what yer got?

[Chas]

No Cruiser stuff, but I got chocolates, chocolates, a nice cashmere sweater, some marzipan fruits and some more chocolates.

 

[chapel gate]

Sounds like you've all had a good day.
happy Christmas!

 

[goodoldboy]

Nowt.as a practicing atheists I don't bother with Xmas , never had since my parents stopped forcing me to go to mass.Being sent to a Catholic school was great aversion therapy.The whole thing is just mass hysteria IMO.

 

[hamba]

Santa dropped this off which is very kind of him as it's something that I wanted for a while now and I would rather have it and not use then to not have it and need it.

 

[Shayne]

Nowt.as a practicing atheists I don't bother with Xmas , never had since my parents stopped forcing me to go to mass.Being sent to a Catholic school was great aversion therapy.The whole thing is just mass hysteria IMO.

If i was single i'd likely spend the day in a pub and buy a toastie for dinner , but its about the kids .

I had to get rather angry with my old fashioned farmers mentality uncle one time (he married a girl half his age) who felt it was good enough his kids had shoes on their feet , there was genuine remorse when i finally got through to him times have changed and he is making victims of his kids by refusing to buy them the brand names all their peers wear .

Sometimes there's no right or wrong just sad unavoidable truth .

I know what your saying though , i got caned in school once because i couldn't write about what presents i got and food i ate , my mum got battered on christmas eve , we spent the night hiding under a car and we were locked out of the house for the rest of the holidays . I can only imagine it upset the teacher and the headmasters sensibilities to be introduced to the real world

 

[Chas]

Santa dropped this off which is very kind of him as it's something that I wanted for a while now and I would rather have it and not use then to not have it and need it.


View attachment 152706

Have you tried using it yet? mine didn't work on an engine lump the size of my 80.

 

[Jake the Peg]

Bought myself a pressie ( perfect pressie how did I know lol )
Mavic 2 zoom drone ( get some different perspectives for the photos of the LC

Have you any pictures of Gatwick, was it you doing some practice flights last week trying to find your LC in the carpark?

 

[StarCruiser]

Couple of books (Ladybird book of ‘How it works- The Husband’) , smellies, choccies, rechargeable night light/torch, wine, towels and lots of thanks from Lynn cos’ I got her shoes
Oh and airbag helper springs for the back of the cruiser, a prezzie to myself.

 

[BobMurphy]

This year I made a point of 'seeding' the present pile by buying stuff for the family to give me (I've got enough M&S Sweatshirts & PJs). So the highlights were:

A "Thorspark" conversion kit to turn the MO1 Magneto on my 1958 Ariel 'VH' bike into an electronic ignition trigger for coil ignition thumbup: - I hate old mags).

Two 'Joe Bonamassa' CDs ('Redemption' & 'British Blues Explosion' - Chris will understand ).

A 'Classic Bike' calendar for the Study.

Then:

Heaps of sweets - despite me saying that I'm trying to lose weight. I guess I'll just have to eat them .

A new china teapot - to replace the distorted stainless jobbie that leaks all over the worksurface .

A woolly hat that says "I don't snore - I just dream I'm a Tractor" ( Ho Ho Ho).

This year, instead of the family coming to us (huge old Farmhouse) we had to go to younger daughter's place. Five adults, two over-excited children and two large dogs crammed into a modern house. I'm getting too old for that level of noise and mayhem. Thank God that's over.

Bob (AKA 'Grinch').

 

[Bob]

My mother, who has gone into crafts since her retirement a few years back, hand made our Christmas card this year. She knows I like 4x4s, but hasn't quite gotten around to distinguishing between brands yet!!

 

[TonyP]

Not Cruiser related, but still Damn fine drinking

 

[goodoldboy]

If i was single i'd likely spend the day in a pub and buy a toastie for dinner , but its about the kids .

