7 forgotten Christmas decorations show how different festive celebrations looked in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s

• Christmas today looks very different to how it once did
• Many once-ubiquitous decorations have disappeared from festive displays as styles have changed
• Below are some of the best, or worst, forgotten Christmas decorations from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s

Christmas looks very different in most households today to how it did during the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

While some families still go all out when it comes to decorations, others opt for a more minimalist style.

And the traditional baubles have been replaced by a bewildering array of hanging decorations, from cute felt mice to tin robots and dinosaurs.

If you grew up in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, there are some decorations you’ll almost certainly remember from your childhood Christmases.

Below are seven classic Christmas decorations from down the decades that you rarely see today.

Tinsel

Perhaps the most obvious casualty when it comes to Christmas decorations is tinsel.

There was a time when we couldn’t get enough of it, draping so much over the tree that you could barely see any green.

It certainly added some sparkle, but after a few journeys up and down from the loft it became threadbare and rather sad-looking.

Multi-coloured foil baubles

If you remember Christmas in the 80s and 90s, you’ll almost certainly remember these baubles, which consisted of cones of silver foil with different coloured centres.

They may look cheap and tacky today but they were all the rage back then and could be found hanging on most Christmas trees.

They weren’t the sturdiest of things, but at least they lasted longer than the old glass baubles, if you had children around.

Spun silk baubles

These were popular in the 50s, 60s and 70s. They consisted of a polystrene ball covered with silk thread in different colours.

While they looked pretty at first, the thread often got snagged on the tree or other ornaments, and the baubles soon lost their lustre.

Fairy lights

For many people, Christmas still means illuminating your house in a blaze of light so bright it can be seen from space.

But the lights we hang now tend to be a little different from those we once had.

The old incandescent bulbs have largely been replaced by LED ones, and the style tends to be simpler these days, unlike the old frilly lights you once got.

At least the frustration of finding the broken bulb and replacing it on a string of hundreds of lights is a thing of the past.

Foil garlands

These brightly-coloured foil garlands came in a thin plastic bag and opened out to reveal their intricate designs.

They were strung across the walls and ceilings of most households in the 80s and 90s.

But they weren’t built to last and easily tore if they became snagged while putting them up or taking them down.

Crepe paper crackers

Whether you bought them from the shop or made them yourself, before the 70s most Christmas crackers were made using coloured crepe paper, often tied with ribbons and with paper designs attached.

There was a time, too, when you were almost guaranteed to find at least one bag of marbles and a fake fingernail in a pack of crackers.

Today, they are usually made with cardboard and foil, but if you’re feeling nostalgic you can easily make your own crepe crackers.

Glittery advent calendars

Advent calendars used to be much sparklier than they are now.

But children today would be horrified to learn they lacked one crucial ingredient... the chocolate.

Instead of a cheap piece of chocolate, you would open each window to reveal a different festive scene.

At least with no plastic or foil, they could be easily recycled, and you could always dip into the chocolate selection box instead to satisfy your cocoa cravings.

What do you miss most about the Christmases you used to know?

If this trip down memory lane has got you feeling all nostalgic, you might enjoy this look back at the most-missed sweets we’ve lost from Christmas chocolate selection boxes over the years.