This weekend I’m going to make candy cane rice krispies marshmallow “squares”. It’s about the level of baking or cooking I can handle this holiday season because I am just not good at domestic things like that. But I’m going to try because lockdown has me bored, so eating it is!

For today’s post I wanted you to share in the baking fun, so I searched the internet far and wide (well Etsy) to find you some fun vintage Christmas baking ideas from the 1950s that you can bake all holiday season long!

So dear readers, fire up those ovens and let the fun begin!

1950s vintage photo of young women in 1950s fashions baking cookies at Christmas Time.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Note: If the item you click on is no longer available, don’t fret! Etsy and eBay have loads of vintage items that might just catch your eye. Just do some searching. Happy shopping!

Vintage Christmas Baking Ideas from the 1950s

1950s ‘Extravagent 8 Christmas Cakes Collection’ of Baking Recipes PDF

Lots to Make! Purchase the recipes HERE.

What’s Inside:

Star Tree Christmas Cake
Yule Log
Parisian Gateaux
Snow Peak Christmas Cake
Holly Wreath Cake
Golden Bauble Christmas Cake
Basic Traditional Cake
Last-Minute Cake

Vintage 1950s 'Extravagent 8 CHRISTMAS Cakes Collection' of Baking Recipes PDF

Source: Etsy- TheAtticofKitsch

1950s ‘Almond Layer Cake’ and 2 extra FREE Cake Recipes PDF.

The Rich Cake contains folded in ground almonds and cocoa, sandwiched layers of cream butter-almond filling
Iced in pale green (go darker for that vintage Christmas look) and yellow piped stars for the topping.

1950s Vintage recipe for almond cake. Perfect vintage baking recipe for vintage christmas parties or birthdays and more.

Source: Etsy- TheAtticofKitsch

1950s Mirro Fancy Cookies And Pastries 28 Recipe Booklet (next photo is some of the easy cookies you can bake).

Purchase the PDF of the recipes HERE.

1950s Mirro Fancy Cookies And Pastries 28 Recipe Booklet-Vintage Christmas Baking Recipes

Vintage Christmas Baking: 1950s Mirro Fancy Cookies And Pastries 28 Recipe Booklet-Vintage Christmas Cookie Recipes

Source: Etsy

Vintage 1950s Spectacular Reindeer Christmas Cake (Fruit Cake) with Royal Icing Recipe

Purchase the PDF Recipe HERE.

About:

Instructions are given for the making of the Rich Fruit Cake and also directions for Piping the Royal-Icing Decoration.

The Christmas Fruit Cake is Delicious with Mixed Fruit, Dried Pineapple, Glace Cherries, Almonds and Brandy/Rum etc. Very Rich and Dense. An Old-Fashioned Recipe that even has a layer of Almond Paste under the Royal-Icing.

Vintage 1950s CHRISTMAS Cake Recipe with Royal Icing Recipe PDF Spectacular Reindeer Baking

Source: Etsy- TheAtticofKitsch

I am SO IN LOVE WITH THIS COVER! How festive and fun! A “Holiday foods for festive eating”, vintage holiday recipe booklet from the 1950s.

This fun booklet was given out in the 1950’s by the New York State Electric & Gas corporation and includes over 3 dozen recipes (see a couple of those recipes below) along with 4 wonderful holiday lighting ideas too!

Vintage Holiday Recipe Booklet, 1950's Festive Holiday Recipes, Christmas Lights Ideas, New York Utility Give Away, Main Dishes to Desserts

We have for your Christmas baking enjoyment..’BonBon Cookies‘ (I first read it as Bourbon Cookies LOL!), ‘Black Walnut Cookies‘, ‘Chewy Date Bars‘ and ‘Choco-Marshmallow Cookies‘. YUM!

1950s Vintage Christmas Cookie Baking recipes

Source: Etsy

Pillsbury’s Best Butter Cookie Cookbook-1950s vintage recipes. There are 50 wonderful and tasty Pillsbury butter cookie recipes (like the Jitterbugs in the 2nd photo) that will tempt you and your family — and amaze your friends!

Purchase the digital version HERE.

Butter Cookie Cookbook - Pillsbury's Best Cookie Recipes - Late 1950s to Early 1960s Era

I love the name of these cookies because I’m a Lindy Hopper (swing dancer) and in the 1940s the dance was also called “The Jitterbug”.

Jitterbug butter cookie recipe a cookie from sweden.

Source: Etsy

Vintage 1950s Christmas Recipe Swiss Mountain Yule Log Cake Recipe.

Purchase the PDF digital recipe HERE (includes 4 more recipes).

Source: Etsy- TheAtticofKitsch

What a fun cake! A 1950s Christmas cake featuring a carollers theme.

A very rich traditional cake with all manner of dried fruits including orange marmalade & prunes. Dried peel, cherries, dates, walnuts, currants, raisins & more……
There is also an almond paste & royal-icing in swirls! Plus cute piped ‘Musical Notes’ decorating the edges.

Digital download available HERE.

1950s Christmas Recipe for a 1950s Christmas cake featuring a Christmas carollers theme. Fantastic vintage baking recipe in a PDF format so download today.

Source: Etsy- TheAtticofKitsch

This is WOW! A giant cookie Merry Go Round craft and cookie recipe-1950s. Look at how cute it is with the candy canes, sugar decorations and reindeers that are animal cookies. Love it!

Source: Etsy

Question Time: Anything catch your eye from the above? Tell me what you would bake (or maybe have baked already). Share in the comments section below.

Now if you end up making any of the baking above, please share in the comments how it went. Love to hear if you are more successful then I will be with my marshmallow things hahaha!

