THERE was no indoor shopping centre, no Xboxes nor PlayStations, and messages of goodwill certainly weren’t spread on Facebook or Twitter.
As these photos show, Christmas past in Luton was a simple affair, but one that was full of magic and wonder.
Children who had been well-behaved all year would be lucky enough to visit Father Christmas at Partridge’s toy shop in Chapel Street, where the shelves groaned under the weight of the huge variety of toys and games stocked.
Despite competition from the Co-op and Mothercare, the store thrived until 1979, when Bank of Ireland offered to buy the property from owner Mrs Joan Guyver, whose husband had bought Partridge’s and given it to his wife as a wedding present shortly after the Second World War.
And what else would Father Christmas use to get about town in when he was in Luton, but a vintage Vauxhall?
He had clearly ditched the sleigh after hearing of the town’s automobile prowess, but does anyone know the name of the gentleman given the honour of chauffeuring him?
Nowadays, two grand Christmas trees stand sentry outside the Town Hall, but as the photograph from 1949 shows, the town’s festive spruce was previously displayed outside the Corn Exchange.
The building stood on Market Hill, where there is now a public space, and was demolished in the early 1950s. And does anyone recognise their young self in this image of the Christ Church School nativity play from 1951? The school used to stand on the corner of Buxton Road – a site now home to Luton Police Station.
These pictures, and many more from the Luton News picture archive dating back more than a century, can be seen at Wardown Museum in Old Bedford Road.