New Years Traditions...

As we prepare to welcome in the new year, we thought it would be nice to remember a few of the traditions in Britain around this time of year.

A very old custom called 'first footing' is still practised and believed by some. It is believed that the first male visitor to your house on New Year's day will bring good luck with them.

Blondes, red heads and women are not allowed to be the person who sets foot in the house first as they are apparently supposed to be bad luck! The male visitor will usually bring some money (yes please!), bread or coal with them as these are considered to be particularly auspicious gifts.

Clear out the post Christmas clutter!

Apparently, Christmas results in around 3 million tonnes of waste in the UK and most of that will end up in landfill sites. If you're anything like me your house will be full to the brim of toys - the new toys have just been piled on top of the old toys that never get played with anymore, there are boxes, wrapping paper and all sorts of other packaging to sort out not to mention the Christmas tree and all the decorations that need to be taken down!

When you're looking at it now in the chaotic aftermath of Christmas it can feel a bit overwhelming so here are some top tips to help you cope with it all!

Festive fun?

Well here we are on the other side of Christmas!

I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends and that you didn't eat quite as much as I did! It was impossible to resist all the fantastic home made mince pies, Christmas pudding, stuffing and all the rest of the festive foods that were doing the rounds... not to mention the Baileys Coffee liqueur! I should think I'll be putting "diet" at the top of the New Years resolutions list in a few days time!

Twas the night before Christmas

Well... it's Christmas Eve and the children should be tucked up in bed by now dreaming of the magic that tomorrow will bring.

As a fellow parent I just wanted to say that I hope tomorrow is just as magical for you too. Don't forget to take the time to drink in those precious memories, the looks on your child's face as they unwrap their presents, the smiles around the table as the family share Christmas Dinner... it's all too easy to get wrapped up in preparing and serving the food and tidying up after the children all day so make sure you relax at some point too and take it all in!

I'd like to share with you the classic poem The Night Before Christmas because it sums up Christmas Eve in such a beautiful way... I have vivid memories of listening to this on my grandmothers record player as a child. I hope it brings back some wonderful memories for you too:

Thank you Message from all of us here at When I was a Kid

Well, it is Christmas week and I'm sure your household is already bustling with the anticipation of all the magic that's to come this weekend!

The stockings are hung, Christmas Trees will be piled high with presents from friends and family - all bought or made with the intention of making the people they love smile, lights are twinkling, tinsel, holly and mistletoe hang from door frames and ceilings everywhere and we've even got snow in many parts of the country too!

All in all, we look set for a lovely festive period.

Christmas is a great time to look back over the year and to take stock of all your blessings in life, so all of us here at When I Was a Kid wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and custom over the past 12 months. We love running WIWAK and one of the best parts about it is getting to know our customers. There are many of you who come back again and again and we are very grateful for your loyalty so we put together this video to say thank you.

We have a winner!

Millions of people were glued to their televisions last night to find of which of the three remaining acts would become the winner of the X Factor 2010!

After Simon Cowell lost his final act, One Direction at the last hurdle the tension was palpable as it dawned on us all that it had come down to Rebecca Ferguson and Matt Cardle – the two vocalists (and favourites) who had stood out as world class acts from the moment they first auditioned.

As they sang their final songs it struck me again how genuine and down to earth these two come across. Although styled for the show there is very little of the unapproachable / impossibly perfect / unobtainable image that so many celebrities of today have. These are two “real people” with real talent who seem to wear their hearts on their sleeves.

Giving the UK's most disadvantaged children something to smile about this Christmas

"When I was a Kid" are very proud to announce that we have teamed up with Cash for Kids this year to help make sure that some of the most disadvantaged children in the UK will have something to smile about on Christmas morning 2010.

'Cash for Kids' is the umbrella brand for Bauer Radio’s network of independently registered, local charities which operate across 20 local areas within the UK. Each local ‘Cash for Kids’ brand is established to channel the caring of the local community into the welfare of their own youngsters by delivering initiatives for sick and underprivileged children in those communities, to benefit local children and give the neediest a better and brighter future.

