The Toronto Vintage Society is pleased to have a new blogger in our vintage group !
Please welcome Brittany Howlett who will be letting us know how to plan the perfect vintage picnic or garden party!
After a particularly brutal winter, we no longer have to
just dream about backyard barbeques, drinks on the patio or lying on the beach.
Summer has arrived! And with our exit from hibernation comes our desire to be
social whilst enjoying the sunshine. And what better way to do this than
throwing a vintage BBQ or garden party, either in your own backyard or in one
of Toronto’s many parks!
Harken back to the good old days of sipping a mint julep
while enjoying a game of lawn darts (or Jarts).
 |
*disclaimer: lawn
darts have been banned in Canada since the 1980s. But hey, you can still buy
the parts for them!
|
Alcohol and dangerous outdoor games aside, throwing your own
vintage garden party, BBQ or picnic can be a breeze! Follow steps 1-7 and
you’ll be hula hooping your way to a swell summer shindig in no time!
Step 1: Location
If you’re one of those lucky souls who has access to private
green space, you can easily set up your party in your very own backyard! Grab
some extra chairs and move tables around the sides of your deck or patio to
accommodate mingling, unless you’re going for a sit-down afternoon tea affair.
No backyard? No problem! Pick your favourite park in the city and go
picnic-style. You can even steal a bit of inspiration from the Toronto Vintage
Society’s own Pin-Up Picnic in Trinity Bellwoods!
If you’re aiming to avoid the crowds of hipsters in good old
Bellwoods, then give High Park or Dufferin Grove a try. In the east, check out
Withrow Park or Riverdale Park (east or west). For those further north, enjoy
your picnic under the shade of willows in Sunnybrook Park (many of the picnic
areas also have grills, for you BBQ fans). If you’re keen on a waterfront view,
try Ashbridges Bay Park in the east end, Bluffer’s Park in Scarborough, or even
a trip to Ward’s Island if you want to complete the escape-from-the-city feel.
Just remember, open alcohol in public places is prohibited in the city. So if
you’re aiming for a 20s prohibition theme, it’ll be even more authentic!
Step 2: Menu
Depending on the era you’re going for, there are lots of
food options to explore. For you backyardigans with a BBQ (or if you’re at a
park with a grill), you can do what people in this country have been doing for
decades and grill up some burgers and hot dogs and offer up various toppings to
your guests (or veggie burgers and veggie dogs…times have a-changed!).
Another popular grill item in the 50s and 60s in particular
were shish-kabobs, so you can skewer your favourite meat (if you want to go
really authentic, grab some cans of Spam), fish, veggies or tofu and season as
you like!
For sides, traditional potato salad never goes amiss (if
you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can try this potato
salad gelatin mold). Layered salads were all the rage in the 50s and 60s, complete
with plenty of mayo.
Here’s a seven layer salad to challenge your salad skills:
SEVEN
LAYER SALAD
From
www.allrecipes.com
Layer this
bacon, lettuce, onion, peas, cheese, cauliflower and tomato salad in a large
flat bowl. You can vary the salad by substituting green onions for red, jack
cheese for the cheddar, or top it with Miracle Whip instead of the sugar
sweetened Hellman’s.
·
1 pound bacon or veggie backon
·
1 large head iceberg lettuce -
rinsed, dried, and chopped
·
1 red onion, chopped
·
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green
peas, thawed
·
10 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
·
1 cup chopped cauliflower
(optional)
·
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
(optional)
·
11/4 cups mayonnaise
·
2 tablespoons white sugar
·
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Place bacon
in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.
Crumble and set aside.
In a large
flat bowl, place the chopped lettuce and top with a layer each of onion, peas,
shredded cheese, cauliflower, tomatoes and bacon.
Prepare the
dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sugar and Parmesan cheese.
Drizzle over salad and refrigerate until chilled. Makes 12 servings.
Also, if you’re aiming for the 50s and 60s vintage vibe,
you’ll hit the menu right on the mark by putting everything in Jell-O.
Seriously. Everything. The more fruit and vegetables floating in a gelatinous
state, the better.
Find some fun molds and a million packages of gelatins and get
your wobble on! Your concoction may end up as more décor than edible food, as
people’s tastes have (thankfully) changed over the last 60-70 years, however
I’m sure your guests will appreciate the authenticity of your efforts.
Give this delightfully wobbly Seguin Salad a try:
Sequin
salad
· 1 package lime
Jell-O
· 1 cup hot water
· 1 cup cold
water
· 2 tablespoons
vinegar
· 1 teaspoon salt
· dash of pepper
· 2 to 3
teaspoons grated onion
· 1-1/4 cups very
small pieces raw cauliflower
· 1/4 cup diced
pimento
Dissolve
Jell-O in hot water. Add cold water. Chill until slightly thickened.
Meanwhile, mix vinegar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl; add onion,
cauliflower and pimento. Let stand to blend. When Jell-O is slightly
thickened, fold in seasoned vegetables. Pour into individual molds.
Chill until firm. Unmold on crisp greens. Serve with mayonnaise or French
dressing, if desired. Makes 4 or 5 servings.
If your aim is to keep things more palatable, you can throw
together some easy cut-up finger sandwiches with cucumber and cream cheese or
smoked salmon and some devilled eggs, especially if you’re pic-nicking it. Some
fresh cut up vegetables and dip are always a hit, along with cold cuts, pickles,
pimento-stuffed olives, cheese and cut up fruit. Don’t forget to artfully
arrange everything on a plate!
