On this Christmas Day, I’m going to capture memories of Christmas Days gone by. When I tried to think of memories, I was surprised at how few I had and at how randomly they were ordered in my memory. I won’t try to put them in perfect order here, I’ll just think, write and share.
I remember sitting on the ground with my red teddy bear, Red Ted (I know), painting his paws with my mum’s nail varnish. I remember my dad recording it on his camcorder. I wonder if that video still exists.
I remember ignoring most of my gifts and instead cutting up a bar of soap with a plastic knife, because “I’m a dentist” and “this patient needs multiple fillings.” I don’t remember why I wanted to be a dentist.
I remember visiting Santa Claus at Selfridges in London. I remember asking for a car (“a real one”). I remember buying Animals of Farthing wood afterwards on VHS, and watching it over and over.
I remember getting two whole bottles of pop to myself as gifts (orangeade and limeade in my memory, but I know that I loved dandelion and burdock). I remember hiding them under by bed for safekeeping.
I remember Christmas stockings filled mostly with clementines, but usually a box of clotted cream fudge, too. I remember, I think, the fudge coming from my grandfather. I can’t remember if that was true.
I remember receiving a toy parrot that repeated everything it heard. I remember my grandfather gleefully telling it to “fuck off,” and cackling every time it was repeated back to him. I remember laughing too.
I remember attending midnight mass on Christmas Eve at St. Stephen’s. I remember not wanting to go, but the deal being sweetened with an early gift. I remember choosing the Meccano race car kit.
I remember my dad revealing that we couldn’t afford gifts one year. I remember his boss buying us bike accessories for when we got bikes “one day.” I remember coming back downstairs to find brand new bikes.