The smell of model trains also has christmas memories, we were never rich but never hungry either, one family ritual was to go to a store in high holborn called Gamages,
every year they had a complete floor covered in fabulous toys and model train layouts. We could never buy anything it was where we bought our school shoes, caps and so on, but we used to gawp and wish for hours.
When i was 7 i got a simple Triang Train set for my birthday, 060 tanker and 2 red passenger carriages with an oval single track and a black plastic battery box controller. Sophistication was it had reverse lol! But i was king of the hill.
that Christmas Dad had for once won a small bit back on the pools and i got a 'Queen Elizebeth' engine and Tender. i would not let anyone near it, i literally slept with it under my pillow, and made mum hide it while i was at school or out to stop my dad and older brother playing with it.
My kids had a train set, but not the interest as we also had a commodore 64, so by then the routes if home gaming were taking hold,h my grandkids have xbox's and Wii, playing COD Black Op's to my mind offers nowhere near the imagination or the fun i've had, but i also play games which as i'm 62 they call me the 'cool' grandad - you just can't buy that feeeling .