Thank you so much for all the lovely comments, I truly hope that you have all had a gentle, festive break and are ready for a new year of exciting content 💪! Apologies that I'm not always able to answer every comment, I work a day job aside from content creation and time management can be a tricky business! But I am so incredibly grateful that you're all here and I can't wait for a new chapter where we can all celebrate bygone eras together ❤❤❤
I was born in the mid 50's. When I was 3, my Uncle Jack lost his job. They usually spoiled me, but with no money, he thought long and hard about what he could make me for Christmas. I loved my dolls, so he made a doll's bed like the one you showed! Mine was larger and made out of an upside down tomato crate, which were made of wood in those days, not a cigarette box. I absolutely loved it! My Aunty had made some beautiful sheets and blankets. My parents were children during the War. My Mum was one of 8 children, the 2 oldest brothers served in the Army, so there were 6 kids to keep safe. They only had a yard, so no room for an Anderson shelter. They had a Morrison shelter which doubled up as a kitchen table. They didn't all fit, so some of the kids slept in the cupboard under the stairs! Mum's wartime Christmas presents was nuts, and orange and one small toy. She remembered one year she got a yoyo, and another year it was a whip and top. They wore Christmas hats made of newspaper and had rabbit for Christmas dinner!
These tales remind me a bit more of my family's stories of the Great Depression rather than the war. Meat became unavailable in a hurry, so they thought they would rely on hunting. All the deer were hunted to extinction in my family's area rather quickly. They had to turn to hunting raccoons and opossums--and even that became undependable in short order. I remember hearing tales about how they felt lucky if they could get hold of a bag of chicken feed. They would dump it out on the dining room table, and the whole family would sit around the table and sift out what was edible for humans.
I just love the little train running under your tree! And I still love the look of paper chains. Mum used to buy packs of cut and gummed papers for us to make the chains with. Where did she buy them? Woolworths! Woolworths was a great shop. All my early records came from Woolworths. I think less people were alone on Christmas Day than you think. Families were closer back then and they lived much closer together. Mum's maternal family were all still living in the same areas of central Coventry during the war, so even if the men were absent, the women were regularly together with the children. My nan lived in the same street as 2 of her sisters and walking distance of her brother and another sister. Only one sister required a bus. Their mother lived in the street too, with one of her daughters. There was much mingling and sharing of rations to make special things. Apparently the street would save up butter and sugar, eggs and fruits if there were to be a wedding and a cake was needed and my nan was the one who baked them. They mixed the cream off the top of the milk (before homogenisation) with the butter to stretch it. They helped each other more than we do now. Grandad was too old to fight in the Second World War. He'd been in the trenches in WW1. He was quite a bit older than nan. He was an ARP warden on duty the night the cathedral burned down, but he was on the roof of a neighbouring church waiting and watching for incendiary bombs to put out. He watched the cathedral go. These things were monumental to the people and they coped by being together as much as possible. Neighbours were in and out of each others houses regularly. No one locked the doors. Mum remembers the first time she saw a banana after the war. An American GI was auctioning it off at the summer fete. She always had an orange and a few nuts in her stocking and typically a new set of colouring pencils and a colouring book and always a Rupert annual. I have 2 wartime Rupert annuals. Printed on economy paper with economy ink processes.
Auctioning a banana? That reminds me of my father's stories of the black market during the war. He was issued cigarettes by the army, but he didn't smoke, so he sold them on the black market. He only sold them in groups of ten packs. The reason for that was that no one wanted Lucky Strikes. He would put one pack of Lucky Strikes in with nine other brands. People would complain that they didn't want the Lucky Strikes, but my father said, "You gotta take 'em!"
@@suewilkinson910 Yes, I understand what auctioning a banana means. I was just repeating it as a rhetorical device to transition to my tangentially related story.
Thankyou so much i lost my dear wife Christine last yr after 47 yrs married, My Christmases will never be the same, But loved watching yours, Take care have a lovely Christmas.
I grew up getting oranges in my stocking too. Used to get one huge orange, one huge apple, some old fashioned candy and a toy stuck out the top. I loved it. Thought it was the coolest thing getting that huge orange haha.
It makes me sad to read the many snide, snotty and nit picking comments. Why can’t people just enjoy the offering instead of pointing out how much better you think you could do? OMG
This is a much more honest Christmas, Celebrating family in a simple caring way. Personally I prefer this small caring gathering rather than today's over the top version
What a beautiful tribute to a generation of men and women who fought to give us a free world. I am an American and it never ceases to amaze me of their indomitable spirit! Thank you for sharing!!
I am an ex-British infantry Soldier who was attached to the USAF in Desert Storm,I made some great friends during then and still long for genuine Beef Jerky and Root beer Floats. All the best mate
My grandfather turned 18 the day Britain announced they were at war with Germany. We are Canadian, so that meant we were also going to war. One heck of a birthday gift. He was in the tank force (is that the word?) and eventually worked his way up to Lieutenant Co. He was a kind, brave, intelligent, and very interesting man. I love watching these videos and getting a peek into what my grandparent's lives were like at the time. I miss them both.
I definitely shed a tear watching this video! I had to spend Christmas by myself in 2020 like I’m sure a lot of people did. While it wasn’t a wartime experience it certainly was a new one, and very sad. I hope you have a very blessed Christmas and a happy new year!
Everything nowadays is about how things LOOK , not how they are. It is about STUFF , not about people. It is about STYLE and not any substance. It is about ME and no longer about us. That is why we long for times past. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Thank you for this video. 1940's England has always fascinated me. Even though I'm very glad that my food isn't rationed, I've always enjoyed stories about how women coped with rationing, and planted Victory Gardens. There seems to be a strong element of determination to make the best of any situation.
I remember watching a programme on here that told the story of the Clydebank Blitz, where a young boy was killed in a bombing and he had in his hand a potato that had been a Christmas present, His dad then carried that same potato around in his pocket for so long that it turned to dust. Does make you wonder what really is important nowadays in our consumer and disposable mentality
What a wonderful video! I love all the information tidbits you tuck in. Watching your videos is like stepping back in time. Watch out with tinsel around your sweet cat- they can be very dangerous in their digestive systems if they eat it.
