which they sell in the supermarkets all year round!
@@jaysmith2858 No, it was from a Sunday Morning BBC Greater Manchester radio programme which doesn't even attempt not to be corny. Other favourites of mine include- Phil Spector's brother used to work as Head of Quality Control at Walkers. His name is Crispin. My friend fell into the upholstery machine at IKEA. He's fully recovered. I asked my local butcher if it is safe to keep a turkey in the freezer for six weeks, and he said it was. I put it in then came down next morning, and it was already dead.
Slade, Wizard, The Pogues + Kristy MacColl, Cliff Richard, David Essex, Jona Lewie, Greg Lake, Chris Deburgh, Shakin Steven’s, Paul McCartney! Theses are the singers of our Favourite Christmas tunes!
@@craigkitching4883 There are many more, Nat King Cole, Ertha Kitt and Brenda Lee etc that some people play but I feel the one I mentioned originally are the mainstay. Not saying they are better but not as popular as they once were!
I knew my son was growing up when I'd just filled his stocking one year and was creeping out of his bedroom. As I was softly easing his door shut, he said, "Night, Dad".
Yeah thats honestly so cute❤️ wasn’t it the same for you? Btw if you’re interested I also have a channel with vlogs from London if you want to check it out ☺️❤️
I think seeing a glimpse of a christmas tree and some warm lighting through someones window makes me feel more of the christmas spirit than a big blow up snowman.
A beautifully lit up Xmas tree through a window is Xmas to me. But most people where I am compete and it’s like Blackpool illuminations but still I do like it and so do the grandkids.
@@EaterOfBaconSandwiches that’s mad, shows how different things can be in the same country, I don’t really know anybody who celebrates Christmas who didn’t
A lot of people round where I live have lights on the front of their house. Usually around their porch or in their front window. There is one house near me where the man who lives there completely covers his house in lights for charity and we love going to see it 🥰
When I was very young, my family referred to them as wassail cups. From the Anglo-Saxon custom of wassailing (kind of "eat, drink and be merry" - ing) particularly around Christmas time.
Yeah, forgot about the multiple different versions of the same song 😩 20 hours listening to them 5 Christmas straight in a toy store an people wonder why I hated Christmas for the last 16 years. Only just started not to make breakout in a cold sweat when September roles around! 😳
Although honestly I haven't heard much this year! Also, does it really usually start in September? That's absurd. That's long before Hallowe'en even. Nobody should even be thinking about Christmas til December!
Hanging chocolate decorations on your Xmas tree? You can eat them whenever. Then even when you take it down you might find a one hidden away round the back.
Due to Covid a lot of theatres are doing their Pantomimes online! The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry is doing Jack and the Beanstalk and you can buy tickets and support the arts from your own home 🥰
Had fish and chips last night with what they called XXL pigs in blankets on the side. When it arrived it was a foot long sausage, wrapped in bacon, battered and deep fried. Its now 8am and I'm being visited by the ghost of takeaways past.
We had to do christingle at school when I was younger. It's a Clementine with a candle with tinfoil stuck into it. ribbon wrapped around the orange with cloves stamped into it
As a child On Christmas Eve I’d lay in bed unable to sleep, excited. Around 2am my dad would “sneak” into my bedroom to leave my presents. When I say “sneak” I mean drunkenly stagger in with a black bin bag of presents, usually stumble and swear, before leaving the sack by the side of my bed and backing out to the sound of my mother chastising him for “making a racket” and that he better not wake up the girls. Then I’d lay there awake all night waiting for the first light of morning to wake the house and start the family tradition of opening up the presents together. We got very little in those days so what we got at Christmas was very special. I can still remember my sisters shaking with excitement at the opening of each present.
Enjoyed this, thank you. One of my favourite things to do at Christmas is go to a candlelit carol service at Canterbury Cathedral (over 1400 years old).The acoustics and choir are amazing. Perhaps in less restrictive times you could attend an ancient cathedral near you. It's like stepping back in time. We didn't have stockings, we used pillow cases. As a parent this made life simpler as a pillow case would be filled away from the bedroom and simply exchanged for the empty one, not so much noise. It made for a tiring Christmas day, having to wait until the children were in a deep sleep! Pantomime humour works on an adult and a more childish level using slap stick, many innuendos and topical themes; an acquired taste possibly. We used to have (pre-decimalisation) threepenny bits or sixpences wrapped in greaseproof paper inside the Christmas pudding. It was served with rum sauce. We would also have sherry trifle and a brandy soaked Christmas cake...difficult to avoid alcohol! Merry Christmas:-)
Mine are 32,30 and 28 and I had to get them one. My middle son also wants a stocking - he lives with his lovely girlfriend but she doesn't quite "get" our traditional stockings!
Baubles is pronounced bor-balls 😂 We put coloured led lights and tinsel on our tree but our decorations have no uniformity whatsoever! We use ornaments that we’ve collected over the years and they usually have sentimental value to them (e.g. decorations we made as kids, decorations with names on them, decorations given to us by loved ones etc.). And to top it all off, we always have an angel-making competition beforehand and the winner gets to take pride of place at the top of the tree ☺️
When I was young, it was traditional for the entire school to travel to the Empire Theatre in Liverpool to see whatever pantomime was showing that particular year.
Thanxs for that memory Steve ☺ i loved going to the Empire for the panto. Our head teacher would warn us all we had our uniform on and we are representing the school so be good
I am English but been in the states for almost 3 years. Last Christmas I put on an English Christmas for my American husband and mother in law. It was hysterical to see their reaction to pulling xmas crackers and wearing the paper crown during dinner. Sadly this is my first year without an advent calendar or a tree so far, but with everything going on in the world I am just grateful to be here. Be careful with that pudding when you light it up 😂
Was taken to a pantomime in Swansea in 1989, and having been raised in Australia it went unappreciated by my 16 year-old self. It starred the late John Inman, and I wish I had appreciated back then as I would now.
Its officially Christmas for me when I first hear Slade's famous "IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!" It's a shame you're in the UK during COVID, I'd highly recommend seeing a Pantomime if you ever get the chance. I think a lot of the Playhouses are doing online Pantos this year. I know we're hoping for Easter Pantos next year though :D
Awww, I also think so! Christmas Here is one my favorite things ever. Btw if you’re interested I also have a channel with vlogs from London if you want to check it out ☺️❤️
Non alcohol Christmas is a fairy story isn't it... I've never heard of that. I mean even if you're not a drinker surely you have a glass of sherry, port or liquor with a mince pie or a glass of wine with Christmas Dinner!
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Deeley Boppers are plastic headbands with two springs on top, and they are topped with a glittery star or heart, but there are other designs, you should definitely wear them lol
Me and my family have always loved when people decorate the outside of their houses for christmas. South Manchester where I grew up and still live, has a growing number of people decorating the outside of their houses at christmas. In fact majority of the road I live has some sort of decoration outside their house or in their window. I love christmas time
Deeley Bobbers are a form of novelty "head wear" consisting of an Alice band with springs attached to them with ornaments placed on top. The ornaments are usually themed for the occasion, say Christmas decorations, Halloween motifs, etc.
I had a German grandmother who sent us an advent calendar every year. We have only two left and I kick myself that we didn't try to preserve them. I just put one of them up today, as a matter of fact. It's the paper kind with the little doors you open every day to see the image behind it. That always was magical for me as a child and it took me years to realize that the last doors were always going to be the nativity.
OK, classic British Christmas songs for you to react to! This would be so interesting. 1. Jona Lewie - Stop The Calvary 2. Band Aid 1984 - Do They Know it's Christmas 3. Wham - Last Christmas 4. The Pogues - Faiytale New York 5. Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day 6. Cliff Richard - Mistletoe & Wine 7. Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone 8. Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody (this is the BANGER) 9. The Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping 10. Johnny Mathis - When a Child is Born.
Unless you're one of the poor buggers that works in retail and you're rota'd to work Boxing Day, especially when a certain clothes shop starts their sales at 6am and there's no public transport running at that hour. Seriously, who NEEDS to go shopping on Boxing Day, outside of emergency food supplies?
My mum and i call our Christmas lunch a bread sauce delivery system - as we see it primarily as a way of spreading bread sauce on everything. Bread sauce is made from infusing an onion in milk with cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves. You then add breadcrumbs and butter and stir until a thick creamy sauce.
