WITH Christmas and New Year’s Eve fast approaching, the Oxford Mail delved into its archives to see how Oxfordshire marked the occasions through the decades.

We discovered a vibrant array of seasonal treats, from Dickensian carol singing in the streets of Kidlington to the time a group of window cleaners donned full Santa Claus outfits as they made their rounds.

As Yuletide approached in 1966 an Oxford food plant sent 6,132 Christmas puddings to France.

The puddings, worth £2,500, were made by employees at the plant of Oliver and Gurden, part of the Scribbans Kemp Ltd group.

The treats, which were made in a range of sizes, were sold mainly in Paris, with others venturing to Brittany, Biarritz, the Cote d’Azur and Nice.

More than 700 Pressed Steel Fisher employees enjoyed a carol concert at the Sports Pavilion in Cowley in the December of 1968.

Instead of paying for the event, each member of staff donated a toy for their admission.

The toys then went to children’s hospital wards across the county.

The Pressed Steel band played carols and selections from the shows and there was singing by children from the Blackbird Leys Junior School. Kidlington was given a taste of old England in December 1976, when a Dickensian carol singing group toured the village in full costume to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

About 40 villagers made their own costumes, with 25 going out each night.

They were accompanied by a piano fixed to a car trailer.

Singer Marie Rydin, of Mill Street, told the Oxford Mail at the time: "I think this will become a tradition."

In 1981, a group of Santas alarmed some residents as they walked the streets of Oxford with a ladder.

Police were called to the scene, only to discover it was some harmless festive fun from window cleaners Carter Brothers.

The five cleaners carried out their usual job, each in the guise of Father Christmas.

Stuart Carter, of Kingston Road, who was 29 at the time, said: “It was a good day and we all had a laugh.”

A relatively quiet New Year’s Eve celebration was held in Carfax, Oxford, in 1964.

About 200 teenagers welcomed in 1965 in the city centre as they gathered under the watchful eye of several policemen.

The carnival spirit was reportedly lacking at the event, aside from one man who tried to instil some liveliness into the crowd by clanging a hand bell.

That same night, crowds gathered at the Hogmanay Ball of the Caledonian Society of Oxford, held at the Randolph Hotel, marking the occasion with the traditional sound of bagpipes.

The fact that Oxford is several hundred miles from the Highlands did not stop a group of visitors from celebrating New Year’s Eve – or Hogmanay – in the traditional Scottish style in 1981.

The group were spending the holiday at Temple Farm Country Club caravan site in Sandford-on-Thames when they decided to have a final highland fling in the centre of Oxford.