When I was in college, I made oodles of paper chains to decorate the common area in the wing of my dorm for Christmas. Money was tight for most of us in the mid 1980s, and no one thought about purchasing real decor - but the school provided colored paper to each dorm for the notice boards, which I availed myself of. I also created areas for Hanukkah and Kwanza. Woolworth’s was a gold mine for me as a kid …the collectible coin section being the main draw for me. Given the popularity of dollar stores in the U.S. today, I don’t understand how Woolworth’s went under….😕
I'm enjoying these videos. Thank you for sharing them and taking your time to do them. All the unkind d folks can just stop watching. All the rest of us appreciate this gift that is a glimpse in the past. Thank you again so much for sharing these videos.
I remember making paper chains in the 1970's with my brothers and sisters mum and dad putting them up. Some of the honeycomb decorations you have we had in the 1970's. Plus some things in kitchen as well, we had double Belfast sinks where you could use a mangle for wringing out clothes you washed.
My grandmother had gone through the Great Depression & WWII here in the US (she lost her oldest son at Pearl Harbor). Her creativity with decorations & homemade gifts - not to mention her thriftiness - was legendary in our family. She would carefully open her gifts in order to save the paper & the next year we would likely be given a gift that was wrapped in the same paper we had wrapped her gift in the year before. There was one particularly large section of gift wrap that managed to make the rounds for years - getting a little smaller each year.
Was telling my 80 yo mum about your videos. She told me a tale of when she was a baby in 1944, her mum newly married and husband in the air force and posted to Hereford. Her mum and her went with him and were living there. The local butcher took pity on her being newly married and having just had a child and gave her 3 extra lamb chops above the normal ration for Xmas as he took pity on her and told her to keep quiet about it.
It’s pretty “fun” that I’m watching you from Ukraine while we are having Christmas right now during the war. It’s interesting to see what we have in common. Also, Merry Christmas, everybody ❤
This was an absolutely charming presentation. I loved seeing the authentic to that period style clothing, furniture, and decorations. Lovely and refreshing to revisit this time with You.
As an American I have always been fascinated with war time Britain and how strong they were. I used to love watching the Back in Time series, Back in Time for Christmas was my favorite until I lost the ability to watch it here in the states!
I'm loving your videos 😊 I remember those paper chains & bells so we'll in the late 60,s early 70s I loved making the paper chains , really enjoyed watching ❤
Lovely honoring of a difficult time. Thank you. As so many are going through hard times again, perhaps reminders like these can help us believe that this, too, shall pass. Here in the US, recent destruction from flooding and tornadoes will see many families wondering how they will make it through another night, much less getting through Christmas. As always, we have the poor and the homeless among us, wondering the same thing-cold and hunger and safety being of more urgency than gifts and decorations. No intentions of minimizing the hard times, but I am grateful for reminders such as yours, that there is always something to be thankful for and that when we can control nothing else, we can choose the attitude with which we will face life. Happy Christmas and may God bless you and yours!
Your video actually brought me to tears thinking about those alone over the holiday season. Sending prayers and gratitude for my tiny family and the prime rib potatoes and veggies that I’m planning for dinner as I’m scrolling TH-cam for the best recipes.
We were still making paper chains in the 60's, we used the same decorations for years, maybe replacing one of the most tatty ones each year. I still have a decoration that my Nan used to hang on her tree, it's about 100 yrs old now, and goes on my tree every year.
This year I binge read books about British women in WWII.So many contributed mightily to the war effort. Even Queen Elizabeth was a truck mechanic and ambulance driver. There were stories of Christmas in nearly all the books. I highly recommend reading them during the holidays especially. The rationing, the blackout curtains, the nights in the tube or the Anderson Shelters, the lost husbands, lovers, and children, the nightly bombing, but most of all the human connectedness and bravery under the worst of circumstances. Somehow they always managed Christmas in ways that touch the heart. I loved this video. The women who kept the home fires burning had to be innovative and very clever. They kept a country fed and lifted spirits.
What a perfect channel to binge watch on Christmas Eve, my 1st since my husband passed away last Christmas, and I'm living in absolute Gratitude, but watching interesting videos to keep my mind occupied, I'm honoring him by being joyful and happy and just finding your channel is a blessing I count, I find these times so interesting and makes you very grateful for what we have today ❤🎄🎁⛄
I love the idea of a simple homemade Christmas, there's a certain charm to them. I honestly think Christmas is becoming too commercial. People seem to be forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
With 2 small children, it was important to me to get them a really exciting gift. Most of my other gift recipients are receiving homemade and/or thrifted gifts. Your video reminds me that the important thing is being able to have my babies and share our time with loved ones ❤ Blessed Yule!
Thank you for a very well done, and thoughtful Christmas message. A reminder that the things I was stressing about are trivial, and to truly count my blessings. Merry Christmas everyone!
I'm a little late viewing this, but oh what joy it brought to me today! Watching whilst eating my lunch, then back to chores. All the best Hannah, hope you are well. X
Oh my WORD. This is FASCINATING. My husband was born in December of 1942 in the U.S. His mom was rescued from the Philippines by the merchant marines. I just sent this video to his phone so he can see what was going then. I can’t wait to see the rest of your videos. I am totally hooked.
My God, what a miserable bunch of nit picking grinches in the comments. She is giving you an idea of how things were don’t take everything seriously we are all adults & can imagine without having to see everything in front of us.🤦🏻♀️
Our Woolworths closed down in 2008-2009. Most UK residents remember them and I even have odd cards of buttons, sewing thread and elastic with Woolworths on the label. All our Chritmas decorations ad a lot of gardening plants came from there ad when I was small. I used to buy tiny dolls which I tried to cut out clothes for.
Woolworth's began in America in 1879. It spread to Mexico, Germany, the UK, Ireland, and Cyprus. Of those, only the Mexican and German ones are still in business. There are unrelated Woolworth's in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
The lights on our tree were real tiny candles in holders held on with little metal clasps. Can you imagine what health and safety experts would think of that now ! A flammable fir with naked flames !