UK Christmas classic songs Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday Pogues & Kirsty McCall - Fairytale Of New York (Preferably the uncensored version) Elton John - Step Into Christmas Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry Showaddywaddy - Hey Mister Christmas Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry There are others It's not Christmas bobble it is bauble (baw_bul) Ending up wasted on Christmas day and falling asleep in front of the telly after your huge Christmas dinner is almost compulsory
"Snow is falling, all around us, children playing having fun"- shakin steven"s.This soo reminds me of xmas back in 1990 when all my friends were singing this as the snow was falling on Christmas Eve! BRING BACK THOSE INNOCENT DAYS! HALLELUJAH!
Hi Grace and Eric.. Deelie Boppers, are like a hairband, with two boiny springs on them sticking up with either reindeers, stars, snowflakes.. whatever Christmassy things on it, you can think of... Which then boing about on your head as you move about.. I have many.. :D :D
We have a day where the family puts up the tree, we all eat popcorn and sew it onto long lengths of string which we wrap around the tree. The white corn twisting up the tree goes really beautifully with the baubles and candles.
Kate & Sidney Pud was a traditional meal for New Year's Day in our house. Again, the Silver Thruppenny bit was included, to bring good fortune for the coming year.
Not sure if Pantomimes will be going ahead this year but ITV have recorded a few over the years and usually show them around Christmas ...... watch out for them on TV!
@@WanderingRavens Here's a posh made-for-TV panto that might give you something of the flavour:- th-cam.com/video/usoGRi8mz4s/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=AgentFSB
A tradition in our house is to listen to a recording of Christmas carols sung by choristers from the chapel at Kings College in Cambridge called ‘Carols from Kings’ on Christmas Eve on BBC1 and do the last food/table preparation whilst listening to the carols....it’s just lovely! Another big difference is a large section of the U.K. use Father Christmas rather than Santa. We also have mince pies, Christmas cake and quite often a mince pie and some kind of alcohol is put out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. Boxing Day is a relaxed repeat of Christmas Day eating leftovers and sometimes a trifle. Pantomimes are wonderful and great fun! We have tons of great tunes from the 70’s and 80’s which we love but you probably won’t have ever heard! Oh yes, and we have Christmas crackers to pull as we are about to eat our Christmas dinner! Bit too difficult to explain those 😂😂....
There are certain towns / Villages where every house will have christmas lights and decorations on. And people will go visit them to see them. I always went to see Mousehole Christmas lights.
yeah we have that in our village too, we make a christmas light walk for little kids but it’s always funny to see the roads not included in the walk because it’s always completely barren of christmas lights 😂
I have noticed many differences even between households with how they celebrate Christmas, but this is how it was usually with us: Shops start to sell Christmas stuff far too early, and constantly play the same 20 Christmas songs over and over again (the same with the radio stations), to the point that it is almost obligatory to play 'Whamageddon', to see how long you can last without hearing Wham's 'Last Christmas' (I lost this year while in Tesco, despite the fact that I work from home and rarely listen to the radio, so I thought I could last a while this year). Popular Christmas songs in the UK are: Slade: Merry Christmas Everybody The Pogues: Fairytale of New York Wham: Last Christmas The Darkness: Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End) Wizzard: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas Jona Lewie: Stop The Cavalry And many more I have always tried to get an advent calendar, even now that I'm in my mid thirties. Usually a chocolate one, but you can get them with Lego, Wine, Coffee, and various other treats. We had a family tradition that has not always been adhered to, that we put our decorations up before the 12th. This is because my brother was born at home, and as such was on the national news at the time where the headline was that he was 'born under the Christmas tree' (he wasn't, we had a real tree back then, and I can imagine the needles would have been painful). Most Christmas trees nowadays are fake (though I've always liked to get a real one if it was practical). Lights, baubles, homemade decorations by the kids, tinsel, etc. were used to decorate the tree. We always had it topped by an angel, and that is something I've wanted to carry on in my adult life, but it is almost impossible to find a decent angel to top the tree with. Most toppers tend to be stars now. We would usually watch some Christmas films in the run up to the day itself. And some of the more popular ones were: Muppets Christmas Carol (I always liked to watch this on the 24th, just because of the 'One More Sleep Til Christmas' song) The Santa Claus Movie The Santa Clause Home Alone Die Hard (I will fight you over this one) Nightmare Before Christmas The Snowman We would often go into the village square on Christmas eve to sing carols (or into the church itself if it was raining). And Father Christmas would have a couple of mince pies and some milk left out for him, with a couple of carrots for the reindeer. Us kids would wake up on Christmas morning with a stocking beside our bed full of small prezzies: Chocolate coins, a stationery set, a few little toys, maybe a novelty notebook, and the obligatory satsuma. We would then have Christmas breakfast which would consist of croissants and crumpets, before we would open more 'exciting' presents which were loaded into a massive sack. These would be larger stuffs, but the 'main' present would often be left until last, a large Lego set was usually the one I got. Once, we even got a Playstation, but that was a joint present for all three of us. Then Dad would go up the pub while Mum cooked Christmas dinner, and when I was old enough I helped out, and we had a glass of Bailey's each (until Mum had a little too much one Christmas party, and will now never touch the stuff). And Christmas dinner would consist mainly of the following: Turkey Ham (sometimes, and this would be cooked the day before) Roast potatoes Cauliflower cheese Honey roast parsnips Roast carrots Peas Sprouts (though really only Mum liked these. In recent years I have taken to slicing them up and frying them in crispy bacon lardons and they are been passable to actually quite good) Stuffing Gravy Condiments were: Bread sauce (which is milk infused with onion, cloves, and nutmeg. This was then cooked on the stove with breadcrumbs to thicken it and add texture. A little cream and butter for richness. It is absolutely gorgeous when made right, and absolutely disgusting when made from a packet.) Cranberry sauce. Mint sauce (we had this with every roast dinner. It is not traditional) Desserts: Christmas pudding Mince Pies Apple pies (for Dad mainly. He never liked mince pies) Trifle Dinner would always have some Christmas crackers with it, and you had to tell the joke, and wear the hat until it inevitably fell apart. Sometimes pictures were taken. After dinner the people who did not make the dinner would wash up, and we would then open the presents under the tree. These presents would be from friends and family rather than from Father Christmas, and when I was older, this would be time for some port or some sherry. We never watched the Queen's Speech, though I realise that is a tradition for some. The evening was often spent playing games, and when it came back on our screens (and until recently), we would watch Doctor Who (though this was mainly for my benefit). Boxing day was often a time to see extended members of the family. However, since my parents split up, it's essentially become a second Christmas to spend with whomever I did not see on the day itself.
Boxing day is 'leftover day'. What's left of the turkey, pigs in blankets (tiny sausages rapped in bacon), Gammon (ham) etc, etc, is put out to graze over that day. Our family put the whole lot in a big casserole and heat it up for lunch. It's all the good bits of Christmas day lunch without all the cooking; just relaxing and continuing to eat the food that's leftover.
Mince pies, Christmas crackers, paper hats, Santa Special trains, the Christmas float, primary school nativity plays, high school carol concerts, Quality Street, Miniature Heroes, Cadbury Roses, posh biscuits, leaving out sherry and mince pies for Father Christmas and carrots for his reindeer, mulled wine, board games and watching traditional films (It's a Wonderful Life, for example) on the evenings of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are pretty universal in the UK. Boxing Day is just a re-run of Christmas Day without opening presents.
The reason you’ve never heard of Deely Bobbers is not because you’re not British , it’s because you’re too young. According to their Wikipedia entry, they were invented _in America_ in 1981 and inspired by Killer Bee costumes on Saturday Night Live. They were sold by - get this - Ace Novelties, of Bellevue, Washington. Hey, haven’t I seen a couple of Washingtonians on TH-cam from time to time? Also, there is no actual mime in pantomime, although there is a fair bit of dancing, slapstick humour, cross-dressing and rude jokes that the kids are supposed to be too young to understand (but they do, they do.) And ‘suet’ which is either the hardened fat found around the kidneys of sheep and cattle or a vegetable-based substitute, is pronounced “sooette”, not “soo-ey” And a flaming Christmas pudding burns with a delicate pale blue flame, until all the alcohol burns off and it goes out. Quite a touching sight, really. Certainly not a terrifying blazing nightmare, as you might have unwittingly suggested.
Usually you have two stockings per child, an empty one to put at the end of the bed and a second that you fill elsewhere. You then quietly replace the empty stocking with the full one without waking said child.
