Here’s a cute little vintage Christmas tree craft from 1950. You can cut the tree and decorations out of paper, then and you can use it as a table centerpiece or a mantel decoration, hang it up, or just play with it.
Vintage holidays
Old-fashioned holidays and traditional celebrations
Take a step back in time and revisit these vintage articles and authentic guides to old-fashioned holidays and traditions from celebrations of the past! We have hundreds of classic holiday recipes, plus home decor, party plans, photos and much more!
You can easily browse recipes, articles and more by your favorite old-fashioned holidays — Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter — by event, such as birthdays, weddings — or by season: spring, summer, winter & fall.
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’re looking for tips on doing something just like they did it 100 or more years ago, you’re in the right place! Here are
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!
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 are a few ideas for antique-style Christmas embroidery you can use to create small gifts. We have also included some bonus patterns, also from the early 1900s.
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.
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!
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!
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 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.
Here are three different recipes for vintage pumpkin meringue pies – one with a homemade pie and meringue topping, a second with a ginger-infused meringue, and the last using a pre-made pumpkin pie with a nutty meringue on top.
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.
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.
Here are 12 amazing classic apple pie recipes, collected from newspapers published across the US throughout the ’60s!
On the top of one of the taller buildings of the time, the Hotel Majestic’s roof garden was where the elite partied back around the turn of the century.
Iced Nesselrode Pudding, a chestnut-based chilled sweet, was considered to be very expensive, very fancy, very tasty — and was, consequently, very popular during the Victorian era.
Did you ever have one of these vintage Paas Halloween makeup kits from the eighties, so you could go trick-or-treating looking like a vampire, clown, werewolf or ghost?
Go a little retro this year! Make delicious holiday butter cookies and lots of different pressed Christmas cookie designs – including spritz – from these easy vintage recipes.
Depending on your preference, this retro creamy chocolate mint pie recipe from the 80s uses either Creme de Menthe liqueur, or you can use a little peppermint extract.
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier became the bride of Senator John F. Kennedy – the future president – at this elegant society wedding in 1953. See what it was like!
Here is one theory about how the Liberty Bell was cracked, according to an old man who confessed to breaking the famous bell when he was just a boy.
Here’s a selection of vintage 4th of July postcards to celebrate Independence Day, all dating back to the first two decades of the 20th century!
Here are a couple recipes for petits fours – along with ways to make the frosting, fondant and decorations for these tiny cakes, all in the ’50s style!
This deliciously festive pear-cranberry cobbler recipe from the ’90s is filled with seasonal fruit and a crumbly topping.
You’ll love this old-fashioned clove cake that’s really different from any other spice cake you ever tasted.
This pink lemonade ice cream cake is surprisingly easy to make – it starts with a boxed cake mix, and gets dressed up with filling and frosting. Try it!
Gone on Grape? Crazy for Cola? Batty about Birch? Whatever your soda pop passion, this retro recipe for soda pop ice cream is a cool, new way to enjoy more of it.
Here’s a whole year’s worth of cute printable retro calendar icons that you can even print or save to use to make your own planner or calendar!
This is maple-pecan chiffon cake with maple-flavored frosting, for the day you want something very, very special! Your guests will think you are wonderful!
Take a look back at the latest and greatest toys from 1986 in these pages from the vintage Toys R Us catalogs called the 80s Out of this World Toy Book.
Delight your guests with a lovely lemon layer cake with a luscious lemony buttercream frosting and lucious fruit preserves on the inside.
What’s the history of Necco Wafers? Here’s a look back at how a company made the candy such a big hit that it would be on shelves for the next 100 years.
Take a look back at dozens of vintage gift sets for women from the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s, filled with fancy fragrances, makeup, skincare products & more!
We’ve gathered recipes, tips and more great picnic ideas from the ’70s so you can have a fab summer celebration, retro-style!
From the 1981 C&H private collection comes fresh look at one of your favorite Christmas cookies: Golden thumbprints, the classic sweet-topped cookies.