My Mum was born in the 30's and we were by no means war children as you described. My siblings and I grew up 50's-70's. We strung popcorn and cranberries for tree garland. We saved and washed foil and would press the wrinkles out and shredd for tincel. We had real trees every year and had home made decorations. We saved the comic pages from the newspaper because they started printing in color in the 60's. This was our colorful wrapping paper and realy treasured because if you opened your gift carefully you could read your comic pages too! Thanks for sharing your really lovely home. GG From Mpls,MN/USA
Great video. Thnks ! Best scene when you walk down stairs after dressing knowing you look good lol. The” little things are the biggest things! Merry Christmas!
Love your cat! THANK YOU for a fantastic video, 1940s Christmas! I still do a small old fashioned tree with paper chain made from old sheet music, small fans folded from sheet music & old colorful wallpaper, & strands of popcorn with cranberries along with paper snowflakes & small cutout ornaments made from old Christmas cards! Most in U.S.A. don't mail many Christmas Cards anymore because of postage cost. I Remember going to Woolworths at Christmas, now gone, great memories!! Blessings to all who read this for a Glorious Holiday Season!❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏🙏
I have really enjoyed your videos. When my husband parents were still alive, every Christmas is dad would send us oranges. For the longest time I didn't know why he did that. Then he told us that he would also get an orange in his stocking.
I very much enjoyed your video, those Christmas decorations remind me of my childhood, Christmas before mobil phones , computers and modern technology. My old mum was a child during the ww2 and my father was up on the Russian convoys and out in the Pacific. Mum remembered a lot about rationing and the bombing . They had a shelter in the back garden. Mum passed away back in may last year but i think she lived her life appreciating what we had . Unfortunately we live in a very greedy society now where material thigs mean more now . Total respect to you , keep up the good work.
I remember making paper chains and popcorn garland to put on our Christmas tree when I was growing up even though I'm 48 yrs old my family still did a lot of things from that area.
My American grandparents used to send packages to a family in England. (I can't remember the city, Bristol maybe.) This "adopt a British family" was encouraged by the US government... especially for Christmas. I think it was jams and jellies, timned meat, tuna fish, corned beef, etc., all very desirable during wartime shortages. Of course our factories were working 24 hour shifts providing armaments blessedly away from German bombing. Our moto was: "Bundles for Britain and Bombs for Berlin."
Thank you for a very informative visual experience. My dear neighbor Evie endured rations & blackouts living in Orlando FL USA during WW2. Everything was ratioed & it was a very hard time for everyone, especially for poor people. Although we didn't have the blitzkrieg like UK, we still worried about our enemies along our coastlines. Evie passed away about 10yrs ago. She was the sweetest, most generous and godly woman I ever met. She'd give you her last piece of bread if you were hungry. I loved visiting with her amd hearing her stories. I miss her. Thank you for sharing your interpretation of a 1940s Christmas. I greatly enjoyed it. God bless you!
we had Woolworth in my hometown until the 1980s. My grandmother wrapped her gifts in the sunday comics from the newspaper until she stopped giving gifts. having spent many a christmas alone, your dinner looks great!
this is the kind of history I love. my son just started his masters in history at the university. the 2 ww is one time period we both find interesting. but where my son concentrates on war, I prefer the stories about how normal people coped with it all.
I'm in Michigan and The Henry Ford does a Holiday Nights celebration in Greenfield Village every year. One of my favorite homes is the Cotswold Cottage that Herny Ford had brought over from England. They decorate and portray the cottage like soldiers are staying there during WWII.
Lovely video! Thank you for the time and research to create such a wonderful project! In the 1950s-60 we shopped at Woolworth and Newberry stores and each kid spent a dollar which was used to buy gifts for our parents and brothers and sisters. Examples of such gifts included a Wax Caroler candle for mom, a candy bar for dad, a tiny plastic doll in bunting for sister, plastic army soldiers for one brother and ball and Jax for other brother. My sister and I also leaned to make clothespin dolls, decorated gingerbread and sugar cookies to hang on the tree and colored Christmas designs onto paper napkins. ❤
My parents were just kids in the 40's in a city called Yonkers just borderline of New York City. Their Christmases also were a source of many stories of blackout curtains and tables of mostly vegetables and one gift which was usually a pair of handknitted socks or gloves. After watching your videos of this one and the mock turkey I wondered how many times people thought when will it be like it was? The tinsel fact was interesting as I didn't know that! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and caring ❤
The only Grandmother and Pa I had ,and Mom and Dad lived through those days here in the U.S. Mom and Dad would have been 9 and 11 yrs.old. So Mom remembered still being poor in her young years,things didn't get much better til after Dad got out of the Navy, and they married as teenagers in 1950. Many Christmases consisted of trees cut in the woods,decorated with paper ornaments,maybe popcorn or paper chains,berries and sugar cookies. I still remember trees without lights in the 1960's,and those messy aluminum tinsels.🎄 Times have been hard many times and they will be again. It's the way of the world,unfortunately. It does bring 😢to think of all the sadness that came before us. Let's be happy knowing they are out of it now and it was all for us, things could be worse. Merry Christmas. You're a sweet person.✨
My parents were born in the early 1920's, and my grandparents were born in the 1890's. To hear them talk about the past, even the good times sounded pretty grim. I remember almost no mention of the Christmases that happened before I was born--and when my grandparents and parents were still alive, I was too dumb to ask questions when something actually was mentioned. My grandmother once said something about my grandfather dressing up like Santa in the 1920's. I couldn't imagine my own father doing something like that in the 1960's or 1970's--that would've seemed like too much of an extravagance. For it to have happened in the 1920's really blows my mind.
Very much deserved view number. So remember making paper chains back in the 1970s and decorations went right across the ceilings. The more tacky the better
In December, I directed the musical "A Christmas Story", based on the movie set in 1940s. In fact, that's how I FOUND your channel, searching TH-cam for inspiration about that time period for the set and costumes and things. And the lyrics in one of the songs (What a Mother Does) are so poignant for the time: "Yes, Christmas is here There's so much to do A house to look festive A family that's counting on you With tinsel to buy And stockings to stuff To make them forget that the times have been tough". It was such a special project to be part of.
I was born in 1972 and I remember making paper chains for Christmas and putting glitter on Holly we went out to find , also pine cones. Christmas was definitely more fun then.