Christingle services are my absolute favourite. Unfortunately missed the past couple of years as my Christmases have changed. But the service I go to we'd go to church, get our oranges and sweets with a candle, song hymns and carols. There's a christingle song that you sing when you light the christingle. Then we'd go outside and put baby Jesus in the manger whilst singing Away In A Manger. As a kid, we'd have the job of making all the christingles at Sunday School and occasionally pinching the dolly mixtures. Good times.
Went to a pantomime in York a few years ago, one of the best i've seen, fun for whole family with a great atmosphere & loads of silly humour & audience involvement.
The one in York is the archetypal pantomime. It had the same person writing, directing _and_ starring in it for 40 years, and most of the cast were regulars who did it year after year. The best pantos are those that have a regular crew with a local connection, so always try to look out for one of those rather than ones touting z-list "celebrities" desperately trying to rekindle a failed career in soap operas or reality TV. Pantomime is an art form in itself, and you want people who specialise in it.
Traditionally Christmas puddings are made one year and left to mature for the following Christmas, so you’re to late to make one for this year. The term pudding in most cases refers to the way it’s cooked. Puddings are for the most part made by wet cooking (steaming or boiling) as opposed to dry cooking (baking/roasting).
Have to admit, drinking does start early. Breakfast scramble egg with smoked salmon on toast tradional Christmas dinner then on sofa with nibbles. Hope you both have a great Christmas xx
We send our Christmas cards to neighbours. It’s a nice way to say that they are thinking of you this Christmas especially when your neighbours are elderly and don’t have any family around Christmas time.
Turkey sandwiches are amazing!! We used to go to my aunts and uncles, eat left overs, plays board games and watch boxing day tv, and play with the toys we got xmas day
Here in Canada, I have seen our Costco putting out their first Christmas stuff on August 1st! We have always had advent calendars , with chocolates! Pantomime, really filthy lines that go over the kids heads, hopefully ! Took the kids to one here. In the UK, all my Christmas presents were at the foot of the bed! I'm thinking that only really fancy people would pour rum or brandy over their Christmas pud and set it on fire! We put Birds Custard over ours. I'm so old, we used to put thrupenny bits in ours! (Love Eric's pronunciation of 'SUET'! I was really surprised when I moved from the UK to Canada to find that nobody went to the pub on Christmas Eve! nor at lunch time on Christmas Day- I don't think that's as common there any more! Good video guys!
Classic British Christmas songs (not traditional carols) that get played to death every December ; Wizzard "I wish it could be Christmas every day", Slade "Merry Christmas everybody", Wham "Last Christmas", Wings "Simply having wonderful Christmas", Band Aid "Do they know it's Christmas", The Pogues "Fairytale of New York".
@@russcattell955i Back when I were a lad, we got Silver Thruppenny bits in our Christmas Pud, not 5p pieces. There was a special present for the person who got the coin, which was then washed and used again the following Christmas. That Silver Thruppenny bit, now resides in Australia with my youngest sister, as I don't have a family. I still have the happy memories of the expectation of who would find it... and nobody ever broke a tooth.
My brother used to call Christingle the service where 'you set fire to oranges' which makes it sound a lot less safe! A christingle is a real orange wrapped with a red ribbon around the equator with 4 cocktail sticks with sweets and/ or fruit on stuck in the orange in-between the ribbon and the candle in a square shape, then there is a candle with a square of foil underneath to catch wax and reflect the light. All the parts of the christingle are symbolic but I can't remember entirely what about. It's a really fun service though, and so beautiful with all the candlelight!
UK Christmas music definitely beats its American counterpart. We seem to get the weirdness of it all but America seems to prefer a more polished and heavily produced offering. Give me slade any day.
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Before I retired from business, I was compelled to spend lots of time in big stores while in the process of working on their security alarm systems. During the Christmas season however, the piped-in music was especially nerve-wracking and highly revolting! Years ago at least, only traditional Christnas Carols would be played, but now, what passes for that not only have nothing at all to do with the real meaning of Christmas, but is solely relegated to memories of lavish celebrations, parties, untrammeled drinking, hastily formed and almost immediately punctured love triangles, general pandemonium and depression and often, suicides.
In one part of Scunthorpe they've started stringing Christmas lights between houses over the street. (Probably elsewhere too but I'm too lazy to check) It looks magical. Well, until the binmen came and accidentally ripped it all down lmao.
Totally loved this video guys! Thanks for the shout out! I just wish coronavirus wasn’t a thing. If this has been a normal year, not only would I have told you all these Christmas facts, I’d probably have offered to make you a British Christmas dinner to try!
One tradition you didn't mention is that in Britain many people think that the unofficial "start" of Christmas is listening to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King's College Chapel, Cambridge on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC2 tv. This service always starts with a boy soprano singing OnceIn Royal David's City - when you hear that then Christmas has begun.
Music here is different, some firm staples are by Wizard - whish it could be christmas, Chris Rea - driving home for Christmas, The Pogues - fairytale of New york, Band Aid - Feed the world, The Darkness - Don't let the bells end
The coin used in Christmas puddings used to be a silver sixpence before decimalisation (1971). The 5p is used now because it is also a small silver coin. It was added to the pudding mix and then each member of the family gave it a stir. When it was served up the one who got it in their portion was meant to have wealth and good luck for the following year. They wouldn't choke on it or break a tooth, because all ate it in the knowledge that a sixpence was lurking in the pudding and so chewed each mouthful hoping that they would be the one to find it.
I don't remember having one as a child in Bedfordshire in 1970s/80s. I think I saw them in the shops but it just wasn't part of any Christmas tradition we had. But then traditions change, especially under commercial pressures. Just look at the amount of halloween tat we now get thrust at us in October compared to how few children still go round with "penny for the Guy".
I would recommend you buy a Christmas pudding to try, they take hours to make! They are normally accompanied by a little brandy poured over, and sweet white sauce, or alternatively whipped cream or ice cream.
I took pictures a few times a year at Sears , some of those pics were Christmas pics. My mom would mail in in Christmas cards. The day after Thanksgiving until after the new year, my mom would play carols by Charles Brown, my favorite song is "Christmas comes but once a year", My minister would sing Nat King Cole's Christmas classic, " The Christmas Song" I grew up with a lot of Motown and other classic Christmas songs. Sometimes my parents and I would go to local tree lots to buy a Christmas tree and sometimes I'd go with my dad to pick out a tree if my mom was @ work on the Saturday we'd go and get it ( she was a nurse ) . Breakfast on Christmas morning consisted of orange juice for me, coffee for my parents and grandparents, eggs honey baked ham ( bought from the Honey Baked Ham store) , toast and pieces of Fruit cake which to this day I love. Yes I am one of those Americans that love fruit cake. Fruit cake is like Christmas pudding's American cousin in that some people love it and some despise it. My mom would decorate the whole house and my dad would put up lights around our windows on our porch. Living in southern California, it was typically sunny ☀️ on Christmas day so all of the kids on 5he block would be out riding their new bikes ,skate boards ( no hoverboards, this was Christmas in the yesteryear of the 1990s), roller skates and playing with all manner of spanking brand new toys from Santa. In one of his recent videos, Darren McGrady made a traditional Christmas pudding. He knows a thing or two about Christmas pudding since he made .more than a few in his time on the cooking staff for none other than Royal Family. You may want to check his channel out. Just a friendly suggestion 🙂🍮😀☺️🌈☀️💐
A true Christmas pud needs to be matured, shop bought ones are either 6 or 9 months, home made ones can be made the previous year if it’s fed and stored properly,
@@johnleonard9090 My mum used to make Christmas Puddings - and the Christmas Cake - on 'Stir up' Sunday. This is the Sunday before Advent and is called 'Stir-up Sunday' because one of the Church of England's prayers that day begins with 'Stir up the wills of your people Lord' (or something like that). Mum used to make three Christmas puddings - one for Christmas Day, one for Easter and one for a special occasion on another day of the year.
@@WanderingRavens years ago, christmas puddings and christmas cakes were made at home several months before christmas and it was considered lucky for each member of the family to stir the pudding and sixpence was put in the pudding a sixpence is an old british coin
Traditional Christmas breakfast in the UK - cornflakes/crunchy nut cornflakes/Kellogg's frosties with Bailey's Irish cream, either instead of, or aswell as milk. With a glass of bucks fizz to follow. (A drink usually made from pure orange juice mixed with champagne/prosecco/Perry or other light sparkling wine)
Pantomime started in Shakespeare’s time because only men were allowed to be on stage so men had to play both the men’s and women’s parts. Nowadays, the men dress up as women and the women dress up as men.
