When we were given the subject for our ' By Invitation ' post this month, I was not a happy bunny !! How on earth can you choose ' the best day of your life ' ?!! Surely, by rights, it should be ones wedding day, the days that our children were born, a special family and friends get-together, a wonderful holiday, our son and daughter-in-law's wedding or the birth of our grandchildren, shouldn't it ?
I doubt very much, if we only have one ' best day of our life ' but, the day that was SO special for me was Christmas as a child.
It was the most exciting and magical time …..
I can remember my Mum, buying a tree at the greengrocers and dragging it back to our house { I'm not sure why she had to do this and not my Dad !! } and then our Dad, my sister and I would turn that dark green pine tree into a sparkling, twinkly tree of magic { along with a few arguments as to where to place a bauble or who would have the honour of putting the fairy on top of the tree !! } My Mum would make a Christmas cake, mince pies and the Christmas pudding, along with bread sauce and oodles of other things { there wasn't a Waitrose or M & S in those days !! } Then, on Christmas Eve, we would place an old limp, white pillowcase at the end of the bed which, by morning, was brimming over with, board games, chocolate coins, paints and paint brushes and that chocolate toolkit that tasted like soap but was delicious at the same time because we could eat chocolate at 7 a.m in the morning and, I always had my fingers crossed that my favourite would be found in my pillow case …….
Jacks !! I LOVED Jacks …..
None of it was overly expensive but, in those post war years, there wasn't an abundance of things and our parents would have to save up for the presents and food. Our Dad went to work all week and then, at the weekends, he played in a band. In the months leading up to Christmas, he would take an empty gin and whisky bottle with him to gigs and, whenever he was offered a drink, he would pour it into his empty bottles and, by Christmas, they would be full !!!!
Then, when our relatives had arrived, it would be time for the presents under the tree. I belonged to the Swimming Club and swam in galas { that's me on the right } and one of my best presents was the Swimming Club track suit. They were pretty expensive and I can remember being so excited to have it !!
Another year, my present was a leather netball { as you can see, I was in the netball team …. that's me, sitting on the grass on the left }
….. and, one of my favourite presents of all ….. my Jaco skates. I would play on these all day, all year, until the leather strap broke and then they would go on my Christmas list again.
Unlike today, we would only get one of these presents each year from our parents, along with a present from Aunts and Uncles and Grandmothers and Grandfathers, all of which were quite modest by today's standards.
I hope that we managed to make our own children's Christmases as magical as ours were because they are certainly up there as one of the best days of my life.
To read about others ' best days of their lives ' go and see Marsha { although, at the moment, she is having computer problems so, you might just have to read mine again !!!! }
image 1: via via zsa zsa bellagio, images 2 & 3: via the gifts of life, image 4: via etsy, images 5 & 6: via ME, image 7: via jacabug, image 8: via pinterest
