Vintage pictures show what Christmas was REALLY like in the UK and other countries

Magical moments from past festivities

Ever wondered how people celebrated Christmas 100 years ago? From Victorian trees and turkey dinners to humble family photos and fabulous festivities, these vintage photos will make you nostalgic for Christmases past.

Discover vintage Christmas images of holiday celebrations through the decades... 

1870s: a Victorian Christmas scene

So many festive traditions date back to the Victorian period, particularly the Christmas tree. Queen Victoria mentioned having Christmas trees in the drawing room in her diaries as early as 1832 thanks to her German-born mother, Charlotte, who brought the tradition with her to the UK from her German homeland.

Decorating a fir tree really took off in the 1840s, when an engraving of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and the young royal family festooning their tree became an incredibly popular picture in England.

1890s: Santa Baby!

At first glance, this Santa could be from any Christmas past. Instantly recognisable in his red and white outfit as he busily stuffs stockings with toys, he’s just as familiar today as ever. But look more closely, and you’ll see he’s actually of a different time. There’s no smart tech inside this Santa’s sack!

That’s because the image dates to the late 19th century. It’s a colourised stereoscopic photo, which appears in 3D when viewed through special binoculars. Vintage virtual reality!

1890s: a German market

This antique engraved print shows a glimpse of Christmas in 1893. It shows Germans from all walks of life perusing a Christmas tree market in Augustusplatz, the largest square in Leipzig.

The tradition of bringing a tree inside the home and decorating it during the darkest months is said to have started in Germany at least as far back as 1550. By the 19th century, the custom had spread far and wide – with a little help from German royalty, of course.

1890s: Victorian family portrait

If you’ve ever prodded your folks into posing next to the Christmas tree for a quick selfie: this is the Victorian version. It displays all the psychodrama of modern family festivities: fed-up kids, a distracted dad, a grumpy teenager and a mother grimly determined that everyone has a good time. Then there’s the dramatic older sister, reclining on the floor.

Dating to 1895, it shows how little human nature changes – although the décor definitely does!

1900s: breaking the piñata

This young Mexican girl was photographed in 1909 as she prepared to break her Christmas piñata – and she looks as though she's taking it very seriously!

Piñatas are a Christmas essential, stuffed full of history – as well as sweets, seasonal fruits and other festive treats. Piñatas are said to have originated in China, where they took the form of mud pots filled with seeds and broken open at sowing time to bring luck for the harvest ahead. Marco Polo took the traditional from Asia to Europe, and the Spanish took it to Mexico.

1900s: charity at Christmas

Of course, Christmas isn't a time of plenty for everyone. This vintage image shows The Heilsarmee, the German Salvation Army, handing out bread to the poor on Christmas Eve.

The history of gift-giving and charity at Christmas dates back to Roman times, when people would exchange gifts and make merry around the winter solstice. It wasn't until the early 4th century that gifting was linked to the Magi, who are believed to have taken gifts to the infant Jesus, according to the Bible.

1900s: toy takeover!

A middle-class American family from the early 20th century are posed next to their massive Christmas tree, decorated with enormous dolls! The toys look like angel figures, placed between the shiny baubles and garlands we'd still use today.

On the floor, a toy train and a fancy go-kart are what Santa left for the children under the tree.

1910s: vintage holiday cards

These French and German holiday cards give us an idea of the kind of cards people sent to each other around the turn of the previous century.

As we can see, angels, fir trees and mistletoe were all traditional Yuletide fare even back then.

1910s: a solitary soldier collects his tree

By December 1915, when this photo was taken, the First World War had been raging for over a year – something this soldier would have been all too aware of.

He's walking through the streets of London, which had been targeted by German air raids since May of that year. Zeppelin raids were a regular occurrence throughout 1915 and 1916 until more accurate bombers took over in 1917.

1910s: party hats for everyone!

Like so many Christmas customs, the tradition of wearing paper hats is thought to date back to the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia, when people would don festive headwear during celebrations.

These days many of us wear the colourful paper crowns we find inside our Christmas crackers, but this family opted for matching striped party hats to get into the festive spirit in 1915.

1910s: keeping their spirits up

These nurses are doing their best to make their hospital cheery for injured troops in France in December 1918.

Four years before, on Christmas Eve 1914, British and German troops famously called a temporary truce, during which they sang carols, snapped photos, exchanged gifts and even played football in no man's land.

1920s: the Fitzgeralds live it up in Paris

This jaunty photo gives us a glimpse into a family Christmas with American author F Scott Fitzgerald. He's pictured here dancing with his wife Zelda and daughter Frances in their Parisian apartment in 1925.