Not exactly Xmassy Check out the Mummers which date back to Medieval times tinyurl.com/UKMummers The US have them too but they are processions in places like New Orleans/Philadelphia
A British Military Christmas Tradition is a party with Christmas Dinner and lots of Christmas goodies. The Officers Dress in full uniform and serve the Troops/Airmen/Sailors.
Our kids were always semi-awake Christmas eve, so we always very quietly placed the stockings outside their bedroom doors (on the door knobs) as late as possible, almost always after midnight. It becomes a harder exercise year on year as they get older. They are now adults, but still get Christmas stockings lol. Also the whole stocking thing isn't seen as a main event, its an opener, a sort or wakening moment to help lure you into the christmas spirit and day to come.
When I was young - in the 1960s - our Advent Calendars only had badly drawn Christmas pictures when you opened the doors. I still got excited when I opened the door each morning. What was the picture going to be? I then went into raptures of excitement when it turned out to be a ... star. Chocolate or sweets would have been better though.
Want more British Christmas videos? Watch us react to the UK's best Christmas adverts! ➡️ th-cam.com/video/39pjGbhYAhI/w-d-xo.html
The trick with children's stockings is that you buy two of each that way you can just swap the empty one for the full one instead of having to fill them in situ or remove it and replace it later.
Also yes we did advent calenders, I'm old enough to remember them not having a chocolate in them just a picture behind each door, and I have a 7 foot blue christmas tree Coz I'm a whovian my mam has a 8.5 foot traditional tree that she honestly spends about 20 hours decorating like a boss, one thing we both have is jars of aged mincemeat for mince pies, I started mine in 2002 and every year I just top up the jar with extra raisins and suet and shots of spirits, since I began I've used brandy, rum, spiced rum, Jack Daniels, amaretto, vodka, whisky, Thai whisky, cherry gin and ouzo, (donated by friends because I don't drink)
@WanderingRavens this is an old one but watch jim Davidson & Charlie Drake in cindrella. Its adult panto but so funny 🤣.
On topic now. In brit panto, males act as female and vice versa
Boxing day is a remnant from the Catholic St Stephen's day. Britain is a mainly Protestant country so many of the Catholic feasts and such were rebranded at the time of the Reformation.
Hi I want ask you do you maybe be in Poland or you know somebody from Poland ?
You know you're British when you run to the window to see the drama :D
😂😂
I was thinking the same too lol
@@EaterOfBaconSandwiches The neighbourhood drunk going home late at night.
Curtain twitchers
Depends what the Drama sounds like. If its two guys you don't look so you can't be called as a witness lol
I can't believe Pigs In Blankets weren't mentioned in the Christmas dinner, it just not Christmas without Pigs In Blankets.
You can get them all year round now. I’m like YES!
@@amandalewis3898 it is a great time to be alive!!
Not so long ago there was no such thing as "pigs in blankets". When I was growing up sausages and bacon were served separately. Chipolata sausages were used and streaky bacon "pressed out" with back of a knife then rolled up into rolls were the way they were served. When I started cheffing after I left school in 1984 sausages and bacon rolls were still served separately for Christmas Dinner in restaurants and other catering establishments,as well as in 99% of people's homes. During the late 80's people caught on about wrapping the sausages in the bacon instead of serving them separately until the now called "pigs in blankets" just became more popular in the early 90's, and now 99% of people serve them this way. In my house I always serve them the old fashioned way as you get more bacon and the sausage is browned all over not just the ends. It's interesting that younger people think that pigs in blankets were always a thing!
@@amandalewis3898 technically they have always been available all year round if you've got chipolatas and streaky bacon. Which they sell in the supermarkets all year round!
@@OblivionGate no o no pigs in blankets every year since the 1970's in our house, perhaps its a northern thing as we were in manchester
I'm 25 years old and my parents still get me an advent calendar 😅
For me it's not Christmas until Noddy Holder says so.
Yep I’m 21 and my mum always sends me an advent calendar in the post to have at uni 😂
I’m 34 and bought myself one!
Me and a mate once got caught stealing an Advent calendar. We got 6 months each.
@@bodsnvimto Did you get that one from a Christmas cracker? 😉
@@jaysmith2858 No, it was from a Sunday Morning BBC Greater Manchester radio programme which doesn't even attempt not to be corny.
Other favourites of mine include-
Phil Spector's brother used to work as Head of Quality Control at Walkers. His name is Crispin.
My friend fell into the upholstery machine at IKEA. He's fully recovered.
I asked my local butcher if it is safe to keep a turkey in the freezer for six weeks, and he said it was. I put it in then came down next morning, and it was already dead.
Your phrase, "Have you ever put your candle in an orange", would certainly pass muster as pantomime innuendo, ^oo^
😘
“Oh no it wouldn’t”
@@Masq09 Oh yes it would!, ^oo^
@@Masq09 OH NO IT WOULDN'T!
@@catherinerobilliard7662 It's behind you !
Slade, Wizard, The Pogues + Kristy MacColl, Cliff Richard, David Essex, Jona Lewie, Greg Lake, Chris Deburgh, Shakin Steven’s, Paul McCartney! Theses are the singers of our Favourite Christmas tunes!
Check out God Ye Merry Gentlemen by Annie Lennox
Dont forget Johnny Mathis!
Chris Deburgh - Lady in Red?
@@stephenflynn7600 A spaceman came travelling but yes that Chris De Burgh
@@craigkitching4883 There are many more, Nat King Cole, Ertha Kitt and Brenda Lee etc that some people play but I feel the one I mentioned originally are the mainstay. Not saying they are better but not as popular as they once were!
Eric: Props to you mums and dads for being able to fill your kid's stockings while they're sleeping.
Err... You what mate? Santa does it!
Was wondering if someone was going to comment on that! 😂
I knew my son was growing up when I'd just filled his stocking one year and was creeping out of his bedroom. As I was softly easing his door shut, he said, "Night, Dad".
@@Otacatapetl That's so cute!
@@Otacatapetl d'oh 😅
Yeah thats honestly so cute❤️ wasn’t it the same for you? Btw if you’re interested I also have a channel with vlogs from London if you want to check it out ☺️❤️
"Have you ever put your candle in an orange?" I thought this was family friendly... LOL * ;-)*
I'm having nightmares about Trump now!
😘😂
@@speleokeir Only now? I started having them four years ago.
They are pronounced
Borballs 👍
Christmas songs no ads
th-cam.com/video/lcdVM7f_zW8/w-d-xo.html
May you all be blessed and joyful during the end of this year. Amen
I think seeing a glimpse of a christmas tree and some warm lighting through someones window makes me feel more of the christmas spirit than a big blow up snowman.
Me too!!
A beautifully lit up Xmas tree through a window is Xmas to me. But most people where I am compete and it’s like Blackpool illuminations but still I do like it and so do the grandkids.
you have got a pantomime in the states it's called the government
The USA gets a Pantomime government, we get a Whitehall Farce.
Now we HAVE to see a pantomime, so that we can understand the joke! 😂😂
I would pay good money to see Trump play the pantomime Dame, however, I suspect that he would be the Demon King.
Little American girl: Where is the president?
Crowd: HE'S BEHIND YOU......
@@jamespasifull3424 stick up your arse much? Politics affects all facets of life and if therefore fair game. Chill out
It’s kind of a default that all children in the UK get an advent calendar
@@EaterOfBaconSandwiches that’s mad, shows how different things can be in the same country, I don’t really know anybody who celebrates Christmas who didn’t
And adults....
Some Spankwangle will probably decide this practice is racist sexist homophobic. And ban it.
@@EaterOfBaconSandwiches do you live under a rock
Bob Smith not only do my kids get advent calendars my 2 dogs get dog ones too. Every child i know gets an advent calendar.
A lot of people round where I live have lights on the front of their house. Usually around their porch or in their front window. There is one house near me where the man who lives there completely covers his house in lights for charity and we love going to see it 🥰
NOBODY in the UK has "bobbles" on their tree, they are called "baubles"
Sorry! 😂
@@WanderingRavens Tiz the season for forgiveness 😂
Normally the easiest way to say it is ball balls
It is pronounced bore-bulls ☺
When I was very young, my family referred to them as wassail cups. From the Anglo-Saxon custom of wassailing (kind of "eat, drink and be merry" - ing) particularly around Christmas time.
I work in a supermarket in the UK. And yes, it’s the same 10 songs remixed and repeated over and over 😞
Yeah, forgot about the multiple different versions of the same song 😩 20 hours listening to them 5 Christmas straight in a toy store an people wonder why I hated Christmas for the last 16 years. Only just started not to make breakout in a cold sweat when September roles around! 😳
10 different songs? You're living in luxury - my local one just plays a muzak version of 'Mistletoe and wine' on repeat! ^oo^
I feel for you bro. I hate even stepping foot in a supermarket this time of year.