Swedish rosettes, a light Scandinavian cookie, uses a rosette iron to create its distinctive shape. The result is as delicious as it is beautiful.
Fudge ribbon pie combines peppermint ice cream and a creamy fudge sauce, frozen and then topped with a peppermint meringue.
The frosting is in the middle of this nutty and fun Pistachio Inside-Outside Cake. Get the retro recipe from the ’70s here!
Except for the silvery cones atop the towers, this fantasy ice castle cake is completely edible, built with rich cake, paved with icing and rock candy.
A Victorian garden party may extend from afternoon into evening, or it may be entirely an evening affair — and here were the best ways to set everything up.
From the C&H private collection comes a recipe for these Christmas cookies. Viennese sugar twists are shaped like a pretzel, but are a whole lot sweeter.
Retro pool toys like these plastic inflatables made summer twice as fun when you could float and play and create pretend worlds right in the swimming pool!
Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg make a crisp coating for lamb, beef or pork in this apple & spice roast recipe from the ’70s.
Here are three super-cute, easy-to-make vintage Easter basket cakes you can make, based on ideas from the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s!
In this ’50s recipe for springtime fancy cake, a homemade yellow cake is spread with green buttercream frosting, then adorned with marshmallow flowers.
This beautiful pink royal rose chiffon cake is a light-textured and elegant old-fashioned dessert. Get the recipe from the ’50s here!
These adorable little candy ‘nests’ are created to hold one perfect little ‘egg’ — also known as a peanut m&m. This vintage recipe could help make an adorable addition to an Easter basket!
This from-scratch vintage lime delight cake recipe uses sweet-tart lime for the cake and filling, topped with a fluffy white old-fashioned frosting.
Here are a few ways to make a happy Easter surprise — cute vintage Easter cakes, using ideas and recipes from the fifties & sixties!
Here’s a retro jelly bean carousel cake that’s cute and creative for a child’s birthday. Anyone who loves jelly beans (doesn’t everyone?) will love it.
Find out how to make some old-fashioned marshmallow Easter eggs, including krispie eggs, frosting eggs & an adorable nest cupcake basket!
Glowing with cheer, try this fresh-made delight – Kahlua Christmas cake, made with ground almonds instead of flour, and covered with a mocha frosting.
On April 1, 1996 – April Fool’s Day – the Taco Bell fast food chain announced they’d bought the iconic Liberty Bell, and renamed it the Taco Liberty Bell.
Here’s a retro recipe for a pink raspberry-angel food dessert that’s super easy to make with marshmallows and gelatin, and requires no baking.
April Fools’ Day is an old, old holiday – and was even pretty ancient when this history was written back in the 1800s. Find out more about this day of fools here!
This homemade ‘Love me tender’ vintage Valentine cake with lollipop frosting has fluffy white icing and crushed cherry candy decorations.
Fashionable vintage parasols could include materials like lace, chiffon, fishnet, satin ribbon, and of every hue. Here are a few of the styles from long ago!
In this vintage Peanuts TV special from the sixties, You’re in Love, Charlie Brown, only two school days remain before summer vacation starts, and time is running out. See the cartoon here!
Try one of these vintage 7-Up cake recipes with lemon-lime soda! ‘Never before have you had a cake so light, so airy, so high, and with such a delightful new flavor.’
Get some great retro recipes for some classic molasses cut-out cookie recipes: Swedish crisps, gingerbread men & Christmas tree cut-out cookies!
Keeping track of the eras, the ages, the generations and more can be confusing – especially when they overlap. Here’s a basic guide to some of the most important eras in American history.
What do the different flowers mean when it comes to send a bouquet for the New Year? Take a look back to the Victorian era to find out!
Take a step back into the beauty of yesteryear, and see some pretty vintage & antique Christmas decorations that were both charming and affordable.
Joyous in the holiday season, homemade candy & fudge are gifts happily remembered: golden taffy nuggets sweetly flavored with molasses, white velvet creams, chocolate cream fudge and more deliciousness.
