Anyone visiting a county fair in the 1890s was likely to bring home a piece of ruby glass as a souvenir. They once sold for a song, and now are finds you’ll treasure.
Vintage holidays
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Looking for a fun and creative holiday project that’s a little different? Check out these crafty and cute vintage Christmas decorations, based on ideas popular back in the sixties.
Beautiful, festive Christmas plates and dinnerware – like these vintage sets from Lenox and Spode – are still popular. Here’s a look at some of the patterns and pieces you could get in the past!
The old Sears Wish Book catalog was perfectly named – it was where kids and adults alike would dream about all the things that Santa (or a special elf) might bring for Christmas. Find out its history here!
Step back and time and enjoy these charmingly vintage Christmas scenes celebrations from the 1940s through the 1970s.
There’s a reason that advertising has evolved over the decades – and these bad vintage Christmas ads from years ago show you exactly why!
Having a retro party for the holidays? Here are lots of crazy kitschy vintage Christmas appetizers you may want to serve… at your own risk.
Old-fashioned orange pomander balls made with cloves first became popular around the 17th century, and have been in use ever since. Here’s how to make your own fragrant decoration!
Find out how to make these colorful Christmas decorations: Translucent Tissue paper stained glass art panels to make your rooms blaze with jewel-toned light.
This fresh and zesty raspberry champagne punch is a fruity cocktail that is easy to make, tastes delicious, and looks gorgeous. Here’s how to do it, with a recipe from the ’80s!
It’s a joy for the whole family to get in on the planning and making of holiday cookies days and even weeks before Christmas day arrives. Here’s a classic cookie collection from the ’50s.
Here are three old-fashioned plum pudding recipes – classic Christmas desserts full of fruit, booze, and other good things that there is little room for the dough.
Try these Triple Treat holiday bars: A vintage bar cookie recipe from 1973! They’re easy to make. Take one pan, bake one base, then top 3 different delicious ways.
In the 1974 holiday classic TV special from the Rankin-Bass team, The Year Without a Santa Claus, brothers Heat Miser and Snow Miser memorably performed their signature tunes.
If you’re looking to recreate that special vintage Christmas cookie recipe that your grandmother used to make, or want to discover old-fashioned cookies to make new again, here’s a big tasty collection of treats for you!
If you love the rich taste of maple syrup, we’d like to tempt you into giving a sweet twist to your holiday baking: these vintage-style snow-topped thumbprint cookies with a hint of maple!
More than good, Libby’s pumpkin pie is smooth, gently spicy and perfect! Get the classic pie you love – the original vintage recipe is right here.
Two Christmas traditions (eggnog and Kringla) rolled into one soft, cakelike cookie. Here’s how to make classic eggnog kringla cookies with this recipe from 1990.
Here’s a tasty holiday menu you probably haven’t seen before: Truman Capote’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes! Find a collection of delicious vintage dishes here.
Want to know how to make the perfect turkey gravy? Here’s a great classic recipe that eliminates the possibility of greasy gravy and lumps of flour.
Homemade with love! These deliciously luscious pumpkin cheesecake bars don’t take long to make when you start with this classic recipe from the ’80s!
If you think your quest for the best pumpkin pie recipe has only just begun, we have news for you: you’ve just found the vintage recipe motherlode.
Get retro Thanksgiving recipes for turkey fondue with horseradish sauce; winter garden salad; caramel rum pumpkin cake; ham supreme in crépes; two-tone tower salad and ported raspberry pie.
Want some retro-style holiday decor? Find out how to make some vintage Christmas crafts from the ’60s: a burlap wreath, tabletop Christmas trees, a starburst decoration, papier mache ornaments and more.
These two Libby’s pumpkin cheesecakes are rich with cheese and pumpkin and brown sugar, flavored with maple, topped with sour cream and cinnamon – truly delicious desserts.
From homemade ornaments to DIY candy crafts, this collection of retro Christmas trimmings and craft ideas will give you some new ideas for old-fashioned holiday fun!
Four thin yellow cake layers tower upward – separated by thick creamy whipped cream with fresh berries – in this delicious classic strawberry torte recipe from the ’60s!
