Not really as an Australian-Italian we have a lasagna on Christmas with a full Italian meal for launch and then on Boxing Day (dec 26) when we would go to the Aussie side and go in a pool and throw some snags and pawns, we also have a Christmas ham and crisp songs
While the Sears and Roebuck catalog was big it isn't the same idea as Argos. You might remember Service Merchandise in America. That is more inline with what Argos is.
I think the Sears catalog solves America's space problem like how Argos solved Britain's. they have little space, we have too dang much space, to the point where it made sense to have a large mail-order catalog of everything you might want and have it brought to you.
@@NickTick I worked at Service Merchandise after it changed its name to Best Products, before going out of business several years later. It was a really nice store!
As a British 14 year old, my parents might get my Brother and I a tablet, or a phone or something expensive like that every few years. In other years we usually get things like books, clothes, games(board games / puzzles / lego) and such. However each member of the family buys or makes something for each other member of the family and that gift is normally personal and usually around £10 - £20. We never watch the Queen's speech, but we always gather around the telly for Doctor Who!
For me being a Brit, I was surprised when Tom said that in America they don’t have them. I just automatically assumed it was a universal thing that most western countries had.
@@Jake-rm4be I also assumed that. I'm from Ireland rather than Britain, but we have Christmas crackers too (basically identical), so I just assumed it was kind of a universal thing.
+Matt and Tom I asked this as well, but it seems like this was already answered. I also realized later that an extended middle finger may only be a rude gesture in certain countries (such as the USA).
There's something funny I recently learned about the Rage Against the Machine Christmas number 1 thing... Rage Against the Machine is signed to the record label Epic Records, which is owned by Sony Music. And Simon Cowell's record label Syco (the one all Xfactor winners sign with) is run by both Simon Cowell... and Sony Music! So while everyone was fighting their side of the battle to either get the Xfactor winner to Christmas number one, or to fight the man and get Rage Against the Machine to the top, Sony Music were sat in their offices and laughing as two of their songs fought it out for the top spot.
I've had 2 very different Christmas experiences: One with the very posh English side of my family, where we used to stay and my grandmothers huge country house with my 2 aunts and uncles and only 2 cousins, and have a 5 course Christmas dinner cooked by my uncle who's a chef, no electronics allowed on Christmas day and we always go on walks. And then the opposite with the Irish side of my family where we stay in my other grandmother's terrace in Dublin, have breakfast on xmas eve with up to 6 aunts, 6 uncles, and 12 cousins. We'd spend most of Christmas day in our pyjamas watching TV, help my mum make Christmas dinner and go to bed in the early hours of the next day.
Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is probably the most recently-composed piece of Christmas music that gets regular airplay here in the 'States.
So you missed setting deserts on fire, explaining to young children why uncle Luke is not breaking health and safety law by setting the desert on fire, and at 7:00pm the Dr Who fans throwing out the non fans from the room with the best TV.
You mean "desserts" i really, really hope... And we set puddings on fire. You have a sweet pudding for the dessert course - a "dessert" in the UK usually means something with a lot of whipped cream.
The Argos Catalog is exactly the same as the Sears Catalog was here in the US. Also, if you were in a smaller town you likely had a Sears or JC Penney catalog store instead of a full store.
This Christmas we had a fry up followed by drinking, presents, went out for a drive and a walk in the highlands of Scotland, came home and played a D&D campaign. Heck yeah!
"The Laminated book of dreams! You know why it's laminated don't you? to CATCH THE TEARS OF JOY... *sobs*There are so many beautiful things. I cannot possess them all...' " -Bill Bailey
We had to do that once. While living in the UK and going back home to the US for Christmas, we decided to take a package of Christmas crackers with us. Thankfully, we started at Heathrow and left the unpulled ones with family in the US, so our experience with airport security was fairly easy.
+harvey rice I'm 16 and I second this! We were born at a great time, familiar with technology but didn't miss out on pre-tech stuff like Argos catalogues.
+Matt and Tom, we used to have catalog shops in the US. There used to be a national chain called Service Merchandise with a shop area with 'big ticket items' on display behind glass and an ID number. They'd either have little cards with the ID numbers, which would be in a business card like holder attached to the glass, or they'd give you a piece of paper and a little 'golf pencil' and you'd jot down the numbers. Then the stores would have more mundane items in a catalog at a couple of points around the store. And there too, you'd write down the catalog ID number, and then hand that into a clerk at a counter and they'd type that into a terminal or just hand it off to someone to run into the back - and in nearly every store there would be a roller-conveyer belt and somewhere in the back, someone would put together your order and send it back out front on that conveyor. Ours were more derived from the idea of "convenience", like the food automats of the early 20th century, than a need for space. By the 1990's with the rise of stores massive warehouse stores, like K-Mart and Walmart, they had all disappeared. We did, in a parallel manner, sort of have our own version of the Argos Catalogue. Over here, we had the Sears Catalog - and more specifically the Sears "Wishbook Catalog". Which was a massive tomb (usually in the 300+ pages range) that Sears would mail out each year around November. That would be our equivalent, where kids would go through and circle items they wanted or just spend weeks browsing. Sears catalogs though, existed because of America abundance of space, not because of a lack of it. You could send in an order form, or call an 800-number (by the 70's) and order items from the Sears catalog and they'd ship it to your house or send it to a "catalog store" in your local town where you could pick-up your order, without having to drive hours to get to the nearest actual Sears department store. This too had disappeared by the 1990's, though Sears Catalog Stores are still around in some small towns here and there. They mainly deal with DIY tools and lawn and garden equipment anymore.
Argos--sounds a bit like the Sears-Roebuck catalogue back in its heyday, with less stuff on display in the shop. Also, please, please tell me that you are fortunate enough never to have had inflicted on you the Chipmunks' song, "Barking Jingle Bells," and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
BigBen Hebdomadarius Or Santa Baby. Or Suzy Snowflake. Or I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Or All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth. They're all terrible. Even though this is from U.K., Mr Blobby is literally the stuff of nightmares. More terrifying than all the songs we have about flirting with Santa combined
As bad that ruddy chicken song though? Always played at the school xmas party. In the final year I couldn't stand the music so much, I didn't go at all. Stayed home and played computer games. 8)
I think the fact that everything is shut in the UK on the Christmas Day is among the biggest culture shocks for international students. Coming from overseas, having seen scenes and scenes of crowded streets on the Christmas Day from American TV series, and expecting the similar things in the UK, it's quite a big surprise.
