Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

I heard it was crazy when the cabbage patches got released.

I think my mum got me one from the local market in Milton Keynes (no questions asked).

I remember it’s birth certificate said Miranda. I don’t have the doll anymore but I think I kept the birth certificate somewhere in a box back in the UK

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

Thankfully there was nothing at all like that line-up when I went to the downtown Bay all those years ago.

The toy floor was quite empty

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

Not only at Christmas but all year long i miss the UK's exotic cuisine!!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-takeaway.html

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

I did the same thing for my Son in 1998. I queued up for hours outside a bloody toy shop one Christmas to get the last few remaining Teletubbies.

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

There was them and then tamagotchis one year and furbies another

I don’t remember any of the others during the 90s

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

1996 was the year of tickle me elmo, appears to also been craze in Canada, with a Wal-Mart even being sent to hospital after being trampled.

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

I hunted high and low for a Sinclair Spectrum+2 007 action pack - I had to buy it on the 'never never' but the look on his face was worth it!

He's still got it and the original box - apparently worth around £350 now with all the magazines and extra games he has for it, lol. https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/game...07-action-pack

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...aa2c89610a.jpg

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

The Christmas ads, I don't really remember but the 'big production' ones of recent years are all on line anyway.
A few years ago I found a series of pantos that had been on ITV so I had my fill there. Youtube probably but some other streaming site maybe. They were good fun. I reckon I posted about it here.
Yer tis https://britishexpats.com/forum/mapl.../#post12132645
Bah humbug. Worst night of the year for the pub, along with new year's eve. Pub absolutely jampacked. Where I lived there were four pubs all just a few minutes apart and a lot of people would go from one to another, meaning there was a shortage of glasses due to people having one drink and disappearing.
You could barely move; lose a lot of your pint jostling your way back to your seat (if you were lucky) or where you were standing; constantly jostled; people bloody singing; and silly string everywhere...even in your pint. :frown:

Once I got fed up of the pub, I used to go to my mum's. She'd go out to her friends and once I'd wrapped her presents for her grandkids, I had a lovely evening with my whisky and 7up, dry roasted nuts, watching TV of my choice - because it was good in those days - in peace. Making up for the bedlam to come. :lol:


I have just remembered something I used to enjoy that can't be replicated here.

There was a travel company (based at Weston super mare) t hat used to run "shoppers" coaches up to London from Bristol for a fraction of the cost of the train and about the same travel time. Get off at Harrods, get a few things in there and enjoy the food hall. Depending on weather take in a park, Covent Garden, Piccadilly Circus, Liberty, Hamleys toy store, Sports fanzine store - can't recall the name, Charing Cross Rd maybe. Regent St and finally Oxford St calling at the Virgin/HMV megastores for stuff you just didn't see in Bristol.

Get the coach back from Hyde Park/Marble Arch. It was always dark late afternoon to take in the lights.

The only bad part was getting out of London but you could miss a bit of traffic if you got the last coach. But a 12 hour day was that bit too long.

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

Buying 3 or 4 broadsheet newspapers to see me over a few days with the various quizzes and things. :thumbup:

Re: What do you miss about Christmas from homeland?
 

Bumper Xmas editions of Radio Times and TV Times - for 2 weeks I was in heaven in a 3 channel world.

The winter Argos catalogue came a close second....