This holiday chocolate nut squares recipe makes a delicious vintage cookie bar – filled with chocolate, pecans or walnuts, plus coconut on a sweet cookie dough base!
These ‘Good morning, pumpkin’ pancakes combine warm spice flavors with real pumpkin for a breakfast treat that will get a warm welcome. Get the classic recipe here!
You can make these super easy wax & tissue paper flowers for Christmas or any time of year! This vintage craft uses basic supplies, but creates a surprisingly beautiful result!
If you’re having a party, consider these 12 cheese ball recipes! These tidbits provide a good color, taste and texture contrast to other foods, and can be made ahead of time, too — even several days ahead to suit your convenience.
To many Americans living south of the Mason-Dixon line, sweet potatoes must be made with marshmallows! Here are 6 ways to make old-fashioned marshmallow sweet potatoes for a Thanksgiving side dish!
Take a look back at some of the most popular vintage Black & Decker electronics and small appliances from the late ’80s, including everything from Dustbusters to irons, and food processors to toaster ovens.
Whether they’re right out of the box or in your favorite recipe, here is is an easy way to tempt the vanilla wafer lovers in your family: Make a nilla wafer cranberry cheesecake!
This retro holiday spinach rice recipe makes 12 servings of a delicious and festive-looking side dish, which includes spinach, cheese and green onions – plus sliced almonds for crunch.
This extra fun retro Halloween party idea from 1973 is a family-friendly way to celebrate the spookiest night of the year! Check out these timeless party recipes and games!
Retro paper plates, napkins, placemats, cups and more – all affordable and all disposable – were new and popular in the ’60s. Here’s a look back at some of the products & patterns available then!
Cheap store-bought vintage Halloween costumes like these were all the rage in the ’70s. But how did the finished product compare to their TV show inspiration? We took a look, and the results were nothing short of scary.
The melted plastic Halloween decorations popular in the ’70s were ‘delightfully different’ and ‘captured the happy Halloween spirit.’
Halloween greeting cards made especially for children became popular in the 1970s – most far more sweet than scary. Look back at these vintage Halloween cards for kids from the ’70s and ’80s!
This peppermint marble angel cake gets an extra festive touch from peppermint extract and bonus bits of crushed peppermint candy. Here’s a vintage recipe from 1990!
What vintage Halloween candy did people get when trick-or-treating? See classic Butterfinger bars, Brach’s candy, Milky Way, Dubble Bubble, Baby Ruth, candy corn and more!
Here’s a vintage Johnny Appleseed Pie recipe from the Log Cabin kitchens for an apple pie that Johnny Appleseed himself would have been proud of, with extra flavor from maple syrup.
Make a double batch of these chicken meatballs with cranberry glaze – serve what you need, and freeze the rest for a spur-of-the-moment party.
Charlie Brown? Check. Grinch? Yep. You can also see how Johnny Depp, Elvira, Martin Lawrence & Tom Hanks got into the holiday spirit years ago on these vintage Halloween TV specials.
For this easy ’50s ColorVision cake recipe, pick 3 colors, then make your cake to match. Raspberry, strawberry, cherry, orange, lemon… any delicious flavor of fruit you like best. Here’s how.
These easy vintage cream cheese frosting recipes are one-bowl affairs with almost endless variations. Name a favorite flavor, and the chances are you can make it this easy way.
Are you ready for Halloween? A look back at some old-fashioned Halloween party tips from 1910, in the days when the holiday was more about gatherings than candy collection.
Old Halloween songs never die – they just reappear on the chart every decade or so. Such is the case with Bobby ‘Boris’ Pickett’s million-seller, ‘Monster Mash.’
Here are 12 amazing classic apple pie recipes, collected from newspapers published across the US throughout the ’60s!
Here’s a recipe that will turn pumpkin into a pie faster than Cinderella’s fairy godmother turned the fall fruit into a coach: Pumpkin Dream Pie – and all without any cooking or baking.
Get ready to remember some of the biggest thrills and chills from yesteryear, through these top vintage horror movies – great for Halloween or any time you want a little scare!