In Canada in the 90's and early 00's we had the Sears catalog in Canada, a special version called "the wish list". earlier than that it was the Eaton's Catalog. I'm sure the states had the Sears catalog too.
I know christmas dinner varies between families here in the US, and isn't exactly a set meal (other then being quite large). Hell, the only tradition our family has for christmas dinner is a toffee pudding, and thats just because our aunt tried it out one year and it was amazing.
At one house we always go to we always get a prime rib and the other it is just a bunch of appetizers you eat through out the night. The 2nd house we spread the gifts opening out a lot, so i guess we get more time to throw wrapping paper at each othee
I'm 18 and I remember the argos catalogue! A small little memory I'd forgotten about until you mentioned it. And the song I know of that there's a game to avoid hearing it for as long as possible is Last Christmas by Wham
Ah, Christmas tradition. My family's got some very strange ones. I've got a very large family, so usually one (sub?)family hosts a party of 15 or so people. Rather than have the hosting family prepare a traditional turkey dinner, every group of people brings their own dishes, and, as is tradition, my mother will bring these bastardized eggrolls filled with hamburger meat and various vegetables. They're absolutely delicious and are a hit every time! Other typical dishes are homemade mac-and-cheese, ribs, and other such classics. Nobody brings turkey or stuffing or anything like that, because I think we've all realized that we'd rather eat something else. The other major tradition is a silly string fight just before everyone goes home.
Late but... I worked at a motorway services on the petrol forecourt for about six years... we were open literally 24 hours for 365 days of the year (366 days in leap year) - they asked for volunteers to work Christmas Day and those people got paid double time! But the amenities building was closed on Christmas Day, though it was open on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. But that was *it* in my experience, even today.
An interesting thing about Argos, my fiance & I call it the Argos Effect. Many years ago, say the 1980s or a bit later, it was pretty normal for Argos to be almost always the cheapest place for any particular item one wanted to buy, assuming they stocked it. This though is very rarely still the case today, but I guarantee you a lot of parents of my age group (I was born in 1970) will still default to going to Argos because they'll just assume it'll be the cheapest place, or at least close enough so as to not feel cheated. In reality, Amazon usually beats them now, or Richer Sounds, John Lewis, PC World, etc. Ask your parents, see if they agree. :D
In the U.S. down in the south growing up as a kid we had the Montgomery Wards Catalog which was a mail order store with full color pics and descriptions of all kind of products. Me and my brothers would bee line straight to the toy section.
Our teenage British Christmases nowadays sounds a lot like yours, identical even ( We were the last true Argos catalogue generation, they don’t do it anymore), except yours were more snowy, even though I am from the northern extremities of British civilization
Hey guys! Just one comment on the bit about the entire country shutting down for a day. I live in Chicago, and on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day all public transport is free to avoid drunk driving accidents. Is this the case in other places as well?
Rainbow Llamas in Devon, that backward hellhole, buses run on Sunday times in the bigger towns and not at all in villages, cabs cost exuberant amounts for the entire week before the 25th and after New Years, and road deaths skyrocket around Christmas. Nothing is ever free here, our council would literally rather their people die.😭😂 But pubs make a metric arseload because you can't get pre-drinks, because everywheres closed
They sometimes do stuff like this in DC. But its often times more for Halloween or St. Patrick's Day. (Moreoften they'll just have Metro open later.) If public transport isn't free, then you'll see various cab companies offering free ride, and special Sober Ride websites or apps to help you get home safe.
I'm in Edinburgh (Scotland), I think they have something like that for new year, but not so sure about xmas day. Probably just for new year. Edinburgh kinda needs it though, tens of thousands from across the planet flood to the city for Hogmanay. Afterwards, the streets are a veritable river of discarded takeaway wrappers, bottles, etc. (the burger stands are expensive, but ye gods a giant burger with fried onions tastes so damn good at half past midnight). What's amazing is the street cleaners show up and by morning rush hour all the trash has gone.
About 5 years later, and the Argos catalog is no more. They have stop printing the catalog, but the shops are still around. You just have to go to to the shop or to their website, to see what they are selling.
I'm 15 and live in Sweden, I have relatives in the UK though (grandfather,uncles, cousins) so I kinda do Swedish and British christmas every year. Swedish celebrating on the 24th, and British Christmas Pudding after dinner. I mostly ask for books (major history nerd) and electronics (a steamgame or two and other stuff or gadgets that I've found interesting throughout the year.
A christmas tradition in my family is that every year a few days before Christmas my dad says "christmas is cancelled and you're gonna have to go to school tommorow". He actually tricked me a few times
Hello there! I'm an ex-pat living in California. There used to be a catalogue shop in the United States called Service Merchandise that went out of business in the 90s I think. But it was a little bit of a cross between the Argos model and Ikea in that it had a full shop floor with examples of all the merchandise in the catalogue. What you'd do is walk around and find something that you love and then place your order from the catalogue. You'd then go to the warehouse part and it would be delivered on a conveyor belt. Something you also could also have covered as quintessentially British is mince pies - here people leave out cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer. They're so unusual in the United States that everyone believes they have meat in them and it's sometimes really hard to get people to try them. As far as I know, you generally can't buy them here at all, but luckily my local supermarket (here in California's Sierra Nevada mountains of all places) stocks Crosse & Blackwell mincemeat filling. So I make my own every year. Nom nom :)
Breakfast tradition in my family is a casserole of sausage crumbles, Wonder bread plucked in bits, soaked in scrambled egg mix (maybe whip in just a little bit of milk), topped with shredded cheddar cheese, refrigerated overnight, and cooked while we open presents. We use the same casserole for Easter, substituting the egg hunt for the present unwrapping. We might also have cinnamon rolls/buns on the other rack of the oven.
At my (UK) home, when I wake up I have a present at the end of my bed by either mum or santa. The purpose of this present is to satiate me and my brothers until they get up- so that we aren't begging for them to wake up and come downstairs so we can start opening presents.
I’m a middle class lad from Derbyshire and I’ve always had the festivities and celebrations split between Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which I’m surprised wasn’t mentioned. For me, it was basically two Christmas days, one with my Mum’s side of the family and the other with my Dad’s. I also had an early Christmas celebration with the part of my family that went abroad to see the rest of their family over Christmas, but that is less of a British thing.
