Mine was being brought up in England in the 70's, three day week, bread and gas rationing amongst others, my Grandad Pop as he was known came to live with us, and started a Garden for the UK it was huge, he provided our food for may months of the year and he gave me and my Brother a small patch each, I loved it and my mum had to ask my permission to to use my veggies! and very often I would insist she cooked them separatly so I could Have "mine" i'm sure she never did, but she told me she did she could get away with this I was always outside with pop and I was happy, my grandad being in the garden was a constant sorce of delight, he was a country man of few words but lot of love, my dad managed to find him a pre-used greenhouse and when I returned from school he would always be there or the garden. I have 2 things that really stand out and the first was if I injuried myself and draw blood, no Plaster (bandaid) for me! I was draged out to the watering can, the wound bled then washed in it! it was normal for me, I remember as I got used to it just taking myself off and doing it, never got an infection, the second was my dad and grandad trying to pull out the root of an apple tree that had died, in my mind its was months of digging, but probably a few weekends, it was massive but they succeeded! the celebration,(maybe it was months!) my dad and pop made us all come out to watch the final haul, they where dancing around and hugging anyone and anything, it was such a happy day, actually righting this has brought tears to my eyes, as neither are with me now, anyway it meant we had another huge area to plant, I bet I was the best fed child for miles around.

I really had never thought about it before reading this thread, but I have no happy memories of childhood Christmases. Kind of makes me feel like a Grinch for saying so, too. But what so many of you have mentioned as adding to the enjoyment of the holiday, I guess we just didn't have. Money was no problem, but my parents were not social and we didn't have family or guests to share the day; Christmas dinner was a big production for my mother to prepare and it was clear she didn't enjoy it, and as a picky eater, I didn't enjoy it either. I had nobody to have fun with as my sibling and I did not get along well and weren't interested in the same activities or toys,etc. When I was in my teens, mother remarried and all of the above went from bad to worse. Luckily, once I had my own children I was able to create happy memories with and for them. My kids have many happy holiday memories and share them often. I know it would make my parents very sad to think that I don't have happy holiday memories and that's what makes me feel Grinchy for saying I don't.

There are no more 'weirdos' today than ever, but I think neighborhoods as I knew them are pretty rare. Nobody is'at home' with an eye out for 'everybody's kids', much less do they know the children or their parents. Kids are indoors, not out where they would meet friends and neighbors. DH and I are mid-70's. We each had free run of our (separate) suburban neighborhoods. It gave us a wonderfully expanded life beyond whatever was going on at home. We are both 'only children' as well. We walked or biked to school, came home for an HOUR for lunch, went back to school, came home after school. In truly bad weather, someone's mother would drive. I had morning and afternoon recess in grammar school. All this exercise was a blessing to our teachers and calming for us -- especially the 'relief valve' of an hour at home at noon. Neither of us had perfect childhoods, but our expanded world of playmates and neighbors was wonderful. My best first friend lived across the street. The girl next door walked me to school when I started kindergarten. Nobody's doors were locked. All the kids were welcome to come and go -- and 'go' -- in one another's homes. We never thought about how lucky we were, but we were! Good memories.

yoyobon, pretty similar. Here is our recipe: MAMA'S JAM CAKE 1-1/2 c. shortening 1 c. sugar 6 eggs 4-/2 c. all-purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 2 tsp. soda 2 tsp. cinnamon 2 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. cloves 1 tsp. allspice 1 c. sour milk (I use buttermilk) 1 c. raisins 1 c. chopped pecans 2 c. blackberry jam Heat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour three 9-inch cake pans. Cream shortening and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together and add to batter alternately with milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Dredge raisins and nuts with a small amount of flour and mix well. Stir in the jam. Bake for 30-40 minutes until cake tests done. Frost with Caramel Icing. My mother used home canned blackberry jam so there was more liquid than in jars from the store, and I think her cakes were probably more moist than mine. I've debated about using a little more milk but haven't had the nerve to try.