I had to get rather angry with my old fashioned farmers mentality uncle one time (he married a girl half his age) who felt it was good enough his kids had shoes on their feet , there was genuine remorse when i finally got through to him times have changed and he is making victims of his kids by refusing to buy them the brand names all their peers wear .

Sometimes there's no right or wrong just sad unavoidable truth .

I know what your saying though , i got caned in school once because i couldn't write about what presents i got and food i ate , my mum got battered on christmas eve , we spent the night hiding under a car and we were locked out of the house for the rest of the holidays . I can only imagine it upset the teacher and the headmasters sensibilities to be introduced to the real world

When our kids were young we played lip service to Xmas so they wouldn't get bullied.I remember some Jehovah's witness kids at our school who were teased - fortunately for them one of them had a temper& was handy with his fists.I got cained for other crimes & I've never forgotten or forgiven the mindless cruelty handed out by the hypocritical sadists that posed as priests , nuns & teachers.As for the brand thing we found that Nike , Sketchers & Timberland lasted better , not so sure now.Rates of Domestic violence & suicide all spike at xmas not to mention debt , alcohol abuse etc .The pressure to conform to some impossible ideal is just too much for some.

 

[Paddler Ed]

When our kids were young we played lip service to Xmas so they wouldn't get bullied.I remember some Jehovah's witness kids at our school who were teased - fortunately for them one of them had a temper& was handy with his fists.I got cained for other crimes & I've never forgotten or forgiven the mindless cruelty handed out by the hypocritical sadists that posed as priests , nuns & teachers.As for the brand thing we found that Nike , Sketchers & Timberland lasted better , not so sure now.Rates of Domestic violence & suicide all spike at xmas not to mention debt , alcohol abuse etc .The pressure to conform to some impossible ideal is just too much for some.

We went to one of the wife's colleagues/friends place for Christmas yesterday - the kids there are 13, 11, 8?. They got lots of "stuff" but not much of any substance it seemed - perhaps not helped as the eldest 2 had birthdays earlier in December (I know that feeling, mine is in January). It was interesting to see what they did get - a mix of clothes and "stuff", as well as some toys/games.

I was thinking back to my childhood Christmases at the same ages - at 8 it would have been toys from either Lego or Playmobil, 11 I think I'd won £50 on the Premium Bonds that year, so that got put towards a Tamiya Falcon and at 13 it was probably related to either mountain biking in some way (be it a gadget, tools or similar) or OO gauge model railways. Oh, and the ubiquitous socks and jocks...

What I did decide though, is I'd really not like to be a child of those ages now - the confusion about fairness was interesting; these kids are at a school where it is a BYOD policy, so they tend to end up with something that is perceived as light and reliable (MacBooks). Youngest this year got a MacBook Air and that upset her older brother as he didn't get an Air, only a MacBook - the only reason she got an Air was it was the cheapest option, and therefore was probably about the same as his MacBook was.

 

[Towpack]

We stopped buying pressies for the adults in the family a few years ago and just now just treat the kids and usually just buy ourselves something if there’s anything we actually need or want. When I was a kid my parents had little spare money with the house furnished “on tick”, as was the case with many families back then but they always managed to surprise me come Christmas. Happy memories of hours spent with Meccano on the kitchen table or playing with my favourite Corgi/Dinky toys. When I reached a certain age and other interests took over I remember giving my Meccano sets to a neighbour who for their kids and within a few weeks, many parts had been lost and the rest chucked in the bin. Pissed me off big time that did. Wish Id still got them.

 

[hamba]

Have you tried using it yet? mine didn't work on an engine lump the size of my 80.

No I haven't and to be honest I don't really want get into that situation if I can help it.
I would like to think it should be enough to help a 150, it's not as big as a 80.

