Host A 1960s Fourth Of July Party!


I love pulling out my vintage cookbooks. The colors and graphics always make me smile. There’s something about recipes, decorating tips and hostess in ideas from decades past that seem so nostalgic and so cool at the same time.


So when I wanted some inspiration for the Fourth of July, I turned to my 1960 Betty Crocker Party Book! I found it at a used book sale a few years ago, and it has been making me smile ever since. I mean, seriously, look at the cover art - it’s so much fun!


I learned several things from these six pages. 1. Bandannas were being used as napkins clear back to the mid-20th century. 2. Have children paint their own dish ware ahead of time and they can enjoy their artwork at your next picnic. 3. If you arrange charcoal in a checkerboard pattern, you’ll get an even medium heat for steaks and hamburgers. 4. If you arrange charcoal in rows and place kabobs over the spaces between them, the kabobs won’t char. All of these are things I either didn’t know or didn’t realize, and that fascinates me.


The recipes in the section are so amazing. I really want to try the star cake, using a round cake and toothpicks as cutting guides. They’re all simple little things, but knowing they were written 60 years ago makes them especially interesting. Do you have Fourth of July traditions or ideas that you pull out every year?

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