Although honestly I haven't heard much this year!
Also, does it really usually start in September? That's absurd. That's long before Hallowe'en even. Nobody should even be thinking about Christmas til December!
As people who used to work in a restaurant, we feel your pain!!
Hanging chocolate decorations on your Xmas tree? You can eat them whenever. Then even when you take it down you might find a one hidden away round the back.
My son was quite the expert in removing the chocolate from said foil wrapped chocolates leaving a perfectly shaped empty chocolate decoration. :o
my mom wouldnt let us eat them untill christmas day. but i would sneak them from the back.
Due to Covid a lot of theatres are doing their Pantomimes online! The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry is doing Jack and the Beanstalk and you can buy tickets and support the arts from your own home 🥰
'Pigs in blankets' (small sausages wrapped in smokey bacon) are also often found on British Christmas Dinner tables
Had fish and chips last night with what they called XXL pigs in blankets on the side. When it arrived it was a foot long sausage, wrapped in bacon, battered and deep fried. Its now 8am and I'm being visited by the ghost of takeaways past.
How did we almost forget pigs in blankets!
We have pigs in duvets.
Ysss!! Thank you for that 😂 Btw if you’re interested I also have a channel with vlogs from London if you want to check it out ☺️❤️
We had to do christingle at school when I was younger. It's a Clementine with a candle with tinfoil stuck into it. ribbon wrapped around the orange with cloves stamped into it
Then we told the birth of Christ whilst sitting on a cold wooden floor in assembly
I had to do it in a church, very boring!
When I did it as a child it also had sweets on cocktail sticks on it too.
Beth H same here, I remember really enjoying poking the little cocktail sticks into the orange for some reason
As a child On Christmas Eve I’d lay in bed unable to sleep, excited. Around 2am my dad would “sneak” into my bedroom to leave my presents. When I say “sneak” I mean drunkenly stagger in with a black bin bag of presents, usually stumble and swear, before leaving the sack by the side of my bed and backing out to the sound of my mother chastising him for “making a racket” and that he better not wake up the girls. Then I’d lay there awake all night waiting for the first light of morning to wake the house and start the family tradition of opening up the presents together. We got very little in those days so what we got at Christmas was very special. I can still remember my sisters shaking with excitement at the opening of each present.
14:47 most christmas puds are made months in advance to properly infused the alcohol.
Good to know!
But most people still pour some on at the table too
@@ImMamba I know I was saying it's a little late to start making it
No it's not make it for next year instead.
@@nat3007 I meant for this year
Enjoyed this, thank you. One of my favourite things to do at Christmas is go to a candlelit carol service at Canterbury Cathedral (over 1400 years old).The acoustics and choir are amazing. Perhaps in less restrictive times you could attend an ancient cathedral near you. It's like stepping back in time.
We didn't have stockings, we used pillow cases. As a parent this made life simpler as a pillow case would be filled away from the bedroom and simply exchanged for the empty one, not so much noise. It made for a tiring Christmas day, having to wait until the children were in a deep sleep!
Pantomime humour works on an adult and a more childish level using slap stick, many innuendos and topical themes; an acquired taste possibly.
We used to have (pre-decimalisation) threepenny bits or sixpences wrapped in greaseproof paper inside the Christmas pudding. It was served with rum sauce. We would also have sherry trifle and a brandy soaked Christmas cake...difficult to avoid alcohol! Merry Christmas:-)
My children are 29 and 27 and for the first time this year I forgot to buy them an advent calendar. They are now saying I'm a bad parent.🤣
🤣🤣 my mum asked me if I wanted an advent calendar.....I'm 35. I didn't get one 😔
My daughter’s forty and still wants one!
Mine are 32,30 and 28 and I had to get them one. My middle son also wants a stocking - he lives with his lovely girlfriend but she doesn't quite "get" our traditional stockings!
My 18 year old brought me one this year
Baubles is pronounced bor-balls 😂
We put coloured led lights and tinsel on our tree but our decorations have no uniformity whatsoever! We use ornaments that we’ve collected over the years and they usually have sentimental value to them (e.g. decorations we made as kids, decorations with names on them, decorations given to us by loved ones etc.). And to top it all off, we always have an angel-making competition beforehand and the winner gets to take pride of place at the top of the tree ☺️
parents don't put gifts into stockings at the end of the bed, Santa does 😉
My mother always had us hang it on our doorknobs on the outside so "Santa" didn't disturb us.
Ah, right! Sorry 'bout that!
Or Father Christmas does.
.........and we as kids used to have pillowcases at the end of the beds....totally spoilt!
@@tommywulfric9768 We had pillowcases hung on the edge of the mantelpiece!
When I was young, it was traditional for the entire school to travel to the Empire Theatre in Liverpool to see whatever pantomime was showing that particular year.
Thanxs for that memory Steve ☺ i loved going to the Empire for the panto. Our head teacher would warn us all we had our uniform on and we are representing the school so be good
Chris Rea ~ Driving Home For Christmas, love this song.
I hear Dominic Cummings is releasing a cover version.
@@EdDueim 🤣😂🤣😂
We'll look it up!
@Janie Reeton The Ian Duncan Smiths Dominique Cummings cover has been let out for Christmas.
Chris Rea born and bred from Boro like me! (Middlesbrough in the north of England)
I am English but been in the states for almost 3 years. Last Christmas I put on an English Christmas for my American husband and mother in law. It was hysterical to see their reaction to pulling xmas crackers and wearing the paper crown during dinner. Sadly this is my first year without an advent calendar or a tree so far, but with everything going on in the world I am just grateful to be here. Be careful with that pudding when you light it up 😂
I must be a child then, as I always have an Advent Calendar... gotta get that choco-high somehow!
Yeah I have an advent calendar too. My husband is taking up an unnecessarily large space in the fridge with his cheese advent calendar. Lol
Was taken to a pantomime in Swansea in 1989, and having been raised in Australia it went unappreciated by my 16 year-old self. It starred the late John Inman, and I wish I had appreciated back then as I would now.
Such a shame American Christmas music stopped in the 60's. You missed the whole 'Glam Rock Christmas' era!
Wham still made it through! haha
@@WanderingRavens and ptx
@@WanderingRavens
Last year, I gave you my heart, and the very next day, you gave it away. This year, I'm giving you a pair of novelty socks.
Inaflap last Xmas I gave you my fart, I actually sing that when the song comes on 🤣🤣🤣
Its officially Christmas for me when I first hear Slade's famous "IT'S CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!"
It's a shame you're in the UK during COVID, I'd highly recommend seeing a Pantomime if you ever get the chance. I think a lot of the Playhouses are doing online Pantos this year. I know we're hoping for Easter Pantos next year though :D
pantos are great part of some peoples tradition
Without even watching the video yet I can say with 100% certainty that Christmas is better in the UK.
Awww, I also think so! Christmas Here is one my favorite things ever. Btw if you’re interested I also have a channel with vlogs from London if you want to check it out ☺️❤️
💯💯💯💯
I’m from Leeds and I’m gonna be honest I think Christmas in the USA sounds fun. But British Christmas is better as a permanent thing.
Americans talk about Christmas
Brits talk about the Christmas week
@@edwardrushfirth6216 another from Leeds! Eyup! Also, I respectfully disagree (about American Christmas being better) 😜😂
non-alcohol christmas??? but how do the family start fighting??
😂😂
Non alcohol Christmas is a fairy story isn't it... I've never heard of that. I mean even if you're not a drinker surely you have a glass of sherry, port or liquor with a mince pie or a glass of wine with Christmas Dinner!
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Deeley Boppers are plastic headbands with two springs on top, and they are topped with a glittery star or heart, but there are other designs, you should definitely wear them lol
Thank you!
Norwegians like the reindeer antler boppers....🎄⛄😘
4:10 they sit there shocked and I'm just thinking sounds like a normal day in the UK
😂😂😂
A christmas pudding always contained a sixpence (when I was little.)
I lived on steamed suet puddings when I was young.
Silver three penny bits.... another loss to decimalisation... never liked xmas pudding with them in...
Me and my family have always loved when people decorate the outside of their houses for christmas. South Manchester where I grew up and still live, has a growing number of people decorating the outside of their houses at christmas. In fact majority of the road I live has some sort of decoration outside their house or in their window. I love christmas time
Deeley Bobbers are a form of novelty "head wear" consisting of an Alice band with springs attached to them with ornaments placed on top. The ornaments are usually themed for the occasion, say Christmas decorations, Halloween motifs, etc.