Fitzgerald didn't just split his time between France and the US – he famously never owned a home and between 1920 and 1940 he lived in Paris, the French Riviera, Switzerland, Rome, New York City, Connecticut, Minnesota, Long Island, Los Angeles, Delaware, Baltimore and North Carolina, according to History Hit.

1920s: ornament painting

While many of our festive decorations today are mass produced by machine, back in 1924, when this photo was taken, Christmas tree ornaments were still handmade and hand painted. This young German woman can be seen concentrating intensely while she skillfully applies her paint.

1920s: a chef hard at work

This little chef is busy in the kitchen preparing the Christmas pudding for the big day. He looks like he's taking his job very seriously, perhaps checking whether this ingredient goes in next.

Whether you call it Christmas, plum or figgy pudding, this delicious festive treat can be traced back to at least the 1300s and would have been seated at the start of a feast, instead of at the end as we enjoy it today. In the UK, it's tradition to make your Christmas pudding on 'Stir Up Sunday', the fifth Sunday before Christmas.

1920s: hundreds of Christmas cards

The sheer number of letters and cards arriving at London's Paddington station in December 1922 is a testament to just how popular a written greeting used to be. Imagine sorting through all that post!

Over recent decades, emails, phone calls and even e-cards have meant that the number of people sending traditional holiday cards has drastically decreased. As of 2024, one in 10 people in the UK reportedly gave up posting cards after stamps became too expensive, according to British newspaper The Telegraph.

1930s: everyone gets a treat!

It wasn't just the children who received presents from 'Père Noël' in Vincennes, France in 1939. These elephants got to share in the magic of Christmas too, thanks to a holiday party organised by the Society of Friends of the Paris Zoo.

The zoo had been inaugurated just five years earlier and it's still going strong today, thanks to large-scale renovations in the 1990s and early 2000s.

1930s: Christmas with the First Lady

This happy homespun scene shows festivities with a powerful political woman. It’s Christmas time with the original FLOTUS Eleanor Roosevelt at the home of her daughter Anna Roosevelt Boettiger in Seattle, Washington in the mid-1930s. Her grandson Curtis and granddaughter Anna look delighted to receive gifts from Grandma.

The tree strains under the amount of tinsel strewn across it but it's a scene we can all recognise as if it were yesterday.

1930s: Feliz Navidad!

These Spanish children must have been good boys and girls throughout the year to be rewarded with a visit from the three kings.

As per Spanish tradition, the biblical kings Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar arrived at midnight to fill the children's shoes with presents – which are conveniently waiting for them on the bed.

1930s: Santa's special delivery

Bringing back memories of racing downstairs to see what Santa had delivered, this photo from about 1937 perfectly captures how generations of children have felt on that most exciting of mornings. This lucky duo has gifts galore, including a train set, doll’s house, bike, toy pram and a doll in a cot.

The smart baubles on the tree and glittering tinsel add a sparklingly magical feel to the room. While these tree ornaments were probably handmade, after the Second World War baubles were mass-produced, meaning more people had access to inexpensive festive decorations, like the glass lights on this tree.

1940s: a wartime Christmas

We're sure Father Christmas still found this little girl, even though she was sheltering from the Blitz in her family's Anderson shelter in Essex, England during Christmas 1940.

Luxuries were scarce in Britain during the Second World War and even necessities were hard to get hold of. There's a good chance this girl's father would have been away fighting on a foreign front somewhere. However, people made the most of what they had and toys were mostly recycled. Songs, carols and pantomimes were as popular as they are today – and the King's Christmas speech, which started in 1939, was such a hit it has continued ever since.

1940s: a classic Christmas

A picture-perfect mother and daughter duo unwrapping their Christmas gifts in the early 1940s. The brick fireplace with flames roaring in the hearth gives a cosy feel to the scene.

The Christmas tree is a real one, although the first bristle-style artificial model was created in 1930 by the Addis Brush Company, a British toilet bowl brush manufacturer. The firm used the same brush bristles for the artificial trees as were used to make the loo brushes – just dyed green!

1940s: a festive storytelling

In this endearing family photo from the 1940s, iconic American actress Penny Singleton, star of the Blondie movie franchise, reads a Christmas story to her young daughters Dorothy and Robin in front of the fireplace. Above the trio, a beautiful holly wreath adorns the pine-clad walls.

Today, many of us hang festive stockings designed for the holidays in our homes. Here, we see an early iteration of this tradition, as an assortment of socks from each family member are pinned artistically over the hearth.

