The 1950s was an iconic decade for fashion, music, and culture, but this era was perhaps most remembered for the long nights of entertainment known as the cocktail party. Whether attended by invited guests or thrown spontaneously, the atmosphere of these gatherings was filled with jazz, creative concoctions, and, of course, nostalgia. If you’re looking for a way to turn back the clock this weekend, why not host a 1950s inspired cocktail party for your friends and family?

In this article, we’ll provide tips on invitations, music, décor, and recipes to help ensure your party is a truly authentic experience. So, regardless of your age, let’s get ready to party like it’s the 50s!

Updated Feb 2024

Note: This post is an extension of “The Mini Guide to Hosting the Ultimate 1950’s Themed Party“. Inside this post, I talked about invites,decor, music, clothing and food, the essentials for a successful party. This article jumps into deeper into the Cocktail party side.

NOTE: For ideas on hosting a Virtual Cocktail Party, please scroll to the end.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, Unique Vintage, RocknRomance Vintage & Collectif 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 you click on any of the items featured below and they are not available, don’t fret! Hit the search button and see what else is on the websites.

How to Host a 1950’s Cocktail/Lounge Party

Source: Wikipedia

Party Invitations:

No email for this party, go really retro and send your invites via the post office (you can still send via email). The mini guide post has ideas on where/ how to get your invites created, so stop in there after your done here (Note: Lots of great ideas for that VIRTUAL Cocktail Party invites & how to host a virtual vintage party at the mini guide link post above).

Source: Vintage Everyday

Example of an invite that can be personalized and on sale on Etsy.

Music:

I think that music is the most important part of any theme party. It truly makes or breaks it. So if you can only do a couple of things to make this theme come to life, music should be number one on your list. But what kind of music should you play? Well simple….Lounge Music.

Lounge Music-is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space (source). There is also the ‘Swinging music of the 30’s & 40’s’ with an emphasis on the vocalist that is considered part of this genre of music. The Rat Pack, Louis Prima, Bobby Darin, Wayne Newton are just examples of the artists that can be on constant rotation on your record player (or Cd).

OH and don’t forget the Brazilian music style of the Bossa Nova which was popularized in the 1950’s & 60’s as well.

Here are some YouTube vintage cocktail party mixes to get you started.

Cocktail Party Food:

Appetizers for a cocktail party are easy breezy but you want them to be in the 1950’s style so make sure you check out my post “Party Foods of the 1950’s” & “1950s Dessert Ideas For Your Next Party” for ideas and inspiration.

Source: Attic Paper

‘Cocktails & Savories‘ – A collection of cocktail recipes, as well as canapes and other savoury items to serve at your cocktail party, published by Good Housekeeping.  The date of this publication is 1955 (Source).

Source: Archive.org

Vintage Drinks:

Source: Flickr

Drink Ideas

(Note: many more on the internet -Use the Search Term “1950’s Cocktail Recipes”).

Here is a helpful article from Liquor.com to get you started: 24 Classic Cocktails You Should Know How to Make

• Manhattan
• Gin & Tonic
• Champagne
• Gin Fizz
• Whisky Sour
• Tom Collins
• White & Black Russian
• Bloody Mary/ Caesar
• Punch
• Sidecar
• (Note: This is not a complete list, just some ideas!)

Here is a page from the ‘Cocktails & Savories’ Cook Book 1955 featured in the “food” section of this post (source).

Source: Archive.org

Drink Accessories:

Lastly, make sure you bar is stacked with items like swizzle sticks, garnishes and if possible vintage glassware like lowball and coupe glasses. Here some great examples of glassware you can pickup at any vintage store that tends to stock 50’s & 60’s items (or online on websites like ETSY).

Source: Etsy

Source: Etsy

Don’t forget the Swizzle Sticks for the drinks! Learn about the history of Swizzle Sticks HERE.

Source: Etsy

Cocktail Party Decor:

First up, your living room is the perfect place for the party. Set up a make shift cocktail bar area, turn the lights down low (or just decrease the lights) and you are on your way to setting the mode. Do you have a record player or know someone who does? Add it to the room and if it works and you have the records, play your lounge music from there.

Remember that vintage glassware I mentioned above? Make sure they are on display or if you have enough, have your guests actually use them.

The Cocktail Party Dress Code (1950s Fashions):

Really encourage guests to dress-up, because if everyone does then you have already boosted your “decor” by 10 fold. 1950s party/nice dresses, suits for men, vintage apron for the hostess. Cocktail parties were fancy dress-up affairs so showing up in jeans is not going to work.

Shopping: I have created a collection of vintage 1950s cocktail fashions on ETSY available for sale (updated monthly). Take a look HERE.

Note: For any items on Etsy or other sites if the outfit no longer exists take a look around the website and see what other options you can find. I gurantee that you will find what you are looking for!

Source: Getty Images

About the below photo: Red (right) was the bell captain at the Sands Hotel and Casino back in the 1950’s and 60’s. This was taken at his Christmas Party around 1958. See how the 2 men are dressed in nice suits. Perfect Cocktail Party attire.

1950s chiffon floral party cocktail dress.

Source: Etsy

A fantastic 1950s dress made from soft cotton with lurex thread running through it, cut into a chevron pattern.

Source: Etsy

Are you looking for modern fabrics and modern sizes? Then check out the following vintage reproduction clothing websites….

RocknRomance

Unique Vintage

Collectif

And there is your 1950’s Cocktail/Lounge Party theme. Your guests will have a blast, you will enjoy being able to have time to actually chat with them and the clean up is pretty simple. Just remember to ensure that your guests don’t drink and drive at the end of the night (this is not the REAL 1950s anymore).

Source: Etsy

HOW TO HOST A VIRTUAL PARTY

Host an online party & invite your friends to join in on the fun.

There are many tools you can go about to do this. You can use Zoom, Facebook Messenger Video Chat, Skype or Facetime on your iPhone (only works if everyone has iPhones). My preference as of late has been Facebook but that is only because all my friends are on there. I Skype with my parents.

Virtual 1950s/60s Cocktail Party: Ask everyone to dress up in their best cocktail outfits and make themselves a drink (once again boozy or not). Put on some lounge music (as stated above) and dim the lights to create some ambiance. Have some finger foods on hand while chatting with guests, OR have a fondue cocktail party . If any of your friends have fondue pots, ask them to fire it up and join in on the fun (like I did with my friends below).

I also played some games, like Name that Tune and guess the 1950s slang. Everyone loved it!

Next up! Send out a virtual invite (ecard). I mentioned some above but here is a reminder of what you can use:

• Hallmark Cards
• Punchbowl
• Evite
• Blue Mountain

Party Tip: Go with small groups, have multiple parties! One at 7pm, One at 9pm. Too many people on a call makes it’s hard to chat with others, so break up the parties. It’s your party do what you want!

Further Reading:

• Mini Guide To Holding The Ultimate 1950’s Themed Party
• How to Host a 1950’s Cocktail/Lounge Party

Food:

• Party Foods of the 1950’s
• 1950s Dessert Ideas For Your Next Party
• Let’s Get Cooking: Vintage Cookbooks 1940s & 1950s
• My 1950’s Betty Crocker cookbook and a few things I have learned from good old Betty herself
• Dig That Dish-The Coolest Vintage Recipe Book Around

Party Games, Party Decor, 1950s Music, 1950s Fashion & More

• Party Game Ideas for a 1950s Themed Party
• 1950s Party Decor that you can buy right now!
• Vintage Dance Crazes
• Vintage Dance Crazes-Part 2

Liz