Here are some fun ideas and recipes to give your 4th of July a truly retro vibe, plus a look back at the history of Independence Day!
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.
The American flag has changed shape many times since 1777. See how it evolved, and what each version said about the country that flew it.
Learn how Mother’s Day began with Anna Jarvis’ heartfelt tribute to her mother — and how it grew into a national tradition celebrated across America.
Here is a collection of 24 colorful vintage Easter cards from the early twentieth century!
Step back in time to see how vintage Valentine’s Day was filled with clever cards, playful games, and unique customs that made love a little more fun.
Here’s a look back at snow removal 100 years ago, so you can see how much work went into clearing cities after blizzards and other big winter storms.
Take a look back in time at some vintage postcards sent by people in the first two decades of the 1900s to wish friends and family a happy new year!
With a little thought and care – plus the inspiration of these lush holiday table settings of yore – you can create unforgettably nostalgic Christmas table settings that will be remembered for years to come.
Take a look back at how people celebrated Thanksgiving Day with these antique Thanksgiving postcards from around the turn of the century!
Try not to be too creeped out by this collection of vintage Halloween party ideas spanning over a century!
Labor Day is unlike many other patriotic holidays, as it glorifies no armed conflicts or battles of man’s prowess over man. Here’s a look back at the history of Labor Day.
See how gazebos became one of America’s favorite outdoor retreats with a look back at some vintage styles and backyard designs!
Before air conditioning and refrigerators existed, see some of the ways people managed to stay cool in summer during the great New York heat wave of 1911!
Take a look at these modest old-fashioned swimsuits for men and women, seen on real beachgoers and early movie actresses, with many high-quality and colorized vintage photos!
Step into a world of timeless grace with 1950s wedding dresses — where lace meets luxury for peak vintage bridal elegance.
See our collection of vintage St Patrick’s Day postcards — these sweet little hello notes offer a nostalgic peek into early 20th-century celebrations.
Here’s a sweet selection of vintage Valentine’s Day cards – little love notes people sent to each other by the millions around the early part of the 20th century.
Get ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with the help of these old-fashioned stuffing recipe, made with simple ingredients and fresh foods.
Sometimes the basics are all one needs for memorable adventures. Take a look at some vintage tents that were available in the last century!
From awful double entendres to horrible diseases to the just plain bizarre, here are some vintage bad product names that used to appear on grocery store shelves.
As charmingly retro as they seem, small striped outdoor tents (also called palmetto or lawn tents) were nothing new in the 1960s and 1970s — in fact, they have been used for centuries.
The Christmas decorations in Victorian churches could be extremely lush Victorian Christians were faithful practitioners of their religion, and took special care decorating their churches
Um, our ancestors were weird, y’all. Maybe we’re just missing some context that would make these bizarre Victorian Christmas cards make sense?
Here are more 20 colorfully-illustrated vintage Memorial day postcards for the national American holiday originally known as Decoration Day. These patriotic antique cards are all from the early 1900s.
Planning a wedding with a classic old-fashioned feel? Check out this collection of beautiful vintage wedding dresses from the first two decades of the 1900s!
What kind of sweets did they enjoy more than 100 years ago — especially when ready-made candies were few and far between? People back in
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.
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!
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!
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
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.
Old-fashioned eggnog recipes come in many varieties, so here are more than a dozen – though definitely take a look at the traditional Southern egg nog how-to, which will apparently allow the spirit of Christmas to descend upon you.
What kind of Thanksgiving food did people enjoy years ago? Here’s a look back at some restaurant menus from holidays past – some of which our modern-day feasts seem simple in comparison.
How did our great-great grandparents send holiday greetings? Probably with antique Christmas cards just like these! Take a fond look back to the yuletide season from more than a century ago.
As you can see from these vintage Coney Island photos & postcards, This beach area just outside New York City was one of the most popular resorts in the United States.
The short story by Lucy Maud Montgomery, ‘Christmas at Red Butte,’ was published after her best-known work, ‘Anne of Green Gables,’ first delighted readers. Read it for free here!
Summer parties and entertaining duties never cease — there are always garden fetes, weekends, luncheons and bridge suppers to be planned and executed.
The wedding cake, luscious and delicate of taste, with its wonderful exterior covering of ornamental sugar icing, wrought in various devices, is an institution honored by long patronage and full appreciation.
Vintage wedding dress fashions from 1846 19th-century Victorian wedding dresses (1850) Bride from the 1800s The Diamond Wedding at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, October 13, 1859
Decorating the Thanksgiving table? Never before In the history of Thanksgiving dinners have the color schemes for trimming up the dining-room been so delightful as this year.
