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#Cheers #MidMod #Cocktail #Party #WorthPoint

Perhaps in the dog days of January, everyone is tapped out from parties. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s, there are so many office parties, cocktail events, and family gatherings that the thought of one more glass of bubbly or one more plate of stuffed mushrooms and cheese dip makes many want to hibernate until spring. But what better way to shake off the winter blues than to gather with friends? It doesn’t have to be a holiday; why not choose a mid-century modern theme and vintage vibe for an impromptu cocktail party?

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A mid-century modern theme is a perfect way to jazz up a winter cocktail party.

SETTING THE SCENE

No matter the season, anyone can put on a chic Mad Men-inspired drinks party. The trend of mid-century home furnishings has been on fire lately, but fear not—you don’t have to buy all new furniture and accessories. Thrift stores are a great place to pick up a few pieces of barware or artwork to start you off.

The atomic design aesthetic, with its space-aged shapes and bright colors, is hot right now, so it might take some digging to find pieces “in the wild” of thrift stores or estate sales, but many are out there. Design in the 1950s and 1960s was focused on the space race, new technology, and post-war prosperity. People were getting married, buying homes in the suburbs, and building relationships with neighbors, often with parties or backyard cookouts.

The trend for parties in the swinging 1960s was very matchy-matchy. Everything came in sets and was color-coordinated. A tablecloth and napkins that didn’t match could be a social faux pas that would find a housewife ousted from the cocktail circuit on her block, so the stakes were pretty high.

Today, you can get away with throwing a few vintage touches on the table and calling it fabulous. Here are a few hints on making your next cocktail party a vintage feast of décor, complete with playlist suggestions and a few recipes.

FOODS THAT MAKE IT FUN

Meals in the middle of the century tended to be either very basic or extra elegant. The staples were things like pot roast, meatloaf, and poached fish, with sides like Delmonico potatoes and green bean casserole. A “gourmet” meal, like those made by Julia Child on TV, might be duck a l’orange or chateaubriand. But for a cocktail party, it was all about fun food.

No party would be complete without cheese in several forms. A good cheeseball, rolled in nuts and served with crackers, was something any host would serve. I attended a birthday party with the theme of “A Night in 1964,” and the host served a “moon cheese ball,” which was soft cheese covered by grey sunflower seeds and craters pressed onto the surface. It came with rocket-shaped crackers, but it wasn’t a big hit. In today’s modern world, a gray ball of cheese just isn’t appetizing, but it came from a recipe from Woman’s Day magazine circa 1969.

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If you need to know how to whip up a Jell-o mold or a batch of deviled eggs, this book can help you.

Most cocktail parties serve snacks instead of a sit-down meal, and back in the day of Rob and Laura Petrie, platters, trays, and snack plates came in sets. Trays were especially fun, and it was common for them to have drink recipes or pictures of food.

Popular snacks were the aptly named cocktail weenies, usually served on toothpicks or in a chafing dish with sauce. There was usually some dish with vegetables encased in Jell-O, and the company even made special boxes of Jell-O for salads.

If you want to try some of these recipes, look for vintage cookbooks at yard sales and thrift stores. They are usually affordable, and the illustrations alone are worth the price. They are also much more fun to page through than a website.

THIRST QUENCHERS

It’s not a cocktail party without a few drinks, which means barware and creative recipes. One of the most popular brands at the time was Hazel Atlas. It’s incredibly popular now, especially the line of highball glasses, rocks glasses, and cocktail shakers with cute pink elephants dancing around the sides of the glass. Sets that include glasses and the shaker fetch high prices, so if you spot one at a yard sale or in your grandmother’s attic, grab it.

Bar glasses usually came in sets, with a handy caddy to keep them together. The caddies were helpful when a party was outside on a patio or deck, and the host could place a set of glasses alongside the bar, ready for action. A gold foil applique on glasses was a popular design,

Martinis are a classic, but the trend was to have a cocktail onion rather than an olive, so make sure to have those on hand. A classic bar cart is a must for any mid-century modern-themed party and should be well stocked. Decanters usually hold spirits like scotch, bourbon, gin, and vodka. Some crystal items don’t sell at estate sales, so picking them up for a reasonable price is possible.

Finally, every good cocktail needs a napkin. Cocktail napkins were a big deal. No good homemaker or host would serve a drink or a hors d’oevre without a napkin and not just any plain old piece of paper. They often would have artwork or the names of the host and hostess on them. If an affair was more formal, there would be matchbooks as well, but with the decline in smoking, those are not as common.

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Napkins with brightly colored designs are a perfect addition to a vintage cocktail party.

Throwing a party is a lot more work than just going to one. Still, if you’re a fan of vintage and mid-century modern décor, barware, and furnishings, what better way to show off your collection of treasures than having some friends come by? Cheers!


Brenda Kelley Kim lives in the Boston area. She is the author of Sink or Swim: Tales From the Deep End of Everywhere and writes a weekly syndicated column for The Marblehead Weekly News/Essex Media Group. When not writing or walking her snorty pug, Penny, she enjoys yard sales, flea markets, and badminton.

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