Thought You Were Rid of Me, Eh? Thought I'd Go Quietly, Eh?

Well, it has been a while hasn't it, my little poppits?  I decided to take a little break from the blog in order to ...well...get some other things in order.  The most important of which is my Etsy shop.  I officially launched in April and have been slowly adding inventory.  Lots of great '50s, '60s and '70s items already up and lots more to come!  Swing on by and give us a heart to keep up with the super groovy and ginchy stuff Pip and I will be posting!  By the way, there is a section of the shop in the works for all you Mid Century peeps with four legged sidekicks who love vintage as much as you do...DoggyBird will be in full swing by this fall!

A Decade of Christmases, 1950's....

I'm a lucky girl.  My grandparents took loads of pictures.

While they were suckers for the random, candid shot, they were even more obsessed with holidays and events.  Hence, a smorgasbord of Mid-Century Christmas decadence.
Get in, buckle your seat belt and relax while I take you on a journey through ten years of my family's Mid-Century Christmases...

1949... 

This is the first of many trains you'll see.  My dad liked trains.  More importantly, my grandfather liked them!

While I'd kill for that ferris wheel thingamabobby behind my dad, at least I can lay claim to the Juice King to the left in the photo.  I just used it a couple of days ago to juice oranges for the citrus filling in my Christmas secret recipe cookie tradition...'Reindeer Balls'.  Yup, 'Reindeer Balls'.  They're amazing.  Trust me.

1950...

My uncle's first Christmas.

Dad and his godfather.

 Cheeky little bugger!

1951....

My grandfather and Dad's godfather again playing with Dad's toys!

Dad was a cowboy!

  

1952...

Loving that tin litho Union Station!!  I wasn't in the stash of toys that had been kept...lord knows, it was probably destroyed by New Years!  I did find one on Ebay though...WANT!!

My dad had many cowboy gifts over the years.  Sign of the times, I suppose.

1953....

My grandfather...I've got that jacket he's wearing...my dad and my uncle with their dog, Duchess.  Not sure who the kid is in the overalls, but he sure is a cutie patootie!

1954...

I'm sure they were both thrilled that my grandmother dressed them in matching outfits so often.

1955...

My uncle as a cowboy and my dad as George Patton dressed as a cowboy.  Another fashion side note:  We found those Roy Rogers shirts when we were going through things for the estate sale.  I cleaned them both and gave my uncle his and I kept dad's.  I'm happy to report that it fits and I wear it occasionally.

1956...

Lincoln Logs!!!  My gosh golly how I love Lincoln Logs!

One of many weapons they'd receive!

I may be a little biased, but I'm pretty sure my dad is the most adorable little boy who ever lived!  Look at that face, willya!!??

Yeah, that's a xylophone in the background of this pic.  And yes, it's in my parents' basement!

1957...

The only Christmas photos this year were taken at my great-grandparents' house.  Here's my great-grandmother proudly surveying her Christmas table.  I want that bloody centerpiece!

And here's her mother (my great-great-grandmother).  Wasn't she precious??!!!

1958....

I love old colour photos the best.  I love that you can tell what colour combos everyone had goin' on, but most of all, I love that the colours are so rich and unnatural.  Makes it seem like you're looking at images from a dream.

Many many many of those ornaments are on my own tree!

Lovin' my uncle's faux Bill Cosby sweater sweatshirt.  Stylin'.

 
I want that Chemcraft Chemistry Set!!!  Whoooosh!!!

1959...

2013:

Christmas morning here at The Brady Ponderosa:

 

I hope you all had a loverly Christmas morning, afternoon, and night!  God bless us, every one and all that...

The Mid-Century Evolution of a Family Christmas Tree....

As promised, I'm back with a post to accompany your Christmas Eve tree trimming and stocking hanging, my little moppets!

My grandmother began taking photos of the family Christmas tree in 1960.  She was fairly diligent and continued the tree photos most every year into the early '80s.  All the better to get festive with!!

So without further ado....

1960:

1961:

There was also a tree in my dad and uncle's room that year...

1964:

From the outside....

They used this image for their Christmas Card in 1965!

1967:

1969:

1970:

1971:

1972:

1976:

1981:

2013:

This year's tree at my house....that includes tons of my grandparents' ornaments as well as their ice lights:

Hope you have a lovely Christmas Eve, my dears!

xx