Further Reading: Collection of Vintage Christmas Blog Posts from the 1920s-1960s

Stay Safe and Happy Holidays!

Liz

I don’t know about some of you but I am struggling to stay focused and motivated these days, especially as my city of Toronto has entered another lockdown. I want to blog so much because I love sharing fun content with all my readers, but I am just finding it hard. BUT today…I struck jackpot while mindlessly, sort of looking for blog ideas on the web….A 1940 Montgomery Ward Interior Design Catalog for Wallpaper.

1940 Interior Design Wallpaper ideas vintage catalog

Source: Archive.org

I LOVE looking at how people decorated their homes in the past. Sometimes it seems super busy and sometimes it just works. Everyone’s style is different and some of these wallpapers featured in this very detailed catalog might just be something that you might want to have designed for your own home (or go on the hunt for).

Even if it’s not something you want, trust me when I say it’s fun to see what was stylish and popular in 1940 (especially since we were in the middle of a war).

Let’s open it up and see what we find……

Vintage Wallpaper Ideas from a 1940 Montgomery Ward Catalog

First up! What is the “1760 Women create Wards” all about?

Well according to the page above Montgomery Ward conducted a Wallpaper survey to understand what housewives tastes were. Members of MW staff went into their homes with a 300-pattern sample book. From it, women selected papers in favorite colours and designs and said why they liked them. They told the staff that there was “Wallpaper WANTS” and this is what they all agreed on:

All women want:

Savings
Quality that gives dependable service
Papers harmonizing in colour and design with each other and with furnishings.

Montgomery Ward then took these ideas to the best designers and colorists in America. The result is Wards 1940 Wallpapers created by women just like you (well 1940s you). And on each of the pages you will see how the “Wants” have been used.

Here are 3 Qualities to choose from when picking your wallpaper in 1940:

31% wanted Fadeproof paper
44% wanted Fadeproof, Washable paper
25% wanted Fadeproof, Washable paper that is Embossed or Calendered.

Side Note: I’m going to be honest..while I love this winter wonderland wallpaper I’m not 100% sure if its practical for a room all year around. Share what you think in the comments section below!

1940s Wallpaper. What qualities to chose when picking your wallpaer.

More Tips! How to use Color and Design when designing your room:

Keep color schemes simple-a room in good taste has two predominting colours with accents of one or two others.

Wards show 5 basic colours: Blue, Green, Beige, Cocoa and Rose. You can mix or match them in everthing from draperies to paint. You then chose a Companion paper (which will be the examples I show below), harmonizing in colour and design.

The 2 pages below are three harmonized room schemes featuring companion paper.

How to use colour and design in your rooms when decorating. As seen in a 1940s wallpaper catalog

To Keep Adjoining Rooms Harmonious…Choose a Companion Paper (as discussed above).

1940s Vintage Wallpaper pattern-floral pattern

Oh I love a good tropical print (“A Smart New Design” to be exact). Here is the 1940s version of the palm leaves wallpaper you see on some many Instagram accounts these days.

1940s Wallpaper-Tropical Palm Leaves Wallpaper

1940s Wallpaper pattern- Tropical Palm Leaves Wallpaper

Quaint Design, Sparkling Color-A Delight to Every Eye! Pretty floral wall paper design for your bedroom.

1940s Vintage Wallpaper pattern-Floral Design

Do you have kids or maybe grandkids? How about this Mother Goose themed wallpaper? Featuring Peter Rabbit, Jack and Jill with a puppy, mary and her lambs. It’s sure to bring some fun to a child’s bedroom or playroom.

1940s Vintage Wallpaper for kids. Mother Goose themed wallpaper

1940s Vintage Wallpaper pattern for kids. Mother Goose themed wallpaper

A Paper Reminiscent of Yesterday-For Your Modern Kitchen. The yesterday being plate-rails with quaint flowered plates and pots of trailing ivy. Banjo clock, clipper ships and old leather-bound books.

1940s vintage wallpaper for your modern kitchen.

1940s vintage wallpaper for your modern kitchen. Wallpaper pattern features an old grandfather clock and grapes.

Warm Colors and Picturesque Scenes: Make Halls Say “Welcome”.

1940s Vintage Wallpaper pattern-farmhouse and field

Smart, Practical and Economical-A New Varnished Paper. The colours in this wallpaper are of the popular kitchen combination of red, gray and black. This pattern reminds me SO MUCH of a blog post I did on 1940s Linoleum flooring.

1940s Wallpaper-Varnished Wallpaper. Smart, Practical and Economical-A New Varnished Paper. The colours in this wallpaper are of the popular kitchen combination of red, gray and black.

1940s Wallpaper pattern-Varnished Wallpaper. Smart, Practical and Economical-A New Varnished Paper. The colours in this wallpaper are of the popular kitchen combination of red, gray and black.

Anyone interested in some Scrubbable Wallpaper? You can scrub it like tile! This is very handy especially in those places like around the stove that get stained alot. I like it.

Scrubbable Wallpaper. 1940s vintage wallpaper catalog

How to pay for all this wallpaper? Simple! Use the Time Payment Plan. $2 down and the $2 monthly payment. Enjoy while you pay!

How much did wallpaper cost in 1940? See the price in a vintage 1940 interior design catalog for wallpaper designs

Please make sure you check out the rest of the Catalog yourself because there is 161 pages and I cannot possibly share everyone of the wallpapers featured (even though I really really wanted to!).

Share your favourites in the comment section below.

FURTHER READING: Check out my archive of ‘Vintage Home Decor’ Posts HERE.

Stay Safe Friends!

Liz