I had a German grandmother who sent us an advent calendar every year. We have only two left and I kick myself that we didn't try to preserve them. I just put one of them up today, as a matter of fact. It's the paper kind with the little doors you open every day to see the image behind it. That always was magical for me as a child and it took me years to realize that the last doors were always going to be the nativity.
OK, classic British Christmas songs for you to react to! This would be so interesting.
1. Jona Lewie - Stop The Calvary
2. Band Aid 1984 - Do They Know it's Christmas
3. Wham - Last Christmas
4. The Pogues - Faiytale New York
5. Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day
6. Cliff Richard - Mistletoe & Wine
7. Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
8. Slade - Merry Christmas Everybody (this is the BANGER)
9. The Waitresses- Christmas Wrapping
10. Johnny Mathis - When a Child is Born.
Re 9 The Waitresses were British?
Boxing Day is one of the best days in Christmas! Just get shit faced 😂
Bubble and squeak first
Unless you're one of the poor buggers that works in retail and you're rota'd to work Boxing Day, especially when a certain clothes shop starts their sales at 6am and there's no public transport running at that hour. Seriously, who NEEDS to go shopping on Boxing Day, outside of emergency food supplies?
Wandering Ravens: "A Christmas pantomime is something we'd like to see."
Me: "Oh no it isn't!" 😉😂
My fellow Brits will get this! LOL
Oh yes it is
Oh no it isn't!
Oh yes it IS !
My mum and i call our Christmas lunch a bread sauce delivery system - as we see it primarily as a way of spreading bread sauce on everything. Bread sauce is made from infusing an onion in milk with cloves, peppercorns and bay leaves. You then add breadcrumbs and butter and stir until a thick creamy sauce.
UK Christmas classic songs
Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas
Wizzard - I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
Pogues & Kirsty McCall - Fairytale Of New York (Preferably the uncensored version)
Elton John - Step Into Christmas
Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry
Showaddywaddy - Hey Mister Christmas
Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry
There are others
It's not Christmas bobble it is bauble (baw_bul)
Ending up wasted on Christmas day and falling asleep in front of the telly after your huge Christmas dinner is almost compulsory
Sadly the government has spoiled Chris Rea's plans this year.
"Snow is falling, all around us, children playing having fun"- shakin steven"s.This soo reminds me of xmas back in 1990 when all my friends were singing this as the snow was falling on Christmas Eve! BRING BACK THOSE INNOCENT DAYS! HALLELUJAH!
Someone got a car horn for christmas.
And they are LOVING it! 😂😂
Hi Grace and Eric.. Deelie Boppers, are like a hairband, with two boiny springs on them sticking up with either reindeers, stars, snowflakes.. whatever Christmassy things on it, you can think of... Which then boing about on your head as you move about.. I have many.. :D :D
Use to leave a card with a like a tenner in it, for the milkman when we still had one
We have a day where the family puts up the tree, we all eat popcorn and sew it onto long lengths of string which we wrap around the tree. The white corn twisting up the tree goes really beautifully with the baubles and candles.
You've missed Steak and Kidney Pudding. Which is basically a steamed pie using suet pastry. We love our puddings here in England.
Kate & Sidney Pud was a traditional meal for New Year's Day in our house. Again, the Silver Thruppenny bit was included, to bring good fortune for the coming year.
"Happy Christmas and a Very Merry New Year" - That got me cracking 🤣🤣🤣 Merry Christmas y'all 🎄🎁🎉
Not sure if Pantomimes will be going ahead this year but ITV have recorded a few over the years and usually show them around Christmas ...... watch out for them on TV!
Pantomime is marvelous. You really must experience it. Love them all
I live in Essex and 90% of houses near me have Christmas lights up
Be prepared for :
"There's something behind you"
"Oh no there isn't"
"Oh yes there is!"
When seeing panto.
Also: see Mother Goose
Oh! Does the audience call out?
@@WanderingRavens Audience participation is a big part of the panto experience.
"Oh no it isn't!"
"Oh yes it is!"
@@WanderingRavens oh my god, it's its true purpose lol, it's not a pantomime if there's no audience participation sometimes including water pistols
@@WanderingRavens Here's a posh made-for-TV panto that might give you something of the flavour:-
th-cam.com/video/usoGRi8mz4s/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=AgentFSB
And the sweets thrown out in to the audience. Got to try and grab those boiled sweets that you wouldn't buy the rest of the year
Selection Boxes
Have ya seen how small the bars of chocolate have gotten in the boxes and the tins of roses, quality street etc
A tradition in our house is to listen to a recording of Christmas carols sung by choristers from the chapel at Kings College in Cambridge called ‘Carols from Kings’ on Christmas Eve on BBC1 and do the last food/table preparation whilst listening to the carols....it’s just lovely! Another big difference is a large section of the U.K. use Father Christmas rather than Santa. We also have mince pies, Christmas cake and quite often a mince pie and some kind of alcohol is put out for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve. Boxing Day is a relaxed repeat of Christmas Day eating leftovers and sometimes a trifle. Pantomimes are wonderful and great fun! We have tons of great tunes from the 70’s and 80’s which we love but you probably won’t have ever heard! Oh yes, and we have Christmas crackers to pull as we are about to eat our Christmas dinner! Bit too difficult to explain those 😂😂....
It ain’t Christmas without home alone! 🇺🇸🇬🇧
or The Great Escape
National Lampoons Christmas vacation is a absolute must in our house!
@@beckydoherty3336 ......totally, we watch it every year . Over 20 years now 😁have a great Christmas and stay safe 🍻🎄
@@beckydoherty3336 it's so bad its good.
Great Escape.
Where Eagles Dare.
The Wooden Horse.
The Sound of Music.
Every sodding year !
The Horror of it all 😥
There are certain towns / Villages where every house will have christmas lights and decorations on.
And people will go visit them to see them.
I always went to see Mousehole Christmas lights.
yeah we have that in our village too, we make a christmas light walk for little kids but it’s always funny to see the roads not included in the walk because it’s always completely barren of christmas lights 😂
The lights in Mousehole last year was so good!!!
I absolutely loved the "church peoples voice" 🤣
I'm glad you approve 😂😂
I have noticed many differences even between households with how they celebrate Christmas, but this is how it was usually with us:
Shops start to sell Christmas stuff far too early, and constantly play the same 20 Christmas songs over and over again (the same with the radio stations), to the point that it is almost obligatory to play 'Whamageddon', to see how long you can last without hearing Wham's 'Last Christmas' (I lost this year while in Tesco, despite the fact that I work from home and rarely listen to the radio, so I thought I could last a while this year).
Popular Christmas songs in the UK are:
Slade: Merry Christmas Everybody
The Pogues: Fairytale of New York
Wham: Last Christmas
The Darkness: Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)
Wizzard: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas
Band Aid: Do They Know It's Christmas
Jona Lewie: Stop The Cavalry
And many more
I have always tried to get an advent calendar, even now that I'm in my mid thirties. Usually a chocolate one, but you can get them with Lego, Wine, Coffee, and various other treats. We had a family tradition that has not always been adhered to, that we put our decorations up before the 12th. This is because my brother was born at home, and as such was on the national news at the time where the headline was that he was 'born under the Christmas tree' (he wasn't, we had a real tree back then, and I can imagine the needles would have been painful).
Most Christmas trees nowadays are fake (though I've always liked to get a real one if it was practical). Lights, baubles, homemade decorations by the kids, tinsel, etc. were used to decorate the tree. We always had it topped by an angel, and that is something I've wanted to carry on in my adult life, but it is almost impossible to find a decent angel to top the tree with. Most toppers tend to be stars now.
We would usually watch some Christmas films in the run up to the day itself. And some of the more popular ones were:
Muppets Christmas Carol (I always liked to watch this on the 24th, just because of the 'One More Sleep Til Christmas' song)
The Santa Claus Movie
The Santa Clause
Home Alone
Die Hard (I will fight you over this one)
Nightmare Before Christmas
The Snowman
We would often go into the village square on Christmas eve to sing carols (or into the church itself if it was raining). And Father Christmas would have a couple of mince pies and some milk left out for him, with a couple of carrots for the reindeer. Us kids would wake up on Christmas morning with a stocking beside our bed full of small prezzies: Chocolate coins, a stationery set, a few little toys, maybe a novelty notebook, and the obligatory satsuma. We would then have Christmas breakfast which would consist of croissants and crumpets, before we would open more 'exciting' presents which were loaded into a massive sack. These would be larger stuffs, but the 'main' present would often be left until last, a large Lego set was usually the one I got. Once, we even got a Playstation, but that was a joint present for all three of us.