1940s: American troops celebrate in Burma

These American troops celebrated Christmas 1944 with a turkey dinner – roughly 8,000 miles (12,800 km) from home, in Northern Burma. These men were enlisted members of the Kachin Scouts, a resistance force made up largely of the native Kachin people.

The turkey they're eating was canned and it had been dropped by planes for these troops to have a taste of home.

1950s: all I want for Xmas...

What’s inside the boxes? These 1950s siblings can’t wait to rip into their beautifully wrapped pressies. The three stockings hanging from the bookcase are a traditional part of Christmas.

One legend about the origins of this custom is that Saint Nicholas, the real-life inspiration for Santa, secretly left the first Christmas gifts inside stockings hanging to dry over the fireplace of an impoverished family.

1950s: a Christmas Eve waiting game

This young Mexican boy waited patiently for the Three Kings to visit his home in 1955. He kindly left out a glass of water for each of the Wise Men, a bowl for their camels and – most importantly – a pair of shoes to be filled with presents.

The main festive celebration takes place on Christmas Eve in Mexico, when families have the day off, attend mass or gather at home to see in midnight. However, Three Kings Day takes place on 6 January and marks the culmination of the holiday season.

1950s: turning on the Christmas lights

Of course, the flamboyant late entertainer Liberace wanted to have the biggest and best decorations in his neighbourhood. He's pictured here in 1955 adorning his California home with bright lights. A talented pianist who became a popular TV entertainer, Liberace’s illuminated outdoor decorations included Santa at the piano, a reindeer and candelabra.

Just to ensure his home was the best on the block, Liberace added a speaker to his display to pump out his own music into the night. Hope the neighbours didn't mind!

1950s: neighbourly carol singing

It was way back in the second century that Christian hymns started becoming more popular than pagan songs, which had traditionally celebrated the Winter Solstice. By the 12th century, songs with lyrics mentioning the Nativity had arrived. By the 19th century, carol singing had exploded in popularity and the songs were being widely printed and collected.

This Canadian family delighted their neighbours in 1955 by braving the snow and treating them to some carols. We hope they were invited in to enjoy some hot chocolate afterwards.

1960s: a colourful Christmas

In this candid 1960s snap, a family of four pauses for a photo as they unwrap presents on the floor.

Homemade paper chain garlands hang over the fireplace and across a grand, glass-fronted china cabinet. A velvet lampshade stands askew, perhaps knocked over during the frivolities of decorating. Vibrant-hued balloons decorate the hearth, along with a small tree decked out in red, green, gold and black baubles.

1960s: the Kennedys' family Christmas

A rare glimpse behind the scenes of a Kennedy family Christmas at the White House. Taken in 1962, the posed picture has become a much more candid snapshot than originally intended, as family pets misbehave and children get distracted.

Dominating the image is President Kennedy, while First Lady Jacqueline struggles to stop their dog from munching on a Christmas decoration! Others in the shot include John F Kennedy Junior, Jackie’s sister Lee Radziwill and her husband Prince Radziwill.

1960s: the wonder of Christmas

In December 1960, Father Christmas found three-year-old Donald at his temporary home in the Margaret Reid Orthopaedic Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

The wonder the little boy feels is clear as he peeks inside Santa's sack to see which present is for him. It feels like a scene straight out of A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens' festive novel first published in 1843. He wrote the story in just six weeks, yet it was an instant hit and its popularity continues to this day.

1960s: sweet treats

This little girl looks very happy as she poses with her Christmas candy house in Madrid, Spain in 1967.

While this youngster's house is decorated with biscuits, gingerbread houses are said to have originated in 16th-century Germany and became Christmas centrepieces. It may also be linked to Hansel and Gretel, the Brothers Grimm fairytale, in which a brother and sister are lured by and then held captive in a wicked witch's gingerbread house.

1960s: a festive ideal

Ever remember such a harmonious, neat and wholesome family Christmas? Neither does anyone else!

While this image is probably posed by models, it does give insight into 1960s interior trends. For instance, the compact, artificial tree with mass-produced decorations fits neatly into the room rather than dominating it. Notice the fashionable marble-topped coffee table. The toy train on tracks was on almost every little boy's Christmas list during this decade.

1970s: the era of shiny silk baubles

Bursting with personality, this festive setup from the early 1970s boasts a bulbous tree with traditional tinsel strands. The tree is covered in the newly invented shiny silk baubles which became ubiquitous during this decade and beyond.

The fir is festooned with tinsel, which is meant to mimic dangling icicles. Invented in Germany in 1610, tinsel was originally made from strands of silver precious metal – very fancy. But the tinsel on this tree is likely to be made from aluminium or even lead foil, which was later banned for fear of lead poisoning!

