We'll have a Cool, Cool, groovy Christmas...

Christmas season is right around the corner.  I'm already thinking about this year's colours.  Yes, I am one of those people who likes to change schemes and themes when decorating.  Husband thinks it's all a bit crazy and wishes I'd just stick to the traditional green and red.  Speaking of traditional, I was thinking about the "most of Christmas past"....

   

Back in elementary school days, my good friend Sue and her family had a very artificial looking silver Christmas tree.  It was only about 5 feet tall and aesthetically had no connection to nature.  But they loved that tree and I was invited many times for its holiday dressings.  That got me thinking about how decorations have changed through the years.  We don't normally think about a Christmas tree being "trendy".  However, there was a certain style to retro decorating. 

Remember the "tinsel" that was heavily draped on our trees back in the 1960's and 1970's?  Why don't we do that anymore.  What happened to that shiny decoration?  Why did we overdo it so much?  It looks like the tree is melting into the shag carpet!

It seems like back in the days of retro cool, it was very trendy to use holiday colours that were bright and cheerful.  Having that "outdoors in" idea wasn't in vogue back then.

We used to have these little tabletop Christmas trees.  This one is white, but we had shiny green ones, different sizes.  I loved turning all the room lights in to enjoy the many little, colourful lights.

I love this photo for so many reasons from the lift in the girl's hair to the avocado stained piano.  But I also love the silvery tinsel garland that was all the rage but now is nowhere to be seen and is probably hidden in old basements.

Collectors Weekly Guest Blogger

Yours truly has been asked to guest blog over at Collector's Weekly. The appropriate seasonal theme of Christmas gave me a few ideas on how to throw a vintage holiday bash. Head on over and have a read. Browse through Collector's Weekly too, where they have quickly become a go-to website for information on just about anything vintage!

Read the blog post here.

p.s. Posting will be a little sporadic over the next couple of weeks due to the holidays and a much needed break. Happy Holidays everyone!

Still a Vintage Christmas After All These Years

I really love Christmas. As a child it was all about the presents, but as an adult Christmas becomes more about the essence of feeling the spirit of the season.

Of course, let us not forget the decorations and music. What kind of vintage girl would I be if I did not extend my love of all things vintage into home decorating for the holidays.

45 years ago, my father bought a white Christmas tree. This tree is still put up in my home today as an homage to him, but also because I think it is beautiful. Dad would decorate it simply - with only green and red ornaments. The contrast of the red and green against the white tree was absolutely stunning, and I continue to re-create that look every year.

The photo above is our first home with the white tree in the back and family in front.


How do you decorate your home for the holidays? I love to buy second hand decorations, particularly the soldier nutcrackers. However, every year I purchase something new and special to add to the collection.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

I am a sap - and it is for the movie White Christmas. A holiday tradition for many, the theme song, sung by the Old Groaner himself, Bing Crosby, is still the best selling single of all time. The film starring Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen is now 56 years old. This is one of my top 5 favorite movies.

I try to watch it a few times during the holiday season, last Saturday being the second time already. Hmmm, I wonder how many times I can fit it in this year? I feel a challenge coming on...

Other than the theme song, my other favorite song is surprisingly very non-chrismas-y...Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me brings sexy back (sorry Justin Timberlake). Watch it and you'll see what I mean.

Of course the sexiness comes in the form of the stunning black velvet gown designed by Edith Head. As a result of the mermaid style of this gown, Ms. Clooney floats down the stairs onto the stage. The cutwork of the neckline is sharp - as biting as the lyrics of the song. And when she turns around, voilà - an unexpected surprise of a large diamond brooch - what sizzle!

Oh yes....and surrounded by four lovely men is always a complement :-)

The movie just stays in the DVD player until the new year. Do you have a favorite Christmas movie?

Let us bring sexy back - in vintage style of course! 

 Vintage 50s Black Taffeta, Lace & Velvet Swing Dress

Vintage Style Black & Peach Dress

Morton Myles for the Warrens Blue Taffeta Strapless Dress

Retro Polka Dot Tulle Gown

A CHRISTMAS STORY WITHOUT THE LEG LAMP

RECIPE FOR A FABULOUSLY VINTAGE CHRISTMAS DINNER

Ingredients:
-Guest list
-Invitations ready for the post
-Menu
-Decorated home
-Table set for buffet or sit-down meal (includes name tags at each place setting)
-Put drinks on ice and set bar with stemware, mixers, spirits, garnishes
-Sort and ready musical selections

Instructions:

Less is more

I’m hoping that this Christmas time, my piano becomes more of a feature than in holidays past. I’ll be hosting a family dinner in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure that there is a really old fashioned feel to it. That doesn’t mean I want to beat my guests over the head with vintage themes. I like the idea of singing along to favourite Carols to the accompaniment of my piano. That also means simple, homey foods that stick to your ribs like a pork roast and a decadent chocolate cake for dessert.

I am planning on loading up the CD player with some Bing Crosby, Doris day and Frank Sinatra. I’ve already purchased the gifts so I’ll wrap them up with simple brown paper and ribbons, which is always my favourite style of gift wrapping. As for decorating the house, I thought it would be fun to enlist the help of some of the neighbour’s children to make construction paper garlands. This year the glitzy feather boas and disco balls will stay in their storage boxes.