Then Dad would go up the pub while Mum cooked Christmas dinner, and when I was old enough I helped out, and we had a glass of Bailey's each (until Mum had a little too much one Christmas party, and will now never touch the stuff). And Christmas dinner would consist mainly of the following:
Turkey
Ham (sometimes, and this would be cooked the day before)
Roast potatoes
Cauliflower cheese
Honey roast parsnips
Roast carrots
Peas
Sprouts (though really only Mum liked these. In recent years I have taken to slicing them up and frying them in crispy bacon lardons and they are been passable to actually quite good)
Stuffing
Gravy
Condiments were:
Bread sauce (which is milk infused with onion, cloves, and nutmeg. This was then cooked on the stove with breadcrumbs to thicken it and add texture. A little cream and butter for richness. It is absolutely gorgeous when made right, and absolutely disgusting when made from a packet.)
Cranberry sauce.
Mint sauce (we had this with every roast dinner. It is not traditional)
Desserts:
Christmas pudding
Mince Pies
Apple pies (for Dad mainly. He never liked mince pies)
Trifle
Dinner would always have some Christmas crackers with it, and you had to tell the joke, and wear the hat until it inevitably fell apart. Sometimes pictures were taken.
After dinner the people who did not make the dinner would wash up, and we would then open the presents under the tree. These presents would be from friends and family rather than from Father Christmas, and when I was older, this would be time for some port or some sherry.
We never watched the Queen's Speech, though I realise that is a tradition for some. The evening was often spent playing games, and when it came back on our screens (and until recently), we would watch Doctor Who (though this was mainly for my benefit).
Boxing day was often a time to see extended members of the family. However, since my parents split up, it's essentially become a second Christmas to spend with whomever I did not see on the day itself.
Very pleased to see you. I like your hair do, Grace. We always had an advent calender when I was little.
Oh thank you! x
Boxing day is 'leftover day'. What's left of the turkey, pigs in blankets (tiny sausages rapped in bacon), Gammon (ham) etc, etc, is put out to graze over that day. Our family put the whole lot in a big casserole and heat it up for lunch. It's all the good bits of Christmas day lunch without all the cooking; just relaxing and continuing to eat the food that's leftover.
Prosecco should only ever be served as a prank... it simply MUST be champagne
Mince pies, Christmas crackers, paper hats, Santa Special trains, the Christmas float, primary school nativity plays, high school carol concerts, Quality Street, Miniature Heroes, Cadbury Roses, posh biscuits, leaving out sherry and mince pies for Father Christmas and carrots for his reindeer, mulled wine, board games and watching traditional films (It's a Wonderful Life, for example) on the evenings of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are pretty universal in the UK. Boxing Day is just a re-run of Christmas Day without opening presents.
Deely poppers are a headband with antennae on with balls or windmills on. They were very popular with all ages in the 80’s.
Here is what you'll see www.amazon.co.uk/deely-boppers/s?k=deely+boppers
Thank you!
The reason you’ve never heard of Deely Bobbers is not because you’re not British , it’s because you’re too young. According to their Wikipedia entry, they were invented _in America_ in 1981 and inspired by Killer Bee costumes on Saturday Night Live. They were sold by - get this - Ace Novelties, of Bellevue, Washington. Hey, haven’t I seen a couple of Washingtonians on TH-cam from time to time?
Also, there is no actual mime in pantomime, although there is a fair bit of dancing, slapstick humour, cross-dressing and rude jokes that the kids are supposed to be too young to understand (but they do, they do.)
And ‘suet’ which is either the hardened fat found around the kidneys of sheep and cattle or a vegetable-based substitute, is pronounced “sooette”, not “soo-ey”
And a flaming Christmas pudding burns with a delicate pale blue flame, until all the alcohol burns off and it goes out. Quite a touching sight, really. Certainly not a terrifying blazing nightmare, as you might have unwittingly suggested.
I've spent my whole life calling them dinghy boppers... haha learn something new everyday!
@@WanderingRavens Couldn't believe you don't have those in 'murca - they must have a different name?
Usually you have two stockings per child, an empty one to put at the end of the bed and a second that you fill elsewhere. You then quietly replace the empty stocking with the full one without waking said child.
First year with an advent calendar. Different gin every day. Best present ever. Arranged by an American friend. Hugs. Gin soaked hugs.
Love that idea!! 😂
My uncle got one from down in London last year. He doesn't like sloe gin so I was very happy!!
I saw gin baubles in morrisons yesterday.
Ooh, I would have loved one of those!
Christingle services are my absolute favourite. Unfortunately missed the past couple of years as my Christmases have changed. But the service I go to we'd go to church, get our oranges and sweets with a candle, song hymns and carols. There's a christingle song that you sing when you light the christingle.
Then we'd go outside and put baby Jesus in the manger whilst singing Away In A Manger.
As a kid, we'd have the job of making all the christingles at Sunday School and occasionally pinching the dolly mixtures. Good times.
Went to a pantomime in York a few years ago, one of the best i've seen, fun for whole family with a great atmosphere & loads of silly humour & audience involvement.
The one in York is the archetypal pantomime. It had the same person writing, directing _and_ starring in it for 40 years, and most of the cast were regulars who did it year after year. The best pantos are those that have a regular crew with a local connection, so always try to look out for one of those rather than ones touting z-list "celebrities" desperately trying to rekindle a failed career in soap operas or reality TV. Pantomime is an art form in itself, and you want people who specialise in it.
Traditionally Christmas puddings are made one year and left to mature for the following Christmas, so you’re to late to make one for this year.
The term pudding in most cases refers to the way it’s cooked. Puddings are for the most part made by wet cooking (steaming or boiling) as opposed to dry cooking (baking/roasting).
Have to admit, drinking does start early. Breakfast scramble egg with smoked salmon on toast tradional Christmas dinner then on sofa with nibbles. Hope you both have a great Christmas xx
It does start early
Earliest I have started drinking was 9 am
@@Gamemyster1991 normally start with a cup of tea and something fizzy!! Down hill from there x
We send our Christmas cards to neighbours. It’s a nice way to say that they are thinking of you this Christmas especially when your neighbours are elderly and don’t have any family around Christmas time.
For my family Boxing Day is the day we eat the leftover cold meats from Christmas Day. Usually with mashed potato and pickles 😋
Turkey sandwiches are amazing!! We used to go to my aunts and uncles, eat left overs, plays board games and watch boxing day tv, and play with the toys we got xmas day
Here in Canada, I have seen our Costco putting out their first Christmas stuff on August 1st!
We have always had advent calendars , with chocolates!
Pantomime, really filthy lines that go over the kids heads, hopefully ! Took the kids to one here.
In the UK, all my Christmas presents were at the foot of the bed!
I'm thinking that only really fancy people would pour rum or brandy over their Christmas pud and set it on fire! We put Birds Custard over ours. I'm so old, we used to put thrupenny bits in ours! (Love Eric's pronunciation of 'SUET'!
I was really surprised when I moved from the UK to Canada to find that nobody went to the pub on Christmas Eve! nor at lunch time on Christmas Day- I don't think that's as common there any more!
Good video guys!
Awesome video Wandering Ravens. I also like Grace's hair.
Thank you! 🤗
Classic British Christmas songs (not traditional carols) that get played to death every December ; Wizzard "I wish it could be Christmas every day", Slade "Merry Christmas everybody", Wham "Last Christmas", Wings "Simply having wonderful Christmas", Band Aid "Do they know it's Christmas", The Pogues "Fairytale of New York".
Christmas pudding deaths were always the highlight of Christmas Day, when I were a lad.
Would definitely spice up the Christmas evening doldrums! 😂
Highlight of my xmas too !
@@russcattell955i Back when I were a lad, we got Silver Thruppenny bits in our Christmas Pud, not 5p pieces. There was a special present for the person who got the coin, which was then washed and used again the following Christmas. That Silver Thruppenny bit, now resides in Australia with my youngest sister, as I don't have a family. I still have the happy memories of the expectation of who would find it... and nobody ever broke a tooth.
As far as eastern Europe you have coins inside a Christmas bread or something like that...