My mum was a good friend of the main singer from the poges and went to some of their after partys so I grew up with storys of him chugging vodka every Christmas
Thanks for the great show. It's interesting to hear what other countries are like and you do such a good job. When I was a kid in the USA we had the Sears catalog and the wish book at Christmas. There were small stores that might have a few items, but it was chiefly mail order. An Amazon of its day. Local stores were small with small inventories so the Sears catalog was a big thing, especially in rural areas. Sears sold everything, and at one time modular homes. I confess that I don't remember much except the tree and record of "The Little Drummer Boy" that I heard until I couldn't stand it. In the sixties my town shut down on Sundays and holidays, especially Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and The Fourth of July. When Walmart came into town the small shops went out of business and now it is basically year round. If it's not too late, may you have a great New Year.
"Every act puts out a dodgy Christmas album." I have a theory that there is only one "they put out a Christmas pop album" song. It's a canned pop song with sleigh bells added to the mix, and the chorus is "Christmas!" One word. If they're nasty, they'll at the word "It's."
Where I live, there is something called the boxing day dip. Basically people get stripped down to usually shorts and wade out into the sea (about to the waist) and maybe dunk their head in. Its a charity thing, I think. Also something that crazy people do.
I'm from the U.S. and growing up, my grandparents always had me and my sister pick things we wanted from J.C. Penney catalog. I don't really remember ever getting anything from the catalog, but it was fun looking through it.
*What* *12-* *&* *13-Year-Olds* *Want* *for* *Christmas* I'm an American in the age range you mentioned (I'm 13), and if I had made a wishlist, it would only have said *"money"*. Maybe other young teens/preteens had more interesting wishlists. I mainly received a Kindle Paperwhite, which was a pleasant surprise, and some money. *What* Little* *Kids* *Leave* *Out* *for* *Santa* I'm American, and I've only heard of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, rather than mints pines and cherry.
I'm Canadian and we have Christmas Crackers. They were never huge in my family, but you can always find them at the dollar store and I've gotten them the odd time. Also, we used to have the Sears Catalogue. It sounds a lot like the Argos catalogue, but you called in your order and they mailed it. It wasn't as big a deal for us in a big city, but for rural areas, it was an absolute lifeline a few generations ago. Even if you lived on a farm far, far away from any major city, you could order stuff.
To all non-UK folk reading this: On the subject of The Pogues, Matt and Tom do not speak for the nation. Fairytale of New York is at least the third best Christmas song.
Hm. Just saw this. Some comments (as a 60 year old Brit now living in New Jersey USA): --Queen's message to the Commonwealth (its official title these days). Hasn't been live for years. The TV version is a montage of what the Royal Family has done in the past year and an uplifting message of hope. We can say what we like about the Royal Family, but the Queen believes in her job. --Christmas lunch/dinner. Turkey, with all the trimmings and Christmas Pudding! Not seen outside the UK except rarely. White sauce/brandy butter! And let's just not talk about Christmas cake... --Festival of 9 lessons and carols from King's College Cambridge. Still marks the beginning of Christmas to me, especially as I can listen to it at 10am EST Christmas Eve in New Jersey, thanks to the Internet. (But Boo to the BBC for not making the TV version more widely available) --Finally, TV. In the US, all the Christmas special shows are before the day, so they can sell advertising. On the day itself, there's nothing special, because there's nothing to sell. The times I've been in Britain, TV has gone out of its way to entertain. When I was growing up, Morecambe and Wise dominated the evening with their Christmas Special (plenty of TH-cam references). And I know about Dr Who and Only Fools and Horses specials. What else to entertain the inebriated masses? And then football (soccer) on Boxing Day?
In the US, the only places that are open/running on Christmas Day are, weirdly, cinemas and Chinese restaurants. Don't know why, but it's good for us Jews :P
Every single year, The only thing I ask for is a giant chocolate penny you get from poundland. We wake up really early, we have a sillystring battle then open our stockings with mainly novelty items. We go downstairs. We all cook breakfast (full english) and open our presents and tidy up. We watch the queens speech and Doctor Who. We all cook christmas dinner, then eat it. Most people get EXTREAMLY drunk and pass out. EVERY SINGLE YEAR
Did "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" ever make it to the UK? PS: I was about to suggest that - your comments about the Pogues notwithstanding - the Little Drummer Boy has got to be the most irritating Christmas song ever. Having found the Pogues' song on TH-cam, however, I must concede that I am mistaken!
I'm a teen and last christmas i asked for fuzzy blankets and ear buds.My family gave me both along with a metric ton of socks (I actually got exited by the socks).My christmas's are mostly big family get togethers with a big turkey dinner Christmas day with stockings as soon as you get up then the family waking up having a big breakfast then presents before or after church(wake up dependent because us kids would all most likely sleep till noon if you let us)(no presents till everyone is awake and at the tree).
8:33 In recent years, we on this side of the pond have taken the Fairytale of New York game and adapted it. We call it "Whamageddon", where the song in question is "Last Christmas" by Wham!.
We had a Catalog too in Germany from "Otto Versand" which I remember loving as a kid. I'd always look in electronics section when a new version of it arrived.
OMG The Sears Christmas catalog!! There was also a J.C. Penny Christmas catalog so you get both, keep them by your bed, and poor over them every night making sure you have your Christmas list exactly right.... Sears in a lot of small towns was just a small store front to pickup or return catalog orders. A few small items, maybe a lawn mower or snow blower in the store depending on the season, but mostly just a small store front. The big Sears stores were in the malls in the big cities, but for small towns this was it.
When they mentioned the argos catalog I was hit with a wave of nostalgia - I remember circling things in byro and putting my name next to the things I wanted with my sister when we were little every year
In the US, we had the Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs, with the Christmas versions showing up in October/November. And there were loyalty programs called S&H Green Stamps or Blue Chip Stamps, that one would get when purchasing items everywhere, and then stick them in a book. When you had enough, you would go to a catalog store and order items.
Xfactor is fixed, I used to work in a record store and one year we received stock of a single with the words "X factor winner" on the cover a whole week before the final had even taken place
I'm 17 and I always used the Argos catalog as a kid edit: also, in 2013 Edward Snowden delivered the alternative Christmas speech on Channel 4, which was awesome. Bonus Snowden fact: he's also the rector of Glasgow University.
Oh and like age 13 I used to get Ello (that funky Lego ish thing) books, PS2 and DS games, art supplies and DVDs - im 18 now. I think the biggest electronic thing I ever got for xmas was a Nintendo DS lite when I was about 7
One thing I love about British Christmas is, the next day you can fistfight all the people who gave you crappy presents... Or the people who didn't say "thank you" enough. Of course they are probably the ones YOU gave crappy presents too.
