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The Christmas You'd Forgotten: The Toys, Telly, Traditions and Treats That Made a British Christmas
Paperback
Series: The Britain You'd Forgotten
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 13 2026
Pages: 152
Weight: 0.42
Height: 0.38 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Open this book and your old Christmas comes rushing back.
Remember when Christmas seemed to begin weeks before the big day? When the toy pages of the catalogue were studied like treasure maps, Woolworths was full of tinsel and selection boxes, the Christmas Radio Times had to be checked with a pen, and a blank VHS was waiting for the programme nobody wanted to miss?
The Christmas You'd Forgotten is a warm, funny and richly researched journey through British Christmas nostalgia from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. It follows the whole festive season, from the first lights over the high street and the last chaotic week of school to Christmas morning, Boxing Day and that strange stretch before New Year when nobody was quite sure what day it was.
Across 70 chapters are the toys we begged for; catalogues and must-have crazes; Woolworths, Argos, Boots and WHSmith; tinsel, foil decorations and multicoloured fairy lights; school nativities and Christmas dinners; the Christmas Radio Times, big festive films, Top of the Pops and VHS recordings; selection boxes, giant tins of sweets, mince pies, Viennetta and the drinks trolley; board games, crackers, paper hats, stockings, batteries not included, family visits, pantomimes and Boxing Day football.
But this is more than a collection of retro memories. Lee Brickley digs into the surprising social history behind the traditions: why they became part of British Christmas, how shops, television, technology and family life changed them, and why such ordinary things can still bring an entire December flooding back.
Perfect for anyone who grew up in Britain in the 70s, 80s, 90s or early 2000s, and for readers who love British nostalgia, social history, childhood memories and Christmas traditions.
Whether you're choosing a nostalgic Christmas gift for a parent, partner, sibling or friend, or simply want something warm and absorbing to read for yourself over the festive season, this is a book made to be passed around, talked about and interrupted by the words:
I'd completely forgotten about that.
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