It you want to go more towards the 50s tiki-party theme
(tiki was THE party in the 1950s), go as Hawaiian as you can! Grilled
pineapple, elaborate tropical fruit displays using watermelon bowls and
toothpicks, and all the ham you can handle!
If you’ve always wanted to test out your food artistry
skills, now is the time. This rather terrifying looking tiki mask
niçoise requires some patience, and a lot of olives:
Pick your favourite pie as a dessert choice, along with
squares, cookies or brownies. If you have leftover gelatin packets (likely),
you can even give this 1969 Lemonade Angel Dessert recipe a try!
Step 3: Drinks
You’ll need a few stiff drinks to wash down all those horrible
delicious Jell-O salads. Luckily, plenty of tasty and refreshing cocktails and
mixed drinks made their mark mid-century, such as the mint julep, the Singapore
Sling, the sloe gin fizz and the Tom Collins. If you haven’t been scared off by
Tiki-mask salads, exotic rum-based drinks were huge post-WWII, so think Cuba libres,
piña coladas and mai tais.
Remember that just like the food, presentation with drinks
is also the key, so grab some fresh mint leaves and lemon rounds to decorate
you cocktails, and hunt down mini-umbrellas from your favourite party store!
For non-alcoholic options and pic-nic friendly drinks:
virgin piña coladas, good old-fashioned lemonade, iced tea or a tea punch will
do the trick. You can jazz up your lemonade by adding fruit such as berries.
Here are a few key recipes to get you started:
Step 4: Décor
You won’t have to worry much about décor if you’re doing the
park thing, however to keep things authentic, a nice checkered picnic blanket
or tablecloth will do just fine (try one of the many fabric stores along Queen
St. West between Spadina and Bathurst), along with a nice big vintage pic-nic
basket.
Try your luck on Kijiji or Craigslist, a flea market (such
as the Leslieville Flea) or one of
the many vintage and antique stores around the city if you want a true vintage
picnic basket. If you’re not having much luck finding a good vintage set, you
can buy new
ones from Bed Bath & Beyond (warning: they’re not cheap!)
Bring along an old radio and some bottles of Classic Coke or
7-Up to round off the theme.
If you’re in your own backyard, you can set the theme with
lanterns, a checkered tablecloth, and some authentic vintage platters and
dishware. Break out fancy tiered dessert plates for finger sandwiches and
pastries; devilled egg platters; mini pronged forks for pickles and cheese;
matching glass set and punch bowl; colourful pitchers, etc.
There are plenty of vintage dish and glassware sets to be
found at Toronto’s various flea markets, such as the Junction Flea, the
Leslieville Flea, the Parkdale Flea, or Dr. Flea’s Fleamarket. You can also
take at look in various vintage stores across Toronto such as Studio Pazo, machineagemodern, Ethel or Queen West Antique Centre.
If you’re doing the 50s luau theme, you’ll need bamboo torches
or lanterns (try Lowe’s
or Party
City), as well as some hula skirts, leis, and tiki goblets to hold those
fancy cocktails (or coconut shells!). There’s an impressive collection of tiki
mugs, bowls and accessories at BYOB
Toronto on Queen West.
If you’re really hardcore, set up a tiki bar with plenty of
bamboo. There’s actually a place in Orillia called Tiki Escapes Tropical Products that
carries everything you’ll need!
Step 5: Music
If you’ve got a nice portable vintage radio kicking around,
bring it along to your picnic for some
retro tunes. For those of you in the backyard or patio, a portable vintage
record player will help set the mood. Churn out some good old big
band tunes, Bing Crosby and Martin Denny.
If you’re hosting a lovely Hawaiian
luau, go for "Lovely Hula
Hands" by Bill Campbell, "Tiny Bubbles" by Don Ho and, of
course, "Blue Hawaii" by Elvis.
Or grab your favourite artists from any
era and sing along!
Step 6: Entertainment
To get your guests moving after some nosh, break out the
hula hoops, lawn darts (or horseshoes, if you’d like to keep things legal), or
croquet.
You can pick up cheap hoops at Canadian Tire, or if you’re
the industrious sort, you can make them yourself using PVC pipe. There are also
hooping groups around Toronto that make adult-sized hoops.
You’ll be lucky to find a complete vintage croquet set –
otherwise, Canadian Tire and Toys R Us sell new sets.
And of course for your tiki party, don’t forget a bamboo
stick for limbo!
Step 7: Outfit
Now that you’ve got everything in place for your picnic or
shindig, it’s time to figure out what to wear (i.e. the best part!) There’s
plenty of choice if you’re aiming for the 50s or 60s look, especially colourful
and bright 50s summer dresses with full skirts and a belt, accompanied with
kitten heels, pearls and winged sunglasses. Check out photos from last year’s
Toronto Vintage Society PinUp Picnic for some inspiration!
The 50s pin up or rockabilly look is also a great option –
aim for high-waisted shorts or tight pedal-pushers and a cropped button up
blouse, especially one that ties in the front. Add a scarf to your hair and
some red lipstick, and you’re good to go!
For the gents, light slacks and a button up shirt are the
way to go. Unless it’s tiki-time, in which case you can wear the tackiest
Hawaiian shirt you can find!
There are many options for creating your own version of a
vintage summer garden party, picnic or barbeque. Don’t be afraid to get
creative, and you don’t just have to stick to one era or decade. However you
swing your vintage party, your guests are sure to be impressed!
Tell us about your own vintage picnic, garden party and barbeque ideas and tips! We'd love to hear about all your summer vintage party planning :)