+Eric Taylor Thank God that queen Victoria invented Boxing Day all those years ago, or we'd not have those brilliant family punch-ups that we know and love.
Service Merchandise was the catalog showroom we had here in the US but it went out in 2002. I remember marking what i wanted in the catalog for Christmas.
+linkviii It's basically the Christmas songs that were predominate when the Baby Boomers were kids. When they start to die off, I think those songs will be played less.
i remember the Argos catalogue when i was young growing up in the 2000's. It was amazing opening up that book to see what new games were out or anything like teddies or anything else. Another one is the sopngs, All I want for Christmas is You is one song I've always loved. Never reached number 1 in my lifetime as much as i recall and i know many who hate that song, but the songs for me is what makes Christmas, as here are less (good) decorations being put up around the place, i hardly see a Santa out and about in shopping centers, and it just doesnt feel like chrismas when i was younger anymore, and only the music keeps it around much.
On the argos (spelling?) catalog, we here in the US did have those, they were the Sears Catalog. Sears last checked still makes them, but as you said, the internet made them obsolete. A large portion of the two inch thick catalog was dedicated to toys for kids, and it was a tradition, atleast in my family, to circle entries we wanted.
A British Christmas just sounds like an Australian Christmas but with a lot less swearing.
And our version is bloody freezing
@@crabfucka6302 An Aussie Christmas about every second to third word is a swear of some kind.
Not really as an Australian-Italian we have a lasagna on Christmas with a full Italian meal for launch and then on Boxing Day (dec 26) when we would go to the Aussie side and go in a pool and throw some snags and pawns, we also have a Christmas ham and crisp songs
TRUE
An Australian christmas is a british christmas*
In the US we used to have the Sears and Roebuck catalog which appears to have been identical in concept to your Argos catalog.
While the Sears and Roebuck catalog was big it isn't the same idea as Argos. You might remember Service Merchandise in America. That is more inline with what Argos is.
I think the Sears catalog solves America's space problem like how Argos solved Britain's. they have little space, we have too dang much space, to the point where it made sense to have a large mail-order catalog of everything you might want and have it brought to you.
@@NickTick oh something like that i never enjoyed that store didnt enjoy the feeling could look at the product feel and see if was cheap.
@@NickTick I worked at Service Merchandise after it changed its name to Best Products, before going out of business several years later. It was a really nice store!
It's catalogue
14:20 Tom admits to being coked up for 3 days straight, then Matt decides to flick us off for a half minute.
I had to listen 3 times but unfortunately he says "coped up"
"Cooped up", isn't it?
this is amazing thanks for noticing s
sounds like the intro to a top gear episode
@@stryk3r360 beat me to it you intuitive bugger
As a British 14 year old, my parents might get my Brother and I a tablet, or a phone or something expensive like that every few years. In other years we usually get things like books, clothes, games(board games / puzzles / lego) and such. However each member of the family buys or makes something for each other member of the family and that gift is normally personal and usually around £10 - £20. We never watch the Queen's speech, but we always gather around the telly for Doctor Who!
Peter Marsh yes Dr Who! Total Christmas tradition in my partner's family, but not in mine
doctor who christmas specials are something special indeed. and this is coming from an american
I get money
NOT THIS YEAR, NO DOCTOR WHO 😭
Charles John Thompson III and it’s very bad now .so their is no point
Do you know why the Argos catalogue is laminated?
TO CATCH THE TEARS OF JOY
Is it just me who likes the smell of the Argos catalogue?
@@mach1nefan Nope, it smells great.
so many beautiful things! i cannot possess them all...
You mentioned that Christmas Crackers were a real thing and I was just like "Those don't only exist in RuneScape?"
same, but mine was more of a "Oh, that's where those come from"
For me being a Brit, I was surprised when Tom said that in America they don’t have them. I just automatically assumed it was a universal thing that most western countries had.
Jake same
@@Jake-rm4be I also assumed that. I'm from Ireland rather than Britain, but we have Christmas crackers too (basically identical), so I just assumed it was kind of a universal thing.
@@xxxdumbwordstupidnumberxxx4844 according to other comments in Australia too -sincerely, a fellow potato
Matt's saying he's having fake christmas while giving the finger to the world.
Whoops! Completely unintentional, sorry! --Matt
+Matt and Tom it gave me a giggle. How most of us feel about shift work.
+Matt and Tom I asked this as well, but it seems like this was already answered. I also realized later that an extended middle finger may only be a rude gesture in certain countries (such as the USA).
+Adam Kenigsberg It's definitely used in the UK, has been since I was a kid at the very least. Although the two finger gesture is more prevalent.
+Rave Biscuits Which two? I'm Spanish, and I didn't know it!
There's something funny I recently learned about the Rage Against the Machine Christmas number 1 thing... Rage Against the Machine is signed to the record label Epic Records, which is owned by Sony Music. And Simon Cowell's record label Syco (the one all Xfactor winners sign with) is run by both Simon Cowell... and Sony Music!
So while everyone was fighting their side of the battle to either get the Xfactor winner to Christmas number one, or to fight the man and get Rage Against the Machine to the top, Sony Music were sat in their offices and laughing as two of their songs fought it out for the top spot.
thank you hank
I don't think anyone was fighting for x factor. The ideal would be to get a small bandcamp based band from 30 downloads total to number 1
That's genius.
I've had 2 very different Christmas experiences:
One with the very posh English side of my family, where we used to stay and my grandmothers huge country house with my 2 aunts and uncles and only 2 cousins, and have a 5 course Christmas dinner cooked by my uncle who's a chef, no electronics allowed on Christmas day and we always go on walks.
And then the opposite with the Irish side of my family where we stay in my other grandmother's terrace in Dublin, have breakfast on xmas eve with up to 6 aunts, 6 uncles, and 12 cousins. We'd spend most of Christmas day in our pyjamas watching TV, help my mum make Christmas dinner and go to bed in the early hours of the next day.
i was born in 98 and i used an argos catalogue to pick my prezzies. :)
I was born in the early 2000's, and I used an Argos catalogue.
+that nerd in the corner same
I'm currently 15, used the Argos catalogue up until I was 11/12.
Jordan Durham I was born in 2002 and I used it but it's use dropped off recently :(
I never
used it - My parents chose my presents.
Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" is probably the most recently-composed piece of Christmas music that gets regular airplay here in the 'States.
And the only one i enjoy.. i also hear the nwwer version of santa baby and maybe you can count "peace on earth/ little drummer boy"
unfortunately it gets played here a lot too. Worse than the pogues by FAR
God damn i wish i could escape from it.