 

[Shayne]

My standard response as a kid when asked what i want was "nothing , i don't need anything" so i'd get some token junk . The Elvis biography i got one year certainly gave me pause for thought though "who does she think i am?" , it came in handy though coz it stayed brand new so i gave it to someone for a birthday present

The best present i ever got , perhaps because i felt thought went into it was my last , or at least it marked the end of my childhood , was a Bruce Springsteen Born in the USA album , brand new it wasn't even in the shops for sale !?! , my sister spoiled the illusion somewhat by saying it was her idea but hey .

Our dad sent us a card once , in mine was a badge and my sis got a necklace which my memory struggles to associate with tuppence machines outside arcades that gave you an egg with a cheap plastic gift inside ? I recognized it instantly as an insult to our mother , sadly not before my sister caught my "shut it" glance and started cooing in front of mum . I made amends by throwing mine in the fire .

When grandkids came along i had a long chat with my stepkids explaining how they can sell the value of Christmas by over doing it with 10 presents that don't really matter when one that does matter means so much more . It was good to see a 5 year old reflecting on how kind Santa is - given he hasn't been a good boy all the time

 

[Rob Cowell]

No I haven't and to be honest I don't really want get into that situation if I can help it.
I would like to think it should be enough to help a 150, it's not as big as a 80.

Mine certainly starts my 120 when it's pretty dead. And did neighbour's Navara last week. He's impressed enough to have ordered one.

 

[Rob Cowell]

I got some decent thermal leggings. Just the boy when laying under a Land Cruiser in the winter. Although been out fencing today (as in stopping sheep getting out, not attacking a fella with an epee) and was in a polo shirt it's so mild. And a Go-Pro so my kids can relive my last moments next time I come off my mountain bike.

 

[chapel gate]

Nowt.as a practicing atheists I don't bother with Xmas , never had since my parents stopped forcing me to go to mass.Being sent to a Catholic school was great aversion therapy.The whole thing is just mass hysteria IMO.

I completely agree about the commercial side, I don't give two hoots about Christmas tbh. I would often find myself sneaking into the workshop come christmas day afternoon out of boredom, as everyone else was falling asleep holding there bellies in front of only fools and horses repeats..
just because Christmas has lost its magic for me though, I certainly wont be denying my little lad the excitement I used to enjoy at his age.
its also a big thing for Em. not because of the material things, but because she has a lot of family abroad and its often the only chance she gets to see them.

Couple of books (Ladybird book of ‘How it works- The Husband’) , smellies, choccies, rechargeable night light/torch, wine, towels and lots of thanks from Lynn cos’ I got her shoes
Oh and airbag helper springs for the back of the cruiser, a prezzie to myself.

can I borrow that book when your done rich..

We stopped buying pressies for the adults in the family a few years ago and just now just treat the kids and usually just buy ourselves something if there’s anything we actually need or want. When I was a kid my parents had little spare money with the house furnished “on tick”, as was the case with many families back then but they always managed to surprise me come Christmas. Happy memories of hours spent with Meccano on the kitchen table or playing with my favourite Corgi/Dinky toys. When I reached a certain age and other interests took over I remember giving my Meccano sets to a neighbour who for their kids and within a few weeks, many parts had been lost and the rest chucked in the bin. Pissed me off big time that did. Wish Id still got them.

we were the same, im one of four and dad was on a mechanics wage so money was tight. mother had a clever system. do you remember the catalogues? gratten, empire etc. we used to look through the toys section and put our initial by the toys we liked. father Christmas would look through it at his discretion and do his best.. she would obviously order from the catalogue and pay it back monthly.

 

[Gary820]

The wife and myself don't exchange gifts but it's the kids who we make it great for, they don't get a fortune spent on them but get things they've asked for, eldest 8 doesn't ask for much and the youngest 3 is happy with a new toy.

I've never been a big Xmas fan and the wife loves Xmas.

We've had friends round today who are like family, the in laws are round tomorrow and we've had a great few days as a family, played games, set toys up and ate far too much.


This had been the boy's favourite toy, a crane taller then him, electric controls and even better £10!

I set it up with his other diggers etc he has, his face was priceless