My Gran's Christmas Cupboard

My nana hoarded marzipan fruits which were very realistic, and Newberry Fruits. I think she must have had a couple every day in January, I can’t remember them being opened when we were there. She made her own sweets for us, feeding her favourites would have been as she put it like feeding a donkey strawberries.

Sadly I never had Grandparents, however my mum was the most amazing loving GM to my children. Now it's my turn! I hope I am creating lovely warm memories for my GC. Memories they will remember with a cosy glow when I am gone !

Homemade sweets! How lovely Casdon. Marzipan too and those orange and lemon slices, dates and toffee in a tray with a hammer and all proudly displayed on the sideboard surrounding a huge fruit bowl. And nuts oh so many nuts!

Shelflife, I'm sure you will love those cosy times as much as they do, what about starting a few Nanny Shelflife Christmas traditions? Those homemade Christmas sweets of Casdon,s childhood sound lovely x

We had homemade peppermint creams, fudge and rum balls (rum flavouring not actual rum) keepcalmandcavachon, but we were only allowed to admire the marzipan fruits!

I remember those wonderful treats so well we only really had them at Christmas. My parents struggled money wise they went into debt to give us treats at Christmas. It was such a special time and all the goodies were appreciated.
My gran always had a table full of fruit cakes and mince pies she had made in her tiny kitchen. When we all arrived we would get a cuppa and cake it was lovely in front of her coal fire.

A sip of Advocaat or Babycham from my gran’s ‘cocktail cabinet’ (just a cupboard really), and a cherry on a glass cocktail stick. The special glasses, drinks and cocktail sticks mysteriously disappeared after each Christmas and didn’t see the light of day for a year. I asked for the cocktail sticks after she died forty years ago and still have them. Happy days!

My mum spent an afternoon in early December making marzipan fruits with her five GCs. Strange looking fruit some were but put proudly on the table on Christmas Day

Casdon

We had homemade peppermint creams, fudge and rum balls (rum flavouring not actual rum) keepcalmandcavachon, but we were only allowed to admire the marzipan fruits!

Homemade peppermint creams - oh wow, yummy.

My mum used to hide Christmas food treats all over the place as we four naughty kids would have been highly tempted! I always remember the tins of Ye Olde York Ham we only got at Christmas. Happy days 😊

I loved Batgers Chinese Figs! In an octagonal red and black box.
Sadly I don’t think you can get them any more…

Turkish delight , fruit cake in a tin , Tunis cake . Yes to orange & lemon slices , sugar mice from my grandmother.
Cracking nuts around the fire and my legs getting mottled due to the heat !

I don’t remember a single treat my grandmother ever gave me, she wasn’t a nice woman. She gave me two foam covered coat hangers once for Christmas. But my mother bought all sorts of lovely things, all the sweet treats mentioned!

In my family, we enjoyed a box of dates with stones in them - lovely and sticky

It’s a good idea to slowly build up a Christmas food stash, I may start one soon, dates and nuts, a box of luxury biccies, and mince pies, which I may have to sample early to make sure they’re any good.☺️

I don't remember my grandparents but at Christmas there was always a bottle of Emva Cream Sherry in the sideboard at our house along with a bottle of Warninck's Advocaat.
Newberry Fruits, orange and lemon slices, Tunisian dates and nuts to crack.
Black Magic chocolates for Mum but we were allowed some too.

My mum always started a Christmas box in October. Each week she would extra of staple food, sugar, tea, flour etc and as it got nearer Christmas she wouldn't have to buy those things and the money was used to buy the special edible treats instead.

My mum had her Christmas cupboard where she would put a special treat each week from October onwards. It was locked so we children weren't tempted to raid it.

My grans hidden stacks for Christmas included rum butter for the pudding ,home made pudding and Christmas cake fed with Navy rum,also Grasmere gingerbread. Cumberland sauce and a big joint of ham that seemed to boil all day.
One also made her own wine that tasted like port from a reedy plant she called a Burnett we helped her pick them in the late summer. Crab apple jelly,pickled onions and pickled red cabbage all to accompany the Christmas roast and cold ham.
Then like others the Newberry fruits,boxes of dates with a fork sugared orange and lemon slices and a special Irish brand of chocolate Brazil nuts.Also non alcholic wine for the children they called raisin wine that they seemed to buy from the chemist.
My mums was much the same only the spare bedroom was full of Christmas cakes that she made and decorated for all the extended family, I hate the smell and taste of Christmas cake I think because it permeated the house from October onwards.

This is such a lovely comforting thread. Many of the treats mentioned, my mum would buy. Wow betide us if we opened them!

I never knew my gradparents, all dead before I was borm. Mum used to squirrel stuff away and had a christmas savings account at the co-op, which guaranteed that she could afford nice food

I was the one who had the christmas cupboard, I remember making sugar mice

I don't remember a gradual accumulation of Christmas things at all.
I do remember the quantity of everything seemed enormous though.

My G'ma used to ask my Mum to look after the Christmas chocolates as she would be too tempted if they were in her house.
Of course we weren't tempted at all and never ever had to buy a replacement box (or sometimes two) in a hurry !!! can I uncross my fingers now?

Yes I lived with my grandparents and remember all these traditional goodies. Not much of a treat for me as I don’t like most of them especially the dates, mince pies, fruit cakes and jellies. We only buy a few things such as chocolates and a big tin of biscuits. If our grandchildren are with us they prefer crisps, olives, nuts and salami! There’s no stocking up for me. I just buy everything a few days beforehand, having put money aside since the Summer.