Let's start this years Vlogmas posts with a little trip down the memory lane of Christmases past.
This photo of me and my brother was perhaps taken in 1968 or 69. I think it shows perfectly how Christmases used to be. You asked for a couple of things for Santa to bring you ... and if you had been very good you got them. I had asked for the Sindy sports car and my brother asked for his first ever leather football. The telephones were actually money boxes but with proper dials and a button you could press to make them ring. We had already opened our Christmas stockings of little bits and pieces in our bedroom, a selection box each and lots of sweeties.
Perhaps 1974
We had moved from our little three room flat into a brand-new council house, and it was my parents pride and joy. The grannies visited on different days over Christmas and many games were played.
Then to save my boys the embarrassment of their childhood Christmases being here we'll time-jump to 2008, and the first year me and Alan spent together as a married couple.
2008 - Dickensian Weekend in Ulverston
Me busy in my little shop and Alan taking a well-earned break from travelling backwards and forwards between Cumbria and Berkshire. Although as the stock sold out so quickly, he came down the little lane between our home and the shop with fresh supplies and cups of coffee at regular intervals throughout the weekend.
2009 - Our first year at Jointers Farm
2010 - The only year I have ever seen Alan without a beard.
2011 - The first year Suky 'helped' me with the Christmas decorations.
2012 - The year we moved to Berkshire and our next smallholding, and decorated the bookshelves, well we had to ...
... just look how small the Christmas tree was. 😄
2013 - The year we moved to our Welsh smallholding and moved in properly on 21st December, hosting all the family for a Christmas Day buffet.
2014 - The year we got Mavis back to health in time for Christmas after her being stolen in April ... and retrieved in September.
2015 - When farmhouse sinks get festive!
2016 - When pigs get Christmas hats.
2017 - The first stick Christmas tree.
I should have patented the idea, they are everywhere now!!
2018 - The dogs got 'Christmas stockings'.
2019 - Our great grandson's first Christmas, he missed the last one by six days.
2020 - Our last Christmas in Wales.
2021 - My first Christmas at Lavender Lodge.
And here we are in 2022, decorations about to go up and no doubt pictures will be shared on here, well I'll have to won't I if I ever want to do a post like this again. I'll need the evidence of our second Christmas in Lancashire, England.
Sue xx
Fabulous trip down memory lane, hope it gave you loads of pleasure to look back over the pictures.
ReplyDeleteIt's always the dogs with me (which you know 🥰) and I love the photo of baby Suky 'helping' decorate, and of course Mavis returned to you, and to health.
Happy December, m'dear, x
A Christmas memory lane is always an extra special one isn't it. :-)
DeleteI had no idea that Mavis had once been stolen. Did you write about it on your old blog? I am so glad she was returned.
ReplyDeleteI did, my Followers were very invested in her safe return. We were lucky we had had the chance to get her micro-chipped after her first rescue or the second one would never have happened!
DeleteWhat lovely pictures! Like Jayne commented, I bet you had a whale of a time sifting through all your photos. I adore the doggie ones, I had no idea Mavis was stolen, that must have been awful. xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's good having all the old blog photos safely stored on the memory box for the computer, it means I have our history at my fingertips. I'll share Mavis' story tomorrow ... I have been inundated with emails.
DeleteLovely photos. Thank goodness for the blog to remember all those Christmas's past and a good subject for the 1st of the month
ReplyDeleteIt's a good family archive if you have a blog isn't it, as you so often prove on yours.
DeleteWell, that was really lovely looking through those photos a smashing build up to this Christmas , after a rotten year we are very much looking forward to our Christmas this year and hoping that everyone else can celebrate without getting into debt , it may be hard as we are so used to having loads of food and gifts but we can still have a good time with a little less , I suppose that is easy to say but I do appreciate how recent times have affected families.
ReplyDeleteI think Christmas will be a quieter affair for many families this year, and in some ways it might be a good thing, it could take us back to a simpler more family orientated Christmas instead of a massive splurge on things that none of us can actually afford.
DeleteCute children, and a very cute little Mavis! xx
ReplyDeleteMy great grandson is a cute little thing isn't he, mind you not so little now ... he's three on the 31st and a proper little boy, where does the time go?
DeleteI just melt every time I see Mavis. Thank goodness you were able to get her back. She looks well now.
ReplyDeleteShe's doing remarkably well for an older lady that has had such tough times in her life, those eyes melt my heart every time she looks at me.
