Tag Archives: Christmas

Christmas, Special Occasions

History of the Christmas Charts

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The official charts began in 1952, but the contest for having the Christmas number one began in 1973 when Slade and Wizzard both released festive songs, which Slade won with Merry Xmas Everybody and Wizzard’s, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday reaching number four in the charts.

Between 2002 and 2014, the top spot at Christmas was dominated by reality singing competitions: Popstars: The Rivals and The X Factor. This trend was interrupted in 2009 by a Facebook campaign to prevent Joe McElderry, X Factor winner, from reaching number one, where people were urged to download Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine.

More recently, non-traditional acts releasing novelty songs have been successful, most notably YouTubers LadBaby, who raised money for the Trussell Trust.

The Beatles are the only group to have had four number ones, Paul McCartney has been at the top of the charts eight times with various acts. Cliff Richard has spent four Christmases at number one; two as a solo act, one with The Shadows and one as part of Band Aid II. The Spice Girls have had three consecutive number one, with Melanie C having a fourth with The Justice Collective. YouTubers Ladbaby have had three consecutive number ones.

Bohemium Rhapsody has reached the top twice at Christmas and Mary’s Boy Child the only song to have reached number one by two different artists. Do They Know It’s Christmas has been Christmas number one for three generations of Band Aid.

1952Al MartinoHere In My Heart
1953Frankie LaineAnswer Me
1954Winifred AtwellLet’s Have Another Party
1955Dickie ValentineChristmas Alphabet
1956Johnnie RayJust Walkin’ In The Rain
1957Harry BelafonteMary’s Boy Child
1958Conway TwittyIt’s Only Make Believe
1959Emile Ford & The CheckmatesWhat Do You Want To Make Those Eyes At Me For
1960Cliff Richard & The ShadowsI Love You
1961Danny WilliamsMoon River
1962Elvis PresleyReturn To Sender
1963The BeatlesI Want To Hold Your Hand
1964The BeatlesI Feel Fine
1965The Beatles Day Tripper / We Can Work It Out
1966Tom JonesThe Green Grass Of Home
1967The BeatlesHello Goodbye
1968ScaffoldLily The Pink
1969Rolf HarrisTwo Little Boys
1970Dave EdmundsI Hear You Knockin’
1971Benny HillErnie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)
1972Little Jimmy OsmondLong Haired Lover From Liverpool
1973SladeMerry Xmas Everybody
1974MudLonely This Christmas
1975QueenBohemian Rhapsody
1976Johnny MathisWhen A Child Is Born
1977WingsMull Of Kintyre / Girls’ School
1978Boney MMary’s Boy Child – Oh My Lord
1979Pink FloydAnother Brick In The Wall
1980St Winifred’s School ChoirThere’s No One Quite Like Grandma
1981The Human LeagueDon’t You Want Me
1982Renee & RenatoSave Your Love
1983The Flying PicketsOnly You
1984Band AidDo They Know It’s Christmas?
1985Shakin’ StevensMerry Christmas Everyone
1986Jackie WilsonReet Petite
1987The Pet Shop BoysAlways On My Mind
1988Cliff Richard Mistletoe & Wine
1989Band Aid IIDo They Know It’s Christmas?
1990Cliff RichardSaviours’ Day
1991QueenBohemian Rhapsody / These Are The Days Of Our Lives
1992Whitney HoustonI Will Always Love You
1993Mr BlobbyMr Blobby
1994East 17Stay Another Day
1995Michael JacksonEarth Song
1996Spice Girls2 Become 1
1997Spice Girls Too Much
1998Spice GirlsGoodbye
1999Westlife I Have A Dream / Seasons In The Sun
2000Bob The BuilderCan We Fix It?
2001Robbie Williams & Nicole KidmanSomethin’ Stupid
2002Girls AloudSound Of The Underground
2003Michael Andrews featuring Gary JulesMad World
2004Band Aid 20Do They Know It’s Christmas?
2005Shayne Ward That’s My Goal
2006Leona LewisA Moment Like This
2007Leon JacksonWhen You Believe
2008Alexandra BurkeHallelujah
2009Rage Against The Machine Killing In The Name
2010Matt CardleWhen We Collide
2011Military Wives with Gareth MaloneWherever You Are
2012The Justice Collective He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother
2013Sam BaileySkyscraper
2014Ben HaenowSomething I Need
2015The Lewisham & Greenwich NHS ChoirA Bridge Over You
2016Clean BanditRockabye
2017Ed SheeranPerfect
2018LadbabyWe Built This City
2019LadbabyI Love Sausage Rolls
2020LadbabyDon’t Stop Me Eatin’

Christmas, Days Out, Reviews

Bournemouth Christmas Tree Wonderland

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Price:

Free

Amount of time spent there:

We were there for about an hour and a half.