Through the 40s, 50s & 60s, you’d see a new set of vintage calendar girls & pin-ups in garages, diners and dens each year. Take a look back!
In 1957, accordion player/band leader/TV show host Lawrence Welk was the most popular musician in US history, and made millions doing what he did best.
This Baker’s Chocolate Decadence cake from the ’80s is made doubly rich with chunks of chocolate plus raisins, dates, and almonds. It’ll put everyone in the holiday spirit.
Holiday punch takes on a whole new dimension when you spark up the brew with deliciously fizzy drinks like ginger ale, 7-Up and Sprite!
Coca Cola’s images of Santa Claus molded our national concept of the jolly old man, and it’s lasted through changing tastes and electronic times.
Come see what kinds of retro Christmas cards people sent each other to celebrate the holidays back in the fifties and sixties!
Have a look at 126 of the most popular toys from the ’40s that millions of kids found under their Christmas trees back in 1948, courtesy of Santa… or from mom and dad.
This invisible floating Christmas tree decoration from the ’60s – made with shiny and colorful ball ornaments – is so simple, but an absolute showstopper. See how to make your own here!
This cute Jell-O Jingle Jells recipe features bells cut out of Jello (with a cookie cutter) and served with flaked or riced Jello and whipped cream.
Love those classic cocktails? Get the recipes here for some of the finest from the 40s: Gin Rickey, Creme de Menthe Frappe, Hot Toddy, Side Car, Pink Lady, Stinger, Champagne Cocktail, Manhattan, Daiquiri & more!
Try this Borden holiday eggnog pie, made with a filling of vanilla pudding, eggnog, spice, and whipped topping mix. The result is festive, delicious and easy.
Once upon a time, fruitcake took days to prepare. Weeks even. But not anymore! Here’s the famous 9-minute ‘can’t fail’ holiday fruitcake.
Christmas goes to the dogs! Here are 8 adorable antique Christmas postcards with dogs, plus a tale of how some boys got together and gave their pups their own holiday party.
Who’s got time to fix dinner during the holiday rush? Colonel Sanders! In the ’60s, the hot tip was to have Kentucky Fried Chicken for Christmas.
Want to serve something for the holidays that is deliciously vintage? Get recipes for three different fancy and festively decorated Christmas cookie recipes from the ’50s!
Here’s how to make that classic m&m cookie recipe loved by generations — and just as tasty today as ever.
If you can spare no money, and have no time to make pretty and inexpensive things, give pleasant words and wishes, and rediscover the truest joy of Christmas giving
What was Thanksgiving dinner like in the Colonial days? Find out how to make roast turkey with pumpkin sauce, Georgia potatoes, succotash, election cake and other classic dishes
Make an easy layer pumpkin pie! 2 vintage recipes that double (or triple!) the holiday deliciousness
Here are two great no-bake pumpkin pie recipes – a double layer pumpkin pie that uses instant pudding, while the second recipe has a base with plain gelatin.
With these retro Christmas Jello recipes, don’t serve cranberries the same old way, try a star of a salad. Make a wreath with a wiggle. And a rum dessert that’ll make you see an old favorite in a new light
Although L’eggs doesn’t make their egg packing anymore, you can still make adorable egg-shaped ornaments with the help of these vintage craft instructions!
Use an old milk or juice carton, wax and ice to make a fancy-looking DIY milk carton candle! It’s inexpensive, and the directions are easy enough for a kid to follow.
‘Tis the season for vintage Christmas Rice Krispies Treats, so find out how to make clown pops, surprise balls, crispy snowmen, toy animals and puddin’ tart shells and more!
Here are seven different ways to make an old-fashioned Christmas wreath craft, for a little festive DIY holiday decor, retro-style!
Aren’t they fabulous – these tissue paper poufs from the 1960s to cover your presents? They said, ‘We’ve never seen a more exciting gift wrap idea, or a more impressive one.’
Here are 20 classic mincemeat recipes (used to make the holiday favorite, mince pie) – as remembered through the decades by chefs, cookbook authors, in newspapers and family cookbooks.