DeleteLovely pictures - we have very few pictures of my childhood, Christmas or otherwise - film was expensive in those days - thank goodness for digital cameras - so much easier to capture our lives on now.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are only a few family photos from back in the day, although it was my dad's hobby. If you look closely in the top photo, you can see that this year was the year that he got his little slide viewer as all his photos went onto slides and then we got a few re-developed to go into the family album. Digital has changed everything cost-wise hasn't it.
DeleteMavis got STOLEN!?? Oh, I do need to hear more about that! How did you find her?
ReplyDeleteShe did!! See the next post, there has been a lot of interest in her story from my newer readers.
DeleteOh, those are great photos of Christmas past! Photos are so good for sparking our memories.
ReplyDeleteThey really help to put us 'back in the moment' don't they.
DeleteHow lovely. Some years ago, I asked my three adult children to write down their memories of child, Christmases, and I was very touched by their fond memories, not necessarily gifts, but of the traditions, and all the excitement of putting up the tree and coming down on Christmas morning after opening their stockings to see what Santa had left. Happy times. June. X
ReplyDeleteNo matter what we think about gift giving it's the time spent with parents and the magic of Christmas that children remember most. It sounds as though your now adult children, have remembered all the very best of the Christmases that you gave them.
DeleteA delightful post! I'm so glad Mavis was "found" and the baby is adorable.
ReplyDeleteI'm linking back to her story on tomorrow's post, there have been a lot of questions.
DeleteI'm a bit late commenting on this but loved the pics and descriptions - very heartwarming.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing about Mavis - thank goodness it was a happy ending!
Alison in Wales x
It was a happy hour or so of trawling through old photos and blog posts.
DeleteLove all the pix. Did you photoshop the headgear on Mavis and Suky?
ReplyDeleteNo Mavis' was on elastic and Suky's was like a little headband. We never make them wear this sort of thing for long, so they seem to grin and bear it. :-)
DeleteThey did well to keep them on long enough for pix.
DeleteThey both know the words 'wait' and 'stay' so will usually sit still long enough for a photo opportunity. It would be harder to do now that Suky is deaf though.
DeleteLovely trip down memory lane.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
It's always good having a little bit of nostalgia at this time of year isn't it. :-)
DeleteGosh - I remember the trauma of Mavis's disappearance, and the joy of her return - I hadn't realised I'd followed your blog for so long, Sue. A lot of people will be finding Christmas a struggle here in New Zealand too, the price of everything seems to have rocketed. Going back to simpler ways, and a smaller Christmas stocking will be no bad thing. I'm looking forward to the retelling of Mavis's story tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteIt was sad reliving it as I found the old posts on Our New Life ... but knowing that she's been happily back with us and has had a good life over the last eight years is wonderful.
DeleteA lovely walk down memory lane. Do you have any particular favourites? Xx
ReplyDeleteDogs or years? Haha, my favourite Christmas was when I had my shop, the whole season was magical. I love the thrill of retail at this time of year and really miss it.
DeleteOh I had that sports car too! Thanks for the memory… Karen S
ReplyDeleteI'm not boasting but the year before I had gotten the bed, the wardrobe and the dressing table!!
DeleteGosh my Sindy was spoilt, as you can see, she also had a boyfriend long before Ken appeared on the scene. My Sindy went out with Action Man that I commandeered off my brother who didn't want it.
Such lovely memories. How good to have those early Christmas photos. Looking at your gifts, my hubby had those little Thunderbirds spaceships like your brother. He still has them.
ReplyDeleteMy brother passed all of his onto my eldest when he got into Thunderbirds, many years later.
DeleteChristmas with small children is a wonderful thing. We have 9 grandchildren; 5 live 18 hours away so we Facetime on Christmas morning. The younger 4 live near us and we'll see them in person. We haven't pinpointed a date yet but I'm ok with whenever as we see them weekly as it is.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I spy Nigel Slater books on the shelf. I really like his books. I need to pull them down from upstairs to read again. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
It really is, although we have never really experienced it for ourselves even though we do have 4 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. Indeed, even my son doesn't get to see his daughter and one of my grandsons doesn't see his daughter either. It seems that some 'modern' women and girls WANT to be single parent families, not caring what they put their boyfriends through emotionally and financially in the process.
DeleteNigel Slater is one of my favourite cooks and authors. :-)