 

I love the smell of freshly cut greenery and what is more old fashioned than to bring the outdoors in? We have an artificial tree but I can still achieve that natural look by bringing in cut branches and bough and even frozen cranberries for some local colour. The many varieties of fir trees have such a nice, citrusy scent so I would love to have some of that indoors. Of course how can I forget the candles? Nothing sets a soft, relaxed mood like candles and they are timeless and ageless. I like simple, white tapers and tea candles. Beeswax would be ideal. I’d like to revive people’s interest in mulled wine. The scent of it warming nicely on the stove with a clove of cinnamon might be better than baked cookies!

I think that we’ll all have a great time. I’ll be looking out the window, eagerly awaiting my guests with colourful vintage cocktails both spiked and mellow. Let the holidays begin!

These items would be great for adding to your own old fashioned / vintage Christmas...

Vintage Waechtersbach Christmas Tree Dinner Plate Green Red



SWEDISH DINNER CHRISTMAS SANTA TABLECLOTH VINTAGE 1960





Old-Fashioned Christmas Cookies by Favorite Brand Name

 





Please Don't Give Crap for Christmas

The staff over at Collector's Weekly have come up with a great collection of holiday gift ideas....because they don't want crap for Christmas. 

I couldn't agree more! Head on over and have a peek.

Don’t Give Them Plastic: 40 Vintage Gift Ideas For People Who Are Sick of Crap

 

Wallflower Vintage Presents: Countdown to Christmas

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"

Charles Dickens

Celebrate with Wallflower Vintage! Use code wfvblog at checkout for 10% off your order!

A CHIP OFF THE OL' BLOG

My cousin just sent me a draft of a blog he was doing for a friend.  It was a rant about Christmas and family.  I thought it might be a good idea to start off this month with something negative before getting into the joys of the holiday season.  Today is actually the last day of November and already I've written all my cards and sent most of them out.  I've also purchased gifts for almost everyone on my list and some of the outdoor decorating has been done.  You might think that this is a bit early and I'm some type of weird overachiever.  But the reason for all this hurry is so that once these mandatory tasks are done, I can actually try to relax in the month of December.

The older I get, the more cranky I'm getting about a holiday which I actually really like.  Shopping for this season has turned into a yearly exercise in loss of patience, panic, frustration and bankruptcy.  Families seem more annoying than usual and friends always seem to forget that there are 11 other months in the year when we can see get together.  A cheery dinner in the middle of January or February would mean so much more to me than to squeeze in another fatty and drunken meal in one of only 4 weekends in the month of December.  That's what my cousin was writing about, but in a more colourful way using way more colourful adjectives than I dare even think about.  It's a very "progressive" blog site apparently.

Having said all that, I've decided that this is the year to start my cheesy Christmas theme movies collection.  It might be a very ambitious idea, but I've already started with a couple of DVDs I picked up at a black Friday sale.  What is it about that Norman Rockwell scene played out in a movie that I really like so much?!  I think that I become transported to a world that is perfectly played out with the help of Hollywood writers and beautiful actors.  I also like kooky movies to laugh at such as "A Christmas Story" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".  Who wants a leg lamp or a charred cat for the holidays?!  The one I really want is Henry Winkler starring in "An American Christmas Carol".  That one has eluded me for years!

Don't think of me as a modern day Ebenezer.  I love this time of year.  Sometimes I just get a little cranky!

Here are some great items to get started with the holidays

Box Lot Japan Vintage Christmas Ornaments Elf Santa



11 Vintage Christmas Ornaments





Vintage 50's Xmas Felt Greeting Card Holder Santa Jack n Box

Cocktails Before Noon?

There is a growing sophistication in drink as there has been with food and we can thank the popularity of Mad Men. Although I can not quite agree with their Scotch swillin' before noon, (must have been invented before the official morning coffee break), Don Draper and the gent's have certainly re-energized the vintage cocktail crowd.

I was a waitress and bartender for many, many years and used to enjoy the drink fads that came and went. More so, I used to enjoy the know-it-all's that would sit at my bar and spew cocktail statistics - as if this was the world series of drinking and stats were a major part of the game.

Originally, the big four base ingredients in 20th century cocktails were brandy, gin, rum, and whiskey. Vodka was rarely consumed outside of Europe until the 1950's and did not gain popularity until the 1970's. So a classic martini is actually gin, not vodka. Next time you are sitting next to that expert at a bar, you can share your cocktail trivia.

During prohibition, when gin was distilled in someone's local bathtub, it tasted quite awful. Vermouth was liberally used to cut the taste, so an original martini is half gin, half vermouth. Luckily, we now have sophisticated and well distilled vodka's today and the vermouth can simply be waved over top - as a nod to its heritage.

It would be no surprise for me to have a vintage themed Christmas season - including cocktails. Sidecars, Old Fashioned, Highballs, Gimlets, Martinis, Kir Royale...the list goes on. There are some wonderful drinks to re-discover - so don your favorite party outfit or play bartender and enjoy a vintage Christmas!

How about this for a retro bar in your basement?

The tiki themed bar has always been a fun favorite!

Don't forget to dress the part.

1950s Vintage Black Satin & Lace

 

 1950s Wool & Mink Suit