Very beautiful reflections. You made me cry, specially when I learned about the children being away from their parents. What a harsh time. Happy Christmas, a little late, and a nice New Year 2025.
In Denmark, we often have garlands of our flag stringed together, and as far as I remember, this tradition dates back to the Second World War, when we were under occupation from Germany. This was one of the many ways people showed resistance
I can remember a few years ago making paper chains to go around the Christmas tree. I would have the pleasure of cutting construction paper ( red, green and white ) into strips. Had good ol’ Elmer’s glue to glue them together. This was the late 60’s and early 70’s.
When I was little in the 60s my mom put soap snow on the Christmas tree. The tree was real, of course, and you couldn't take the snow off once it was on. It was an old tradition for her then. It was made from Vintage Instant Ivory Flakes Soap in a Box. I don't remember the recipe but I know you use a cake mixer to make it. It was a big deal to me because we lived in the South of the US and it never snowed. Maybe we'd get a half an inch every five years or so that melted off in an hour. I think I remember seeing it snow once there when I was little and it was gone as fast as it came. The soap mixed up would get all fluffy and we put it on with our hands wearing rubber gloves and using a spatula too. After a few hours it would harden. No body ever does it any more. But when I was little, I just loved it so much.
"DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY REMEMBER WOOLWORTHS?!" Yes, I do. I'm 43 and grew up in Eureka, CA. The town is very slow growing. I was about 8-9 yrs old when my mom took me to Woolworths and bought me my first mountain bike. It came with a fanny pack that I was so proud of. MERRIEST CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! 🎄🥂
My dad was stationed in Horham, England and flew with the first daylight bombing raid over Berlin. The towns people often tried to give the US guys baked goods and sweets but they were refused as the servicemen knew how everything those folks had was rationed. When they received care packages from home, they often gave them to the people of Horham. He spoke of those times but never spoke of the bombing missions. He was very fond of the people of Horham.
My father told me how the American planes would start circling until they were all airborne--then they'd head east to bomb Germany. That was during the daytime. The Brits would do the same thing at night. My father was first stationed at a place called Pheasy Farms, near Birmingham. He was later transferred to Glasgow, where he worked as a longshoreman.
We used to pick up the end-rolls from the newspaper printing office and use that as wrapping paper. We found rolls of cloth ribbons at a garage sale and tied the packages with that. They were SO pretty and we are still using the ribbons, years later. We also only do 5 presents per person in our house. There are 6 of us, so we each pick one gift for each other person. (plus a "family gift" that we all share together, though not this year) Money is tight this year, so our budget is $20 per person (about as low as we can go and still actually FIND a gift, here in southwest Missouri, USA). Our grocery budget will also be extremely limited, everything completely from scratch with the exception of purchasing a turkey. I'm thinking I'll raise some next year. lol
Do you have Dollar Tree and/or thrift stores nearby? You may be surprised at what fabulous things you can find. It may take a bit of looking, but some of my favorite things come from shops like these. Added bonus-looking through so much stuff to find the treasures is a fun experience in and of itself! Hoping your Christmas is a merry one!
@@reneeprasil6153 We love to go thrifting! It's like a treasure hunt to find something that suits a sibling's personality. The kids got me a light-up globe last year. :)
My grandmaother was born in 1901 and I learned a lot from her about rationing food, clothing, and materials as a whole. I have her mothers homemade cookbooks that include receipies up until grandma died in 1986. Every now and then I pull it gingerly off the shelf and re create one or two of these war time meals for nostalgia's sake. This was an amzing story you told here. Thank you.
Thank you so much for all the lovely comments, I truly hope that you have all had a gentle, festive break and are ready for a new year of exciting content 💪! Apologies that I'm not always able to answer every comment, I work a day job aside from content creation and time management can be a tricky business! But I am so incredibly grateful that you're all here and I can't wait for a new chapter where we can all celebrate bygone eras together ❤❤❤
I can remember making paper chains in school in the 1950s, then we could take them home to decorate our living room ready for xmas. Happy memories
We did in the 60s too
@@sarahprice1375 And in the 1970's!
Selotape? You would have to glue them , in the absence of glue you would have to use flour and water.
@@sandrarandle6221 we used some weird gum Arabic stuff. I'll never forget the smell....
@@MayKelly-i5q Sadly our grandchildren will never experience the fun we had at Christmas time in school.
I was born in the mid 50's. When I was 3, my Uncle Jack lost his job. They usually spoiled me, but with no money, he thought long and hard about what he could make me for Christmas. I loved my dolls, so he made a doll's bed like the one you showed! Mine was larger and made out of an upside down tomato crate, which were made of wood in those days, not a cigarette box. I absolutely loved it! My Aunty had made some beautiful sheets and blankets. My parents were children during the War. My Mum was one of 8 children, the 2 oldest brothers served in the Army, so there were 6 kids to keep safe. They only had a yard, so no room for an Anderson shelter. They had a Morrison shelter which doubled up as a kitchen table. They didn't all fit, so some of the kids slept in the cupboard under the stairs! Mum's wartime Christmas presents was nuts, and orange and one small toy. She remembered one year she got a yoyo, and another year it was a whip and top. They wore Christmas hats made of newspaper and had rabbit for Christmas dinner!
These tales remind me a bit more of my family's stories of the Great Depression rather than the war. Meat became unavailable in a hurry, so they thought they would rely on hunting. All the deer were hunted to extinction in my family's area rather quickly. They had to turn to hunting raccoons and opossums--and even that became undependable in short order.
I remember hearing tales about how they felt lucky if they could get hold of a bag of chicken feed. They would dump it out on the dining room table, and the whole family would sit around the table and sift out what was edible for humans.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing! 🎄☃️
I just love the little train running under your tree! And I still love the look of paper chains. Mum used to buy packs of cut and gummed papers for us to make the chains with. Where did she buy them? Woolworths! Woolworths was a great shop. All my early records came from Woolworths.