My brother used to call Christingle the service where 'you set fire to oranges' which makes it sound a lot less safe! A christingle is a real orange wrapped with a red ribbon around the equator with 4 cocktail sticks with sweets and/ or fruit on stuck in the orange in-between the ribbon and the candle in a square shape, then there is a candle with a square of foil underneath to catch wax and reflect the light. All the parts of the christingle are symbolic but I can't remember entirely what about. It's a really fun service though, and so beautiful with all the candlelight!
UK Christmas music definitely beats its American counterpart. We seem to get the weirdness of it all but America seems to prefer a more polished and heavily produced offering. Give me slade any day.
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Before I retired from business, I was compelled to spend lots of time in big stores while in the process of working on their security alarm systems.
During the Christmas season however, the piped-in music was especially nerve-wracking and highly revolting!
Years ago at least, only traditional Christnas Carols would be played, but now, what passes for that not only have nothing at all to do with the real meaning of Christmas, but is solely relegated to memories of lavish celebrations, parties, untrammeled drinking, hastily formed and almost immediately punctured love triangles, general pandemonium and depression and often, suicides.
@@vincentperratore4395 good for you petal x
Thank you Wandering Ravens for your lovely videos helping to keep us going throughout this year. We wish you both a very Merry Christmas.
I live out in the countryside and Christmas lights aren't uncommon here
Yeah I know what you mean. I also live in the country and you can't go down a road without seeing at least 1 house
In one part of Scunthorpe they've started stringing Christmas lights between houses over the street. (Probably elsewhere too but I'm too lazy to check) It looks magical. Well, until the binmen came and accidentally ripped it all down lmao.
Really?😅 that’s so odd.. I live in London and I feel like there’re everywhere but it might be because of all the stores around
@@gracemarie2941 they do this where I live! Luddington (scunthorpe)
@@gracemarie2941 they do this where I live! Luddington (scunthorpe)
Totally loved this video guys! Thanks for the shout out! I just wish coronavirus wasn’t a thing. If this has been a normal year, not only would I have told you all these Christmas facts, I’d probably have offered to make you a British Christmas dinner to try!
My wife got me a coffee advent calendar!
A different coffee every day!
Oh wow!! I'd love that!!
One tradition you didn't mention is that in Britain many people think that the unofficial "start" of Christmas is listening to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King's College Chapel, Cambridge on BBC Radio 4 and on BBC2 tv. This service always starts with a boy soprano singing OnceIn Royal David's City - when you hear that then Christmas has begun.
Music here is different, some firm staples are by Wizard - whish it could be christmas, Chris Rea - driving home for Christmas, The Pogues - fairytale of New york, Band Aid - Feed the world, The Darkness - Don't let the bells end
The coin used in Christmas puddings used to be a silver sixpence before decimalisation (1971). The 5p is used now because it is also a small silver coin. It was added to the pudding mix and then each member of the family gave it a stir. When it was served up the one who got it in their portion was meant to have wealth and good luck for the following year. They wouldn't choke on it or break a tooth, because all ate it in the knowledge that a sixpence was lurking in the pudding and so chewed each mouthful hoping that they would be the one to find it.
I’ve never met someone that doesn’t have a calendar in December
My parents don't. It's s bit weird if you're grown up, frankly.
Me and my siblings rarely had them cos we was skint as kids and when we did we was Marvins so the got demolished there and then
I don't remember having one as a child in Bedfordshire in 1970s/80s. I think I saw them in the shops but it just wasn't part of any Christmas tradition we had. But then traditions change, especially under commercial pressures. Just look at the amount of halloween tat we now get thrust at us in October compared to how few children still go round with "penny for the Guy".
Whoever is cooking that Christmas Dinner left out the best bit.. pigs in blankets!! 😯😯
Also Slade and Wizard are the best Christmas songs!
Greg Lake and Chris de Burgh.
I would recommend you buy a Christmas pudding to try, they take hours to make! They are normally accompanied by a little brandy poured over, and sweet white sauce, or alternatively whipped cream or ice cream.
Fairytale of New York. Best Xmas song ever.
Defo
Shame the BBC year again ruined something for woke culture
If seen many Americans who don't get this song 😂😂😂
NO...it’s absolutely appalling !!!
@@eugenegilleno9344 u dont know what u are talking about
I took pictures a few times a year at Sears , some of those pics were Christmas pics. My mom would mail in in Christmas cards. The day after Thanksgiving until after the new year, my mom would play carols by Charles Brown, my favorite song is "Christmas comes but once a year", My minister would sing Nat King Cole's Christmas classic, " The Christmas Song" I grew up with a lot of Motown and other classic Christmas songs.
Sometimes my parents and I would go to local tree lots to buy a Christmas tree and sometimes I'd go with my dad to pick out a tree if my mom was @ work on the Saturday we'd go and get it ( she was a nurse ) . Breakfast on Christmas morning consisted of orange juice for me, coffee for my parents and grandparents, eggs honey baked ham ( bought from the Honey Baked Ham store) , toast and pieces of Fruit cake which to this day I love. Yes I am one of those Americans that love fruit cake. Fruit cake is like Christmas pudding's American cousin in that some people love it and some despise it. My mom would decorate the whole house and my dad would put up lights around our windows on our porch. Living in southern California, it was typically sunny ☀️ on Christmas day so all of the kids on 5he block would be out riding their new bikes ,skate boards ( no hoverboards, this was Christmas in the yesteryear of the 1990s), roller skates and playing with all manner of spanking brand new toys from Santa.
In one of his recent videos, Darren McGrady made a traditional Christmas pudding. He knows a thing or two about Christmas pudding since he made .more than a few in his time on the cooking staff for none other than Royal Family. You may want to check his channel out. Just a friendly suggestion 🙂🍮😀☺️🌈☀️💐
When you try to make a Christmas pudding, why not try a shop bought one first so you know what it should taste like?
definitely a must
Good idea!
A true Christmas pud needs to be matured, shop bought ones are either 6 or 9 months, home made ones can be made the previous year if it’s fed and stored properly,
@@johnleonard9090 My mum used to make Christmas Puddings - and the Christmas Cake - on 'Stir up' Sunday. This is the Sunday before Advent and is called 'Stir-up Sunday' because one of the Church of England's prayers that day begins with 'Stir up the wills of your people Lord' (or something like that). Mum used to make three Christmas puddings - one for Christmas Day, one for Easter and one for a special occasion on another day of the year.
@@WanderingRavens years ago, christmas puddings and christmas cakes were made at home several months before christmas and it was considered lucky for each member of the family to stir the pudding and sixpence was put in the pudding
a sixpence is an old british coin
Traditional Christmas breakfast in the UK - cornflakes/crunchy nut cornflakes/Kellogg's frosties with Bailey's Irish cream, either instead of, or aswell as milk. With a glass of bucks fizz to follow. (A drink usually made from pure orange juice mixed with champagne/prosecco/Perry or other light sparkling wine)
Pantomime started in Shakespeare’s time because only men were allowed to be on stage so men had to play both the men’s and women’s parts. Nowadays, the men dress up as women and the women dress up as men.
Not exactly Xmassy Check out the Mummers which date back to Medieval times tinyurl.com/UKMummers
The US have them too but they are processions in places like New Orleans/Philadelphia
A British Military Christmas Tradition is a party with Christmas Dinner and lots of Christmas goodies. The Officers Dress in full uniform and serve the Troops/Airmen/Sailors.
Why is no one talking about how looooovely graces hair is!! Suits you 😌
Thank you so much!! x
Because from blokes it's pervy from women it sounds sarcastic.
You both look flushed in the face like you've been caught being naughty on the bed 😂
Our kids were always semi-awake Christmas eve, so we always very quietly placed the stockings outside their bedroom doors (on the door knobs) as late as possible, almost always after midnight. It becomes a harder exercise year on year as they get older. They are now adults, but still get Christmas stockings lol. Also the whole stocking thing isn't seen as a main event, its an opener, a sort or wakening moment to help lure you into the christmas spirit and day to come.
Children given an advent calendar..? I have one and I gave one to my parents :-)
We want to start doing this!
@@WanderingRavens a small piece of chocolate to start the day! :-)
When I was young - in the 1960s - our Advent Calendars only had badly drawn Christmas pictures when you opened the doors. I still got excited when I opened the door each morning. What was the picture going to be? I then went into raptures of excitement when it turned out to be a ... star. Chocolate or sweets would have been better though.
Was gonna say lol, I'm 27 and got one from my mum this year, as did my girlfriend
Everyone I know gets one every year. When I was a (spoilt, only) child I used to have maybe three or four a year...