Christmas excitment

Ok I know I keep going on about Christmas, but I have to admit I am like a little kid when it comes to this time of year. In fact according to my family I am WORSE than a child, every year getting up way way before the children were ever awake to get them to look in their stockings. I guess I was lucky, my parents always made it so special, even though often we were living hand to mouth there was always a huge pile of pressies under the tree, special treats in the way of food and drink and a brilliant brilliant family atmosphere. I want to remember, record those memories and my scrapping speed is not a match for the speed that my memory is failing so this blog seems a great place to record until I can get the stories and photos on a LO.
So my christmas as a kid? Well as I said, we never had much money, people were paid weekly in cash in those days (hard to beleive now in the land of plastic credit cards and easy debt) but often my parents got to the day before payday and we were living on eggs alone. I have a big extended family, my dad is one of seven and they have all married and had children so alot of cousins. Then living in Kent September was spent out in the hop fields earning some extra dosh which meant (for us kids) we met and aquired lots of extra 'aunts' who would give us christmas presents too. I don't really know how my mum managed to afford presents for all those she had to buy for but she did. I can remember helping her wrap and tick off the very long list, checking several times that no one had been missed.
There were always ways to save a few pennies though. Maybe thats where my love of papercrafts started? When dad came home with our packet each of pre-gummed paper strips to make the paper chains? When mum went out looking for the perfect tree twig to paint white and use to hold little ornaments made from silver paper? My Grandad worked for Bowaters, the paper mill and would get some of that white core silver and gold card to make into decorations. Then there were the traditional snowflakes cut from sheets of paper, the silver paper bells made by fashioning the paper over your finger, pine cones sprayed with silver paint, tags cut from last year's christmas cards. It seems that for days our table would be covered with glue, paper, card (much like mine now I suppose LOL)