I think less people were alone on Christmas Day than you think. Families were closer back then and they lived much closer together. Mum's maternal family were all still living in the same areas of central Coventry during the war, so even if the men were absent, the women were regularly together with the children. My nan lived in the same street as 2 of her sisters and walking distance of her brother and another sister. Only one sister required a bus. Their mother lived in the street too, with one of her daughters. There was much mingling and sharing of rations to make special things. Apparently the street would save up butter and sugar, eggs and fruits if there were to be a wedding and a cake was needed and my nan was the one who baked them. They mixed the cream off the top of the milk (before homogenisation) with the butter to stretch it. They helped each other more than we do now.
Grandad was too old to fight in the Second World War. He'd been in the trenches in WW1. He was quite a bit older than nan. He was an ARP warden on duty the night the cathedral burned down, but he was on the roof of a neighbouring church waiting and watching for incendiary bombs to put out. He watched the cathedral go. These things were monumental to the people and they coped by being together as much as possible. Neighbours were in and out of each others houses regularly. No one locked the doors.
Mum remembers the first time she saw a banana after the war. An American GI was auctioning it off at the summer fete. She always had an orange and a few nuts in her stocking and typically a new set of colouring pencils and a colouring book and always a Rupert annual. I have 2 wartime Rupert annuals. Printed on economy paper with economy ink processes.
Auctioning a banana? That reminds me of my father's stories of the black market during the war. He was issued cigarettes by the army, but he didn't smoke, so he sold them on the black market. He only sold them in groups of ten packs. The reason for that was that no one wanted Lucky Strikes. He would put one pack of Lucky Strikes in with nine other brands. People would complain that they didn't want the Lucky Strikes, but my father said, "You gotta take 'em!"
@@JRBWare1942 Yes, auctioning a banana. A GI stood on a bale of straw in the gardens of the lovely vicarage of the village she was evacuated too.
@@suewilkinson910 Yes, I understand what auctioning a banana means. I was just repeating it as a rhetorical device to transition to my tangentially related story.
Thankyou so much i lost my dear wife Christine last yr after 47 yrs married, My Christmases will never be the same, But loved watching yours, Take care have a lovely Christmas.
Sorry to hear that,
Sending love to you Tony & prayer🙏🏼💙🌟
@@tonyrobinson362 oh Tony this bought a tear to my eye 🥺 thank you for sharing and for being here ❤️
I grew up getting oranges in my stocking too. Used to get one huge orange, one huge apple, some old fashioned candy and a toy stuck out the top. I loved it. Thought it was the coolest thing getting that huge orange haha.
Wasn’t that back when those huge oranges were fairly new and novel to us? That’s how it was for us when mom brought them home. 🤣
@ maybe. I was raised by my grandparents so traditions of what they had/did growing up were passed down.
It makes me sad to read the many snide, snotty and nit picking comments. Why can’t people just enjoy the offering instead of pointing out how much better you think you could do? OMG
I absolutely agree with you. The video is absolutely wonderful. There are some really sad people who just nitpick for no reason, how sad .
you yourself nit picked in 2 additional comments, lol
How rude .I have not nipicked in any comments!!!!! Nor would I
Especially when they are wrong!
Exactly. There's some sad and miserable people in the world today that's for sure.
This is a much more honest Christmas, Celebrating family in a simple caring way.
Personally I prefer this small caring gathering rather than today's over the top version
What a beautiful tribute to a generation of men and women who fought to give us a free world. I am an American and it never ceases to amaze me of their indomitable spirit! Thank you for sharing!!
I am an ex-British infantry Soldier who was attached to the USAF in Desert Storm,I made some great friends during then and still long for genuine Beef Jerky and Root beer Floats. All the best mate
There's a place called Eden Camp which is about war time and it has some prefab houses I think from that period.
Enjoyed this, thank you.
My grandfather turned 18 the day Britain announced they were at war with Germany. We are Canadian, so that meant we were also going to war. One heck of a birthday gift. He was in the tank force (is that the word?) and eventually worked his way up to Lieutenant Co. He was a kind, brave, intelligent, and very interesting man. I love watching these videos and getting a peek into what my grandparent's lives were like at the time. I miss them both.
I definitely shed a tear watching this video! I had to spend Christmas by myself in 2020 like I’m sure a lot of people did. While it wasn’t a wartime experience it certainly was a new one, and very sad. I hope you have a very blessed Christmas and a happy new year!
Everything nowadays is about how things LOOK , not how they are. It is about STUFF , not about people. It is about STYLE and not any substance. It is about ME and no longer about us. That is why we long for times past. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Im a 62 yr old lady here in the US. I love your home and furnishings. Growing up in the 60'-70's I loved Woolworths. And homemade is the best!
Thank you for this video. 1940's England has always fascinated me. Even though I'm very glad that my food isn't rationed, I've always enjoyed stories about how women coped with rationing, and planted Victory Gardens. There seems to be a strong element of determination to make the best of any situation.
I remember watching a programme on here that told the story of the Clydebank Blitz, where a young boy was killed in a bombing and he had in his hand a potato that had been a Christmas present, His dad then carried that same potato around in his pocket for so long that it turned to dust. Does make you wonder what really is important nowadays in our consumer and disposable mentality
@@stuartmays Heartbreaking 😔
What a wonderful video! I love all the information tidbits you tuck in. Watching your videos is like stepping back in time.
Watch out with tinsel around your sweet cat- they can be very dangerous in their digestive systems if they eat it.
I remember Woolworths here in the states!!
I can remember paper chains when I was a kid in the 80s, and this video inspired me to make them again. I can't wait.
When I was a broke student in the nineties we made paperchains out of free magazines. They were very effective. And free - vital!
When I was in college, I made oodles of paper chains to decorate the common area in the wing of my dorm for Christmas. Money was tight for most of us in the mid 1980s, and no one thought about purchasing real decor - but the school provided colored paper to each dorm for the notice boards, which I availed myself of. I also created areas for Hanukkah and Kwanza.
Woolworth’s was a gold mine for me as a kid …the collectible coin section being the main draw for me. Given the popularity of dollar stores in the U.S. today, I don’t understand how Woolworth’s went under….😕
I'm enjoying these videos. Thank you for sharing them and taking your time to do them. All the unkind d folks can just stop watching. All the rest of us appreciate this gift that is a glimpse in the past. Thank you again so much for sharing these videos.