Suggested Christmas Tree Trail

My Review:

We try and do something each year to celebrate the holiday season. For a few years we went to the London Palladium to watch the pantomime and then walk around London to see the Christmas lights, another year we went to Longleat Festival of Lights, but due to Covid, obviously last year we didn’t do anything. So this year, we decided to go to Bournemouth, which is about a 45 minute drive from us and we took our daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren to the Christmas Tree Wonderland.

We arrived at Bournemouth at about 6:15 PM, after inexplicably getting lost, even though we’ve driven to Bournemouth numerous times! The first stop was to get some fish and chips and where better to go than Harry Ramsden’s. We had a lovely meal there, the batter really is very light and tasty!

So then it was time to wander through the Christmas Tree Wonderland…

There were an array of different lighted up Christmas trees, with a few other displays as well including a reindeer, polar bear and, of course, the main man himself, Father Christmas.

We walked around the park, it was lovely to see Harry’s face as he saw each Christmas tree, he’s nearly three, so just beginning to understand what happens this time of year. He loved the bright lights and excitedly ran from one display to the next.

At the end of the park, we came across an ice rink and we stopped to watch the would-be Torvill and Deans, skating around a fairly huge ice rink. There was the usual people hanging onto the sides, gingerly making their way around the rink, and I have to say, that would be me, skating is definitely not my thing!

View of the ice rink

You need to pre-book the ice rink, there are sessions of an hour each, from 10:30 AM until 20:30 PM throughout the day and prices are:

ADULT -£12.50 CHILD – £10.50 SENIOR CITIZEN – £11.50 and FAMILY – £41.00

A quick look around the stands in the city centre, which were mainly food outlets and we headed back into the park to walk along the back path where there were even more displays to see.

Gingerbread men, one of Harry’s favourite biscuits!

One last stop at the Carousel, it cost £3 per person, but it seemed to go round forever. Harry chose his horse and held on tight!

Gee up Neddy or Coleen!

We were very impressed with Bournemouth’s light display, it must have cost the council a lot of money to stage this and for it all to be free as well is wonderful.

Gift Ideas for Special Occasions, Special Occasions

Unusual Christmas Presents

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It is the season to be jolly,
Time to spend cash and lots of lolly,
Here's a few gifts big and small,
For the person who has it all.

Toilet Seat Scale

The toilet seat scale that tells you how much weight is lost after you take a dump!!   Not available in the shops yet but I’m sure it will be before Christmas.

toilet-seat-scale

Gentleman’s Ball Scratcher

This is from MenKind and costs £13. Described as for the man who has everything, in the shape of a delicate female hand for those hard to reach places. Useful information is that it is dishwasher safe and has a stain resistant surface….

ball-scratcher

USB Toast Hand-Warmers

Available to buy from Keeto– cost approximately £14.    Keep your hands toasty and warm at your desk with a pair of hand warmers. Especially handy for when you are typing outside??

usb-toast-hand-warmers

7 foot long Gummy Snake

The Party Python weighs nearly 27 pounds, over 36,000 calories and is very, very long. It’s available in two flavour combinations: red cherry – blue raspberry and raspberry – green apple and it is gluten free!   You can order this from VAT 19 online shop and costs around £140.

gift-huge-candy

Chocolate Brussel Sprouts

Everyone will eat these Brussel sprouts – they cost £2.99 from Amazon – reminds me of that joke …. What’s the difference between a Brussels sprout and a bogey? Children will eat a bogey. Thank you!!

chocolate-brussel-sprouts
I hope this may have helped a bit,
To find that someone their special gift,
Now you can relax and unwind,
And have a lovely Christmas time.