Young_ Zombling_ wdym bro it's fire
Oh that song can go die
When you're watching this is November 2020... and Argos have officially discontinued the Argos Catalogue (my childhood is shattered)
WHAT! NOOOOOOOOOO
I'm 18 and remember the classic argos catalogue. Completely forgot.
I remember it too and I'm 20. I have young siblings though and I don't think they've ever had it.
Chris P. Bacon I'm 13 and I used it till I was about 8 :/ but I live in the country.
im 17 and i still have an argos catalogue in my house, my brother who's 13 still loves flicking though its pages.
In the USA, I remember the Sears catalog somewhat but mostly the J C Penny's "Wish Book".
I think it stopped about 4 years back
So you missed setting deserts on fire, explaining to young children why uncle Luke is not breaking health and safety law by setting the desert on fire, and at 7:00pm the Dr Who fans throwing out the non fans from the room with the best TV.
You mean "desserts" i really, really hope... And we set puddings on fire. You have a sweet pudding for the dessert course - a "dessert" in the UK usually means something with a lot of whipped cream.
The Argos Catalog is exactly the same as the Sears Catalog was here in the US. Also, if you were in a smaller town you likely had a Sears or JC Penney catalog store instead of a full store.
And afaik it was before argos but i'm too lazy to google it. So suck it, Britain.
Don't forget Montgomery Ward
I also always got a target or Toys-R-Us catalog along with those
I know in Atlanta, or thereabouts, my mom worked at a service merchandise. I think in the early 90's.
How did you fail to mention the most important British Christmas tradition of all, the Doctor Who Christmas Special!
No because that can gtfo
Does Doctor Who exist in Yorkshire?
t4teeee it's frequently disappointing but thats why we love it
I think everyone stopped watching it after David Tennant stopped
Kosher Foods aye but you should start watching again because we Finally have a good writer again
14:23 Matt casually gives the entire internet the finger.
Well done, Matt. :D
This Christmas we had a fry up followed by drinking, presents, went out for a drive and a walk in the highlands of Scotland, came home and played a D&D campaign. Heck yeah!
"The Laminated book of dreams! You know why it's laminated don't you? to CATCH THE TEARS OF JOY... *sobs*There are so many beautiful things. I cannot possess them all...' "
-Bill Bailey
"There's an explosive inside of it" imagine explaining that to airport security in America.
Interesting fact is that if you go to the airport at Christmas time there is special lists about certain christmas items you can not take on a plane
Mind you, it's about the same grade as those "TNT Popper" bang-snaps
We had to do that once. While living in the UK and going back home to the US for Christmas, we decided to take a package of Christmas crackers with us. Thankfully, we started at Heathrow and left the unpulled ones with family in the US, so our experience with airport security was fairly easy.
I'm only 18 and remember circling things in the Argos catalog!
15 here, and it was very much a thing for us, but I think we were the last to do so
It's the theatre for the poor. Circling products is like selecting a show!
15 me too the argos catalogue has got sooo much smaller noe.
+harvey rice I'm 16 and I second this! We were born at a great time, familiar with technology but didn't miss out on pre-tech stuff like Argos catalogues.
I'm 14 and I do too
Croissants for breakfast is a thing in my family.
Also when I was little we didn't put mince pies out for Santa but put carrots out for the reindeer.
Argos sounds like a cross between the Sears Catalog and a Service Merchandise in the US.
Thank you! I was blanking on the name Service Merchandise!
I usually can't stand Christmas music but "Fairytale in New York" is actually one of the few Christmas type songs that I like.
14:33 Matt giving his boss the finger because he has to work
3:15 Those plastic fishes were the center of an entire physics lesson in my country. Everyone was so damn amazed at it.
Wow your education must be really reaching for stuff to teach you about
@@amazoncouch7116 Well it was still a fun lesson
@@amazoncouch7116 And yours isn't/wasn't? 90% of what you learned at school was a waste. Anything you can even remember is a victory.
So expansion and contraction due to heat - an important concept.
+Matt and Tom, we used to have catalog shops in the US. There used to be a national chain called Service Merchandise with a shop area with 'big ticket items' on display behind glass and an ID number. They'd either have little cards with the ID numbers, which would be in a business card like holder attached to the glass, or they'd give you a piece of paper and a little 'golf pencil' and you'd jot down the numbers. Then the stores would have more mundane items in a catalog at a couple of points around the store. And there too, you'd write down the catalog ID number, and then hand that into a clerk at a counter and they'd type that into a terminal or just hand it off to someone to run into the back - and in nearly every store there would be a roller-conveyer belt and somewhere in the back, someone would put together your order and send it back out front on that conveyor.
Ours were more derived from the idea of "convenience", like the food automats of the early 20th century, than a need for space. By the 1990's with the rise of stores massive warehouse stores, like K-Mart and Walmart, they had all disappeared.
We did, in a parallel manner, sort of have our own version of the Argos Catalogue. Over here, we had the Sears Catalog - and more specifically the Sears "Wishbook Catalog". Which was a massive tomb (usually in the 300+ pages range) that Sears would mail out each year around November. That would be our equivalent, where kids would go through and circle items they wanted or just spend weeks browsing. Sears catalogs though, existed because of America abundance of space, not because of a lack of it. You could send in an order form, or call an 800-number (by the 70's) and order items from the Sears catalog and they'd ship it to your house or send it to a "catalog store" in your local town where you could pick-up your order, without having to drive hours to get to the nearest actual Sears department store.
This too had disappeared by the 1990's, though Sears Catalog Stores are still around in some small towns here and there. They mainly deal with DIY tools and lawn and garden equipment anymore.
Argos--sounds a bit like the Sears-Roebuck catalogue back in its heyday, with less stuff on display in the shop.
Also, please, please tell me that you are fortunate enough never to have had inflicted on you the Chipmunks' song, "Barking Jingle Bells," and "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer."
Anjolie Barrios
You mean a 39 1/2 foot pole?
BigBen Hebdomadarius Or Santa Baby. Or Suzy Snowflake. Or I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Or All I Want For Christmas is my Two Front Teeth. They're all terrible.
Even though this is from U.K., Mr Blobby is literally the stuff of nightmares. More terrifying than all the songs we have about flirting with Santa combined
As bad that ruddy chicken song though? Always played at the school xmas party. In the final year I couldn't stand the music so much, I didn't go at all. Stayed home and played computer games. 8)
R.I.P.: Sears.