I remember making paper chains in the 1970's with my brothers and sisters mum and dad putting them up. Some of the honeycomb decorations you have we had in the 1970's. Plus some things in kitchen as well, we had double Belfast sinks where you could use a mangle for wringing out clothes you washed.
My grandmother had gone through the Great Depression & WWII here in the US (she lost her oldest son at Pearl Harbor). Her creativity with decorations & homemade gifts - not to mention her thriftiness - was legendary in our family. She would carefully open her gifts in order to save the paper & the next year we would likely be given a gift that was wrapped in the same paper we had wrapped her gift in the year before. There was one particularly large section of gift wrap that managed to make the rounds for years - getting a little smaller each year.
Was telling my 80 yo mum about your videos. She told me a tale of when she was a baby in 1944, her mum newly married and husband in the air force and posted to Hereford. Her mum and her went with him and were living there. The local butcher took pity on her being newly married and having just had a child and gave her 3 extra lamb chops above the normal ration for Xmas as he took pity on her and told her to keep quiet about it.
@@xr6lad what an amazing story ❤️
It’s pretty “fun” that I’m watching you from Ukraine while we are having Christmas right now during the war. It’s interesting to see what we have in common.
Also, Merry Christmas, everybody ❤
Merry Christmas ❤
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Love and Peace be to all men
Merry Christmas to you and your families too. Keep safe xx
This was an absolutely charming presentation. I loved seeing the authentic to that period style clothing, furniture, and decorations. Lovely and refreshing to revisit this time with You.
Very poignant and meaningful words at the end of the video. Thankfulness, love and gratitude will endure, no matter what.
❤ love taking the step back in time with you
I have to admit that in my household in Central Bosnia, preparations for Christmas pretty much look like yours: similar interior, same cookware, etc.
That is one happy cat on that bed! ❤
As an American I have always been fascinated with war time Britain and how strong they were. I used to love watching the Back in Time series, Back in Time for Christmas was my favorite until I lost the ability to watch it here in the states!
I'm loving your videos 😊 I remember those paper chains & bells so we'll in the late 60,s early 70s I loved making the paper chains , really enjoyed watching ❤
This was really well done and beautiful. Thank you for working so hard on it and sharing it. ❤️
Lovely honoring of a difficult time. Thank you. As so many are going through hard times again, perhaps reminders like these can help us believe that this, too, shall pass. Here in the US, recent destruction from flooding and tornadoes will see many families wondering how they will make it through another night, much less getting through Christmas. As always, we have the poor and the homeless among us, wondering the same thing-cold and hunger and safety being of more urgency than gifts and decorations. No intentions of minimizing the hard times, but I am grateful for reminders such as yours, that there is always something to be thankful for and that when we can control nothing else, we can choose the attitude with which we will face life. Happy Christmas and may God bless you and yours!
Your video actually brought me to tears thinking about those alone over the holiday season. Sending prayers and gratitude for my tiny family and the prime rib potatoes and veggies that I’m planning for dinner as I’m scrolling TH-cam for the best recipes.
We were still making paper chains in the 60's, we used the same decorations for years, maybe replacing one of the most tatty ones each year. I still have a decoration that my Nan used to hang on her tree, it's about 100 yrs old now, and goes on my tree every year.
This year I binge read books about British women in WWII.So many contributed mightily to the war effort. Even Queen Elizabeth was a truck mechanic and ambulance driver. There were stories of Christmas in nearly all the books. I highly recommend reading them during the holidays especially. The rationing, the blackout curtains, the nights in the tube or the Anderson Shelters, the lost husbands, lovers, and children, the nightly bombing, but most of all the human connectedness and bravery under the worst of circumstances. Somehow they always managed Christmas in ways that touch the heart. I loved this video. The women who kept the home fires burning had to be innovative and very clever. They kept a country fed and lifted spirits.
What a perfect channel to binge watch on Christmas Eve, my 1st since my husband passed away last Christmas, and I'm living in absolute Gratitude, but watching interesting videos to keep my mind occupied, I'm honoring him by being joyful and happy and just finding your channel is a blessing I count, I find these times so interesting and makes you very grateful for what we have today ❤🎄🎁⛄
Merry Christmas ❤
Merry Christmas
hope you had a lovely day
Sorry for your loss & hope you had a lovely day❤️
@@Bytchesagainstbullshyt8 I am so honoured to have you here 💖
Can't wait to watch this x
What a lovely video. Thanks for sharing what people went thru.
I love the idea of a simple homemade Christmas, there's a certain charm to them. I honestly think Christmas is becoming too commercial. People seem to be forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.
With 2 small children, it was important to me to get them a really exciting gift. Most of my other gift recipients are receiving homemade and/or thrifted gifts.
Your video reminds me that the important thing is being able to have my babies and share our time with loved ones ❤ Blessed Yule!
Personally the kings speech just makes me so emotional.
Watching this shortly after watching Wartime Farm's Christmas special on youtube is a good combo
Thank you for a very well done, and thoughtful Christmas message. A reminder that the things I was stressing about are trivial, and to truly count my blessings. Merry Christmas everyone!
I'm a little late viewing this, but oh what joy it brought to me today! Watching whilst eating my lunch, then back to chores. All the best Hannah, hope you are well. X
Oh my WORD. This is FASCINATING. My husband was born in December of 1942 in the U.S. His mom was rescued from the Philippines by the merchant marines. I just sent this video to his phone so he can see what was going then. I can’t wait to see the rest of your videos. I am totally hooked.
@@kschickle916 that's so wonderful to read! This has made my day ❤️
I remember making paper chains at my Grandparents farm... No sellotape for me though, it was a flour and water paste "glue"... xx
My God, what a miserable bunch of nit picking grinches in the comments. She is giving you an idea of how things were don’t take everything seriously we are all adults & can imagine without having to see everything in front of us.🤦🏻♀️
Also, I didnt know Woolworth's was in the UK too...I thought that was an American thing! Love learning new things!
Our Woolworths closed down in 2008-2009. Most UK residents remember them and I even have odd cards of buttons, sewing thread and elastic with Woolworths on the label. All our Chritmas decorations ad a lot of gardening plants came from there ad when I was small. I used to buy tiny dolls which I tried to cut out clothes for.
