I grew up an only child in a small town in California. Church was a big thing and Christmas at church even bigger. Santa would visit and give every child a stocking filled with an orange, an apple, candy canes and nuts. It was always special!
At home, we generally put our tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving....Used lots of the silver tinsel....took forever to put it on the tree. I did this even when my own kids were growing up. They always wanted to "throw" it on and I insisted it be done strand by strand like I had done....took days, but sure made for a pretty tree. Then as the days went by, gifts would appear under the tree. We always opened the gifts Christmas Eve and Santa would come and leave "me" a special gift that night that I would find on Christmas morning. People, were mostly, happy with much less than they are today. The Holidays were much simpler and IMHO, much more enjoyable. We sent cards and visited. Cookies, fruitcake and brandy cake were special treats then. I miss those days....