Please tell me you've all been exposed to "Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey"
I think the fact that everything is shut in the UK on the Christmas Day is among the biggest culture shocks for international students. Coming from overseas, having seen scenes and scenes of crowded streets on the Christmas Day from American TV series, and expecting the similar things in the UK, it's quite a big surprise.
you forgot about the tiny screwdrivers
Ha
In Canada in the 90's and early 00's we had the Sears catalog in Canada, a special version called "the wish list". earlier than that it was the Eaton's Catalog. I'm sure the states had the Sears catalog too.
14:35 Bit rude, Matt...
I know christmas dinner varies between families here in the US, and isn't exactly a set meal (other then being quite large). Hell, the only tradition our family has for christmas dinner is a toffee pudding, and thats just because our aunt tried it out one year and it was amazing.
At one house we always go to we always get a prime rib and the other it is just a bunch of appetizers you eat through out the night. The 2nd house we spread the gifts opening out a lot, so i guess we get more time to throw wrapping paper at each othee
I'm 18 and I remember the argos catalogue! A small little memory I'd forgotten about until you mentioned it. And the song I know of that there's a game to avoid hearing it for as long as possible is Last Christmas by Wham
As one of the ‘younger’ viewers, I can say that I have no bloody clue what I want for Christmas. A top hat, maybe? I don’t know.
A top hat does sound like a great wish though, I hope you get one. And I hope you get a lot of wear out of it
sameee
A cape
We had the same game, but for Wham's "Last Christmas"; never heard it for "Fairytale of New York" but it doesn't surprise me.
Mine is The Waitresses "Christmas (W)rapping" - and I actually love that song! It's just a bit of fun for me to see how long I can go.
Ah, Christmas tradition. My family's got some very strange ones. I've got a very large family, so usually one (sub?)family hosts a party of 15 or so people. Rather than have the hosting family prepare a traditional turkey dinner, every group of people brings their own dishes, and, as is tradition, my mother will bring these bastardized eggrolls filled with hamburger meat and various vegetables. They're absolutely delicious and are a hit every time! Other typical dishes are homemade mac-and-cheese, ribs, and other such classics. Nobody brings turkey or stuffing or anything like that, because I think we've all realized that we'd rather eat something else. The other major tradition is a silly string fight just before everyone goes home.
Late but... I worked at a motorway services on the petrol forecourt for about six years... we were open literally 24 hours for 365 days of the year (366 days in leap year) - they asked for volunteers to work Christmas Day and those people got paid double time! But the amenities building was closed on Christmas Day, though it was open on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
But that was *it* in my experience, even today.
I'm 16 and I've used the Argos catalog for years to hint and get stuff for Christmas 👌
An interesting thing about Argos, my fiance & I call it the Argos Effect. Many years ago, say the 1980s or a bit later, it was pretty normal for Argos to be almost always the cheapest place for any particular item one wanted to buy, assuming they stocked it. This though is very rarely still the case today, but I guarantee you a lot of parents of my age group (I was born in 1970) will still default to going to Argos because they'll just assume it'll be the cheapest place, or at least close enough so as to not feel cheated. In reality, Amazon usually beats them now, or Richer Sounds, John Lewis, PC World, etc. Ask your parents, see if they agree. :D
In the U.S. down in the south growing up as a kid we had the Montgomery Wards Catalog which was a mail order store with full color pics and descriptions of all kind of products. Me and my brothers would bee line straight to the toy section.
Came to comments to see this. And: just got a Montgomery Ward catalog near Christmas this year... Who knew they were still a thing?
Cheers Matt, flipping us off at the end :p
Our teenage British Christmases nowadays sounds a lot like yours, identical even ( We were the last true Argos catalogue generation, they don’t do it anymore), except yours were more snowy, even though I am from the northern extremities of British civilization
Hey guys! Just one comment on the bit about the entire country shutting down for a day. I live in Chicago, and on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day all public transport is free to avoid drunk driving accidents. Is this the case in other places as well?
+Charlie Inksetter I know Portland (Oregon) did that last year, but Seattle doesn't.
+Charlie Inksetter This is the case in London, too. I think local bus services in many places do the same in the UK but I am not sure.
Rainbow Llamas in Devon, that backward hellhole, buses run on Sunday times in the bigger towns and not at all in villages, cabs cost exuberant amounts for the entire week before the 25th and after New Years, and road deaths skyrocket around Christmas. Nothing is ever free here, our council would literally rather their people die.😭😂
But pubs make a metric arseload because you can't get pre-drinks, because everywheres closed
They sometimes do stuff like this in DC. But its often times more for Halloween or St. Patrick's Day. (Moreoften they'll just have Metro open later.) If public transport isn't free, then you'll see various cab companies offering free ride, and special Sober Ride websites or apps to help you get home safe.
I'm in Edinburgh (Scotland), I think they have something like that for new year, but not so sure about xmas day. Probably just for new year. Edinburgh kinda needs it though, tens of thousands from across the planet flood to the city for Hogmanay. Afterwards, the streets are a veritable river of discarded takeaway wrappers, bottles, etc. (the burger stands are expensive, but ye gods a giant burger with fried onions tastes so damn good at half past midnight). What's amazing is the street cleaners show up and by morning rush hour all the trash has gone.
i cant stop laughing at how quickly matt goes from laughing to serious at 19:05 when the lights go off
"what do you get when you cross a kangaroo and a sheep" has got to be the best bad joke I've ever heard. I had to pause the video to laugh at it!
About 5 years later, and the Argos catalog is no more. They have stop printing the catalog, but the shops are still around. You just have to go to to the shop or to their website, to see what they are selling.
I'm 15 and live in Sweden, I have relatives in the UK though (grandfather,uncles, cousins) so I kinda do Swedish and British christmas every year. Swedish celebrating on the 24th, and British Christmas Pudding after dinner. I mostly ask for books (major history nerd) and electronics (a steamgame or two and other stuff or gadgets that I've found interesting throughout the year.
A christmas tradition in my family is that every year a few days before Christmas my dad says "christmas is cancelled and you're gonna have to go to school tommorow". He actually tricked me a few times
I was expecting pigs in blankets to be on this list :(
Hello there! I'm an ex-pat living in California. There used to be a catalogue shop in the United States called Service Merchandise that went out of business in the 90s I think. But it was a little bit of a cross between the Argos model and Ikea in that it had a full shop floor with examples of all the merchandise in the catalogue. What you'd do is walk around and find something that you love and then place your order from the catalogue. You'd then go to the warehouse part and it would be delivered on a conveyor belt.