On Thursday this week we went along to Manchester to the star studded Cash for Kids launch event attended by the employees of 45 companies who battled their way through the wind and rain to be there to show their support.

We watched the heartbreaking stories of children right on our doorstep here in the UK who have never received a birthday or Christmas present and who have suffered all sorts of horrible things in their young lives.

This year Cash for Kids will receive 30,000 requests for toys on behalf of children who can only dream about receiving a present on Christmas Day... and they hope that they might be able to fulfil 10,000 of them. That means 20,000 of those children who are out there right now wishing with all their hearts that they'll receive something on Christmas Day will most likely be disappointed.

If you would like to help put a smile on a child's face this Christmas visit the Cash for Kids page on our website for a way to make your money go as far as possible.

When you spend £10 or more with us, we will pay 20% of the bill so that you can give a child a little bit more...

For example, if you were to buy a Classic Tin Humming Top which would normally cost £11,50, you will only pay £9.20 which would leave you with an additional £2,30 to buy a Whoopee Cushion and a Wooden Yoyo too and you will still have spent 5p less than you originally planned to!

While we are preparing the perfect Christmas Day for our own families, let's spare a thought for these little ones and do all we can do make sure as many of them as possible have something to smile about this Christmas.

You know you're a child of the 70's if...

The most incredible special effects you ever saw in a film were those in the film "Tron" and nothing else will ever come close to that for you. Ever.

Bert and Ernie are two of your all time favourite television characters and you feel so connected to them both that they could almost be considered family in your house!

You remember a time when wearing leg warmers was considered the height of fashion!

You were unfortunate enough to learn how to swim at around the same time as the film "Jaws" was released and you still shudder a little bit whenever you get in the water as a result!

You remember having to get off the sofa to turn the television channel over from the Brady Bunch to the adventures of the Bionic Man, Wonder Woman or The Incredible Hulk... oh and let's not forget Mork and Mindy! Nanoo nanoo! Lastly you know you're a child of the 70's if you know all the words to the musical "Grease" off by heart! A well a well a well a - Huh!

You know you are a child of the 90's if...

Your sister owned all sorts of different coloured scrunchies, wore waistcoats, a mood ring, a Swatch Pop watch, stick on earrings and dreamt about going to a Smash Hits concert.

She thought she was in love with one of the “New Kids on the Block” and she knew all the moves to the Macarena and also to MC Hammers “Can’t Touch This” which she'd practice with a large group of her friends after school and at every given moment in front of a mirror or large window.
Your brother used to sport oversized plastic dummies around his neck... and thought he looked seriously cool while he played "Mortal Kombat".

You used to go to roller discos before rollerblades were even invented. You used to make compilation tapes for all your friends... and at least one of them will feature the songs “Rhythm is a Dancer”, "Ice, Ice Baby" and “What is Love”.

You remember when everyone went slinky crazy.

The words "Talk to the hand ... enough said" - actually means something to you.
Oh and one word “Baywatch” - if you were a girl you wished you were one of the female characters and if you were a boy you didn't even notice that there were any male ones!

Sweet things...

What sort of sweets do you remember from your childhood? Here are some of the ones that are considered “retro” today – please pop us an email if you can think of any others!

· Love Hearts – the classic sweets with love notes on them

· Sherbet – you either love it or you hate it!

· Rainbow Drops – a bit like tiny rice krispies in very bright colours!

· Double Dip – fizzy stuff in two flavours with a swizzle stick to dip in them

· Fruity Pop – the lollies wrapped in “fruit” wrappers like strawberries etc... remember those?

· Refresher – chewy fizzy lemon bars

· Drumstick – raspberry and milk flavour chewy lollies!

· Parma violets – those tiny little lavender flavoured pill sized sweets in a finger roll

· Fizzers – the Parma violets more popular sibling... the famous fizzy roll

· Double lollies – the UK’s oldest lolly brand

Which ones have we missed?