1970s: a groovy Christmas

In this photogenic family scene from the 1970s, the children are entertaining mum and dad with their new toys. Despite the traditional Christmas embellishments, this interior looks typical of the decade, with a pop of bright colour on the sofa upholstery and a bold pattern across the cushion. And isn't that the most luxurious carpet you've ever seen?!

Notice the family’s feline companion, who is staring directly at the camera – as if to say: I’m ready for my close-up!

1970s: Christmas card display

Fast forward more than a decade and this incredibly retro scene shows a normal living room during the holidays in 1970s England. There’s a garland of Christmas cards strung above the gas fire, with more on the mantelpiece and tacked to the wall – this person was clearly very popular!

Anyone born before a certain time will remember these tinsel trees – and we all recognise the festive pile of presents and chocolates within arm’s reach for easy access.

1970s: the perfect gift

She doesn’t know it yet but this little girl’s Christmas gift will put her at the forefront of one of the 1970s hottest trends: roller skating.

While undoubtedly posed, this picture does evoke the decade perfectly.

1980s: a truly 1980s Christmas

The coiffed hair, the slouchy sweater and enough tinsel to bring down Santa’s sleigh – yes, it’s undeniably the 1980s in this Christmas picture.

While the fashions may have dated, it’s not too long ago that strings of plastic beads, foil ornaments and tinsel were still adorning our trees. They’ll no doubt be back on trend if you wait long enough!

1980s: the Reagans at Christmas

Take a look at these two famous faces busy sprucing up the White House Christmas tree in 1983. President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan are adding the final touches to their festive fir. We love the reindeer or horse pattern on Mr President’s Christmas jumper!

1980s: Christmas with the Trudeaus

Over in Canada, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau posed with his sons Justin, Sacha and Michel for their 1980 holiday card. Amazingly, both Justin – who became PM in 2015 – and Sacha were born on Christmas Day.

The kids' sporty zip up tops and bowl haircuts hark back to the late 70s, while Pierre's Christmassy knit is the family's only real nod to Christmas.

1980s: alternative traditions

While many of us are still digesting our turkey dinner in the days after Christmas, Santa took the chance to kick back and watch the cricket in late December 1988. He's watching Australia take on the West Indies in a Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

While Father Christmas is wearing a (very 80s) watch, he won't need to return to the workshop anytime soon as his work is done for another year. Although he might give the cricket a miss next Christmas – Australia lost the series.

1990s: Christmas whatever the weather

December 1993 saw disastrous flooding hit the Ardennes region of France – not that it stopped this intrepid postman delivery holiday cards.

Despite the awful weather, the family who live here didn't lose their tree, which must have been a bit of a Christmas miracle. Still decked out with tinsel, beads and baubles, it surely brought cheer during this soggy season of joy.

1990s: a White (House) Christmas

First Lady Hillary Clinton looks stunned by the elaborate gingerbread replica one of the president's chefs made of the White House in 1993. It's incredibly detailed, right down to Father Christmas landing his sleigh on the roof and the Clintons' cat Socks playing in the snow.

In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy chose to decorate the White House in a 'Nutcracker Suite' theme, kicking off a tradition that's still going strong today. The theme in 1993 was 'Year of the American Craft', for which artisans created ornaments from glass, ceramics, textiles, metal and wood.

1990s: worth the high electricity bill

There's always that one house that goes bigger and brighter than anyone else in the neighbourhood at Christmas time. We're pretty sure this house must have beaten the local competition in 1993 – it's adorned with just about everything you can think of!

Festooning the outside of our homes in twinkling lights developed from the tradition of placing lit candles on our trees back in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the yearning for light during the darkest time of the year dates back as far as we do, so it's easy to see how it became a tradition over the centuries.

1990s: embracing new trends

Christmas trends in the 1990s reflected the decade's interior fads. White and gold colour schemes, a wholesome country cottage vibe and decadent Americana were all popular – but nothing screams the 90s like purple.

Whoever designed this festive lilac dining room looks like they're getting ready for the coming Millennium, using sleek minimalist ornaments, colourful iridescent glassware and swirly metal furniture. This really takes us back!

2000s: stepping into a new Millennium

While it's wonderful to curl up at home and avoid the worst of the winter weather, parades are part of Christmas festivities across the world, from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, which heralds the start of the season in America, to San José, Costa Rica's Festival of Lights.

This camel struts into the new millennium laden with presents during the 2000 Cabalgata parade in Madrid's Cibeles Plaza.