Something you also could also have covered as quintessentially British is mince pies - here people leave out cookies and carrots for Santa and the reindeer. They're so unusual in the United States that everyone believes they have meat in them and it's sometimes really hard to get people to try them. As far as I know, you generally can't buy them here at all, but luckily my local supermarket (here in California's Sierra Nevada mountains of all places) stocks Crosse & Blackwell mincemeat filling. So I make my own every year. Nom nom :)
14:22-14:40 Matt was flipping Tom the bird. And I thought they were friends...
+King Of The Arsenal I kept getting distracted by that, too. Except I thought he was flipping us off.
Listen to what he's saying I think he just has some problems with that... and: body language.
Breakfast tradition in my family is a casserole of sausage crumbles, Wonder bread plucked in bits, soaked in scrambled egg mix (maybe whip in just a little bit of milk), topped with shredded cheddar cheese, refrigerated overnight, and cooked while we open presents. We use the same casserole for Easter, substituting the egg hunt for the present unwrapping. We might also have cinnamon rolls/buns on the other rack of the oven.
At my (UK) home, when I wake up I have a present at the end of my bed by either mum or santa. The purpose of this present is to satiate me and my brothers until they get up- so that we aren't begging for them to wake up and come downstairs so we can start opening presents.
I’m a middle class lad from Derbyshire and I’ve always had the festivities and celebrations split between Christmas Day and Boxing Day, which I’m surprised wasn’t mentioned. For me, it was basically two Christmas days, one with my Mum’s side of the family and the other with my Dad’s. I also had an early Christmas celebration with the part of my family that went abroad to see the rest of their family over Christmas, but that is less of a British thing.
My family always did the exact same breakfast, I'm fairly certain matt is our long lost relative now.
My mum was a good friend of the main singer from the poges and went to some of their after partys so I grew up with storys of him chugging vodka every Christmas
I remember bringing out the massive Argos book from under the sofa and flipping through it for like 2hours
Thanks for the great show. It's interesting to hear what other countries are like and you do such a good job. When I was a kid in the USA we had the Sears catalog and the wish book at Christmas. There were small stores that might have a few items, but it was chiefly mail order. An Amazon of its day. Local stores were small with small inventories so the Sears catalog was a big thing, especially in rural areas. Sears sold everything, and at one time modular homes. I confess that I don't remember much except the tree and record of "The Little Drummer Boy" that I heard until I couldn't stand it.
In the sixties my town shut down on Sundays and holidays, especially Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and The Fourth of July. When Walmart came into town the small shops went out of business and now it is basically year round.
If it's not too late, may you have a great New Year.
I was born in the mid 2000's & I used an Argos catalogue until I was 6 or 7
Rly? I was born in 2000 and i don't even remember ever using Argos for Christmas
"Every act puts out a dodgy Christmas album." I have a theory that there is only one "they put out a Christmas pop album" song. It's a canned pop song with sleigh bells added to the mix, and the chorus is "Christmas!" One word. If they're nasty, they'll at the word "It's."
Matt flipping us all off at 14:30? I thought you liked the fans!
Where I live, there is something called the boxing day dip. Basically people get stripped down to usually shorts and wade out into the sea (about to the waist) and maybe dunk their head in.
Its a charity thing, I think. Also something that crazy people do.
1:06
Americans hearing this wondering why they don't have those and also why they haven't made a gun out of it yet
I'm from the U.S. and growing up, my grandparents always had me and my sister pick things we wanted from J.C. Penney catalog. I don't really remember ever getting anything from the catalog, but it was fun looking through it.
*What* *12-* *&* *13-Year-Olds* *Want* *for* *Christmas* I'm an American in the age range you mentioned (I'm 13), and if I had made a wishlist, it would only have said *"money"*. Maybe other young teens/preteens had more interesting wishlists. I mainly received a Kindle Paperwhite, which was a pleasant surprise, and some money.
*What* Little* *Kids* *Leave* *Out* *for* *Santa* I'm American, and I've only heard of leaving milk and cookies out for Santa, rather than mints pines and cherry.
+ngon 1618033 Mince pies and sherry! A mince pie is a sort of fruit pie made with dried fruit with Christmas spies. And our santa drinks alcohol haha!
I'm Canadian and we have Christmas Crackers. They were never huge in my family, but you can always find them at the dollar store and I've gotten them the odd time. Also, we used to have the Sears Catalogue. It sounds a lot like the Argos catalogue, but you called in your order and they mailed it. It wasn't as big a deal for us in a big city, but for rural areas, it was an absolute lifeline a few generations ago. Even if you lived on a farm far, far away from any major city, you could order stuff.
Now Harry Potter makes more sense..
my local West Bridgford Argos shut down in like 07. miss it so much
*Me Reads title* ‘good time to come up on my recommended...’
7:20 i was born in 2004, i had the argos catalogs and argos. it was SUPERB
To all non-UK folk reading this: On the subject of The Pogues, Matt and Tom do not speak for the nation. Fairytale of New York is at least the third best Christmas song.
+Jamie Spong 1) They both professed to hating the song.
2) They said that the song was voted the best in many, many polls. Blame the polls, not them.
I have never heard of The Pogues. I will now look it up.
For me it's always been the main songs from Die Hard. :D
Jamie Spong oh come on, it’s terrible
My Christmas hill to die on is that the greatest Christmas song is the Jimmy Eat World cover of "Last Christmas" by Wham
Hm. Just saw this. Some comments (as a 60 year old Brit now living in New Jersey USA):
--Queen's message to the Commonwealth (its official title these days). Hasn't been live for years. The TV version is a montage of what the Royal Family has done in the past year and an uplifting message of hope. We can say what we like about the Royal Family, but the Queen believes in her job.
--Christmas lunch/dinner. Turkey, with all the trimmings and Christmas Pudding! Not seen outside the UK except rarely. White sauce/brandy butter! And let's just not talk about Christmas cake...
--Festival of 9 lessons and carols from King's College Cambridge. Still marks the beginning of Christmas to me, especially as I can listen to it at 10am EST Christmas Eve in New Jersey, thanks to the Internet. (But Boo to the BBC for not making the TV version more widely available)
--Finally, TV. In the US, all the Christmas special shows are before the day, so they can sell advertising. On the day itself, there's nothing special, because there's nothing to sell. The times I've been in Britain, TV has gone out of its way to entertain. When I was growing up, Morecambe and Wise dominated the evening with their Christmas Special (plenty of TH-cam references). And I know about Dr Who and Only Fools and Horses specials. What else to entertain the inebriated masses?
