CHRISTMAS PAST IN BRIGG - PART ONE: POPULAR SHOPS FOR GIFTS

Christmas shopping took careful planning and budgeting for Brigg people of all ages decades ago - long before the advent of online sales and credit/contactless card payments.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, almost all customers tendered cash at the tills for Christmas purchases (other than the odd cheque). Traditional weekly pay packets containing notes and coins were still the norm for most employees, so 'readies' were always to hand prior to the arrival of 'hole in the wall' cash dispensers outside banks.
The nearest most folk came to credit was buying through local housewives who were agents (on a small commission) for mail order catalogues like Kays and Littlewoods.
Some Brigg shops ran Christmas Clubs which helped mums and dads to spread the cost of more expensive presents bought for their children.
Green Shield and Pink stamps (given with petrol and various other purchases) were saved over the year, stuck into books and exchanged for goods selected from catalogues to provide many a festive present.  
The Woolworth store, on Wrawby Street, sold a wide range of goods which made suitable gifts for friends and family, including books, clothing, boxed biscuits and records. Many people will recall Winfield, the trend-setting own brand from Woolworth. The range took its name from company founder Frank Winfield Woolworth.
Toys could be bought (in addition to cycles) from Sherwood's, on Bridge Street, and from Ernie Taylor, on Wrawby Street (also providing radios and TVs). His shop was Dinky; Sherwood's was Corgi... in model car terms!
Mike Tierney's shop, also on Wrawby Street, was a popular port of call for Christmas gift buyers, offering boxes of chocolates and sweets as well as board games, jigsaws and toys.
Harold Green sold model-making kits from his small shop on Bridge Street (close to the Yarborough Hunt).
Hounslow's, near the Buttercross, specialised in tobacco products. Kids on the look out for presents to buy adults who enjoyed a smoke could go in and inquire about modestly-priced pipe-cleaners and large, attractive boxes of matches with colourful country scenes on the front.
Jackson-Shipley, the hardware store on Queen Street, offered fine glassware which fell within the price range of some present-buying youngsters, ranging from pint glasses with handles to decorations.
If all else failed, kids could always buy a box of hankies - sold by various Brigg businesses and in styles suitable for male and female relatives, even with embroidered initials.
Other stand-bys included jars of Brylcreem to hold men's hair in place and scented bath-salts/cubes for the ladies - again widely available. Books and calendars were also a good buy - still the case today.
Many youngsters also took a look in Gwen's Bargain Shop, on Bridge Street (see below).
Part two of this festive feature will be posted by Brigg Blog tomorrow.