A narrative based home movie produced by Peter Dobing documenting preparations for a family Christmas in 1949 in the village of Haughton-le-Skerne, now part of Darlington, and Xmas Day celebrations. Title: Christmas 1949. A Family Film Title: Christmas to come The filmmaker's mother starts to bake the Christmas cake (or pudding).  Peter Dobing arrives back home with the Christmas tree.  A car pulls up outside the Dobing house and Peter's uncle retrieves wrapped presents piled...

A narrative based home movie produced by Peter Dobing documenting preparations for a family Christmas in 1949 in the village of Haughton-le-Skerne, now part of Darlington, and Xmas Day celebrations. Title: Christmas 1949. A Family Film Title: Christmas to come The filmmaker's mother starts to bake the Christmas cake (or pudding).  Peter Dobing arrives back home with the Christmas tree.  A car pulls up outside the Dobing house and Peter's uncle retrieves wrapped presents piled in a porridge oats box from the back seat. He carries the presents into the house. Peter's sister Ann is addressing envelopes at a table. She looks up and smiles. Her mother is seated next to her typing addresses onto envelopes. Christmas cards are delivered to a house. Close-up of some of the cards.  Title: Christmas Present Christmas cards are displayed on a bureau next to a vase of flowers. Peter's father enters the room with some bottles of drink and places them on a drinks tray beside a bottle of Gordon’s Orange Gin. Wearing a festive paper hat, Ann rushes up to greet her aunt and family outside on Salter Lane South.  Back inside, Mrs Dobing places the roast turkey on the table. The family are seated around the dining table enjoying Christmas dinner, all wearing paper hats. Peter and his aunt are smoking. Portrait shot of the aunt's daughter with a chocolate. Peter and his father do tricks and amuse the toddlers. Peter's nephew and the adults sip their drinks. The family unwrap their presents. Mrs Dobing receives a glass lightshade. The aunt tries on her new scarf. The uncle examines a new metal teapot he's received. Mrs Dobing unwraps kitchen scales and weights., smiling to camera. Mr Dobing unwraps his present and finds a chrome cigarette lighter. Peter opens one of his presents to find an iced cake inside. Ann opens her present, which also contains a cake with her name written in icing on the top. Peter’s father holds up another present, a small bottle. General view of the family looking over their gifts. Peter finds a plastic rain hat in another present and jokingly tries it on. Peter's father tidies up the wrapping paper into a pile. Wrapping paper and boxes are scattered around the room near the Christmas tree. The curtains are drawn. The silhouette of the Christmas tree standing at the window in the lit room of the Dobing home is shown from the garden.  Title: Christmas Past Title: Family Magazine. The End