We still have them in Australia 😊
Woolworth's began in America in 1879. It spread to Mexico, Germany, the UK, Ireland, and Cyprus. Of those, only the Mexican and German ones are still in business. There are unrelated Woolworth's in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
I was a Saturday girl in our local Woolies in South East London, in the early 80s, as were many teenage girls before and after me!
@@nelliemelba4967 A Saturday girl?
The lights on our tree were real tiny candles in holders held on with little metal clasps. Can you imagine what health and safety experts would think of that now ! A flammable fir with naked flames !
Same when I was a child.
One of your best videos Hannah. Thank you for all the effort and research you put into this. Have a very Merry Christmas 🎄
Thank you for making this video.
My pleasure! You are MORE than welcome, thank you ❤️
My Mum was born in the 30's and we were by no means war children as you described. My siblings and I grew up 50's-70's. We strung popcorn and cranberries for tree garland. We saved and washed foil and would press the wrinkles out and shredd for tincel. We had real trees every year and had home made decorations. We saved the comic pages from the newspaper because they started printing in color in the 60's. This was our colorful wrapping paper and realy treasured because if you opened your gift carefully you could read your comic pages too! Thanks for sharing your really lovely home. GG From Mpls,MN/USA
I remember making paper chains in the 70s!
Me too!
Great video. Thnks !
Best scene when you walk down stairs after dressing knowing you look good lol.
The” little things are the biggest things!
Merry Christmas!
Love your cat! THANK YOU for a fantastic video, 1940s Christmas! I still do a small old fashioned tree with paper chain made from old sheet music, small fans folded from sheet music & old colorful wallpaper, & strands of popcorn with cranberries along with paper snowflakes & small cutout ornaments made from old Christmas cards! Most in U.S.A. don't mail many Christmas Cards anymore because of postage cost. I Remember going to Woolworths at Christmas, now gone, great memories!! Blessings to all who read this for a Glorious Holiday Season!❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏🙏
Blessings to you for Christmas, and a joyous new year
I have really enjoyed your videos. When my husband parents were still alive, every Christmas is dad would send us oranges. For the longest time I didn't know why he did that. Then he told us that he would also get an orange in his stocking.
Thank you for this video ❤ wishing everyone a very merry Christmas ⭐
Dont know what to say except just lovely ❤
I very much enjoyed your video, those Christmas decorations remind me of my childhood, Christmas before mobil phones , computers and modern technology. My old mum was a child during the ww2 and my father was up on the Russian convoys and out in the Pacific. Mum remembered a lot about rationing and the bombing . They had a shelter in the back garden. Mum passed away back in may last year but i think she lived her life appreciating what we had . Unfortunately we live in a very greedy society now where material thigs mean more now . Total respect to you , keep up the good work.
I remember making paper chains and popcorn garland to put on our Christmas tree when I was growing up even though I'm 48 yrs old my family still did a lot of things from that area.
My American grandparents used to send packages to a family in England. (I can't remember the city, Bristol maybe.) This "adopt a British family" was encouraged by the US government... especially for Christmas. I think it was jams and jellies, timned meat, tuna fish, corned beef, etc., all very desirable during wartime shortages. Of course our factories were working 24 hour shifts providing armaments blessedly away from German bombing. Our moto was: "Bundles for Britain and Bombs for Berlin."
Thank you for a very informative visual experience. My dear neighbor Evie endured rations & blackouts living in Orlando FL USA during WW2. Everything was ratioed & it was a very hard time for everyone, especially for poor people. Although we didn't have the blitzkrieg like UK, we still worried about our enemies along our coastlines. Evie passed away about 10yrs ago. She was the sweetest, most generous and godly woman I ever met. She'd give you her last piece of bread if you were hungry. I loved visiting with her amd hearing her stories. I miss her.
Thank you for sharing your interpretation of a 1940s Christmas. I greatly enjoyed it. God bless you!
we had Woolworth in my hometown until the 1980s. My grandmother wrapped her gifts in the sunday comics from the newspaper until she stopped giving gifts. having spent many a christmas alone, your dinner looks great!
this is the kind of history I love. my son just started his masters in history at the university. the 2 ww is one time period we both find interesting. but where my son concentrates on war, I prefer the stories about how normal people coped with it all.
Lovely video❤. Very well done.😇🌲🌲🌲🥀Merry Christmas.
My daddy was born 1928 he talked about getting oranges for Christmas from a relative in California that was all they got
Really lovely, informative video x
I'm in Michigan and The Henry Ford does a Holiday Nights celebration in Greenfield Village every year. One of my favorite homes is the Cotswold Cottage that Herny Ford had brought over from England. They decorate and portray the cottage like soldiers are staying there during WWII.
Lovely video! Thank you for the time and research to create such a wonderful project! In the 1950s-60 we shopped at Woolworth and Newberry stores and each kid spent a dollar which was used to buy gifts for our parents and brothers and sisters. Examples of such gifts included a Wax Caroler candle for mom, a candy bar for dad, a tiny plastic doll in bunting for sister, plastic army soldiers for one brother and ball and Jax for other brother. My sister and I also leaned to make clothespin dolls, decorated gingerbread and sugar cookies to hang on the tree and colored Christmas designs onto paper napkins. ❤
Wonderful. Have a very Merry Christmas❤
My parents were just kids in the 40's in a city called Yonkers just borderline of New York City. Their Christmases also were a source of many stories of blackout curtains and tables of mostly vegetables and one gift which was usually a pair of handknitted socks or gloves. After watching your videos of this one and the mock turkey I wondered how many times people thought when will it be like it was? The tinsel fact was interesting as I didn't know that! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and caring ❤
Very good and thoughtful video. Merry Christmas from the other side of the pond.