And then football (soccer) on Boxing Day?
In the US, the only places that are open/running on Christmas Day are, weirdly, cinemas and Chinese restaurants. Don't know why, but it's good for us Jews :P
You are in new England or the South aren't you very few paets of the country calls movie theatres cinemas...
Every single year, The only thing I ask for is a giant chocolate penny you get from poundland. We wake up really early, we have a sillystring battle then open our stockings with mainly novelty items. We go downstairs. We all cook breakfast (full english) and open our presents and tidy up. We watch the queens speech and Doctor Who. We all cook christmas dinner, then eat it. Most people get EXTREAMLY drunk and pass out. EVERY SINGLE YEAR
Did "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" ever make it to the UK?
PS: I was about to suggest that - your comments about the Pogues notwithstanding - the Little Drummer Boy has got to be the most irritating Christmas song ever. Having found the Pogues' song on TH-cam, however, I must concede that I am mistaken!
As a Brit who is currently staring at your comment, horrified, I can only assume that it didn't?
Fun song :D
Oh I'm a Brit, and I know "Grandma got run over by a reindeer"
I personally disagree with both of your statements about the songs. They are both decent songs but played so frequently that they get really annoying!
I'm a teen and last christmas i asked for fuzzy blankets and ear buds.My family gave me both along with a metric ton of socks (I actually got exited by the socks).My christmas's are mostly big family get togethers with a big turkey dinner Christmas day with stockings as soon as you get up then the family waking up having a big breakfast then presents before or after church(wake up dependent because us kids would all most likely sleep till noon if you let us)(no presents till everyone is awake and at the tree).
I just found out that they don't have mince pies in america!!!
+Sam Tumi in the old days it was actual mince meat but nowadays i think its basically suet and raisins
+Konjono Awesome Just one?! You're doing it wrong, mate.
@@Oziji nope we got a good old pumpkin pie or some sugar cookies.
Some people do in the US, but I think most don't. My family has a lot of old traditions.
8:33 In recent years, we on this side of the pond have taken the Fairytale of New York game and adapted it. We call it "Whamageddon", where the song in question is "Last Christmas" by Wham!.
I actually love Fairytale of New York D:
Actually, I guess it's because it's never played on Australian radio, I only hear it when I choose.
+NexYT Yeah, I really enjoy it too.
I like it for the same reason I like yahtzee croshaw. It's this hate filled but still charming ball of bile.
We had a Catalog too in Germany from "Otto Versand" which I remember loving as a kid. I'd always look in electronics section when a new version of it arrived.
old sears catalog!
OMG The Sears Christmas catalog!! There was also a J.C. Penny Christmas catalog so you get both, keep them by your bed, and poor over them every night making sure you have your Christmas list exactly right.... Sears in a lot of small towns was just a small store front to pickup or return catalog orders. A few small items, maybe a lawn mower or snow blower in the store depending on the season, but mostly just a small store front. The big Sears stores were in the malls in the big cities, but for small towns this was it.
You forgot doctor who
When they mentioned the argos catalog I was hit with a wave of nostalgia - I remember circling things in byro and putting my name next to the things I wanted with my sister when we were little every year
16 here remembers the argos catalog
16 now and remember it 😂
@@janani1826 Yeah same
I too have croissants for Christmas, my family usually does the Christmas ham so we carve it up before the lunch and put some cheese on it as well
I live in Canada and we have Christmas crackers just saying...
That's what I going to say
In the US, we had the Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs, with the Christmas versions showing up in October/November. And there were loyalty programs called S&H Green Stamps or Blue Chip Stamps, that one would get when purchasing items everywhere, and then stick them in a book. When you had enough, you would go to a catalog store and order items.
im 14 and i really dont celebrate Christmas anymore. i stopped at 12.
im 17 and Christmas is amazing for me still
I am 18, I have never celebrated it and it is on 7th of January.
I'm 42 and still celebrate Christmas.
So you just treat it as a normal day or you became muslim?
Liam Miller i see no reason. its really just a big wast of money.
and I am watching this 5 years later on Christmas day
Xfactor is fixed, I used to work in a record store and one year we received stock of a single with the words "X factor winner" on the cover a whole week before the final had even taken place
I'm 17 and I always used the Argos catalog as a kid
edit: also, in 2013 Edward Snowden delivered the alternative Christmas speech on Channel 4, which was awesome. Bonus Snowden fact: he's also the rector of Glasgow University.
Fairytale of NY is quality I'm one of the twits who votes for it bow to the power lads
Oh and like age 13 I used to get Ello (that funky Lego ish thing) books, PS2 and DS games, art supplies and DVDs - im 18 now. I think the biggest electronic thing I ever got for xmas was a Nintendo DS lite when I was about 7
In Luxembourg we have these catalogues aswell^^ As soon as you started talking about the catalogue I instantly felt the nostalgia coming up :) Thanks
One thing I love about British Christmas is, the next day you can fistfight all the people who gave you crappy presents... Or the people who didn't say "thank you" enough. Of course they are probably the ones YOU gave crappy presents too.
+Eric Taylor Thank God that queen Victoria invented Boxing Day all those years ago, or we'd not have those brilliant family punch-ups that we know and love.
Rave Biscuits
I'm so glad someone got that.
Eric Taylor xD
Service Merchandise was the catalog showroom we had here in the US but it went out in 2002. I remember marking what i wanted in the catalog for Christmas.
all Christmas music is dated. American Christmas radio is impossible for me to listen to
+linkviii It's basically the Christmas songs that were predominate when the Baby Boomers were kids. When they start to die off, I think those songs will be played less.
@@Regolith86 but what will replace them?
I actually always will change off whenever the "newer" christmas dings come on except mariah carey all i want for christmas is you
i remember the Argos catalogue when i was young growing up in the 2000's. It was amazing opening up that book to see what new games were out or anything like teddies or anything else. Another one is the sopngs, All I want for Christmas is You is one song I've always loved. Never reached number 1 in my lifetime as much as i recall and i know many who hate that song, but the songs for me is what makes Christmas, as here are less (good) decorations being put up around the place, i hardly see a Santa out and about in shopping centers, and it just doesnt feel like chrismas when i was younger anymore, and only the music keeps it around much.
On the argos (spelling?) catalog, we here in the US did have those, they were the Sears Catalog. Sears last checked still makes them, but as you said, the internet made them obsolete. A large portion of the two inch thick catalog was dedicated to toys for kids, and it was a tradition, atleast in my family, to circle entries we wanted.
Christmas crackers are a thing in Sweden as well!