Merry Christmas! Vintage photographs show festive London from the 1930s to the Swinging Sixties

One of the best things about Christmas is seeing the joy on a child’s face when they open their presents. These photos from the 1930s to the Swinging Sixties show that Christmas joy and children have been synonymous for decades.

This time was a period of immense change for Britain. In that time we recovered from the Great Depression, fought in WWII and Queen Elizabeth II was crowned.

While there have certainly been some changes to how we celebrate Christmas (last year UK residents spent a record £77.56 billion dollars on Christmas), a photo from 1957 shows that the Regent Street decorations have always been a joy to see.

Although these days you'd be hard-pressed to find a couple in gas masks kissing under the mistletoe à la the picture from 1940.

A contender for our favourite picture has to be the young girl walking out of the department store followed by a helper carrying her presents, her face reminiscent of Dudley Dursley's and her eyes screaming, "But last year, last year I got 37 ... "

One of the best things about Christmas is giving, so it's heartening to see the tradition of giving to charity for Christmas has been instilled in us for years. There are children rehearsing for a Christmas party at the Homeless Children’s Aid Society. Father Christmas also visits delighted children with a bag full of presents.

A recurrent theme throughout the gallery is food - and plenty of it. From Christmas puddings aboard a festive train to Christmas dinner at an orphanage and home for "children of broken marriages", on Christmas, there is always food aplenty.