The only Grandmother and Pa I had ,and Mom and Dad lived through those days here in the U.S. Mom and Dad would have been 9 and 11 yrs.old. So Mom remembered still being poor in her young years,things didn't get much better til after Dad got out of the Navy, and they married as teenagers in 1950. Many Christmases consisted of trees cut in the woods,decorated with paper ornaments,maybe popcorn or paper chains,berries and sugar cookies. I still remember trees without lights in the 1960's,and those messy aluminum tinsels.🎄 Times have been hard many times and they will be again. It's the way of the world,unfortunately. It does bring 😢to think of all the sadness that came before us. Let's be happy knowing they are out of it now and it was all for us, things could be worse. Merry Christmas. You're a sweet person.✨
My parents were born in the early 1920's, and my grandparents were born in the 1890's. To hear them talk about the past, even the good times sounded pretty grim. I remember almost no mention of the Christmases that happened before I was born--and when my grandparents and parents were still alive, I was too dumb to ask questions when something actually was mentioned.
My grandmother once said something about my grandfather dressing up like Santa in the 1920's. I couldn't imagine my own father doing something like that in the 1960's or 1970's--that would've seemed like too much of an extravagance. For it to have happened in the 1920's really blows my mind.
Very much deserved view number. So remember making paper chains back in the 1970s and decorations went right across the ceilings. The more tacky the better
That was absolutely lovely! Extremely well presented and heartfelt ❤
In December, I directed the musical "A Christmas Story", based on the movie set in 1940s. In fact, that's how I FOUND your channel, searching TH-cam for inspiration about that time period for the set and costumes and things. And the lyrics in one of the songs (What a Mother Does) are so poignant for the time:
"Yes, Christmas is here
There's so much to do
A house to look festive
A family that's counting on you
With tinsel to buy
And stockings to stuff
To make them forget that the times have been tough". It was such a special project to be part of.
I was born in 1972 and I remember making paper chains for Christmas and putting glitter on Holly we went out to find , also pine cones. Christmas was definitely more fun then.
I do as well in the 1970’s for decorating the classroom as a kid.
I had not heard about the tinsel before. New respect for it as a decoration!
I love ‘in which we serve’ and ‘this happy breed’, also Mrs Miniver, all Great War films ❤
I remember making paper chains in the 1979’s to decorate home.
Very beautiful reflections. You made me cry, specially when I learned about the children being away from their parents. What a harsh time. Happy Christmas, a little late, and a nice New Year 2025.
In Denmark, we often have garlands of our flag stringed together, and as far as I remember, this tradition dates back to the Second World War, when we were under occupation from Germany. This was one of the many ways people showed resistance
Used to make paper chains at school in 80s too. Such a fun memory at Christmas
I adore your videos, I'm an old soul born in the wrong era & watching you is like going back in time. 🥰🥰🥰
Same!
I love your sofa!!! 1920-1940 my favorites!! Thank you!
I can remember a few years ago making paper chains to go around the Christmas tree. I would have the pleasure of cutting construction paper ( red, green and white ) into strips. Had good ol’ Elmer’s glue to glue them together. This was the late 60’s and early 70’s.
When I was little in the 60s my mom put soap snow on the Christmas tree. The tree was real, of course, and you couldn't take the snow off once it was on. It was an old tradition for her then. It was made from Vintage Instant Ivory Flakes Soap in a Box. I don't remember the recipe but I know you use a cake mixer to make it. It was a big deal to me because we lived in the South of the US and it never snowed. Maybe we'd get a half an inch every five years or so that melted off in an hour. I think I remember seeing it snow once there when I was little and it was gone as fast as it came. The soap mixed up would get all fluffy and we put it on with our hands wearing rubber gloves and using a spatula too. After a few hours it would harden. No body ever does it any more. But when I was little, I just loved it so much.
"DOES ANYONE ACTUALLY REMEMBER WOOLWORTHS?!"
Yes, I do. I'm 43 and grew up in Eureka, CA. The town is very slow growing. I was about 8-9 yrs old when my mom took me to Woolworths and bought me my first mountain bike. It came with a fanny pack that I was so proud of.
MERRIEST CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! 🎄🥂
Woolworths went out of business in the uk when my children were young, I used to buy their toys in there. I was born in the 70s. Merry Christmas 🎅 🎄 🎅
There's plenty in Australia lol
I remember working in the mall in the 90’s and would go there for lunch and shopping
Never get tired of watching your videos.x
My dad was stationed in Horham, England and flew with the first daylight bombing raid over Berlin. The towns people often tried to give the US guys baked goods and sweets but they were refused as the servicemen knew how everything those folks had was rationed. When they received care packages from home, they often gave them to the people of Horham. He spoke of those times but never spoke of the bombing missions. He was very fond of the people of Horham.
My father told me how the American planes would start circling until they were all airborne--then they'd head east to bomb Germany. That was during the daytime. The Brits would do the same thing at night.
My father was first stationed at a place called Pheasy Farms, near Birmingham. He was later transferred to Glasgow, where he worked as a longshoreman.
We used to pick up the end-rolls from the newspaper printing office and use that as wrapping paper. We found rolls of cloth ribbons at a garage sale and tied the packages with that. They were SO pretty and we are still using the ribbons, years later. We also only do 5 presents per person in our house. There are 6 of us, so we each pick one gift for each other person. (plus a "family gift" that we all share together, though not this year) Money is tight this year, so our budget is $20 per person (about as low as we can go and still actually FIND a gift, here in southwest Missouri, USA). Our grocery budget will also be extremely limited, everything completely from scratch with the exception of purchasing a turkey. I'm thinking I'll raise some next year. lol
Do you have Dollar Tree and/or thrift stores nearby? You may be surprised at what fabulous things you can find. It may take a bit of looking, but some of my favorite things come from shops like these. Added bonus-looking through so much stuff to find the treasures is a fun experience in and of itself! Hoping your Christmas is a merry one!
@@reneeprasil6153 We love to go thrifting! It's like a treasure hunt to find something that suits a sibling's personality. The kids got me a light-up globe last year. :)
A lovely video thanks
Beautifully done. Thank you ❤
Just immersed myself into the 1940 Christmas thank you ❤
My grandmaother was born in 1901 and I learned a lot from her about rationing food, clothing, and materials as a whole. I have her mothers homemade cookbooks that include receipies up until grandma died in 1986. Every now and then I pull it gingerly off the shelf and re create one or two of these war time meals for nostalgia's sake. This was an amzing story you told here. Thank you.
That was really interesting, thanks 😊
Such a lovely video 😊